12/08/07 - While most performance PC vendors tend to make their performance systems from the most expensive parts available, ABS offers a range of price options for those looking at their Ultimate series of desktop gaming PCs. The Ultimate X8 comes in several varieties including the Stealth Extreme version. Let's see what they have to offer ...
Processor:
For the Ultimate X8 Stealth Extreme, ABS has decided to use the Intel Core 2 Quad and Extreme models. Those looking for a performance system without breaking the bank would go with the Core 2 Quad while those with extra cash can elect for the Extreme models. A big thing to note is that ABS only offers factory overclocking with the Intel Core Extreme processors. Regardless of the processor model or overclocking, ABS uses a Gigabyte Galaxy II liquid cooling system.
Memory:
Memory options are a bit more limited with the Ultimate X8 Stealth Extreme. Users have a choice of either a 2GB or 4GB memory setup. In both cases, the speed of the memory used is PC2-6400 or 800MHz DDR2 memory. This can limit the amount of potential overclocking that the system will have compared to faster memory setups.
Hard Drives:
Considering all the advances in the hard drive industry thanks to perpendicular hard drives and increasing capacity, it is suprising that ABS doesn't provide many options with the Ultimate X8. The largest drive offered currently is a Seagate 750GB drive. Pretty much every drive company now has a terabyte sized drive. Other drive options include Western Digital 500GB, Hitachi 400GB or 150GB Western Digital 10,000rpm Raptor drives that many performance people are willing to pay for. Options are available for RAID 0 or 1 with multiple drives.
CD/DVD Drives:
DVD burners are now fairly standard with all personal computers and they have roughly similar levels of performance. The system comes with a single Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7190 20x DVD burner that supports dual layer and DVD-RAM media. The default configuration comes with a second of these drives in the system but users can elect to only have one installed.
Graphics and Display:
The Ultimate X8 system from ABS is based around a NVIDIA chipset motherboard for SLI graphics cards setups. It is no surprised that ABS then offers several of the GeForce 8800 GTS or GTX graphics cards in either single or double card setups. It is surprising though that they don't have an option currently for the newer 8800 GT boards for a lower cost option. Those who would rather use an ATI based card can select either a 512MB of 1GB Radeon HD 2900 XT graphics board but it isn't recommended.
Audio:
Audio is really a second thought for many desktop PCs these days and ABS is no different in this regard. The system comes with a based 7.1 integrated option or users can elected to purchase a top of the line Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional board. It would be nice to see ABS offer more options between these two extremes. The only speaker setup sold with the system is a Creative Inspire P7800 7.1 setup.
Software:
Since ABS is a system integrator, software beyond the operating system is really an extra cost. They have elected to have the default operating system drop back to the older Windows XP Home Edition. Users can upgrade to the Professional or any one of the 32-bit versions of Vista. A couple of games are available as an option, but beyond that there is no security of producitivity software offered in the system configurations.
Overall Impressions:
One of the big advantages of the the systems from ABS is their wide range of price options. Many vendors only offer their high end systems with some of the most expensive parts available. Users that have a limited budget can elect to use some lower cost parts to have a strong desktop PC when it comes to gaming, but at a much lower cost.
Overclocking is a fairly common thing that performance oriented consumers are looking to do. ABS offers a factory overclocking program that provides 10% or 20% performance increase depending upon how much you are willing to spend. This overclocking option is only available with the Core 2 Extreme processors from Intel and not the Core 2 Quad model. Since the Core Extreme processors come unlocked, users can adjust these settings themselves. The only reason to go with the overclocking from ABS is to avoid voiding the ABS warranty on the system.
Some of the other features of the Ultimate X8 Stealth is the liquid cooling. The processor by default is cooled using the Gigabyte 3D Galaxy II liquid cooling system. There is also an option to get several of the GeForce 8800 series cards with liquid cooling. This can really help increase the level of overclocking of the system and helps to reduce the noise. Noise was one of the big drawbacks to older Ultimate series systems and it is good to see ABS looking at customer feedback.
The biggest issue with ABS is probably the limited software options. Users will need to expect separate purchases for security or productivity software. It is nice that they give a good range of operating system options but they do not include an option for the 64-bit versions of Vista that can allow for the full use or more than 4GB of memory.
In the end, the Ultimate X8 Stealth Extreme is a solid performance, but a lot has changed in the market. While they used to have some of the best pricing, ABS now falls more in the middle price range for performance systems. They still offer a great value, its just not as good as they have been in the past.
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