Hypersonic Phantom @ [H] Consumer

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Jason_Wall

[H] Consumer Managing Editor
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Jul 22, 2005
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We bring this premium integrator into the [H] Consumer offices again to see if they've earned the title of "premium" yet. It turns out that there are still a number of hitches in their operation, and it seems that they've actually taken some steps backwards.

There were many things that Hypersonic could have done better in this evaluation. The most significant problem is that the machine, and its support, are completely average, but Hypersonic is charging premium rates. We've said before that we have no problem with companies charging a price premium. All we ask is that the premium be justified. In this case, we felt that it was not.
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Thanks for reading!
 
Whew.......I dont have your patience.

Only one thing I see over and over in the reviews.......nagging an integrator for using the retail boxes to ship left-overs to the customer.......

In this day of waste and recycling......I dont think its such a bad idea to reuse what ever you can, as long as its in good shape and provides protection to the goods.:D Yes a folder inside conveys a well packaged product and organizes all the disks......I dont see it as a downside to include retail or OEM packaging...........sometimes its the only way to know who made a component as well. (although not as common as ot once was, integrators usually identify their components now).

Unfortunately theses guys just dont have it right, at all.
 
Sounds like they use the same telephone routing system as the Best buy I work for, lol.
 
That tech support section was difficult for me to read, can't imagine what you guys were feeling!
 
Good read...I agree with the other comments. I applaude you for your patience. If I had bought from them I would certainly be very frustrated not only with the tech support but the whole experience as well. This article is proof yet again how great your evaluation techniques are. It really shows some of the intangibles involved with buying from a system integrator that aren't readily apparent to the consumer.
 
That DG965wh... did you ever have problems with the USB ports dying on you? You had that problem recently on a previous system, and it's one I had as well with the same board.
 
Where are they finding these techs?

I know tons of nerdy people without jobs who would love to play with expensive components all day, and actually understand them. The whole driver issue just boggles my mind... these techs actually USE THE DRIVER DISK THAT COMES WITH THE CARD? WTF?

Honestly, who does that? What kind of retards are they hiring? Building a gaming machine, and not upgrading drivers, off the bat? Honestly?
 
Wow. The power supply issue really bothers me. It is clear from this picture that they didn't use the original power supply mounting holes and drilled new ones to purposely put the power supply like that. I see that they needed to do that to make the cables clear the drive bays, but they really should use a different PSU for that system if that's the way the fans run. For the short term, things may run OK, but I couldn't see that system lasting very long for continual usage. Very shoddy integration for the $$.

/edit: maybe you guys could run the new PSU test on one of those power supplies with the intake fan being blocked like that.
 
Article said:
Part II-Evaluation and Performance: Gaming Summary



Gaming Summary
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Should fix that double-take. Nice review. Shame they didn't do anything special. Well, except the tape. :D
 
did you ever have problems with the USB ports dying on you?
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We never noticed any USB failures, so it looks like that's one problem we escaped.

I dont think its such a bad idea to reuse what ever you can, as long as its in good shape and provides protection to the goods. Yes a folder inside conveys a well packaged product and organizes all the disks......I dont see it as a downside to include retail or OEM packaging...........
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I don't think it's so much that we loathe getting retail packaging and documentation as much as we feel that paying such a high premium for a system should also get you something more. If anyone wanted to bundle the components' docs in with a custom manual inside a binder, I'd be perfectly okay with that. But when you've got the media for all your components lumped together, it doesn't do much to help the average person know which sheet follows another and matches with what component.

I definitely see your point about reusing boxes, though I doubt the environment is the main reason. I'd be interested to see how many integrators reuse boxes in addition to otherwise maintaining environmentally sound practices. If that's the only nod to green computing, then I'd say it's more of a cost cutting measure. (As a side note, Earth Day, is only 32 days away.)

Good eyes, and thanks for reading.
 
I haven't posted for months, but this is just too good to pass up.

First off, they should have mounted the damn PSU upside down. Second, unless Apevia changed the direction of the OEM 120mm fan, they need to reverse that (otherwise the PSU's spitting out hot air while the 120mm sucks it back in and over the CPU & HDDs).

Personally, with my X-QPack build, I reversed my Enermax Liberty's 120mm fan (mounted it upside-down, of course), kept the OEM fan in its factory direction, and just had all the air exit out the front vents. Works fine for me, and the wiring in this case was actually fun (at least to me). Oh, and I have all the plastic on my windows except for the outside of the left one. Having the plastic on the inside helps to avoid scratching up the windows when opening the case.

