iBUYPOWER Paladin XLC: Enthusiast Class
by Dustin Sklavos on September 2, 2010 3:30 AM ESTIntroducing the iBUYPOWER Paladin XLC
It's amazing how quickly reviewing a complete computer system can become dicey when dealing with as informed a readership as ours. Reviewing notebooks is fairly straightforward: since whitebox machines have mostly evaporated from the market, we can safely review the pre-built machines the manufacturers send us because they're basically the only options presenting themselves to you.
Desktops get a little trickier, where we have to ascertain not just the machine's value to a broader market, but also find the value to people who know how to spec and build their own machines. When it's something like the Dell and Acer desktops we've reviewed it's easy enough: these are machines you can recommend to friends and family without tying yourself to their continued maintenance and service. The iBUYPOWER Paladin XLC we have on hand to review is another beast entirely.
This is a machine that falls very much in line with the kinds of computers we as the reviewers and many of you as the readers are capable of assembling. But there are also readers who don't want to go through the hassle of building and tuning a gaming machine, and readers for whom a machine like this will be their gateway into the world of tweaking, tuning and overclocking. And I'm reasonably sure there's at least one granny out there somewhere aching to pwn n00bs in Modern Warfare 2, a seasoned veteran of first person shooters who refuses to stoop to using a console controller. Ultimately we need to determine what iBUYPOWER brings to the table compared to what you can do on your own, alongside how capable the machine itself is.
| iBUYPOWER Paladin XLC Specifications | |
| Processor |
Intel Core i7-930 @ 3.5GHz (184MHz Bclk with x19 multiplier) (spec: 4x2.8GHz, 45nm, 8MB L3, 130W) |
| Chipset | Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R rev. 2 Motherboard with X58 chipset |
| Memory | 3x2GB A-Data DDR3-1600 @ 1480MHz (expandable to 24GB) |
| Graphics |
2x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 1280MB GDDR5 in SLI (448 CUDA Cores, 607MHz Core, 1215MHz Shader, 3.3GHz Memory, 320-bit memory bus) |
| Hard Drive(s) |
Kingston 64GB SSDNow! V2 Series SSD (OS drive) Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gbps (Data drive) |
| Optical Drive(s) | LG 10x BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW |
| Networking | Realtek Gigabit Ethernet |
| Audio |
Realtek ALC889 HD Audio speaker, mic, line-in, and surround jacks for 7.1 sound |
| Front Side |
Optical Drive Three open 5.25” bays MMC/SD/CF/MS reader |
| Top |
2x USB 2.0 eSATA port Headphone and mic jacks Power and reset buttons Fan controllers |
| Back Side |
2x PS/2 S/PDIF and TOSlink digital audio jacks 4-pin and 6-pin FireWire ports 2x Combo eSATA/USB 2.0 ports 4x USB 2.0 2x USB 3.0 (blue) Gigabit Ethernet jack Speaker, mic, line-in, and surround jacks 4x DVI-D 2x Mini-DisplayPort AC Power |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
| Dimensions | 25.74" x 21.32" x 8.74" (WxDxH) |
| Weight | 24.25 lbs (case only) |
| Extras |
850W NZXT HALE90 Modular Power Supply Asetek 570LX 240mm Liquid Cooling NZXT Phantom Case Wired keyboard and mouse Flash reader (MMC/MS/CF/SD) Overclocked from warehouse |
| Warranty | 3-year limited warranty and lifetime phone support |
| Pricing |
Starting at $1,459 Priced as configured (9/02/2010): $2,278 |
As you can see, it's an awful lot of computer. The big pop-out is the Core i7-930 overclocked to 3.5GHz, with the overclock done largely to the Bclk to bring up memory and uncore speeds. iBUYPOWER calls the overclock their "Level 3 Powerdrive Overclocking"—bringing a 25% overclock to the processor core with it. Intel doesn't ship any processors that hit this speed at stock, so right there you can assume at least some measure of bang for your buck: iBUYPOWER ships you a computer with a processor faster than Intel's specs for the i7-975, already stability tested and ready to go. There's even an Asetek watercooler attached to the 930 to keep temperatures (and noise levels) down.
iBUYPOWER backs up the i7's gaming prowess with a pair of GeForce GTX 470's in SLI. This level of performance should be a known quantity to most of our readers by now, but for reference sake, this is a pair of NVIDIA's second-fastest single-chip cards, each sporting 448 of NVIDIA's CUDA cores. They run at clock speeds of 607MHz on the core, 1215MHz on the shaders, and 1.2GB of GDDR5 on each running at an effective 3.3GHz. The 470 is generally a match for AMD's Radeon HD 5870, and SLI has been demonstrated to scale extremely well. If there's one thing that should give a potential buyer pause, though, it should be the amount of heat generated by these cards. The GA-X58A-UD3R motherboard is fantastic (I actually run one in my personal system), but it doesn't allow the user to space the cards to NVIDIA's specifications. The two are right next to each other and as we'll see later, this causes some issues.
