WHAT'S HOT: With a 1.333-GHz Athlon processor and 256MB of DDR SDRAM, this Talon posted a stunning PC WorldBench 4 score of 116, second only to another Falcon, the 1.5-GHz Athlon-equipped Mach V. We were also impressed with the system's 17-inch ViewSonic OptiSync PF77 monitor. Both photographs and DVD movies looked bright, with vibrant, lifelike flesh tones.

Sporting a VisionTek GeForce2 Ultra graphics board with 64MB of memory, this Talon easily supported game play all the way up to 1600-by-1200 resolution and 32-bit color depth.

WHAT'S NOT: Our judges noticed some problems in Quake III, as they did with several other PCs using the standard NVidia driver that ships with Windows XP. A driver upgrade may fix the problem.

We also noticed glitches in our test system's audio performance. The bundled Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speaker system is powerful but emitted a constant hissing from its two satellite speakers. We can't say for certain whether the problem lay in the speakers, the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live sound card that came with our review system, or a combination thereof. Though Falcon spared no expense on performance, it cut corners in some other areas. The bargain-basement Keytronics Propeller Pilot keyboard felt flimsy, with mushy, loose keys. And you're basically on your own when it comes to setting up and maintaining the machine. Our review unit lacked a system manual; Falcon provides only a few component manuals and a rudimentary setup poster. Although $1845 is not unreasonable for a souped-up gaming box, we still would expect better features for the price.

WHAT ELSE: The system's simple beige case is unexciting but solidly constructed, and it is immaculately arranged on the inside, with all cables neatly routed though the interior. A 16X DVD-ROM fills one of the five-inch drive bays, leaving three more bays open for other externally accessible drives.

UPSHOT: Equipped with a nice monitor, the Talon 3.1 is a blazingly fast system for gamers on a budget.

SUMMARY

Falcon Northwest Talon 3.1 PC WorldBench 4 score of 116, Athlon-1333 CPU, 256MB of DDR-266 SDRAM, Windows XP Home, 20GB hard drive, 16X DVD-ROM drive, Visiontek GFII Ultra graphics board with 64MB of DDR SDRAM, 17-inch ViewSonic PF77 monitor, Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live sound card, Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers, network adapter, V.90 modem, midsize tower case. One-year parts and labor warranty; free, unlimited, 9-hour weekday and Saturday toll-free tech support. $1845 888/325-2661 www.falcon-nw.com