(See our previous Talon review for more cable close-ups.) The motherboard power cable seen below is an example of that firm's work. Nor is our machine's 16-pin power connector the version you'll see in customer units Falcon Northwest promises a more elegantly sleeved cable from CableMod. The bracket securing it to the chassis is a pre-production part the final version may look different. It's a gigantic card, but the Talon accommodates it without issue. The GeForce RTX 4090 Founder's Edition GPU is impossible to miss. The low-light shot below gives you an idea. It's a class act compared to some systems' garish RGB bling. The tinted glass side panel accentuates the shadows and tames the lighting so nothing appears too bright. The ring fans and other RGB-lit components, such as the CPU cooler's waterblock and the Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 memory, glow but don't directly illuminate the interior. This tower takes a conservative approach to lighting. Its 280mm radiator is front-mounted and cooled by two 140mm fans. The photo below shows the CPU liquid-cooling solution, which is a custom design rather than an off-the-shelf product. The blackout theme, careful component choices, and subtle lighting emanate high-end vibes. Inside, Falcon Northwest's immaculate attention to detail is obvious. They swing open silently, sports-car style. Getting inside the Talon is as simple as gently pulling on the lower front edges of the side panels, which are secured by magnets. Inside the 2022 Talon: A Technological Paradise This photo also shows the bottom hinges for the side panels, which simply lift off if you want to swap them. Notice the small 80mm intake fan under the graphics card, which Falcon Northwest says can lower GPU temperatures by 2 to 3 degrees C. Mounting the power supply at the bottom means no dangling power cord. (The antenna isn't connected in our photos.) The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 Founder's Edition graphics card offers one HDMI and three DisplayPort video outputs. The two gold-plated antenna jacks are for the built-in Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth card. For overclocking, there are BIOS flashback and clear CMOS buttons. Other connectivity includes 2.5Gbps Intel Ethernet, HDMI video output, and five audio jacks plus S/PDIF. The Asus ROG Crosshair X670E Hero in our system (more on it in a moment) has ports galore, including a dozen USB ports-two USB4 (equivalent to USB-C/ Thunderbolt 4), eight USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, and one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2. Rear connectivity depends on the motherboard you choose. Top-panel connectivity includes two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, and an audio combo jack. The side panel comes off by gripping its sides and pulling there's a removable, washable dust filter behind it. The included Asus Aura Sync software lets you change the color of the Talon's front-panel RGB logo. You can get the print treatment on all panels, or order both aluminum and glass side panels and swap them as you like. Our unit has a tempered glass left panel and an aluminum right panel with a custom UV print, done at 600 dots per inch for a photorealistic sheen. Much of the Talon's hefty shipping weight (averaging 44 pounds, depending on configuration) comes from its chassis panels, which aren't the usual thin metal sheets but thick pieces of aluminum that won't flex no matter how hard you press them. You won't find any plastic on this tower. Yet at 19 by 8.75 by 17 inches (HWD), it's still in mid-tower territory. The 2022 model is about 1.5 inches deeper than the 2020 edition, so it can support huge E-ATX motherboards and massive 13-inch graphics cards. The Talon has been Falcon Northwest's mainstay tower for more than 20 years, with many revisions along the way. If you can afford its breathtaking price, the Talon is the pinnacle of what a mid-tower can be, and easily claims our Editors' Choice award among high-end gaming PCs. Falcon Northwest also prides itself on outstanding warranty and service support. Quality-wise, this PC speaks for itself: Each is built to order and hand-assembled by one skilled system builder. Available with your choice of AMD, Intel, Nvidia, and other prime components, the 2022 Talon is a sublime performer for gaming and workstation duties. The company's flagship Talon gaming desktop (starts at $3,978 $6,989 as reviewed) now graces our labs once again, having received numerous upgrades since we last saw it in November 2020.
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