Product summary
Jan 09
The good:
Aggressive overclocking leads to record-setting application and games performance; tri-SLI 3D cards give you lots of headroom for games down the road; fast solid-state boot drive and plenty of secondary storage space; expertly assembled.
The bad:
Most expensive desktop we've reviewed; service and support not quite as comprehensive as its boutique PC competition.
The bottom line:
Maingear's Ephex is the fastest PC we've reviewed, and also the most expensive. You can find better service policies from other boutique PC vendors, but the Ephex's overall speed and build quality are enough for us to recommend it to those in the market for the best desktop they can find.
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: Rich Brown
Reviewed on: 01/27/2009
Released on: 12/01/2008
Even though lots of vendors offer the capability, we've resisted reviewing a three-way SLI PC until now. Our hesitation had to do with a desire to keep the high-end PCs we reviewed at or around the $6,000 mark, hard to do with $1,800 worth of graphics cards alone. But last November our reservations were steamrolled by a crush of new technologies. Intel's expensive solid-state hard drives proved too enticing for gaming PC vendors, and by supporting triple channel memory, Intel's Core i7 chips invited loads of pricey high performance RAM. As a result, we agreed to review Falcon Northwest's $8,000 Mach V back in November, and it's also why we let Maingear submit this triple-SLI $8,798 Ephex desktop. That price makes this Maingear the most expensive desktop we've ever reviewed. Provided you have that kind of commitment to PC gaming, you'll find the Ephex delivers an exceptional entertainment experience.
By giving the Ephex a $4,600 price tag for its most basic configuration, Maingear seems to be making a distinct effort to put its flagship PC out of reach for most gamers. And as expensive as it sounds, even our $8,800 model lacked features such as a mouse and a keyboard, a monitor, or extras such as a Bigfoot Killer NIC, a Wi-Fi adapter, or speakers. On the flipside, you can shed $1,100 off the price of the system if you opt out of the fancy paint job and the transparent side panel. None of this is to say that value is a primary concern in reviewing this PC, but if all you care about is clean design and performance, you can get all of this configuration's core functionality for less.
Like most boutique PC vendors, Maingear pays special attention to the design and wiring of its systems, and if the build quality of this Ephex is any indication, Maingear has shown that it can rival the meticulousness of Falcon Northwest. The liquid cooling plates on the graphics cards hardware obstruct the free card expansion slots, but that's our only major complaint. Adding hard drives is simple with outward facing drive bays, and overall both the external and internal appearance of the system show that it was assembled with great care.
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