Setup and Startup
Systems that are shipped often need a little tightening and reseating prior to boot up, but the F131 started right up without issue.
They took some care here to bump it up.
Our Core 2 Duo E8400, 3.0GHz stock, comes overclocked - or "redlined" in Maingear parlance - to 4.0GHz at a 445MHz FSB. Maingear's attention to detail here in choosing their core voltage and clocks is good, but they didn't go to the nth degree in tweaking memory timings as we've seen other suppliers like Überclok do. We also see that the Kingston DDR2-800 rated memory is being operated here at 1066MHz speeds, but if the system is stable we won't criticize them for that. Overall, this is quite a good effort - we've seen suppliers do much less overclocking for a significant price premium. Maingear includes their overclocking with the cost of the system, and it yields a large performance increase, so a well deserved kudos here.
 First boot is quite good. |
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The desktop is clean, the number of processes is reasonably low for Vista, and there is some genuine value-added software. Detonator 177.41 drivers came preinstalled, which were up to date at the time of shipment. We also see a few other interesting icons on the desktop.
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Maingear provides some optional installation packages of AVG Free Antivirus and OpenOffice. This is a great approach: the installation option is available and easy to execute for the user if they want this software, and if they don't, they can simply delete the folders without having to bother with uninstalling software. This is precisely the kind of flexibility we mention frequently in our reviews, and hats off to Maingear in this respect.
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CEO Ballmer - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
I run two of these towers, tricked out!These things are the very definition of cool!
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com">http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
pervisanathema - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
In the past 3 years, I have ordered over 400 Dell PCs, about 3 dozen laptops, and about 2 dozen servers. I have yet to see a piece of equipment that failed to boot on arrival.Praising a manufacturer for having a PC that boots on arrival is like praising a car dealer for having a new car that starts up when you test drive it.
JarredWalton - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
See above: it's the large GPUs, HSFs, and cooling that cause problems. I remember getting a review system a couple years back that had a giant styrofoam insert inside the case, just to help protect things during shipping. It helped secure the cables and cooling devices, but it was rather over-the-top.yyrkoon - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
I think some of the Dell XPS's did at one time, or still do ship with a Styrofoam insert. And I remember the review of that system you're talking about, or at least remember you guys talking about the insert.With FedEx, and UPS in different areas tossing boxes around like they're garbage, it is no wonder. I have had a 21" CRT show up at our shop with the plastic front bezel completely ripped off because of some unscrupulous FedEX person . . .
3DoubleD - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
"As a third point, while the Silverstone case is elegant and functional, it lacks the glitz and glamour that some people might look for in a gaming system. The ability to choose a couple case alternatives would help. Customization options are available for most components, but they are more limited than other vendors and the price premiums are higher than average."Please don't encourage them. That is a GREAT looking case. I think just about everyone is sick of the tacky "Gamer" case look. The Silverstone is very minimalistic in appearance (which is a good thing) while being functional. In fact, I think I'd consider buying one, although I've never seen one for sale. Anyway, in my opinion, case manufacturers and pre-built assemblers need to move away from the tacky "gamer" case design that should have died in the earlier part of this decade. Also, they won't offer a case option because it makes the assembly process less standard and you get different quality cases (and perhaps features). I would suggest they stick with one case and design around that case as they have done here.
Griswold - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
Words of wisdom. This bling-bling bullshit with a window and strobes is seriously getting on my nerves. Maybe its the age...JarredWalton - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
To each his own; there are plenty of other nice cases out there that don't have tons of bling but can compete with Silverstone. Using a single case helps with assembly and parts ordering for sure, but many other companies offer Silverstone cases as well as about 15 other options. Personally, I think choice is good and that users should be able to get what they want. But then they can: if you don't want Silverstone, you can shop elsewhere. :)Tormeh - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
I would like to see the time it takes to calculate a turn in Civ4...Really, back in the days of Civ3 I remember that the time it took from ending a turn until the game responded again could be several minutes. Well, at least in the later stages of the game with the maximum number of AI players and the biggest map you could get, anyway.
surt - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 - link
Which really was quite ludicrously bad programming. Even an n^3 algorithm over the number of units or map positions has no excuse for taking minutes to run on a modern processor.Tormeh - Thursday, November 13, 2008 - link
Well, "back in the days of Civ 3" means that the relevant processor was also "back in the days." :) A high-end Pentium 4, if memory serves.