Überclok Reactor: Balanced Performance
by Matt Campbell on October 10, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Introduction
Überclok is a relative newcomer to the OEM system market. We first took a look at them while reviewing their entry/midrange Ion system and we liked what we saw. Good component choices, an honest and straightforward website, solid tweaking, and stability all conspired to give us a warm feeling. In fact, their youth and relatively unknown name (areas associated with reliability and long-term support for the consumer) was the only major flaw we pointed out. Today we're reviewing their only other model, the high-end Reactor.
We've already covered the company and the website in our Ion review, and won't rehash it here. Both the Ion and the Reactor come with a number of well-chosen options you can customize, and in general we like this segregation into two product lines. In theory, it should allow Überclok to focus on providing the best possible performance from each platform without getting bogged down in minor details. Their website still shows refreshing honesty, from their descriptions of video cards to their new Blog, and it's clear that they keep up to date with the market and adapt their strategy and product lines as the industry changes. We were sad to see the loss of the Tuniq Tower as an option, but according to Überclok it was so heavy that even with their custom foam stabilizers (which of course add to shipping hassle and cost), it was causing an unacceptable amount of failures.
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emilyek - Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - link
You could buy these parts on newegg for close to a third of that.Maybe I should start my own company. I wouldn't even need a wholesale license.
Why 1k watts? Because it's a Cooler Master PSU. You'll find lots of those in pre-builts on e-bay; they can be had cheap, and anyone foolish enough to buy that box will be totally impressed by the high number.
TheGoat Eater - Sunday, October 12, 2008 - link
as you can tell by the subject line that pictured HSF (http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/system/2008/ub...">http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/system/2008/ub... is not the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...tem=N82E... the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 has 3 heatpipes and the one pictured clearly has 6 heatpipes.Just a FYI...
Uberclok - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - link
Quite correct - sorry for the confusion. We built this unit for Anandtech ove a month ago, when we were using the Thermalright Ultima-90 HSF. Not long after we shipped it, we switched to the Xigmatek. Both are heatpipe-based air coolers, not a liquid/air hybrid as a previous poster suggested.Matt Campbell - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - link
Thanks for the catch!Zebo - Saturday, October 11, 2008 - link
Like any regular reader here is going to buy this overpriced computer.Whens Anandtech going to start reviewing the Bugatti Veyron or Caviar?
CEO Ballmer - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
These people are suing us over the "Vista Ready" stickers, this could solve the problem. All we need to do is send one of these to all of those cheap PC owners!http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com">http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
Stas - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
so, aside from the fact that I can build the same system for almost half the price, the 1KW power supply is stupidity. The efficiency cannot be more than 75% even at max load. I would put a Corsair HX520 in it, maybe 600. Cheaper and more efficient. Probably hit 85% at max load, ~80 idle.Stas - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
I guess it makes sense for the sake of marketing, as been said, that way customers could put 2xHD4870x2 in it. Which in my opinion is stupid, considering it comes with a $500 card already (just get another one of the same to match in SLI), but whatever. If it sells, it sells.GaryJohnson - Saturday, October 11, 2008 - link
I'm interested in how well it does sell. I really think these system reviews should be written from the 'here's what the competition is doing' perspective, as I think an AT reader is more likely to be selling pre-built systems than buying them.mgmason - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
Is the CPU vCore really set to 1.44 volts as we see on the bios screen, or the more reasonable 1.37? Still seems a bit high, I'm getting a stable 3.2 Ghz out of my Q9450 using only 1.22 volts. I get CPU temps of about 60 degrees under load using air cooling with an Arctic Freezer Pro 7.