Falcon Northwest FragBox review: A flawless portable PC powerhouse

Price When Reviewed

$2966 baseline | $5850 as reviewed

Best Prices Today: Falcon Northwest FragBox (Intel 14th-gen)

When the day inevitably comes that I cling up my PC toolkit for good, I’m shopping for a Falcon Northwest FragBox.

That’s excessive reward coming from a lifelong PC builder. But Falcon Northwest completely nails each side of the Core i7-14700Okay FragBox I used to be despatched to evaluation, each massive and small. This diminutive desktop PC incorporates a absolutely {custom} chassis — and even {custom} followers — together with impeccable consideration to element to ship a delightfully moveable, ferociously {powerful}, and damned-quiet PC that’s simple to lug round, and it completely chews by means of every thing you throw at it.

It doesn’t cease there. The FragBox is absolutely customizable, and Falcon Northwest performs intensive burn-in testing on each system it ships. The preinstalled Windows 11 picture is splendidly clear, with not one of the bloatware and crap infesting PCs from massive field retailers. And Falcon Northwest’s intensive assist and guarantee is a scrumptious cherry on high within the off probability one thing hiccups in your construct.

I’m in love. If you possibly can afford to splurge on a Falcon Northwest FragBox, you’ll be too. There’s a cause 100 FragBoxes powered Epic’s recent Fortnite Championship in Denmark and the UnrealFest UE5 classrooms, and why Falcon Northwest is the selection of studios and superstars alike.

Let’s dig in.

Above: Watch Adam stroll by means of the design of all Falcon Northwest desktops, together with an in depth take a look at the FragBox’s inside.

Falcon Northwest’s storied historical past

Before we dig into the specifics of the FragBox, it’s price spending a second catching you up on Falcon Northwest’s background.

Falcon Northwest, positioned in Oregon, actually launched the primary prebuilt gaming PC when it rolled out the legendary Mach V in 1993, a yr after its inception. (Founder Kelt Reeves was a pilot.) Building high-performance techniques with a eager consideration to element has been baked into this firm’s DNA from the get-go.

Its custom-made computer systems aren’t constructed on an meeting line. “It’s just the way we’ve always done it: one technician building one system specifically for one client,” Falcon Northwest’s About page proudly declares. “It’s a decidedly labor-intensive and time-consuming way to produce technology products, but we believe that the finer things in life are made by caring hands.”

Falcon Northwest

It reveals, and it’s confirmed for many years. PCWorld’s personal Gordon Mah Ung reviewed the very first prototype for the FragBox ever made (dubbed the “FragBox II,” as the primary was a proprietary barebones PC constructed across the FIC Ice Cube) for Maximum PC all the best way again in 2004, giving it a sterling 9 score and the journal’s coveted Kick Ass award. “We have to admit that we didn’t expect the FragBox II to be much of a match for this year’s Dream Machine, but when Falcon showed up with this monster, we started sweating bullets. Its performance is even more amazing considering its size.”

Nearly 20 years later, the Falcon Northwest FragBox continues to be kicking ass and taking names. The quantity of uncooked firepower this tiny dice pumps out is nothing in need of wonderful.

The Falcon Northwest expertise

The consideration to element begins earlier than you even open the field. It begins once you open the different field that accompanies your order.

It’s not marketed on the Falcon Northwest web site, however each system the corporate ships comes with a “thank you” field filled with goodies: a beautiful large-sized FNW desk mat, a Falcon Northwest-branded espresso mug, a package deal of scrumptious “Falcon Fuel” espresso that Full Nerd regulars already know tastes completely scrumptious, and a signed notice from founder Kelt Reeves. It’s a pleasant shock once you’re spending up for a top-tier {custom} PC.

There’s a sensible side to it as properly. The secondary field additionally contains your Windows set up disc and different paperwork, further motherboard equipment, and a folder that’s jam-packed with web page after web page of useful, deeply nerdy info.

Falcon Northwest

Not solely will you discover an bill together with your order quantity, gross sales rep’s title, and detailed breakdown of all of your {hardware} and Windows model, you’ll additionally discover a transport guidelines that the corporate makes use of to make sure every thing you ordered is within the field. But it goes even deeper! A second QA guidelines (seen above) meticulously chronicles each side of your system, together with superbly nerdy particulars like your RAM timings; which XMP profile was activated; RAID storage particulars (if relevant); which particular video games had been used to check system stability; varied BIOS and driver model put in; your {hardware}, software program, and “second check” technicians; and a complete lot extra, as proven under.

