Mach 1.0 Frame Rates

Flight Journal, Feb 2004 by Marks, Bob

HYPERSONIC SONIC BOOM PC * BATTLEFIELD 1942: OF WW It * LETHAL II

THE MATRVEL OF constant technological advancement is a wonderful thing. Yet, in its inexorable march forward, progress can also be unflinchingly cruel. The flight-simulation hobbyist knows this better than anyone else. The newest batch of flight simulations and games tantalize the hapless virtual pilot because its realistic graphics and processorheavy flight modeling run like a slide show on "Old Betsy," and its rickety old circuits are now gridlocked in a traffic jam of zeroes and ones. A PC that only 36 months ago rode the edge of desktop computing muscle is now a quaint antique from a simpler, bygone age. Sounds like it's time to upgrade, Bucky. They shoot horses, don't they? You could buy one of the mass-produced, low-margin machines such as a Dell or Gateway. Staid representatives of conservative computer construction, these are the Ford Taurus and Toyota Camry of the computer world. They are fine for most home uses: surfing the Internet, exchanging emails, dabbling in the occasional computer game, etc. As they're built to maximize profit and minimize trouble, their builders dare not push the envelope in performance. The burnin and check/recheck process that is an integral part of building high-end computers would cost them too much time and money.

You could build your own, but matching high-end components and working through the maze of driver conflicts and cooling issues could drive the non-professional to complete distraction. As Confucius once said (Ed Confucius at Big Ed's CompuBarn, to be exact), "Amateur who build own computer have fool for tech support." That Ed is a pretty smart guy.

Enter the rather aptly named Sonic Boom gaming PC from Hypersonic PC Systems. Today's newest flight sims, such as Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2004, or UbiSoft's Lock On: Modem Air Combat and IL-2 Forgotten Battles are by far the most realistic and immersive ever. With this progress, however, comes the need for hardware that's made to push this complex code as fast as possible. The Sonic Boom is up to the task and delivers the beautiful graphics and smooth frame rates that give the desktop aviator that sometimes elusive "you are there" feeling. Built from the ground up to run games and simulations, the Sonic Boom does so with aplomb and no small measure of style.

There are several benchmarks that are used to measure the graphics-producing capabilities of a PC, but benchmarks for the special demands of flight simulation are almost nonexistent. Virtual pilots are all familiar with the titanic struggle of having to balance smooth-flowing graphics (or frame rates) with graphics quality. On a less capable machine, this can sometimes result in less than stellar compromises-either you give up the "eye-candy" in exchange for smooth play, or you bump up the prettiness and put up with the occasional slide show. Considered the new benchmark civilian flight sim, Microsoft's excellent Flight Simulator 2004 will tax any system when the graphics sliders are turned way up. But even at the highest resolutions and quality settings, on Sonic Boom the frame rates remained smooth and playable, easily clocking more than 25 frames per second in even the most demanding graphics and processor-intensive situations.

All of this performance comes with an undesirable byproduct: heat-and loads of it. Heat is the archenemy of computers; PCs that are unable to shed it become unstable and crash frequently. The Sonic Boom uses six fans to draw cool air in and force warm air out, and two are dedicated to the video card alone. Cramming this many fans into a case would have a tendency to make most PCs sound like a DC-3 warming up, but the high-quality fans in the Hypersonic unit are surprisingly quiet. There is also an optional layer of insulation that Hypersonic will install, but it seems quiet enough without it.

No high-performance machine is complete without attractive coachwork. This is as true of computers as it is of airplanes and automobiles. Available in a spectrum of metallic and pearl colors (with a keyboard and mouse painted to match), the Sonic Boom is a far cry from the boring, institutional, putty-colored business boxes. My unit was painted in a gorgeous hue called "Piercing Blue Metallic." The pride in craftsmanship literally showed through the clear blue-tinted side panel, bright blue LED spotlights showcasing carefully placed wiring, cards and fans. The quality of workmanship is obvious, and it's truly stunning.

If a glitch rears its ugly head (it's inevitable), Hypersonic offers in-house technical support. I had a small issue with my machine's networking, and a Hypersonic rep answered my call on the second ring. We quickly worked through the issue and got the rig in the 'net in no time at all. As it turns out, he was also a flight simmer, and we ended our conversation by talking about the finer points of flying IL-2 Forgotten Battles online. (Obviously, the guy couldn't be half bad.) As the tech support is in-house, the guy with whom I spoke was the person who put my machine together. he sounded proud of his machine, as well he should be; the Sonic Boom is the ultimate rig for the desktop aviator.