The rest of the build is fairly well rounded. iBUYPOWER includes a speedy 64GB Kingston SSD as the operating system drive and pairs it with a 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black, one of the newer models with 64MB of cache and support for SATA 6GBps (connected to the motherboard's 6GBps port, naturally.) Memory duties are handled by 6GB of A-DATA DDR3-1600 running in triple-channel; memory brands are often matters of taste and religion (personally I swear by Corsair), but the A-DATA RAM should be fine. There's also a blu-ray reader, DVD-writer combo drive and a multi-card reader.
Finally, everything's housed in one of the new NZXT Phantom cases, and that's going to be a matter of taste for many people. Personally, I think it looks like a Transformer that turns into an Imperial Stormtrooper; it's attractive in a tacky, kitschy way. The fan controls on the top are a nice touch and the multitude of fans built in run nice and quiet. iBUYPOWER opts to use an NZXT Hale90 850W modular power supply as well, which is enough to keep the GeForces and overclocked i7 well fed while having plenty of reserves for future upgrades.
Also of note is that iBUYPOWER includes all of the extras that would have come with these parts had you built the machine off-the-shelf, along with an abnormally cheap-looking branded keyboard and a branded optical mouse of equally non-descript origins.
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Chaser - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
...and they were outstanding to me when I bought my IC7 about a year ago. Mine is flawless and rock solid. They were stout professionals every step of the way and after sales support, even though I haven't had to use it hardly ever was top notch.Enjoying
erple2 - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
Yet another baseless, pointless rant that doesn't contribute to the conversation. Now that I think about it, you should add this post to that list.I find nothing on a google search other than some irate customers complaining about what I can only believe are personal issues. The vast majority of users seem to like this company. In fact, on reselleratings, they score better than industry average (and by a fairly good amount, at least in the last 6 months).
I can only conclude that you're angry at something, and taking it out in a forum.
espressojim - Friday, September 3, 2010 - link
I had to return my machine. DOA on shipment, and all of the money I paid extra for (nice cable routing, sound dampining) wasn't there.At least they refunded my $$$ in full once I complained sufficiently. My story is at:
resellerratings. I'm glad I got less lazy and built my own - it was cheaper, had better parts, and has a better build due to me actually caring.
Lazlo Panaflex - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
Looks like something Darth Vader would build his rig in ;-)Bolder63 - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
This was a few years ago my PC mobo had gone bad and it was old enough to warrant building a replacement. Shortly after this happened I had a medical emergency and was hospitalized. I saw a PC advertised with IBUYPOWER that had similar specs to what I had in mind to build.I went ahead and bought the rig from them. When it arrived it was packaged in the box the PC case came in with no interior packaging or anything more that the case itself had to start with. The dual slot video card had not been inserted into the mobo properly and in shipping had damaged the PCI-E slot. The power supply had obviously been installed in the case after the mobo as the builder had pried the sata connectors 90 degrees to fit it in, damaging them as well.
I called IBUYPOWER, to find that getting a CSR on the phone was a whole new exercise in patience. I got them to send me an RM to ship it back finally. The 2nd time it came back it was still packed in the same case box which now had even less packing material. The PC was still unacceptable as the replacement mobo had received the same careless handling. Round 2 with the CSR and the manager himself. Sent it back again 3rd time it came back it had obviously been assembled by a different person it was much better than the previous 2. The packaging still sucked but someone had put some packing in the case and the video card had not destroyed anything this time.
The PC worked ok for maybe 3 months before I had to replace the power supply and video card and ultimately the mobo as well.
Due to my experience with this company I would NEVER buy ANYTHING from them again.
jamyryals - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
was the hospital stay nice at least?adonn78 - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
I think the Nvidia 400 series runs too hot. SLI is definitely overkill but you never know what you'll need 3 years from now. I would have only had one video card or gotten 2 less expensive ones such as 2 5770's crossfire. and gotten a 120GB Sandforce SSD drive.jed22281 - Thursday, September 2, 2010 - link
Does anyone know if it has any notable improvements over the original LCLC 240mm?How so exactly?
The LCLC 240 was purchasable on it's own in limited volumes, does anyone know if this will be?
Thank-you!
7Enigma - Friday, September 3, 2010 - link
I'm interested in knowing this as well. Honestly I thought the overall review was lacking in several areas. The reviewer mentions it was loud and power hungry (calling the overclock amatuerish which I agree with) but doesn't put any data up to support this?Hopefully it was just forgotten and the article will be updated shortly...
jed22281 - Friday, September 3, 2010 - link
Hmmm....You don't get emailed if someone responds to your post, that blows!
I'm finding it almost impossible to determine if the 570LX is just a re-badged LCLC 240mm.
I strongly suspect it is, & even if it isn't, I guess that's irrelevant if it can't be bought on it's own!
Although I have found one retailer (NZ oddly enough) that claims to sell it.
http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=216/...
But I have suspicions it's not what they claim it is....