You’ll additionally discover one other web page devoted to the efficiency outcomes your PC spat out throughout burn-in testing. You’ll discover particular person scores for Unigine’s Heaven and 3DMark’s Timespy and Firestrike GPU benchmarks, Cinebench for CPU testing, Crystal Diskmark outcomes for SSD efficiency, particulars a few long-term Memtest86+ burn-in take a look at to verify your reminiscence is all set, and PCMark 10 scores to gauge whole-system efficiency. Falcon Northwest additionally contains the utmost reported temperature every of your main elements reached throughout its burn-in exams. It’s splendidly thorough — and deeply insightful when you’re a geek who can parse what these scores imply.

Falcon Northwest

If you’re not a benchmark-spewing nerd, you’ll recognize the useful multi-page Starting Guide that Falcon Northwest contains, which covers every thing from the preliminary {hardware} setup, suggestions to verify your laptop’s all-in-one cooler doesn’t gargle, driver and replace recommendation, easy methods to hold your system clear and operating quick, easy methods to use the Windows USB rescue drive, and extra. Another illustrated diagram within the FragBox’s container describes how the airflow for the tiny system works, offering steering on easy methods to place it for greatest efficiency.

Finally, Falcon Northwest’s welcome packet additionally describes the corporate’s beneficiant guarantee. In addition to a 30-day a reimbursement assure and a three-year guarantee that covers components and labor, you get a yr of Falcon Overnight service. If you encounter a critical {hardware} drawback that may’t be fastened with a name to FNW’s U.S.-based technical assist, the corporate will “pick it up via overnight courier, correct any problem, fully test the system, and overnight it back to you.”

That’s a perk no different main laptop firm affords. Falcon Northwest says it’s in a position to take action due to the corporate’s “extremely low defect rate.” All that intensive testing I beforehand talked about ain’t only for nerd cred.

Welp, I simply spent quite a lot of phrases on stuff that isn’t even particular to the FragBox itself. But each sentence was needed — once you spend up for a {custom} boutique PC, the expertise, guarantee, and a focus to element are a giant a part of the rationale why. Falcon Northwest merely blows away the competitors right here. From the beginner-friendly beginning information to nerd-friendly benchmark outcomes, from intensive pre-shipment testing to a borderline ludicrous Falcon Overnight guarantee, Falcon Northwest does every thing it could actually to verify your system is kicking butt and operating steady.

Plus you get a rad deskmat and a few scrumptious espresso. Onto the FragBox itself!

Falcon Northwest FragBox design and construct

Falcon Northwest

You’ll be struck by the FragBox’s distinctive magnificence the second you yank it out of its transport container by its aluminum metallic deal with. Yes, a deal with; this beast is constructed for touring to LAN events or being schlepped between totally different areas once you want heavy computing firepower within the area.

Falcon Northwest’s diminutive titan isn’t fairly as small because the smallest {custom} mini-ITX PCs you possibly can construct by hand — it’s extra winter boot box-sized than shoebox-sized — however this mini-ATX monster is sort of unbelievably small contemplating the overwhelming {hardware} firepower it packs inside.

Falcon Northwest

The FragBox’s modern all-black aluminum chassis was designed in-house by Falcon Northwest to suit its demanding wants. You can’t get it anyplace else. It’s a magnificence to take a look at, punctuated by an illuminated FNW “falcon” brand on the entrance, and a discrete metallic plate engraved together with your title on the rear. The broad, swooping deal with provides this stylishly understated case an unmistakable id. It’s damned spectacular, although some edges of the case may stand to be smoothed out a bit. (The chamfered deal with itself feels great in hand.)

The case is about greater than aesthetics although. It options plentiful cooling holes punched into the lid, underneath the deal with, in addition to extra consumption/outtake holes carved out in exact areas on the edges and backside of the case to maximise airflow for this rig’s precise dimensions.

Falcon Northwest

Despite the insane configuration in my FragBox evaluation unit — an Intel Core i7-14700Okay, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition, 4TB SSD, and 96GB of high-clock reminiscence — Falcon Northwest’s rigorous design manages to maintain it operating cool and quiet with simply 4 inside followers. Four. And in a testomony to FNW’s impeccable consideration to element, two of these 4 followers are custom-made 120mm models designed to supply loads of airflow on to the RTX 4090 FE. These run at simply 6,000 RPM out of the field in order that they’re virtually silent! Dual 140mm followers on the opposite facet spherical out the consumption cooler, with air flowing out by means of the CPU cooler’s 280mm radiator and followers on the high of the case.

Even the underside of the case is properly thought out; not solely is it simply as lovely as the remaining, but it surely contains rubber toes for sound and vibration dampening. Given how quiet this rig runs, it’s a really welcome contact.

Falcon Northwest

On the entrance of the case you’ll discover two type-A USB ports, a type-C USB port, a mix mic/headphone jack, and the ability button. The rear of my evaluation unit additionally got here brimming with ports, courtesy of the Asus TUF Gaming B750M Plus WiFi motherboard inside, however your configuration will rely on the motherboard of your selecting.

