Falcon Northwest FragBox (2016) review: A compact powerhouse for VR and more

The FragBox by Falcon Northwest is a gaming desktop you could say we've had some experience with. This compact powerhouse has reinvented itself over and over again, and the latest version is packed with new components for an unmatched virtual-reality experience, in a chassis that's about a small as any Oculus Rift- or HTC Vive-ready desktop gets.

8.4

Falcon Northwest FragBox (2016)

The Good

The Falcon Northwest FragBox can fit two brand-new graphics cards into an very compact chassis, and configurations are incredibly flexible. Performance, as expected, is outstanding.

The Bad

Even basic configurations are expensive, and just adding a single paint color to the box drives up the price quickly. The tightly packed interior makes it hard for tinkerers to swap components as easily as in bigger desktops.

The Bottom Line

The Falcon Northwest FragBox can be configured anywhere from pricey to super-expensive, but making a big investment in this expertly assembled compact gaming desktop is a way to future-proof against the next generation of VR and 4K gaming.

Before this, the most recent full review of a FragBox is from 2013, when it featured a fourth-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 GPU, and Windows 8. The oldest review I could find on CNET was from 2003, when the FragBox, in an earlier version of its toaster-like case, ran a Pentium 4 CPU, an Nvidia GTX 5600 GPU, and Windows XP.

That's all to say, this company and this compact gaming desktop line have been around for a while. When we slotted the latest FragBox into our roundup of gaming PCs equipped with Nvidia's newest GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards, it stood out in a couple of ways. It was obviously the smallest, although the Alienware Aurora and Acer Predator G1 are fairly compact as well, but it also squeezed two new full-size video cards into its cozy case. Most PC makers dare only do that with a larger chassis that has plenty of room for fans and airflow (after all, liquid cooling can only do so much on its own).

But if you peer through the vent holes on top of the case, you will indeed see not one, but two new Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 cards, packed tightly together. It's a feat of expert system building and cable bundling, and what's more, even under heavy use the aluminum exterior never gets very hot (although it's definitely on the high side of warm). The system fans, while audible at times, don't have that loud hurricane effect that some gaming systems do.

This particular configuration is meant to impress. It has an Intel Core i7-6950X CPU, which is the current top-end of the line, along with those two Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics cards. There's a stunning 64GB of RAM inside, as well as a 512GB SSD and 6TB of platter hard-drive space. That came out to $5,727 on Falcon Northwest's online configurator, but if you drop some of those more exotic add-ons (like the 64GB of RAM), a very reasonable configuration can be had for around $3,500. Falcon Northwest ships to countries such as and UK and Australia, but shipping costs and tariffs can add to the price. As configured, our review unit works out to £4,342 and AU$7,687.

That's all inside a box that measures 10.5 x 15.5 x 7.6 inches and weighs 28.3 pounds (12.8kg). To make travel a little easier, there's a curved metal handle on the top. Our unit was painted a deep red, and extra colors like this add a hefty $355 to the price.

Of course, if you're spending this much on a gaming PC, you want to know it performs. No surprises here; this can run any new game at max settings. Even the notoriously tricky PC version of No Man's Sky ran amazingly smoothly with all settings maxed and at full 4K resolution. The new Deus Ex: Mankind Divided also ran great at 4K resolution and Ultra detail settings.

Virtual-reality gaming was likewise no problem, and unlike gaming PCs that just meet the minimum specs for Oculus and Vive, there's a certain amount of future-proofing built in here, as VR games will only get bigger and more complex in the coming year.

Conclusion

At this high-end level, the handful of desktops we've tested with dual Nvidia 1080 cards and Core i7 X-level processors all performed similarly, so you're choosing between the brand names, available case designs, and extras such as overclocking.

Based on the cost of the actual components inside, this Falcon Northwest is still a very premium-priced product. But what you're investing in is not just a pair of high-end graphics cards and a big hard drive, but rather the expert build quality and testing before you get the system, and the high level of hands-on service and support after, in case there's a problem or you need some tech support help. This is one of only a handful of boutique PC companies I feel confident in saying that about.