Entered CNET Catalog: 08/23/2006
SKU: BTO-038594
Manufacturer: Systemax Inc.
Manufacturer description
The lines between illusion and reality no longer exist. For that mind-boggling concept, you can thank Systemax' new Intel Core 2 Extreme Crossfire Gaming PC gaming monster. With its Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 2.93GHz dual-core CPU with 4MB cache, 2 GB of Corsair TWINX PC6400 memory and huge storage space with 300GB (2 x 150GB) 10K RPM SATA raptor hard drives, the Systemax Sabre combines more brawn and brilliance than any PC Systemax has ever made. Factor in the Sabre's breathtaking lineup of multimedia innovations such as an internal Plextor SATA DVD burner, a DVD-ROM/CD burner Combo Drive, floppy drive, flash card reader, 7.1 channel Integrated audio, gigabit LAN, 2x ATI Radeon X1900 video cards... all perfectly engineered for peak performance... all running on the smooth Windows XP Pro SP2... and the end results are simply stunning. A blue Saitek gaming keyboard and Razer Copperhead blue gaming mouse complete the package! This PC comes with the latest Intel technology and every extra imaginable. This is one spectacular package you can trust for years to come! And it's yours at factory direct pricing.Product summary
The good: Outstanding deal on a high-end PC; Core 2 Extreme CPU; ATI CrossFire graphics; 10,000rpm hard drives; bundled Razer Copperhead gaming mouse and a Saitek Eclipse backlit keyboard.
The bad: No-frills design won't win any awards; the system's many cooling fans makes for a loud PC.
The bottom line: The Systemax Sabre can't compete with the higher-end PC shops' design and innovation, but Systemax blows them away with its aggressive Sabre pricing. If you're a gamer or simply someone looking for a powerhouse desktop for less, this desktop is one of the best deals on the market, despite its relative lack of polish.
CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 09/06/2006
Systemax sent us its default Sabre configuration, which includes an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 processor, an ATI Radeon X1900-based CrossFire graphics card setup, and 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; you even get a pair of fast 150GB Western Digital Raptor 10,000rpm hard drives. In price, specs, and performance, that config stacks up well against similar systems' from Dell, Gateway, and other high-end PC vendors. You might want to tweak the hard drive configuration a bit, as 300GB goes pretty fast these days. Luckily, the Systemax Sabre's online configurator lets you customize those specs and others with a reasonably wide selection of options.
Systemax keeps the Sabre's price low by skipping some of the intangibles--custom paint jobs, hand-tied internal cable routing, proprietary cooling systems--found on PCs from the boutique shops. The red-painted case we received is actually out-of-stock at the time of this writing, so right now Systemax offers the same model in only a blander blue and gray. Four of the Sabre's fans are lit with red LEDs, and the internal cables are arranged neatly enough, but those two features and the see-through side panel are about it for unique design elements (and at this point, they're not that unique). The Sabre has little-to-no functional customizations such as sound-dampening foam, and the system is noticeably loud, thanks to its eight fans between the system, the CPU, the power supply, and the two graphics cards.
Many people might be willing to forgive a boring or even offensive design if the price and the performance are right, and in that case, we can wholeheartedly recommend the Systemax Sabre. The system to which it's most comparable is the Gateway FX510XT, a fixed configuration more or less. That PC costs $500 more than the Sabre, and the two have nearly identical performance. The Gateway has 4GB of memory (more than Windows XP can use) and slower 7,200rpm hard drives. Systemax's customization options are limited, so you can't get match it exactly to the Gateway, but if you configure the Sabre with 900GB of 7,200rpm storage (its current high-capacity limit), you'd actually drop the price another $100. Clearly, the Sabre is a much better deal. The only other systems that beat it on performance are either overclocked, like the WinBook PowerSpec Extreme 9800, or have a different and (possibly) more advanced chipset, like the Dell XPS 700. And even those performance wins aren't by all that much.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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Multitasking test | |
Apple iTunes encoding test | |
Adobe Photoshop CS2 image-processing test |
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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F.E.A.R. 1,600x1,200 SS 8xAF | |
F.E.A.R. 1,024x768 SS 8xAF | |
Quake 4 1,024x768, 4xAA 8xAF |
A DVD burner, a CD-RW/DVD combo drive, and a media card reader round out the system itself, and extras include a Razer Copperhead gaming mouse and a Saitek Eclipse backlit keyboard for gaming in the dark. Clearly those devices and the config in general make the Sabre a gaming-oriented box, but with all of those optical and removable media options, it makes sense to use this system with your digital still or video camera or for general digital media consumption.
