Skip to main content

Close to the Metal Ep. 3: Is Falcon’s $8,700 Mach V desktop a justifiable expense?

Falcon Northwest, based in Medford, Oregon, is a relatively small operation that builds super-premium systems – and it’s been around for over two decades. Its flagship, the Mach V, was first sold back in 1993. As far as we know, that makes it the most enduring name in the PC business.

Today we’re looking at a particularly stunning example of the breed. It has a ten-core Intel Core i7-6950X processor, twin GTX 1080s in SLI, 128GB of RAM, and a 1.2TB solid state drive – not to mention a sweet Digital Trends paint job. These extreme features, including the paint, pump the price up to $8,700, though you can buy entry-level versions for well less than half that.

Overclocked to the hilt, the Falcon Northwest Mach V represents the cutting edge of what modern computers might be used for. But what might it be used for? Is it for high-end gaming? Video encoding? Or some other arcane art? The answer is, in most cases, a little bit of all three.

The Mach V is also representative of the growing gap between super high-end systems and the average, everyday computers. Anyone can walk into Best Buy and purchase a system for a few hundred dollars, and while it might not be outstanding, it’ll handle all the basics most people ask from their PC.

Can the huge gap between such an entry-level system, and the nearly $10,000 Mach V, be justified? What’s the difference, in reality? And what’s the point at which buying more powerful hardware results in diminishing returns? We’ll tackle all of that today, and more.

This podcast features Matt Smith, Brad Bourque and Greg Nibler.

Close to the Metal is a podcast from Digital Trends that focuses on the geekier side of life. It tackles the topics PC enthusiasts argue over in language everyone can understand. Please subscribe, share, and send your questions to podcast@digitaltrends.com. We broadcast the show live on YouTube every Wednesday at 1pm EST/10am PST.

Matthew S. Smith
Matthew S. Smith is the former Lead Editor, Reviews at Digital Trends. He previously guided the Products Team, which dives…
TWB Podcast: SpaceX triumph, Spotify vs. Apple Music, Apple Watch health
trends with benefits spacex tesla spotify apple watch twb full

SpaceX has reinvigorated space exploration: There can be no doubt that putting a cherry red Tesla Roadster into space, as part of the Falcon Heavy X rocket launch on 2/ 5/18, captured the world's attention. It showcased what vision, ability, talent and a whole lot of money, can accomplish. The question now is what will Elon Musk do next? One would imagine that investors are clamoring to pour more money into future projects. This was also the world's greatest ad campaign for Tesla, for which there are some pretty bold plans in their own right. A letter was sent to shareholders stating that they are planning to send an autonomous Tesla car on a coast-to-coast trip in 2018.

Spotify vs. Apple: When it comes to overall users, there is no question that Spotify is the current leader in streaming music services. They have millions more subscribers (approximately 70 million total) than their closest rivals. However, Apple Music is now claiming to have 36 million of their own and according to the Wall Street Journal, is growing at nearly double the rate of Spotify. So, who do you use for streaming music and why?

Read more
Between the Streams: Venomless trailer, Game of Thrones Star Wars, ‘Solo’ time
between the streams

DT’s weekly entertainment show, Between the Streams, is your guide to all of the hottest, most important, and (of course) dumbest new developments in streaming and entertainment, providing a handy recap of the week that was and a preview for what's ahead. Follow us here at 2 p.m. PT every Friday, or add us via RSS, iTunes, or Stitcher at the links below to take BtS on the road!

      

Read more
How to photograph ghosts — get an iPhone (Samsung cameras won’t work)
how to photograph ghosts julie rieger crabman color circled

Forget selfies and sunsets, any ordinary iPhone can be used to take pictures of something far more intriguing: the spirit world.

Julie Rieger is the biggest of Hollywood bigwigs; she’s president, chief data strategist, and head of media at 20th Century Fox, where she’s worked on a few little films like Avatar, Deadpool, The Fault in Our Stars, and more. And in addition to being one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, she’s an avid ghost photographer -- in fact, she wrote the book on it.

Read more