Falcon Northwest FragBox software program and out-of-the-box expertise

Before we delve deeper into the {hardware} of my evaluation unit, I wish to contact on Falcon Northwest’s out-of-the-box Windows expertise. No shock right here: It’s excellent.

The prebuilt PCs you purchase from the foremost multinational corporations and massive field retailers virtually universally come slowed down with intense quantities of bloatware: antivirus trials, Dropbox trials, varied mobile-esque video games, subscription service trials, and on and on. That’s as a result of PC makers who pump out an identical techniques on a manufacturing unit line earn a bit of additional cash for every of these software program installations. Slapped into 1000’s of techniques, it pays off, despite the fact that most individuals I do know hate it.

Falcon Northwest’s FragBox has none of that.

Instead you’ll discover a remarkably clear desktop with not one of the crap, similar to you’d get if a PC fanatic constructed your laptop with a clear {custom} Windows picture (which is actually what you’re paying for right here). Falcon Northwest ships its techniques with all the newest drivers and BIOS updates already put in. You simply flip in your system, it boots in mere seconds, and also you’re able to rock.

It’s a stark, welcome distinction to the standard prebuilt PC expertise, and one other instance of Falcon Northwest really nailing each side of the FragBox.

Falcon Northwest FragBox {hardware}: Ultimate customizability

Falcon Northwest

The {hardware} contained in the FragBox is absolutely customizable once you place your order. Despite its tiny stature, the system can assist some really ferocious firepower, as evidenced by my no-compromises take a look at unit.

The FragBox starts at $2,966, outfitted with a Core i5-14600Okay, a PNY GeForce RTX 4060 Verto, an Asus TUF Gaming B750M Plus WiFi motherboard, a 2TB Kingston Fury SSD, 32GB of 6000MHz Kingston Fury RAM, Windows 11 Pro, Falcon Northwest’s {custom} 280mm all-in-one liquid cooler, and a SilverStone SX SFX-L Platinum 1000 watt energy provide.

But you possibly can change most of that.

Every side of the internals are as much as your selecting. You can select from Intel or AMD, Radeon or GeForce, client GPUs or workstation GPUs, a number of Kingston Fury RAM capacities and speeds, as much as 4 totally different storage drives, which model of Windows you need, and so forth. Falcon Northwest may bundle in high-quality screens, peripherals, and surge protectors if you’d like. Pretty a lot the one issues that may’t be modified are the ability provide and {custom} FNW AIO, that are wanted to suit the FragBox. You may even choose what model of FNW brand faceplate you need, or ask for a {custom} high-quality UV print to adorn your case.

Falcon Northwest

And for the reason that FragBox is constructed with commonplace PC elements, it affords a ton of enlargement and upgradability.

Because of that excessive degree of customization it’s exhausting to evaluation the FragBox as a standalone set of {hardware} specs. Few techniques are the identical, and every is constructed and examined by hand. If you realize your workload wants however aren’t certain which components you require, the corporate’s gross sales workforce may work with you to assist configure a rig centered firmly on the duties you sort out.

My Falcon Northwest Fragbox configuration and efficiency

I bought a style of that when establishing this evaluation unit. Founder Kelt Reeves needed to indicate off the ability of the brand new Intel 14th-gen FragBox, however requested me what I’d envision utilizing a PC like this for. As PCWorld’s resident gamer guru, I needed a system that had loads of oomph to sort out aggressive shooters and glitzy 4K video games alike, however with sufficient supporting {hardware} to stash loads of recorded gameplay clips and be capable to deal with video modifying if wanted. The final moveable work-and-play field, able to frag and crunch information alike.

Falcon Northwest

I needed a smaller system. Since my apartment recently burned down I’m working in a way more restricted house now, generally having to shift my workspace relying on who’s working from house that day. Enter the FragBox over a full-sized Talon or the smaller, however much less moveable Tiki mini-desktop.

Since I’m a gamer-first consumer who prefers quieter techniques, Reeves and I made a decision to go for the Core i7-14700Okay reasonably than the flagship 14900Okay. The 14900Okay is clearly sooner on the subject of content material manufacturing, however the 14700Okay continues to be nice at manufacturing and nearly simply as quick in gaming, whereas utilizing considerably much less energy (and thus operating cooler). The RTX 4090 Founders Edition isn’t solely the quickest client graphics card for gaming and video creation round, it additionally unlocks Nvidia’s superior DLSS 3 function and intensive ray tracing assist — good for each eye-dropping visuals and sooner high-quality rendering.

Since I don’t often create massive movies, this FragBox was outfitted with a single Kingston Fury Renegade 4.0 M.2 SSD (Ryzen FragBox techniques embrace PCIe 5.0 choices, however Intel m-ATX motherboards reserve these sooner lanes for GPUs) for all my recordsdata.

