V3 Gaming PC Avenger Review: A New Challenger Appears
by Dustin Sklavos on May 16, 2012 2:20 AM ESTConclusion: Odd Expectations
My time with the V3 Gaming PC Avenger has admittedly been more drawn out than I think any of us would've liked, but now that I've gotten a feel for it and put it through its paces I'm able to make some fairly educated assessments about both the boutique and the underlying hardware.
First, while I understand why the V3 Avenger is operating on the X79 platform, I still think it's overkill for the majority of users and amusingly enough, the guys over at V3 do agree. Where we diverge is on the i7-3820; this isn't the decrepit family member that the Yonah-based Core Solo was back in the day, but honestly I feel like it's a very niche product and echo Anand's sentiments. I'm of the opinion that if you're going X79, you should go big or go home: that means an i7-3930K hex-core and/or SLI.
Second, I'm sure approximately none of you are surprised to see the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 perform as well as it does on its own. This thing has been selling out consistently since release, and judging by our performance and power consumption numbers, there are very good reasons for that.
Third, running a pair of inexpensive SSDs in RAID 0 instead of just going for a single larger drive still feels like a net loss. When the notoriously SSD-friendly PCMark still defers to larger individual SSDs, the writing is on the wall. A single SSD and mechanical drive seems to be the way to go.
So what about V3 Gaming PC themselves? My experiences with them were good, but I'm also press, and that's going to skew things. With any young and/or small boutique there's always the question of their longevity, so while the system that I received was generally excellent (odd configuration choices notwithstanding), you have to evaluate whether or not you're willing to give these new guys a shot. V3 has only been around since 2010, which means that theoretically none of their desktops have ever gone out of warranty yet. That said, they've also done work locally and for the government that isn't on their site, and that speaks well to their future prospects.
If you're interested in going with V3, and I certainly think they're worth considering, I'd recommend (and I think they'd recommend as well) going with their more mainstream Convoy model. The Avenger is the top-of-the-line, "I have too much money" model, while the Convoy is the more aggressive workhorse. Ivy Bridge and Z77 (when the line is updated with them) are going to give you more bang for your buck anyhow, and bound to be more price competitive with other boutiques in general. As usual, it can pay to shop around, and having one more PC boutique to consider isn't a bad thing. Hopefully, we'll still be able to talk about V3 in another five years.
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StruckXx - Wednesday, June 6, 2012 - link
Yeah, for a vendor they are way overcharging. I buy my computers from http://IronsideComputers.com, and their prices are much more reasonable. I compared them with V3, and the price is nearly $300 cheaper and they are offering free liquid cooling and a better motherboard.Sunrise089 - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
According to the introduction this PC is supposed to avoid "paying out the nose for a system that left the price-performance curve eating the dust in its speedy wake" and that has been "designed to be as balanced a build as possible."You conclude though that "the Avenger is the top-of-the-line, 'I have too much money' model, while the Convoy is the more aggressive workhorse. Ivy Bridge and Z77 (when the line is updated with them) are going to give you more bang for your buck anyhow."
So which is it? We all know this isn't "as balanced of a build as possible," so please don't include such language if you don't think it's true. Just because a manufacturer offers some talking points to make your job easier doesn't mean you have to fall for them.
There's no shame in just opening the article by telling us that "the Avenger is another high-end boutique PC that tries to offer enough to justify it's considerable price" or something similar. It would be a lot more honest...
JarredWalton - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
"What we have in house today is a system they believe has been designed to be as balanced a build as possible."Saying that V3 is claiming this is a "balanced" system is all that the intro states; that's their supposed goal and listing that goal and then evaluating how well they succeed at achieving it is perfectly reasonable. And in the conclusion as well as elsewhere, Dustin points out several ways in which the system isn't particularly balanced. I don't see any "parroting of talking points" here. If that's all Dustin were doing, the review would be a lot more favorable.
ImSpartacus - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
Yeah, I agree. I had different expectations after reading that intro. If I hadn't read that intro, I think I might've been able to judge it differently.When I think "bang-for-buck" in the boutique realm, I imagine a machine with a cheap stock quad core CPU, a bitchin single GPU, a moderate amount of RAM and an adequate storage solution.
This machine only checks one of those boxes.
DanNeely - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
Same here. The description V3 gave is something I'd put on a $1000-1500 DIY/$1200-1800 boutique system.Tunnah - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
The CPU isn't any more expensive than the none-E part so it was a good choice, you have a stronger CPU and also the better chipset, you've not ended up paying much extra for it.cknobman - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
I would never pick a build with a SSD setup like that.Then to make it worse their overclock is terrible (not speed but the voltage increase they used to get it).
Voldenuit - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
"What we have in house today is a system they believe has been designed to be as balanced a build as possible. "Balanced? A sensible *gaming* build would have been a Core i5 (or even an i3!) and a GeForce 670 tops. And replace those RAIDed 60 GB Sandforce drives with a single 128 GB Samsung 830, Plextor M3 or Corsair Performance Pro.
kyuu - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
Yeah, I have to agree with other posters: this is not a "balanced" build. The Sandy Bridge-E by itself pretty much precludes that designation. And you certainly are paying out the nose for a system that "left the price-performance curve eating the dust in its speedy wake."Although I disagree with other posters in that I think the case looks good.
sjankis630 - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
Can someone tell me why they put together a top level system and used Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit? Isn't there a limit on the ram that Windows 7 Home Premium can accept?I thought it was 16GB. Knowing an enthusiast will likely want to upgrade, why not use Windows Professional with a 192GB limit?
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/de...