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FIC Condor Small Form Factor Reviewed

Posted by michael on from the bigger-than-a-breadbox dept.

VL writes "A gamer's best friend? That's FIC's catch phrase, and we take them to task in our latest review. 'FIC put together a nice little barebone PC, but missed on some important features that enthusiasts have come to expect. While it's no slouch in gaming, it does not stand out in the performance department which is a shame as the design itself was well thought out.'"

4 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. Skip to page 6 for conclusions ... by xmas2003 · · Score: 5, Informative
    Looks like you gotta wade through each page (rather than be able to jump to the end) ... so for those interested in just seeing the conclusions, click here to go directly to page 6 where they write:

    Pros: Good performance, easy to assemble a system, better than average expansion options. Quiet.

    Cons: No BIOS tweaks possible. Mere 200W PSU. Poor onboard audio.

    --
    Hulk SMASH Celiac Disease
  2. Re:Nightmare by Orgazmus · · Score: 2, Informative

    Its made for gamers, not techies. ;)

    --
    The system had the verbosity of HTML combined with all the readability of compiled assembly viewed as bitmap images
  3. Once you get an SFF Machine, you'll never go back. by wernst · · Score: 5, Informative
    I've been building my own machines since my first 486-33, and they've always been tall beige towers. I travel to a few gaming conventions a year, plus occasionally lug it to a client's facility for troubleshooting.

    When the first SFF (small form factor) machines came out, I was interested, but they were very limited with low-rent technology. That's not the case anymore. You want a PCI Express, or the latest Athlon-64, or maybe you want a steady-as-a-rock Intel 865 chipset and matching P4? There are well built SFF machines that fit the bill, and all you give up are PCI slots.

    My latest gaming machine is a Soltek 3401 (review at http://www.sfftech.com/showdocs.cfm?aid=464) with what was at the time the highest-end stuff, a P4 at 3 Ghz, a Radeon 9800XT, and to get a real gameport, a SB Audigy in the only PCI slot, along with two optical drives. The resulting machine is rock-steady, even overclocked and running 24/7 and playing all the latest games. Plus, it is a snap to travel to conventions with - it came with its own backback and I can check it in as a carry on. Bringing it to clients' is no problem either.

    This computer is the quietest I've ever had (save for the fanless, hard driveless Apple //e) and extremely reliable. When at conventions, it stays just as fast and delivers gameplay just as good as any of those modded, neon-lit monsters other folks bring, but at 1/3 the size.

    Though this FIC board doesn't seem to be very overclockable, most Shuttles and Solteks are. And don't worry about SFF power supplies - they are designed to be efficient and work well despite their low wattage ratings. Just try some high-end cards and be prepared to see them work fine.

    If the idea of an SFF machine interests you, check out the reviews and ask around at the forums of http://www.sfftech.com/. I'm glad I did.

  4. Kinda silly how this is 'new'.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative
    I've had one of these things for about 3 months, now. They've been out for well over six months. While, yeah, it's not the optimum gaming machine (200 watt psu, so really no option for a huge video card), it's great for these factors alone:
    • It's small
    • Extremely quiet (I can hear my roomate's 24" floor-standing fan over this case - and that's 10feet down the hall and behind a closed door)
    • Inexpensive (as far as the small form factors go)
    Sure it's unique cooling design means I can't stack things on top of my computer (the main exhaust is the PSU and a vent on top of the case). It may be a little bit taller than most SFFs, but it's a little bit skinnier too. The pictures on that page really don't do the little bugger justice: it's quite handsom. The audio and USB jacks on the front? Yeah, they're a little odd - and I don't use the optical audio out, because I have an older vacuum tube audio system. I do, however, absolutely love> the front headphone jack. Another nifty thing about this case is something really odd about the power supply - it has a switched power output. Yeah, like OLD cases used to have, so you could plug your monitor into it and have it come on when you turn your computer on (and off when you turn it off). Being that I never turn my computer off, it's not that big of a deal - but it's a nifty feature nonetheless. I really don't see being unable to tweak clock settings as a bad thing. I don't like overclocking my hardware anyway. As a basis for a mid-range mid-price gaming machine, it just kicks butt. The fans monitor the temperature (Yeah, I wish I could too - but I don't have to) and turn the speed up if it gets too hot. Running at their normal idle speed, they are close to silent. It's a build it and forget it machine. Yeah, you can go in and upgrade things if you like, but I don't foresee the need to upgrade for another four years (I was running a p3-800mhz / kyro (and then geforce3) system up until 3 months ago, played everything fine.. and then I wanted to play doom3). I'm running a p4 3ghz (ht) with 512mb ram and a radeon 9600. Maybe I can't play doom3 at 1600x1200, but really.. I don't care. I like my little machine :)