Falcon Northwest

The reminiscence configuration is a little bit of a flex, although. My FragBox runs a large 96GB capability tuned to 6,400MHz, for a really particular cause: It’s the biggest capability you possibly can reliably run at ultra-high speeds. While the Asus TUF Gaming B750M Plus WiFi motherboard inside has 4 DIMM slots for as much as 192GB of capability, filling up all of the DIMM slots causes speeds to drop to make sure stability. This is the quickest, largest two-stick RAM package you possibly can run on Intel’s newest platform. (You can discover 7,200MHz kits, however they didn’t go Falcon Northwest’s qualification exams; that rigorous testing and deal with high quality is one other good thing about choosing a {custom} PC construct from a boutique builder like FNW.)

All instructed, my FragBox’s specific high-end configuration prices $5,850 in Falcon Northwest’s configurator. Yes, that’s quite a lot of money, however contemplating the whole Falcon Northwest package deal and the no-compromises efficiency within the tiny, moveable FragBox chassis, it feels worthwhile — particularly when you aren’t within the hassles of DIY.

And buddies, this FragBox screams.

That shouldn’t come as a shock, because the FragBox is constructed from off-the-shelf elements, and every thing in right here is at or close to the highest of the charts. The Core i7-14700Okay and GeForce RTX 4090 are each completely ferocious in their very own proper, as is the massive, quick RAM and Kingston’s speedy 4TB SSD. Put all of them collectively and this child rips.

Falcon Northwest

We don’t have a deep stash of prebuilt desktop benchmarks to match the Falcon Northwest FragBox towards, and the purpose can be form of moot anyway, since you possibly can configure it to your coronary heart’s content material.

But relaxation assured that the FragBox roared by means of every thing I threw at it. The 14700Okay chewed up and spit out Cinebench runs, due to its 4 further E-cores in comparison with the 13700Okay, and video games ran buttery clean in full constancy even at 4K decision. Most video games run at properly over 100 frames per second even with out DLSS enabled, whereas Cyberpunk 2077’s Ultra preset cruised properly previous 70fps at native decision. Turning on ray tracing drops that, in fact, however correspondingly flipping on DLSS and/or DLSS 3 Frame Gen despatched body charges skyrocketing alongside all these juicy rays. Shadow of the Tomb Raider averaged over 200 frames per second!

So sure, the Falcon Northwest FragBox screams — however not actually. Despite packing all this high-end {hardware} and solely wielding 4 well-thought-out inside followers, the FragBox remained whisper-quiet the complete time I used it, even throughout essentially the most punishing duties. Component temperatures remained good and chilly too.

Ultra-powerful, ultra-portable, ultra-quiet, ultra-cool — there’s nothing I can complain about on the {hardware} entrance right here.

Should you purchase the Falcon Northwest FragBox?

Falcon Northwest

That’s true for nearly each side of the FragBox. I can’t discover something to complain about. Falcon Northwest’s deep know-how and eager consideration to element creates a flawless PC expertise, from the {hardware} to the software program to the wonderful welcome package deal and unparalleled guarantee.

The solely side it’s possible you’ll take difficulty with is the value. Falcon Northwest techniques aren’t low-cost. The FragBox starts at $2,966 and our chart-topping configuration sells for $5,850. Alaina Yee, the resident deal hunter on PCWorld’s Full Nerd podcast, would most likely faint simply studying that.

But high-quality perfection by no means comes low-cost. Buying the FragBox means shopping for a system that was hand-built by a single technician, utilizing components that handed Falcon Northwest’s rigorous qualification exams, after which extensively examined once more to make sure stability earlier than it ships your approach. It means getting a improbable Falcon Overnight guarantee, and a quick, up-to-date, deliciously bloatware-free Windows expertise proper out of the field. It means getting ferociously {powerful} efficiency in a a lot smaller field than you’d count on due to FNW’s custom-engineered, meticulously tuned FragBox case.

As my colleague Gordon Mah Ung mentioned when he reviewed the unique FragBox many years in the past, “Its performance is even more amazing considering its size.”

Like I mentioned on the high, there’s a cause 100 FragBoxes powered Epic’s recent Fortnite Championship in Denmark and the UnrealFest UE5 classrooms, and why Falcon Northwest is the selection of studios and superstars alike. There’s a cause FNW techniques are utilized by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs, Oculus, Lockheed Martin, Walt Disney, Nvidia, Dartmouth, and extra. Every side of this technique is top-notch. You get what you pay for.

And that’s why when the day inevitably comes that I cling up my PC toolkit for good, I’m shopping for a Falcon Northwest FragBox. I’ve by no means encountered one other PC — a lot much less a prebuilt PC — that oozes excellence just like the FragBox. Highly, extremely, extremely advisable.