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 |  PC World -
Nov-03-2009Maingear Announces SHIFT "Personal Supercomputer"(topic overview)
CONTENTS:
- The other model available is the SHIFT Intel X58 which comes with aqn Intel Core i7 900 series processor, the choice of either ATI Radeon HD and NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards, an EVGA X58 SLI Classified motherboard, up to 24GB of DDR3 RAM, the choice of up to 6 hard drives, or 12 SSDs, and either a Blu-ray or DVD burner. (More...)
- The two diverge on memory specs, with the P55 containing up to 8GB DDR3-1600 low latency RAM and the X58 up to 12GB DDR3-2000 or 24GB DDR3-1600. (More...)
- The press release says, "By harnessing the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU), the SHIFT can speed up everyday tasks like photo and video editing, transcoding videos for portable media devices, and upscaling standard definition video." (More...)
- Nice system, I don't know if I like the fact that all of the rear I/O connectors are on the top of the case though. (More...)
- I don't see the deal in here, way expensive to what you can arm by yourself with some pretty equal configuration. (More...)
- ATI Radeo HD and NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards are featured, and I'm sure the discerning gamer expects nothing less. (More...)
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The other model available is the SHIFT Intel X58 which comes with aqn Intel Core i7 900 series processor, the choice of either ATI Radeon HD and NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards, an EVGA X58 SLI Classified motherboard, up to 24GB of DDR3 RAM, the choice of up to 6 hard drives, or 12 SSDs, and either a Blu-ray or DVD burner. The SHIFT Intel P55 starts at $2,199 whilst the SHIFT Intel X58 starts at $2,599, both models come with Windows 7. [1] The Shift line has two''slightly''different systems available. the Intel P55 line comes with a Core i7 800 series, up to 8GB of RAM, a Intel Kingsberg P55 Extreme Series motherboard, and your choice of graphics card. Customizing starts at $2,199 for this line. Got a little more disposable income, eh? The Intel X58 line starts at $2,599 but it comes packing a Core i7 900 series, an X58 SLI motherboard and up to 12 GB of RAM. Both options of course come with the standard optical drive options, Razer speakers, liquid cooling, and Windows 7. Yeah, these computers are serious. We just can't wait to see how serious they are once the benchmarks start rolling in.[2]
Within, you'll find a vertical airflow system, a Core i7 processor, your choice of ATI or NVIDIA graphics, 8GB (and up) of DDR3-1600 RAM, up to 6 HDDs or 12 SSDs, DVD and Blu-ray options, an Asetek liquid-cooling solution, Razer peripherals, an optional Killer NIC Xeno Pro and Windows 7 running the show. The Intel P55 rig gets going at $2,199, while the X58 model starts $400 higher; for those in creative design fields, Maingear's expected to unveil a SHIFT just for you in the near future.[3]
General hardware includes Intel's Core i7 processor, your choice of Nvidia or ATI graphics (over a dozen configurations), 3GB to 12GB of DDR3 RAM, up to 6 HDDs or 8 SSDs, a liquid cooling system, optional Blu-ray and plenty of other options, like the ability to have your system factory-overclocked.[4]
As for all that "supercomputer power?" Well, the SHIFT is available with Core i7 processors in in P55 or X58 motherboards, with liquid CPU cooling.[5]
The new SHIFT line of desktops use extremely powerful components - Intel Core i7 and Xeon CPUs, high-performance solid state drives, top of the line video cards from NVIDIA and ATI - along with some clever product design and engineering.[6] Maingear is also including a closed-loop water cooling system that allows the processor speed to be boosted to more than 4.0GHz, according to the Union, N.J. -based company. That cooling technology is needed thanks to a choice of high-end components, including either the Intel i7 900 or Intel i7 800 series processors, ATI Radeon HD or Nvidia GeForce video cards, and up to either 8 GB or 24 GB of DDR3 memory.[7]
Maingear today tackled the very high end, designer category of gaming PCs with the SHIFT. The system is specially designed by Maingear with an aluminum chassis and a rare, vertically-aligned cooling system; besides using an Asetek system to cool the processor without fans, all other components point upwards and have their heat naturally vent upwards instead of front-to-back like in most PCs.[8] MAINGEAR Unleashes a Paradigm SHIFT in High Performance Computing "SHIFT" personal supercomputer redefines computing performance, design, and support System highlights include elegant design, advanced cooling, maximum expandability, and angelic customer support Union, New Jersey - November 2, 2009 - MAINGEAR Computers, award-winning builders of custom computers for PC gamers and enthusiasts, unveils SHIFT, the everyday supercomputer that will reshape the current landscape of high performance computing.[3] Maingear just launched a new range of PCs dubbed Maingear Shift, which they are calling the "personal supercomputer that redefines computing performance, design and support".[9]
