WHAT'S HOT: Powered with Intel's 3.06-GHz Pentium 4 CPU, currently the fastest Pentium CPU offered, and 1GB of dual-channel DDR400 SDRAM, this Mach V earned a PC WorldBench 4 score of 128. That's not the fastest score we've ever seen (that honor is currently held by the Sys Performance 3000+, with a score of 136), but it's at the high end of the scale and is comparable with other systems we've seen with this configuration.

Our test system paired twin 40GB Western Digital Raptor Serial ATA hard drives connected in a RAID setup to appear as one drive (though Falcon Northwest offers different drive setups, including larger drives and cheaper parallel ATA drives). Our tests in the PC World Test Center have found that RAID setups can speed up large data transfers, but they don't make much difference for general use. The hard drives are modest compared with other RAID setups we've recently seen, such as the Gateway 700XL with its 500GB of combined drive space.

This system has the mettle for high-end gaming and for watching DVD movies. The NEC MultiSync FE991SB, a 19-inch flat-screen CRT does its part by displaying bold, bright, crisp-looking colors. The ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics board, with 128MB of DDR SDRAM memory, pumped out impressive frame rates in our high-end gaming tests, even at resolutions of 1280 by 1024 and 32-bit color depth. At those settings, we could see subtle details such as flickering shades of firelight on a dungeon wall. The card also provides an S-Video output for sending the PC signal to a TV.

Backing up the impressive images, the Monsoon Planar 14 speaker system delivered some of the loudest, clearest sound we've heard from a three-speaker (two satellites and a subwoofer) combination. The audio system uses a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card, which can play the new DVD Audio discs that are starting to appear--a boon for audiophiles. In audio tests, the speaker set pumped out rich, booming bass notes and crystal-clear trebles in vocal tracks, even at high volumes. The speaker control pad has handy knobs for adjusting volume and bass levels, plus a mute button. A headphone jack is located on the side of the control pad to use when you don't want to disturb your neighbors.

If you want to make your own entertainment, the Mach V has the goods for working with video files. The Sony 4X DVD-R/RW drive lets you burn video or data to either CDs or DVDs, an efficient way to distribute video you've created or to back up data.

WHAT'S NOT: You'll pay plenty for all the good things packed into this high-end system: At $4224, this is one of the most expensive systems we've seen in some time. Our test unit lacked a manual for the system as a whole, though we received individual manuals for most (but not all) of the major components. Conspicuously absent was a manual for the DVD-RW drive.

WHAT ELSE: Accessing the Mach V's interior doesn't require any tools. You undo four large thumbscrews and grab a small indented case tab; then the side panel slips off easily. Inside we found a roomy interior with neatly bundled cables and wires.

The midsize tower case set aside plenty of opportunities for upgrades, including five drive bays (three for removable-storage drives, and two for internal hard drives), two open RAM sockets, and three PCI slots. Eight USB 2.0 ports (two of them conveniently located on the left side of the front panel) and three FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports provide ways to attach external peripherals. To service or replace hard drives, you'll need a screwdriver to access the bay cages. Filling the open PCI slots won't require any tools, however: The bracket mounts are secured with large thumbscrews, which are easy to undo and remove.

Aside from a couple of games (Soldier of Fortune and Hitman 2), bundled software includes Pinnacle Systems Pinnacle Studio 8.0, a video editing application that can burn video to DVD; Microsoft Works Suite 2003, consisting of Microsoft Works plus the full version of Word 2002; and such home-oriented titles such as Streets and Trips 2002 and Encarta Encyclopedia 2003.

The Logitech wireless keyboard felt sturdy, and typing on it was smooth and quiet. The keyboard's large number of audio hot-keys make controlling an audio CD or digital music easy. Several programmable buttons can be set to perform tasks like kicking off an Instant Messaging program or a videoconferencing system.

UPSHOT: Gaming specialist Falcon Northwest has put together another fast, well-designed machine, but the 80GB of hard drive space is somewhat skimpy for video authoring.

SUMMARY

Falcon Northwest Mach V $