Systemax Crossfire X58 Gamer Performance Desktop PC

Jun 14 2010 - The Systemax CrossFire X58 Gamer takes a few unique approaches to a high performance gaming system. Most notable of these is using two moderate classed graphics cards in a daul configuration to give it performance similar to a top of the line single card. The system also ships with an incredible 12GB of memory. The downside is that the system ends up with a price tag that is higher than many similar performance systems.

Jun 14 2010 - Systemax's CrossFire X58 Gamer is based around the venerable but powerful Intel X58 chipset and a newer Core i7-930 quad core processor. The processor gives a bit of a speed bump over the previous 920 models but nothing that many people will notice. The surprising aspect of the system is the use of six 2GB DDR3 modules that provides the system with 12GB of total memory. It also uses a triple channel memory configuration to give it an extra boost in memory performance. This is a bit overkill currently as most games and applications will perform just as well with just 6GB of memory.

Storage features on the Systemax CrossFire X58 Gamer are pretty typical of your average moderate to performance level desktop system. A single one terabyte hard drive provides storage for applications and data. Performance is good but nothing outstanding. A dual layer DVD burner handles playback and recording of CD and DVD media. It also comes with a multi-card reader that some companies are now dropping to reduce costs.

Per the name of this Systemax computer, the graphics setup uses two ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics cards with 1GB memory each in a CrossFire configuration. This can boost the performance of the system in certain games to be equal to that of the top of the line Radoen HD 5870. Games can run up to the 2560x1600 resolution or lower with a high level of filters. Be warned that that this will not be the case in all games. In some situations the two graphics cards will not perform much better than a single 5770.

The big issue with the CrossFire X58 Gamer is its price. Retailing for $1600, it is on the upper end of systems with this level of performance. In fact, systems with the same processor and storage configurations but with less memory and a Radeon HD 5870 can be found for hundreds less. This makes it not as good of a value for gamers. Those looking to use it for digital video work might benefit from the additional memory though.