Overdrive PCs are the systems I watch when I want to see if I can push my benchmark tests just a bit further. The Overdrive PC Core2.SLI ($7,190 direct, $7,890 with 24-inch widescreen LCD monitor) is such a beast, one that pushed my expectations of performance higher into the stratosphere. This is a gaming system without apologies, and while it is loud due to its air-cooled nature, it isn't quite as obnoxious as some of the competition. This is a gaming PC for those who like to brag about their gaming frame rates to their friends after giving them rides in their new Lamborghini.

The Overdrive Core2.SLI comes in the familiar Coolermaster case I've seen in previous Overdrive systems. It's a good case with excellent airflow. This is important, because Overdrive's philosophy is to eschew esoteric cooling whenever possible. That's right, folks, this is an air-cooled dual core E6850 system running 4.0GHz (up from the stock 3.0GHz). Most other gaming systems use sealed liquid cooling or water-cooling at this level to keep the CPU or graphics processors from melting.

The system's case is built for expansion, it's easy to open, and the motherboard is mounted on a tray that slides out of the back of the case. It would be easy to swap anything out but for one of Overdrive's signature features. The internal cables are all cut to fit and re-wrapped so they don't impede airflow (a good thing), but the cables make removing the tray difficult. One could argue that people who spend $7,000 on a PC will have someone else upgrade it for them. I'll stick by that statement, pointing out that Overdrive (like its parent company Velocity Micro) stands behind its products and will upgrade components for the price of the new components plus a nominal fee.

The SLI in the Core2.SLI's name refers to the configuration of the pair of nVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics cards that gives the system its benchmarking punch. The system got excellent scores on the 3D benchmarks overall, while earning top marks on three of them: Prey at 1,280-by-1,024 resolution (211 fps), and Company of Heroes at both 1,280-by-1,024 (326 fps) and 2,560-by-1,600 resolution (156 fps). These are scorching scores, and the real reason you pay almost $7,000 for a gaming rig, to brag to your friends. (If you're interested, the Overdrive was a mere 6 fps behind the Falcon NW Mach V (GeForce 8800 Ultra SLI): 127 fps for the Overdrive versus 133 fps for the Falcon at the Prey test at 2,560 by 1,600 resolution). The Falcon and the Dell XPS 720 H2C won the 3DMark06 drag races, but the Overdrive was a close competitor.

It's almost anticlimactic to talk about the Overdrive's multimedia performance, but the Core2.SLI got a 46-second score on the Windows Media Encoder test, while the Photoshop test took 31 seconds. This is fast compared with most mainstream systems, but the Overdrive was still edged out by the gaming box competition, particularly the Polywell P3503 and ABS Ultimate X Magnum. Both the Polywell and ABS have 10,000rpm hard drives and 1,600MHz DDR3 system memory, which helped them triumph in the multimedia benchmarks over systems with higher overclock rates.

The Overdrive PC Core2.SLI is a benchmark drag racer's dream machine. It is designed and built for those who appreciate the faster things in life, including exotic cars that can top 200 mph and gaming systems that can display 300+ fps scores on 3D games. So why no Editors' Choice? Well, even with the Overdrive's blistering performance, I believe that the design and the features in the HP Blackbird 002 has "stepped up the game" (pardon the pun) to the point that mere benchmark numbers aren't enough. You have to be able to live with the system if you pay more than $2,000, and I'm not sure I could live with myself if I paid over $2,000 extra for those few percentage points at the benchmarks, particularly when the alternative (Blackbird) is so compelling on several levels (see my review of the Blackbird 002 for why).

More Desktop Reviews: