Systemax Sabre Intel Core 2 Extreme Gaming PC
Systemax Sabre - Interior Layout & Design
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As we shift focus to the internals of the Systemax Sabre Intel Core 2 Extreme Gaming PC, we get a clearer view of what this system is made of. As we mentioned earlier, the Sabre contains a total of 4 red illuminated 80mm case fans, providing ample air exchange. What was most surprising was that the Sabre was relatively quiet considering the total number of fans. When you factor in the PSU fans, CPU fan and video card coolers, the Sabre has a total of 9 fans, yet the ambient noise was not a detractor. We're not saying the Sabre was a quiet PC, but it was relatively quiet considering the fan count.
The only item that seemed visually out of place was the CPU fan, which was blue, rather than the same color as the rest of the cooling components. This isn't a huge issue, but seeing as how it is the most visible fan aside from the intake mounted on the window panel, one would expect it to be red to match the other components.
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Underneath the blue CPU cooler is an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 processor which is complemented by 2GB of Corsair PC2-6400 DDR2 memory. The Sabre's graphics are driven by dual Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900XT PCI Express video cards in Crossfire mode. Each card comes with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, combining for 1GB of video memory. Each GPU is clocked at 620MHz while the on-board memory runs at a default speed of 720MHz (1.44Hz DDR). Both cards come equipped with oversized coolers that exhaust directly rather than relying on the chassis fans to vent the heated air. Tying the components together is an Intel D975XBX ATX Motherboard. The overview of the board's features alone can be a review in itself. Back when the Intel Core 2 Due E6700 and X6800 were released, we gave a complete overview of the Intel D975XBX, so for the sake of brevity, we recommend checking out the full breakdown here.
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In regards to storage, the Systemax Sabre Intel Core 2 Extreme Gaming PC is equipped two Western Digital 150GB Raptors configured in a RAID 0 array, combining for 300GBs of storage space. In our opinion, the hard drives were not mounted for optimal cooling. The lower three hard drive bays have an 80mm intake fan for direct cooling of the hard drives, yet instead of mounting both drives in front of the fan, only one was installed in the upper-most bay. The top-most drive pictured was mounted below the card reader and did not benefit from direct airflow from the intake fan. Ideally, we would have mounted one drive in the lowest drive bay and one in the third from bottom so that both drives would benefit from direct airflow.
Powering the Sabre was a Ultra X-Finity 600w PSU that featured a mirrored outer shell. The power cabling all sported a silver reflective finish, which worked well to enhance the red appearance when all of the internal lights were lit. The cable management was fairly neat and tidy, but no extra effort was made to neatly route and organize the Sabre's cabling.
