HyperKore HK-Xtreme

By Joel Santo Domingo
7/19/2005 4:09:00 PM

The HyperKore HK-Xtreme ($3,806 direct as tested, without monitor) is undoubtedly aimed at the 16- to 35-year-old male gamer, or anyone who doesn't want a boring-looking box from one of the larger system builders (read: HP, Dell, or Gateway). It certainly isn't boring. In fact, with the scary clown graphics on the side panel, the HK-Xtreme is not for the squeamish or the coulrophobic (yes, that means "scared of clowns"). Thankfully, the system is available with a multitude of other standard side-panel graphics, including the iconic Bruce Lee, the Batman logo, and game logos like those of Half Life 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004. But for all its uniqueness and flash, there are better choices out there.

The HK-Xtreme's case is a solid, meaty one, and its front lock and included keychain evoke an automotive feel. Inside you'll find plenty of room for more hard drives and memory, and the case opens easily for access to the expansion slots. The WD Raptor C: primary drive is a little light on space, at 74GB, but it's fast (10,000 rpm), and there is a lot of room on the 250GB data drive. The HK-Xtreme we tested also came with 1GB of DDR2 SDRAM, a 3.73-GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processor, and a single nVidia GeForce 6800GT graphics card. This configuration garners respect, though there are faster cards and CPUs out there.

The HK-Xtreme's healthy scores on our gaming tests (41 frames per second on Doom 3 at 1,600-by-1,200 and 45 fps on Halo) are on a par with comparable high-end gaming systems with single-card graphics. Its SYSmark performance was very good, also on a par with systems at this level, thanks to the processor and hard drive. Compared with the Dell XPS Gen 5 ($3,999 as tested), the HK-Xtreme lags just a bit on graphics; the XPS's Radeon X850XT card is more costly than the HK-Xtreme's 6800GT graphics. That said, the XPS Gen 5 outmuscles the HK-Xtreme in price, as it comes with a 20-inch widescreen monitor and surround speakers. Similarly configured systems such as the ABS Ultimate X6 and the Velocity Micro Gamer's Edge PCX are also cheaper than the HK-Xtreme.

Although the HK-Xtreme is visually different, this level of computer costs a lot of money, and you'll get much more value from a similarly configured system from another vendor. And if you dare bring this PC to a LAN party, you better make sure you have flashy gaming skills, because with this crazy clown on the side, all eyes will be on you.

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HyperKore HK-Xtreme's Test Results

Multimedia Tests
PC Magazine uses the same tests and the same scale when rating the multimedia—Music, Photos, Video, Gaming—on desktops and notebooks. We do this so it is easy to compare consumer notebooks against consumer desktops in addition to comparisons within each category. As a guide: the best desktops will score above a 90 on a given subject, and the best notebooks will score above a 70. The reason for this is even the most advanced notebook will have to give up some capabilities, when compared to a desktop, for portability: notably size and weight compromises that affect hard drive space and screen size, as well as power compromises that affect CPU and graphics performance.

Subratings (out of 100):

Benchmark Test Results
Check out theHyperKore HK-Xtreme's test scores.

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