Systemax's support for the Sabre is frustratingly average, but that low overhead probably helps keep the costs down, as well. Again, this system is best suited for those who already know their way around a PC. The default one year of parts-and-labor coverage also comes with a year of onsite service through a third-party provider. Systemax has added a direct customer-support phone number to its Web site (an improvement from when we looked at it alongside the Wildcat a few months back), but otherwise the Web site still has a lame outsourced support link that is not system specific, nor is it even that generally useful.
Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
System configurations:
Dell XPS 410
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; Intel 965G chipset; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS; (2) Western Digital 300GB 10,000rpm SATA; Nvidia Nforce RAID class controller (RAID 1)
Dell XPS 700
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; (2) 512MB Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX SLI; (2) Western Digital 320GB 7,200rpm SATA; Nvidia Nforce RAID class controller (RAID 0)
Gateway FX510XT
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800; 4,096MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; (2) 512MB ATI Radeon X1900 XT (CrossFire mode); (2) 500GB Hitachi 7,200rpm SATA; Intel 82801GR/GH SATA RAID controller (RAID 0)
Systemax Sabre
Windows XP Professional SP2; 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; (2) 512MB ATI Radeon X1900 XT (CrossFire mode); (2) 150GB Western Digital 10,000rpm SATA; Intel 82801GR/GH SATA RAID controller (RAID 0)
WinBook PowerSpec Extreme 9800
Windows XP Professional SP2; 3.2GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; (2) 512MB ATI X1900 Crossfire; (2) 150GB Western Digital 10,000rpm SATA; 400GB Samsung 7,200rpm SATA; Intel 8201GR/GH SATA RAID controller (RAID 0)
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 User Rating: 
1/10
Please read!
Pros: Price level compared to other brands.
Cons: Service, Hardware configuration.
My experience with this pc was horrible. The way the pc is configured take a much longer boot time than a much older systems I hade from Dell. I experienced many hardware failures; the video card had to be replaced twice, the hard drive failed, the power supply unit failed, the mother board was replaced. Every time I experienced a problem, tech support would make me send the system, on my expense, to their repair depot in OH. Forget "At home service", forget about getting a box from Systemax (you got to come up with a box yourself), forget about getting a prepaid shipping label. In some cases, to avoid down time, they would send me the failed hardware item for me to replace (not before they would take my credit card to make sure I would send them the failed item (again, on my expense).
I'm running a business, and got better things to do with my time than to write bad reviews on the internet, but I had enough! This PC is used as my main PC/server at my office. On the last event, the pc wouldn't recognize the USB ports, unless configured manually via the device manager. Tech support instructed me to uninstall the USB, which I did, with great fear, to find out that I couldn't reinstall it. Nothing was working on the PC, and I had no mouse to install the drivers from the CD. I was advised to reinstall windows by tech support. Can't do, hard drive has error that couldn?t be fixed by formatting it. Again the PC goes into the box (which I kept), shipping is on me, and the system was ship to Ohio.
I just paid $50 because Systemax claims it's a software issue. Bunch of Cr^p!
This time, I didn't even wait for the system to get to OH; I bought a new replacement system from Dell. I'm not trying to promote Dell here (they are all I know), but over the years, I bought many systems form Dell. The customer service was superb and the systems are configured SOLID!
It?s like the saying; you get what you are paying for!
Systemax, please learn to treat your customers professionally, please honor the product and service you?re selling, and PLEASE stand behind your word! You got yourself one very unhappy customer. Don?t expect to get business from me, or anyone that value my opinion!