All done.
 
M4rk said:
First off, they should have mounted the damn PSU upside down. Second, unless Apevia changed the direction of the OEM 120mm fan, they need to reverse that (otherwise the PSU's spitting out hot air while the 120mm sucks it back in and over the CPU & HDDs).
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Are you trying to say that they mounted the PSU properly? If you are, then you are wrong. That PSU is meant to suck air up and push the hot air out the back of the case.
 
Yes, they mounted the goddamn PSU wrong. They mounted it facing up. Sucking wind from a piece of glass. That doesn't work too well, for reasons obvious enough for even you to understand. They could have mounted it upside-down, aka "correctly." Then it would have sucked hot air off the graphics card.

But wait, there's more! The Apevia X-QPack comes factory-shipped with a 120mm fan that sucks air IN from the back (at least mine did)! Thus, you have the distinct pleasure of watching hot air come out of your PSU and get sucked BACK IN over your CPU and HDDs. Amazing! Genius!

No, not really. What I did, and what any sane person who doesn't give a shit about warranties would do, is flip the fan around inside the PSU. Thus, cool air flows in from the back, over your CPU and graphics card first (arguably the hottest components in any rig), then over the chipset/memory and HDDs, then out the vents on the side/front of the case.
 
M4rk said:
What I did, and what any sane person who doesn't give a shit about warranties would do, is flip the fan around inside the PSU. Thus, cool air flows in from the back, over your CPU and graphics card first (arguably the hottest components in any rig), then over the chipset/memory and HDDs, then out the vents on the side/front of the case.
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I disagree with this approach. While the GPU and CPU are both significant heat generating components in a PC, so is the power supply. Hence the fan that takes suction on the interior of the case and exhausting it over the PSU components and directing the heat OUT of the case.

I agree that two fans, side by side, blowing in opposite directions is also stupid, and you are even ignoring the short circuit flow concern where the air flow could completely bypass the interior of the PC. My personal preference, with a case that has an intake filter, is to direct all 3 fans in the case, including the PSU fans, blowing out of the case. That creates the greatest possible airflow through the case.
 
I Just built a new Matx build with Ultra's new Microfly. The setup works really well. The 120mm fan in the back sucks air out along with the PSU. As its right over the video card. It works really well with my 8800GTS which I though would cook, but runs just as it did in my old case. But I think to improve air flow I will add 1 fan on the side at the front. This will allow the evga 8800 card fresh air as this case has only one badly placed 80mm intake. Then to help the cpu PWMIC area I will add 1 small fan back there to intake. The 120 and the PSU will exsuast any hot air out.
 
deadrody said:
I disagree with this approach. While the GPU and CPU are both significant heat generating components in a PC, so is the power supply. Hence the fan that takes suction on the interior of the case and exhausting it over the PSU components and directing the heat OUT of the case.

I agree that two fans, side by side, blowing in opposite directions is also stupid, and you are even ignoring the short circuit flow concern where the air flow could completely bypass the interior of the PC. My personal preference, with a case that has an intake filter, is to direct all 3 fans in the case, including the PSU fans, blowing out of the case. That creates the greatest possible airflow through the case.
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Sorry for being so pissy earlier. Anyhow, I just felt like doing something different with my build. Either airflow pattern works, probably about equally well too. It's just a question of preference. We all can agree that Hypersonic fucked up royally with the mounting of the PSU, right?
 
Hypersonic had to mount the PSU that way because the big, fat bundle of cables that pokes out of the end of the PSU would have gone right where the optical drive is. Look at this picture

I'm not defending Hypersonic per se, but flipping the PSU the other way would have not been possible given the location of the optical drive.

In my opinion (I didn't write the review, mind you), hypersonic should have used a different PSU. One that would have been able to be mounted normally to provide optimal airflow. Not one that they had to flip upside down to avoid cabling conflicts.
 
In my opinion (I didn't write the review, mind you), hypersonic should have used a different PSU. One that would have been able to be mounted normally to provide optimal airflow. Not one that they had to flip upside down to avoid cabling conflicts.
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Having written the evaluation, I agree with Josh. The combination of this case setup and this PSU just causes more problems than it's worth.
 
