The Falcon Northwest FragBox has a distinctive design and cool paint job with the performance to match. Its physical shape hasn't changed much in the past few years, though what's inside has evolved in line with its peers. The latest FragBox QX9650 ($4,095 direct, $4,545 with paint job) can barely contain the powerful Yorkfield XE-based Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650, overclocked from 3.0 GHz to 3.8 GHz. Along with the speedy quad-core processor, Falcon installed a blazing ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics card with two GPUs. Combined, these equal a gaming system that has the potential to keep most hard-core gamers happy. At more than $4,000, it's not cheap, but it is a bargain compared with high-end gaming PCs that start at $5,000 and reach closer to $8,000 for a similar level of performance.

The FragBox QX9650 sports the same old great FragBox case. This time Falcon Northwest is offering a "rain" effect on its automotive-style paint job; the effect costs an extra $450, but it totally makes the FragBox look unique. Each water droplet is hand painted, so no two systems are quite the same. Like a car's, the FragBox's finish is durable but also fairly easy to scratch, so keep any sharp metal objects away from it.

The interior of the case is neat and tidy, though there is no room for internal expansion. The CPU and motherboard, 1TB hard drive, four 1GB sticks of DDR2 memory, and the ATI Radeon card take up the available space. There's a PCI card slot for a wireless networking card or a sound card, but for all intents and purposes the system is full. Of course, with the blazing performance you get from this system, you really don't need to upgrade this box right now.

The package I reviewed came with a 22-inch Samsung screen, a Logitech G15 gaming-oriented keyboard, and a SilverStone Raven gaming mouse. The Raven mouse is interesting because it has a thumb spinner control that lets you rapidly change the mouse's sensitivity. This is handy for FPS (first-person-shooter) games where the accuracy of a weapon can be affected by subtle or sweeping movements during game play. An OLED screen on top of the mouse displays your mouse's settings. These peripherals are pretty much gravy, but they underline Falcon's dedication to the serious gamer.

The FragBox's performance (with one notable exception) is everything I expected of it. Thanks to the 4GB of RAM and a CPU that's overclocked to 3.8 GHz from a stock 3.0 GHz, the FragBox is one fast multimedia PC. Luckily, it's air cooled, reducing the complexity in such a speedy system. This is a good strategy, since liquid-cooling systems can be more delicate than heat sinks and fans, and the FragBox is designed to be lugged around. The Radeon 4870 X2 is also air cooled, keeping things simple. It's okay to put liquid cooling into a larger system, such as the Alienware Area-51 ALX (Radeon HD 4870 X2 CrossFireX), since the system is unlikely to move from your desk.

In testing, the system was able to complete the Photoshop test in a speedy 18 seconds, and the Windows Media Encoder test in 31. Both scores are only a few seconds slower than the best scores I've recorded on both tests (14 seconds for Photoshop, 28 for WME). This would make a great portable media (photo/video editing) box for a traveling artist, though I'd sub in a less expensive graphics card to save money.

But the "Frag" in FragBox refers to the system's 3D gaming prowess, and this rig is quite adept at keeping you alive on the game grid. The FragBox played World in Conflict at a smooth 79 frames per second (fps) at a resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 and a similarly playable 51 fps at 1,920 by 1,200. The system's Crysis scores were disappointing, at 21 fps (1,280 by 1,024) and 5 fps (1,920 by 1,200). I would consider both scores unplayable. Falcon submitted our test FragBox with an early build of the ATI drivers to meet a print deadline, so they may be improved by the time you read this. I also ran into similar Crysis issues on the Alienware ALX system housing with two Radeon 4870 X2 cards. I will retest with the new drivers sometime in the future and report the updated scores on PCMag.com. But for the purposes of this review, the system's Crysis scores are disappointing.

Compared with the other gaming systems I have on the bench now, which are part of our 2008 PC Magazine PC Blockbuster Gaming roundup, the Falcon FragBox comes out as a serious price/performance contender. It's not quite as powerful or as fast as its competitors, like the Alienware Area-51 ALX (Radeon HD 4870 X2 CrossFireX), but at around $4,100 for the unpainted (basic black) version, it's only about half the price of those systems.

The FragBox is a close contender for the title of best gaming system of the current crop. It's not quite there yet, but maybe all it needs is a driver update. I could tell you to go out and get one now to beat the rush, but I'd hold off at least until the next driver revision.

Check out the Falcon Northwest FragBox QX9650's test scores.

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