I'm sure when most of you think of BFG you think of video cards. Being one of the biggest video card suppliers that is expected. Since there are no big video card announcements this year at CES BFG was not showing much, but what they were showing was very interesting. They are moving into the full custom PC market with their Phobos high performance system. It is unlike many other custom systems you can currently purchase so let's take a look...
Design and Components
Unlike many other custom system providers the Phobos system comes in a custom designed case from BFG. This case has a glossy black automobile finish and all rounded edges, it sort of has an apple-esque look to it. The external frame of the case lifts it off the ground which will help with dust if you have the case on the floor. On the front of the system you have 2 slot-loading optical drives, which keeps the front of the system nice and clean. On the top of the case there is a small panel that pops up that has your USB, firewire, audio, and eSATA connections. Back towards the middle of the case on the top there is a hidden iPod dock and will fit all iPods and even the iPhone.
Internally BFG is using the top of the line components including motherboards with the new X58 chipset and Intel Core i7 processors. After talking with BFG they said right now all systems will be using Core i7 processors to start. We are not sure if they will have an option for a Phenom II system. Also most systems will come with a liquid cooling solution. BFG say they will be using the Domino system from CoolIt.
The Touch Screen LCD
The thing that really catches your eye about this system is the touch screen LCD panel on the front of the case. Unlike most systems where the LCD on the case is just an extended desktop from your primary display or a secondary display run on windows the LCD panel is its own system, which means it will not take any resources from your system. The software that runs the display is Linux based and open source. Since the LCD panel is completely separate from the system it will remain active when your computer is turned off, you can use it as a power button and it will also display the time.
The main reason for the display is to show relevant system information to easy change system settings. You will be able to see detailed information on your CPU, video cards, memory, storage, and network. You will also be able to easily overclock the system from the LCD panel with preprogrammed modes. The LCD panel is very easy to use and very visually appealing.
In Home Service
Many people buying this type of system probably are not that knowledgeable about computers so with every purchase of a Phobos system you will get an in home setup service, free of charge. This is a required service and insures that every customer has a flawless initial experience with the system. An expert technician will setup the system for you and even transfer files from an old system onto the Phobos, all free of charge. They system also comes with a 1 year service warranty that includes 2 technician visits where they can come and clean out the system, update drivers, etc. If you want to upgrade the system BFG will also send someone out to install the new hardware for you. The 1 year service warranty also includes 24 /7 tech support.
Price and Availability
The price of the system all depends on how you configure it, every main component will have many options to choose from. To give you an idea of pricing BFG has 3 pre-configured systems:
Phobos Performance: from $3000
Phobos Advanced: from $5000
Phobos Elite: from $8000
I do not have the specs for the first 2 systems but here are the Elite specs.
- 2x BFG Nvidia GeForce GTX200 Series Graphics Cards
- Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition 3.2GHz Processor
- CoolIt contained liquid cooling system (GPU and CPU)
- MSI Eclipse SLI Intel X58-based motherboard
- Patriot 6GB PC3-12800 1600MHz Memory
- 4x Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB Hard Drives
- Slot loading Blu-ray Super Multi Drive
- BFG LS-1200 High Efficiency Power Supply
- Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 Sound Card
Affiliates
