Skip to main content

LED lighting finally arrives on Falcon Northwest’s Talon gaming desktop redesign

Falcon Northwest’s 20th Anniversary Edition Talon can be configured for work or play, with aesthetic options to match. Image used with permission by copyright holder

Boutique gaming house Falcon Northwest is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Talon desktop, bringing modern features to the midsized gaming tower. Though the Talon still maintains its premium metal enclosure, Falcon Northwest finally added options for glass doors that provide tool-less access via a magnetic closing system for easy upgrades and repairs. This makes the Talon 20th Anniversary Edition more competitive with rival high-end gaming systems, like Origin PC’s Neuron, which boasts similar design features, and the glass panels give Falcon Northwest the opportunity to finally add RGB lighting for gamers who want a bit more flair in their desktop designs. And with a see-through design, Falcon Northwest is keeping the inside clean and tidy with sleek CableMod sleeved cables.

The Talon 20th Anniversary design was a result of two years of work, Falcon Northwest claimed, and the modernized design allows Falcon to showcase more of the premium technology inside. The Talon is a built-to-order custom gaming PC that supports high-end silicon, like Intel’s Core i9 processor and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX and Quadro graphics. The system can be equipped with an Asetek fully-sealed liquid cooling system and large 280mm radiator. Though these components make this desktop a great fit for gamers, creatives will find lots to love about the Talon. Housed in a matte black 4mm-thick sandblasted aluminum body with options for tinted glass doors, the desktop is still understated enough for professional settings and provide plenty of power for rendering and editing jobs. Gamers who want a bit more flair can choose from a variety of different custom color paint jobs.

Recommended Videos

“Talon takes aim at winning over the Mac-using creator crowd with top-end components, careful thermal management, and high-end metal exteriors,” the company said in a statement. “It’s also targeted at Falcon’s game-playing clientele with options for glass sides, custom paintwork, and embracing the gaming trend Falcon has mostly resisted: RGB LED lighting.”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The design of the Talon 20th Anniversary Edition commands a premium over the older Talon 4.0 case. The new, modern design adds $247 to your build cost. Given the high-end appeal of the Talon, configurations start at $2,805, though upgrades and add-ons will quickly add to the cost of the system. Its base starting price makes the Talon significantly less expensive than Apple’s Mac Pro, which will start at $6,000 when it launches this fall. Like the Mac Pro and the Neuron, the Talon can be configured with multiple graphics card, and the midsized tower can accommodate up to two Quadro RTX 8000 cards for creative use. Gamers will want to choose a configuration that maxes out with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 Ti in either a single or dual configuration bridged with NVLink. Processor options range from AMD’s 12-core third-generation Ryzen to Intel’s 18-core X-series processors.

Chuong Nguyen
Silicon Valley-based technology reporter and Giants baseball fan who splits his time between Northern California and Southern…
The Razer Tomahawk N1 gaming desktop hands-on review: No tools necessary
razer tomahawk n1 gaming desktop ces 2020 hands on price photos video release date 02

When you buy a desktop, it's an investment. If you're down to get your hands dirty and open it up, it has much longer legs than your average laptop. But what if you want that future-proofing without the hassle of screws and tools and thermal paste?

The new Razer Tomahawk N1 Gaming Desktop is one answer to that problem. It's a tiny PC that doesn't lose any of its modularity thanks to the use of what's called the Intel NUC Compute Element. Don't let that scare you -- it might be one of the simplest and most intuitive gaming PCs ever made.
A desktop unlike any other

Read more
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth proves, once again, that 8GB GPUs are on their way out
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth running on the Steam Deck.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is headed to PC in a few short weeks, and ahead of the release, Square Enix has released the PC requirements for the game. There are a couple of interesting specs, but one stands out in particular. Even some of the best graphics cards, particularly those packing 8GB of VRAM, might struggle to run the game.

You can see the full system requirements below. At the bottom of the list for each of the configurations, there's a note about VRAM capacity. For 1080p and 1440p, the requirements call for a GPU with at least 12GB of video memory when used with a 4K monitor, while at proper 4K, the requirements call for a GPU with 16GB of memory.

Read more
Don’t get your hopes up for next-gen GPUs just yet
Two RTX 4060 graphics cards stacked on top of each other.

The list of the best graphics cards will probably look a lot different in a month's time. We're standing on the edge of the next generation of graphics cards, and it looks like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel all have big plans in store. At least from the conversations I've had, all eyes are on what the next generation of graphics cards has to offer before making an upgrade decision.

That's generally good advice -- if new hardware is about to launch, there isn't much reason to spend up for last-gen components. You'll likely pay a higher price, and you could be missing out on some big performance gains. This generation, however, it's important to temper expectations. Although the next generation of graphics cards is exciting, it probably won't be a reality for most gamers anytime soon.
Always start with the flagships

Read more