'''The SHIFT bucks the trend of plastic, bloated, commodity PCs. It's a statement of our commitment to performance, reliability, and support.''' said Wallace Santos, CEO and Founder of MAINGEAR. '''Featuring vertical airflow, all the cooling necessary for today's high performance, and backed by the best technical support team in the business, MAINGEAR is committed to maintaining our lead in the market.[1] Especially for heavy multi-taskers. With our watercooling technology, even these extreme system configurations are extremely quiet. For prosumers or those looking to do more scientific computing, our SHIFT with Xeon processors will offer the most performance possible featuring dual-socket configurations for a total of 16 processing threads. Chris: Vertical airflow with a focus on cooling the most extreme GPU configurations allows us to offer configurations like triple Radeon HD 5870 in CrossFireX, something few other manufacturers can offer due to their system designs.[10]
The Shift also features user accessible expansion slots, eATX motherboard support, full sized 5.25" optical drives, multiple SATA HD configurations and room for up to 12 SSDs.''' Users can configure the Shift to fit their personal specifications by choosing an Intel processor (Core i7/Xeon) and selecting an Nvidia or ATI GPU.'''[11] Expansion - MAINGEAR's forward thinking, design includes features including user accessible expansion slots, full eATX motherboard support, full sized 5.25" optical drives, multiple SATA hard drive configurations, and up to 2 2.5" HDD in each 3.5" HDD Drive bay. Angelic Support - In an industry often characterized by poor customer support, MAINGEAR goes against the grain and offers world class support for each of its systems. Should any issues arise, each SHIFT owner is able to talk directly to the builder that assembled their system and can take advantage of virtual on-site support through an internal remote-desktop setup with privacy guarantees.[3] The SHIFT can hold up to 12 SSD drives. It supports 100% industry standard components. It's large enough for full sized, eATX motherboards. It can keep cool even the most extreme GPU configurations.[10]
The Intel or EVGA motherboards used in the Maingear's new Shift PC are rotated 90 degrees from the standard PC layout in order to allow cool air to be brought in from the bottom of the chassis and pulled up over the components, with warm air coming out the top.[7] The SHIFT's case appears to be a Silverstone Raven with a different front and top panel design. I like Maingear's sleek external design better than Silverstone's, but it's not like they invented a new type of case out of whole cloth.[5] The Maingear SHIFT features a aluminum case, with a steel skeleton, it features advanced cooling with a unique approach to bottom and top airflow and liquid cooling.[1] The Shift - which is housed in a tank-like steel skeleton - dissipates excessive heat with bottom to top airflow, aggressive liquid cooling and a 90 degree rotation of the motherboard.'''[11] Advanced Cooling - Shift employs a unique approach to cooling with bottom to top airflow, aggressive liquid cooling, and a 90 degree rotation of the motherboard.[3]
The two diverge on memory specs, with the P55 containing up to 8GB DDR3-1600 low latency RAM and the X58 up to 12GB DDR3-2000 or 24GB DDR3-1600. DVD or Blu-Ray drives are options for both rigs while a standard Asetek closed-loop liquid cooling system keeps things chilled. [12]
The base model starts high at $2,199 with a 2.8GHz Core i7, 4GB of RAM, a 750GB hard drive and a GeForce GTS 250 for video.[8] Chris: Of course the fastest configuration on record is the Core i7 975 Extreme Edition on an X58 platform. That's what we recommend to those looking for the most performance possible out of a single-socket PC. And for complex 3D or video rendering/editing more RAM equals better performance.[10]
Upgrades bring it up to a 3.33GHz Core i7 Extreme, Radeon HD 5870 cards in three-way CrossFire mode, as much as 24GB of RAM and 12TB of storage across six bays.[8]
The press release says, "By harnessing the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU), the SHIFT can speed up everyday tasks like photo and video editing, transcoding videos for portable media devices, and upscaling standard definition video." This is true - the SHIFT is available with a vareity of Nvidia and ATI graphics cards - but really any computer with these cards can do the same thing. [5] The Maingear SHIFT uses the power of graphics processing units (GPU) and is designed to speed up everyday mundane tasks like video and photo editing.[9] By harnessing the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU), the SHIFT can speed up everyday tasks like photo and video editing, transcoding videos for portable media devices, and upscaling standard definition video.[3]
