Origin Genesis Review: Triple Titan Terror
by Ryan Smith on April 23, 2013 9:00 AM ESTAs some of you might recall, as part of NVIDIA’s GTX Titan launch NVIDIA not only sent out individual cards, but also some custom concept systems to showcase the unique aspects of Titan. Specifically its high quality construction and how its blower-style cooler means it can be exploited to pack high performance systems into relatively small spaces. NVIDIA shipped us two such concept systems, a small form factor (SFF) Falcon Northwest Tiki, and at the opposite end of the spectrum was the obscenely powerful tri-SLI Origin Genesis.
Of course that was almost two months ago, and there’s no getting around the fact that as the reviewer assigned to the Genesis I’ve ended up turning in this review very late. An initial delay to focus on the Titan launch turned into a serious illness, followed by not one but two conferences, two more video card launches, and some other fun stuff in between. So living up to the motto “better late than never”, now that everything has settled down (relatively speaking) I can finally pick back up where I left off and finish our look at Titan with the final piece of the puzzle: Origin’s monster gaming machine.
With the Genesis the idea was that Origin would put together a triple Titan system to showcase just how quiet Titan’s blower-style coolers were even when the cards were tightly packed together. Instead Origin unexpectedly exceeded NVIDIA’s specifications and was able to get three Titans hooked up to water in time for the Titan launch. The end result somewhat defeats the original purpose of sending the system out – we can’t tell you what three stock Titans sounds like – but in the end we got something far more interesting: three Titans hooked up to water, creating a tri-SLI system effectively unrestrained by heat and cooled by one of the only things quieter than NVIDIA’s blowers. Ultimately if one Titan on its own is powerful, then three Titans is nothing short of obscene. This is the same sentiment behind the Origin’s Genesis system we’re reviewing today.
In Origin’s product lineup, Genesis is Origin’s brand for their line full-tower computers. As a boutique builder, Origin uses a number of different configurations on their Genesis lineup, offering multiple CPU/motherboard combinations and multiple cases under the same Genesis heading. As a result Genesis spans everything from relatively simple systems to XL-ATX monsters.
The Genesis system we’ll be looking at today is positioned at the top end of that lineup, and is intended to be the fastest thing that can be put together in an ATX form factor. Sparing no expense, Origin has assembled a Genesis system that packs in Origin’s best components, best cooling, greatest overclocks, and highest price tag. Based around the combination of a Corsair Obsidian 800D case, NVIDIA’s GTX Titan, and Intel’s X79/SNB-E platform, it’s a luxury computer like no other.
With that thought in mind, let’s take a look at just how a $9,000 luxury gaming computer is built and configured.
Origin Genesis (2013) Specifications | |
Chassis | Corsair Obsidian 800D |
Processor |
Intel Core i7-3970X (6x3.5GHz + HTT, Turbo to 4.0GHz, 4.9GHz Overclock, 32nm, 15MB L3, 150W) |
Motherboard | Intel DX79SR(X79 Chipset) |
Memory | 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1866 (expandable to 64GB) |
Graphics |
3x NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan 6GB in SLI 3x (2688 CUDA cores, 837/6008MHz core/RAM, 952/6208MHz Overclock, 384-bit memory bus) |
Storage |
2x Corsair Neutron GTX 120GB SATA 6Gbps SSD (LAMD), RAID-0 Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200-RPM SATA HDD |
Optical Drive(s) | Hitachi-LG 14x BD Burner |
Power Supply | Corsair AX1200i |
Networking | 2x Intel 82579L Gigabit Ethernet |
Audio |
Realtek ALC892 Speaker, mic/line-in, surround jacks, optical out for 7.1 sound |
Front Side |
Optical drive 40-In-1 Media Card Reader 2x USB 2.0 2x USB 3.0 IEEE 1394a Headphone and mic jacks 4-channel fan controller Koolance RP-401X2 Reservoir |
Top | - |
Back Side |
4x USB 3.0 6x USB 2.0 Optical out IEEE 1394a 2x Ethernet Speaker, mic/line-in, surround, and optical jacks 6x DVI-D (3x GTX Titan) 3x HDMI (3x GTX Titan) 2x DisplayPort (3x GTX Titan) |
Operating System | Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 |
Dimensions |
24" x 9" x 24" (609.6mm x 228.6mm x 609.6mm) |
Extras |
Card reader Custom liquid-cooling loop, CPU & GPU Custom LED lighting 80 Plus Platinum PSU |
Warranty | 1-year parts, 45 days shipping, lifetime labor and 24/7 support |
Pricing | As configured: $8,499 (+$479 paint job) |
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RonanH - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
meh, it's obviously quick, but noisy, hot and draws a hell of a lot of power. Also choice of motherboard is not great and only 2x120Gb SSD for that money I'd want a TB :p Finally no dedicated sound card. If you care that much about game visuals and are driving a surround display (otherwise why buy this) then you want the best in surround sound too.A5 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
If you're dropping $9K on a computer, you should just use the motherboard's digital output to drive your dedicated sound system (whether its a headphone amp or receiver + surround speakers).A5 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
Also, there aren't any expansion slots left due to the 3x Titans. You'd have to use a USB sound card or "settle" for 2 Titans if you didn't want to a dedicated sound system.RonanH - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
one of the reasons I said it was a poor choice of motherboard. I never thought of the digital output, I don't live in the hi-fi separates demographic I guess, nor in the $9k pc one either!Golgatha - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
Or just use the nVidia HD Audio for a lossless bitstream to an external surround sound receiver.MattKatz - Thursday, October 9, 2014 - link
It's a lot of money to drop on Origin Genesis... in my opinion there are much more price-worthy options on the market (especially now, this review is slightly old). /Matt from http://www.consumertop.com/best-desktop-guide/Ananke - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
The mobo has optical out - that is good for 5.1 surround anyway. So, you essentially use 3 or 6 projectors for video surround, and pre amp or receiver for audio. At that point the $9k computer is negligible expenditure :):):) as part of the entire setup. And yes, I have seen such.DanNeely - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
At this price we're looking at what are in effect fully custom systems; and since nVidia paid for the box as a GPU demo and AnandTech isn't setup for hifi testing anyway there wasn't any reason to put a dedicated card in. If you wanted one they'd find a combo to make it work (although looking at boards on Newegg that might mean going to an XLATX system for even more hugeness).s44 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
The best in surround sound requires HDMI from the vidcard, not a sound card. No soundcard can compare to the DAC/DSP on a dedicated prepro or AVR.bobbozzo - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
HDMI w audio may be fine for HTPC, but for gaming, you probably want video to your monitor, and audio to your stereo, so HDMI audio would just make things more complicated; you'd have to have an A/V receiver, and it'd have to be powered on anytime you want to use your computer/monitor.