Sounds a lot like the last WidowPC review where we found out that it wasn't WidowPC actually building or supporting specific units and they were caught red-handed by [H] (farmed out to a cheap integrator). This system really has little if any of the earmarks of a real typical hypersonic built PC - nor any of the prep-aftersale-outer-shell embelishments that hypersonic is known for. Interesting.
 
Joey_Seiler said:
Having written the evaluation, I agree with Josh. The combination of this case setup and this PSU just causes more problems than it's worth.
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Considering the sticker price I would expect an integrator to put a little more time and effort into picking their components. How hard would it be to chose a PSU with the proper fan alignment, or one whose power cords would work within the confines of the case.

On the other hand, I don't mind the black electrical tape keeping things in order. I don't know how much room there would be for clips on the chassis to work. My only question is whether or not the use of the tape, and HOW they used it will impact any upgrades or changes to the system components.
I would, of course, rather have seen them properly sleeve the wires and get them out of the way, as they do seem to be all over the place. And that IDE Cable
http://consumer.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTE3NDQxMzI4OXU4UExOS2ZnVWtfNF8xNl9sLmpwZw==
EW. A rounded cable would have worked SO much better here.
Shoot, in a $2500 system, put in a SATA DVD drive! I got one for $30, how much of a difference to them would it have been!?
 
Actually it's really easy if you have some know-how to double/tripe fold/lay-flat an IDE cable in an SFF perfectly so that it would barely show. I could have done it quite easily. Additionally, with the electrical tape - you can see that in once instance it clearly blocks airflow from the heat-fins round the CPU heat sink (bad). I build those Q-Packs from time to time for people and I use black or clear zip ties, and I visualize how best to group cables to reduce clutter. I sleeve most wires I don't group GPU-power wires with it in case the user needs to re-seat the video card. In short my Q-Pack builds look much better, and given Hypersonics reputation I'm really surprised by this shoddy job and nearly total re-direct for tech support.

This machine is actually akin to a bare bones white box system with a few nice parts thrown in. Nothing 'premium' about the unit at all, from packaging (no binders - parts haphazzardly thrown in a box), to customization, to build quality (cable routing and overall organization of the innards), to tech support. In short it's a very expensive white box system.
 
when i built a computer out of spare parts when i was TWELVE i did NOT use the disk that came with the parts... thats just sick and wrong, unless you do not have the internet, in which case you generally have onboard everything...

sad review for them, i was HOPING they would get SOMETHING right...

great review as always though :D
 
I can't imagine Enermax ever having approved of the horrible PSU mounting solution, Hypersonic did clearly come up with a lie here. Reading between the lines, this also seems to be the notion of the reviewer/evaluator/editor.
 
Wow, you are indeed a patient soul. The 5 rating on tech support is INCREDIBLY generous.

Thanks for the (as always) spot on review.
 
To sum it up: overpriced, badly built, and poorly supported. IMHO, the case isn't a looker but that's another matter.
 
jflail2 said:
Wow, you are indeed a patient soul. The 5 rating on tech support is INCREDIBLY generous.

Thanks for the (as always) spot on review.
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Once we got a hold of them, they did an acceptable job in fixing our issues. It's really the system that the techs have to work in that affected the score the most. More than a bad tech or two, a bad support SYSTEM is going to drastically affect customer satisfaction over the long run.
 
jon67 said:
I can't imagine Enermax ever having approved of the horrible PSU mounting solution, Hypersonic did clearly come up with a lie here. Reading between the lines, this also seems to be the notion of the reviewer/evaluator/editor.
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We're not saying Hypersonic lied to us about anything. We contacted Enermax to get their opinion and they basically said that they would never recommend or approve a design where the main cooling fan on the unit received no air flow.

They echoed our recommendation that if Hypersonic was set on using that PSU, that they drill holes in the top of the chassis.
 
0mega said:
when i built a computer out of spare parts when i was TWELVE i did NOT use the disk that came with the parts... thats just sick and wrong, unless you do not have the internet, in which case you generally have onboard everything...
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keep in mind that some rural folks up here in canada don't have broadband access in their igloos yet. those driver disks are great to use, as opposed to waiting 6 days for geforce drivers to download. ;)


56k warnings aside (or 24k, in my case :rolleyes: )... i used electrical tape to 'fix' a crack in my computers' front shroud. that said, there isn't one spot inside any of my computers where i feel using electrical tape would be the best solution. pure, unadulterated yikes.
 