Nice system, I don't know if I like the fact that all of the rear I/O connectors are on the top of the case though. I'm assuming that there must a cavity above them that gets covered with some fashion of fancy access plate. That CPU cooler looks like a de-branded Corsair H50, I have one on my i7 and it's pretty damn cool, I wish they made a similar self-enclosed liquid cooler for dual GPUs. I was gonna buy this until I read P55. They totally copied Apple on this one, and I am not even a fan of Apple let alone a Fanboy. Funny thing is, I have one of those sitting in my office gathering dust. [3] Inside is a vertical airflow system that vents air through the top of the case, and the system can be based on Intel's P55 or X58 platforms.[4] I was pretty interested when SilverStone brought out the Raven series with vertical airflow systems. This case looks nicer than the Ravens IMO, I would be interested in getting just the case if possible.[4]
SHIFT's cases are constructed from a mostly-steel allow for rigidity, and, similar to Alienware's recent designs, offer compartmentalized internals that pare off sections of the case in order to maintain heterogeneous airflow. A mouthful, I know -- but what it boils down to is that the power supply is on the bottom of the machine and enclosed within its own little box and fan setup, which vents externally and not into the case. This keeps all that waste heat, which high wattage PSUs tend to generate copious amounts of, from poisoning the cooling efforts of the other fans inside.[6] SHIFT rethinks the status quo of the high end PC industry with rigs that often feature an array of plastic, bling, and commoditized components and offers every day supercomputing in a sophisticated design with sublime, elegant lines, unmatched performance, optimal airflow, and limitless upgradeability.[3] Clean lines, understated design accents, a focus on quality materials, quiet operation, unique airflow design, and performance components combine to deliver the best end-user experience on the market. It's all wrapped up with our Angelic Service, a unique blend of top-tier phone support, virtual on-site remote desktop troubleshooting, on site service, and lifetime labor and phone support. That's the real deal maker right there.[10]
Things only get progressively more expensive from there on out. You do get a number of things for your money aside from a cool case and nice design, like what MAINGEAR is calling their "Angelic Service". It includes non-commission-based technical support, free 2-way warranty shipping for the first 30 days of ownership, free phone support and labor for the life of the system and a couple of other perks. Given what some companies and 3rd party groups like Geek Squad charge for their service and support, that $2199 price tag, while still high, is at least understandable if you're the person who's going to want or otherwise rely on extensive manufacturer support.[6] The base price for the Shift is $2,199 and comes with MAINGEAR's premium Lifetime Labor and Phone Support with 3 year hardware warranty and is backed by the best in-house support team in the country.[3]
Pricing begins at an optimistic $2,199 and $2,599, respectively, although with all the options listed above that can (and probably will) climb much, much higher. Since Shift is the only PC that Maingear going's to focus on selling from now on, I hope it works it out for them. Send an email to Jack Loftus, the author of this post, at jloftus@gizmodo.com.[12]
Storagewise, the Maingear Shift PCs are no slouches, with the ability to mix up to six SATA hard drives or 12 SSDs inside the chassis.[7] Dubious marketing aside, the SHIFT systems do look quite good. They're available with the usual boutique PC options (blu-ray drives, Intel SSDs, and so on), and feature six hard drive bays (with options for up to 12 SSDs).[5]
The case is definitely Silverstone's, check the logo on the ODD bay tabs, the hard drive bays look too much like the Raven's as does the lower back end of it. Too bad this sux in comparison to the MacPro.[3] MAINGEAR offers closed-loop watercooling along with from-the-factory overclocking up to 4GHz. There are six hard drive bays that feature built-in SATA connections such that you can basically slot in your hard drives; the bays themselves let you fit one 3.5-inch or two 2.5-inch (like SSDs) per slot.[6]
