Falcon Northwest Talon Review: Killer Bird Of Prey Gaming PC

Falcon Northwest wanted to showcase a configuration with Intel's fastest Rocket Lake processor platform surrounded by some of the best accompanying hardware out there, like the GeForce RTX 3090 and a zippy Samsung 980 Pro Solid State Drive. Even the motherboard was the higher-end option of the two available selections within Talon's Z590 range. In doing so, we get a snapshot of the Talon dressed in its best digs.

What did that snapshot reveal? Blazingly-fast performance across the board, to put it plainly. There was not a single benchmark the Talon struggled in, whether we're talking about productivity chores as represented by PCMark 10, or the various gaming and graphics tests we ran. And more often than not, the Talon came out in front of other systems we have tested. This is exactly what we hope to see when evaluating a high price point PC that, quite frankly, is a niche product (as configured).

Obviously your mileage will vary, depending on how you choose to configure a Falcon Northwest Talon. There are different options within the Z590 range we looked at here, as well as separate foundations to build around, including AMD's Ryzen 5000 series paired with an X570 chipset, and high end desktop (HEDT) setups, based on AMD (Threadripper and TRX40) and Intel (Cascade Lake-X and X299) hardware.

That said, we have to form our opinion based on what we observed with the system as it was sent to us, and straight to the point, the Talon kicks all kinds of tail. The decked out configuration that landed on our doorstep is a beautifully crafted PC, first and foremost. Falcon Northwest's obsessive attention to detail is part of the reason why these systems cost a premium. From ultra-clean wiring management with braided cables, to the personalized laser-etched nameplate, the overall craftsmanship is on another level versus traditional pre-built OEM systems.

Of course, with enough patience and know-how, you could build a similar system yourself for less. However, it definitely won't be a carbon copy. Namely, the chassis is a custom creation that Falcon Northwest continually tweaks, as needed, as evidenced by the company spending $11,000 to retool the hinges alone for this latest iteration. It's a very nice case, and it's not available as a standalone purchase, only as part of the Talon.

Beyond the custom case, though, Falcon Northwest puts time and effort into parts of the build that the average person is not likely to fuss with, like the individually sleeved cabling. Falcon Northwest says it is a "very labor-intensive" process, from matching the color scheme and cutting the wires to length, to hand-threading them through the holes in the closed cable-combs.

Overall, we did not run into any issues with our build, and the only gripes we have are really just personal preferences, rather than complaints with how the Talon was assembled. There are just two -- one is that we'd like to see Falcon Northwest advertise a clear glass side panel as an option, in addition to the tinted ones that shipped with our system. As received, the Talon is a sharp looking PC, no doubt about that. But for those who might want it, clear glass would put its impeccable wiring job in better view. To be clear (heh, see what we did there?), Falcon Northwest will ship the Talon with clear side panels, but you have to make a special request, and potentially deal with seeing things you might not want to, like adhesive on the magnets (a custom UV print job will hide things like that, though).

Secondly, we'd like to see a custom loop water cooling option. Falcon Northwest has its reasons for not offering this (the prospect of ongoing maintenance by the customer, and the risk of the system springing a leak while in transit, potentially destroying thousands of dollars of hardware). It might also require a different case design, which is perhaps another reason why Falcon Northwest does not offer it at the moment. But risks and concerns aside, this long-standing, trusted boutique builder is too talented to stop at just all-in-one liquid cooling, in our opinion.

Our preferences notwithstanding, the only real roadblock to driving a Talon off the lot is the sticker price. Regardless of the foundation (Rocket Lake or otherwise), you're looking at spending at least around $3,700, and probably more, once you're finished customizing your build. The configuration we received runs close to $5,800, planting the Talon firmly in luxury, baller equipment territory.

If you can afford it, though, the Falcon Northwest Talon is an exquisitely-crafted PC that can dish-up as much performance as you could ever want.

And side note: stay tuned to HotHardware closely in the days ahead. We'll be holding a killer gaming PC giveaway with Falcon Northwest, soon.