Jason_Wall said:
Once we got a hold of them, they did an acceptable job in fixing our issues. It's really the system that the techs have to work in that affected the score the most. More than a bad tech or two, a bad support SYSTEM is going to drastically affect customer satisfaction over the long run.
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This is what I like about the [H] - You "Get It".
 
snaggletooth said:
keep in mind that some rural folks up here in canada don't have broadband access in their igloos yet. those driver disks are great to use, as opposed to waiting 6 days for geforce drivers to download. ;)


56k warnings aside (or 24k, in my case :rolleyes: )... i used electrical tape to 'fix' a crack in my computers' front shroud. that said, there isn't one spot inside any of my computers where i feel using electrical tape would be the best solution. pure, unadulterated yikes.
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took me half an hour to download GF 80 series drivers on my friends dial up (AOL) when i gave him my GF 2 :p

where do you live that you cant get any form of broadband? i dont know any rural areas around me in ontario (More specifically ancaster) that cant ATLEAST get DSL (my aunt lived in a very empty area and she could get DSL no problem)
 
0mega said:
where do you live that you cant get any form of broadband? i dont know any rural areas around me in ontario (More specifically ancaster) that cant ATLEAST get DSL (my aunt lived in a very empty area and she could get DSL no problem)
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I know many cottagers whose only broadband option is satellite, which is horribly expensive. Hell I know many cottagers who can't even get TV over the air with an antenna! For DSL you have to be a prescribed distance from a telephone switching station (or whatever it's called) if you're more than xkm away, you're SOL. The place where I live has over 200,000 people, and it because of a quirk in the phone lines, it was only 4 years ago that I could get DSL (stuck with cable).
 
theelectic said:
I know many cottagers whose only broadband option is satellite, which is horribly expensive. Hell I know many cottagers who can't even get TV over the air with an antenna! For DSL you have to be a prescribed distance from a telephone switching station (or whatever it's called) if you're more than xkm away, you're SOL. The place where I live has over 200,000 people, and it because of a quirk in the phone lines, it was only 4 years ago that I could get DSL (stuck with cable).
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well cottages are generally an exception :p although, up on lake erie where my cottage is, theyre planning on putting in a BUNCH of big houses, so broadband there might be an option lmfao
 
I live in Golden. SO far SAT is my only option. it sucks hardcore, FAp my ass.
Hypersonics' support is a great, I have known several owners of their PCs that have great things to say about it.
I think that the driver issue is not an issue. The drivers that came with the system worked well, updated drivers usually arent all that great (since new ones come out pretty frequently)
I usually wait a few months after a driver revision comes out so I can see what all the issues are.

And FAKING mistakes to get replacements is reprehensible.

.....but that plastic wrap in the case did suck......
 
El Spic said:
I think that the driver issue is not an issue. The drivers that came with the system worked well, updated drivers usually arent all that great (since new ones come out pretty frequently)
I usually wait a few months after a driver revision comes out so I can see what all the issues are.

And FAKING mistakes to get replacements is reprehensible.
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The driver issue is very much an issue. We've seen countless times that a simple driver update will solve our instability problems. One of our upcoming articles illustrates that fact exactly.

Simulating problems is the only way to get tech support in some cases. Fortunately, some companies are able to build machines that don't have any problems out of the box. But it's only fair to evaluate their tech support departments along with the rest. If you have read our past articles, you'd see that this is a very common practice. The company always gets both the "defective" and replacement parts back. If the replacement came in an OEM package, it's returned in the OEM package, unopened, so that they can use it for future service calls.
 
El Spic said:
And FAKING mistakes to get replacements is reprehensible.
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As an addition to Jason's note, above, I have noticed that the issues they make up are things they have run into before in previous reviews, or common issues everyone has seen. These are problems that they know the answer for. While this seems obvious, it means that the tech support has a chance to get a right answer. It wouldn't be fair to make up a problem for which the reviewer could not analyze the tech's response.

As for reprehensible, the integrators that sign up for [H]'s review system (this was addressed in a previous review thread, so correct me if I am wrong as this is from memory) agree to RMA anything that might go wrong, and accommodate the RMA's needed to test the tech support. If these fabricated issues blindsided an unsuspecting company, then i would agree with you, ElSpic, but they signed up for, and agreed to it.

The fact that their tech support sucked up a storm is what's unfortunate.
 
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