MAINGEAR's SHIFT site is up starting today, but it looks like the first orders won't be shipping until 12/12/09.[6] The latest from Maingear is the SHIFT, just announced in a press release and now available for order at the company's site. It's a good-looking computer, but I think they're going a bit too far in marketing this new rig as a "personal supercomputer."[5] Maingear's Shift PCs come with Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system, but no bloatware, which Maingear said improves performance by ensuring that no unwanted software is running or conflicting with users' applications.[7] Maingear has unveiled the SHIFT desktop PC, which is aimed at the high-end enthusiast market.[4] Maingear has unveiled a personal "supercomputer" for PC gamers and enthusiasts.[11] We'll be straight with ya -- we're betting these " personal supercomputer " claims are just a bit out of line with reality, but even still, there's no denying that Maingear ]] Maingear has shoved an insane amount of horsepower beneath the (admittedly large) hood of its newest rig.[3]
The SHIFT Personal Supercomputer is positioned to take advantage of all the next generation technology in GPU computing to greatly enhance the customer experience."[5] Chris: The SHIFT is an everyday supercomputer. It is fully balanced for both CPU-intensive applications and the next generation of GPGPU-driven applications. We feel that this focus on homogeneous computing will benefit our customer the most in the long run, especially with technologies like DirectX DirectCompute, CUDA, and Stream Processing available in Windows 7.[10]
I'll take the Mac Pro over that SHIFT any damn day. 32 Gb of RAM? Nucking Futs. This is very good if you have the money to afford one. Or you can just bulit your own PC and pick the specs that you want with less the price. To those who have the money and need a supercomputer at home this is for them.[4] The Best Configuration Mac Pro you can build on the Apple Website costs $16,136. Overkill is defined as a $16K Mac Pro, isn't it? Even if you take that Mac on 'roids, load Windows 7, (does 7 support dual CPU's, or do you need Server 2008 for that?) you still end up with a sub-par gaming rig next to this triple CrossFire Radeon 5870 HD beast with 3x 30" displays and the Intel Extreme CPU. It is the definition of excess.[4] The base P55 configuration starts at $2,199 and the X58 rig costs $400 more.[4] Systems start at $2,199 for the P55 based system or $2,599 for the X58 version, but you'll send up spending at least a couple hundred bucks more to get a really nice graphics card in there. Follow Jason Cross on Twitter or visit his blog.[5]
Prices start at $2199 and that's with an anemic (by current standards) GeForce GTS250 video card.[6]
I don't see the deal in here, way expensive to what you can arm by yourself with some pretty equal configuration. Holy pocketbook busters Batman! That thing looks so sweet, but what a price, but I would have to get the X58 configuration. I know I could use this thing to run my Mythtv setup would it be quiet enough for the den? Then again, it does have large fans is liquid cooled and has the fastest processor on the planet. [4] Chris: First and foremost, we consider what is going to mean the most to our customers at various price points. That means a balanced review of a part's performance per dollar. At different price segments it's important to balance a system configuration. That means spending your money evenly amongst the CPU, GPU, memory, HDD, etc - it's important to not to load up too much on one at the expense of the other.[10]
ATI Radeo HD and NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards are featured, and I'm sure the discerning gamer expects nothing less. [12] "Or those in creative design fields, Maingear's expected to unveil a SHIFT just for you in the near future." Too bad in the creative industry if your not using a Mac they think you are unprofessional. though I would love to have one of these in the office and put the mac snobs in their place :).[3] MAINGEAR will also be unveiling a version of the SHIFT geared specifically towards creative professionals, video production, audio editing, and CAD before the end of the year.[3]
SOURCES
1. Maingear SHIFT | Geeky Gadgets
2. MAINGEAR ups its game, announces the SHIFT high performance line
3. Maingear unveils Core i7-packin' SHIFT, your own 'personal supercomputer'
4. Maingear unveils enthusiast-oriented SHIFT desktop PC - TechSpot News
5. Maingear Announces SHIFT Personal Supercomputer - PC World
6. MAINGEAR Intros Elegant High-Performance SHIFT
7. Maingear Shifts Into High Gear With Maingear Shift PC - Hardware - IT Channel News by CRN
8. Maingear unveils minimalist, Core i7 SHIFT tower | Electronista
9. Maingear SHIFT - SlipperyBrick.com
10. Video Game News - MAINGEAR launches The SHIFT PC rig
11. Maingear Shifts into overdrive with hard-core gaming machine
12. Maingear Shift's Spartan Case Belies Meaty High Performance PC Line - Maingear - Gizmodo
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