Falcon Northwest
Template:Short description {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check|nested=1|template=Infobox company|cat=Template:Main other|name; company_name|logo; company_logo|logo_alt; alt|trade_name; trading_name|former_names; former_name|type; company_type|predecessors; predecessor|successors; successor|foundation; founded|founders; founder|defunct; dissolved|hq_location; location|hq_location_city; location_city|hq_location_country; location_country|num_locations; locations|areas_served; area_served|net_income; profit|net_income_year; profit_year|owners; owner |homepage; website }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox company with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | ignoreblank=y | alt | area_served | areas_served | assets | assets_year | aum | brands | company_logo | company_name | company_type | defunct | dissolved | divisions | embed | equity | equity_year | fate | footnotes | former_name | former_names | foundation | founded | founder | founders | genre | homepage | hq_location | hq_location_city | hq_location_country | incorporated | image | image_alt | image_caption | image_size | image_upright | income_year | industry | ISIN | key_people | location | location_city | location_country | locations | logo | logo_alt | logo_caption | logo_class | logo_size | logo_upright | members | members_year | module | name | native_name | native_name_lang | net_income | net_income_year | num_employees | num_employees_year | num_locations | num_locations_year | operating_income | owner | owners | parent | predecessor | predecessors | production | production_year | products | profit | profit_year | rating | ratio | revenue | revenue_year | romanized_name | services | subsid | successor | successors | traded_as | trade_name | trading_name | type | website| qid | fetchwikidata | suppressfields | noicon | nocat | demo | categories }} Falcon Northwest is a private company headquartered in Medford, Oregon. It designs, assembles, and markets high-end custom computers. The company was founded in 1992 and was one of the first to specialize in PCs built specifically for gaming.
HistoryEdit
Falcon Northwest was founded in April 1992<ref name="Slagle 2002">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Obrien 2010">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> by gamer hobbyist and former pilot Kelt Reeves.<ref name="JOHN DARLING 2004"/> Falcon Northwest released the first pre-built computer model intended specifically for gaming, the Mach V, in 1993,<ref name="pcgaming">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="dropbox">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> starting the "gaming PC" category of computer products.<ref name="Ung 2015">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The company was founded in Florida, but later moved to Coos Bay, Oregon, then Ashland, Oregon, and finally Medford, Oregon.<ref name="JOHN DARLING 2004"/>
In the late 1990s, Falcon grew to $3 million in annual revenues<ref name="Malik 1998">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and opened a new manufacturing facility in Oregon.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Later on, the company collaborated with Intel on early liquid cooling components.<ref name="Patrizio 2019" /> Intel worked with Falcon Northwest in secret, in order to avoid the appearance of endorsing overclocking by selling liquid cooling products under its own brand.<ref name="Patrizio 2019">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ProductsEdit
Falcon Northwest sells high-end computers that are optimized for gaming, scientific, or military applications.<ref name="Xconomy 2013" /> As of 2013, about half of its sales were from gamers.<ref name="Xconomy 2013">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Falcon's computers are consistently highly ranked in benchmark tests,<ref name="dropbox" /> but cost $1,500 to over $10,000 depending on the user's configuration.<ref name="Walton 2006">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Many Falcon PCs are sold with custom paint jobs,<ref name="Walton 2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> high-end graphics cards,<ref name="JOHN DARLING 2004">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and special low-latency components.<ref name="Xconomy 2013" /> Though it was originally known for tower desktops like the Mach V, and also sells laptops, as of 2017 Falcon is best known for its smaller, portable mini-PCs.<ref name="TechCrunch 2017">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Case 2012">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Falcon Northwest">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Their products include:
- Mach V - Desktop tower PC
- Talon - Desktop tower PC
- FragBox - Small Form Factor (SFF) PC
- Tiki - Micro-tower PC
- TLX - Thin & light class laptop PC
- DRX - Desktop replacement class laptop PC
ReceptionEdit
In benchmark tests by Maximum PC in 2018, Falcon Northwest's Tiki mini-PC performed better than a tower computer with a high-end graphics card, but was also the most expensive computer the reviewers had ever used.<ref name="tiki">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="PC Magazine review">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Ackerman 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Similarly, Falcon's FragBox mini-PC was praised by Tom's Guide in 2017 for its appearance and power, but the configuration cost $5,000.<ref name="Andronico 2017">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tom's Guide said it was "one of the best options out there" for consumers that have the budget for a high-end portable gaming computer.<ref name="Andronico 2017" />
PC Magazine said in 2018 that the Talon tower gaming PC from Falcon Northwest set records in benchmark performance tests and has high-quality components but was too expensive for most consumers.<ref name="PC Magazine 2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same publication gave Falcon's Mach V desktop gaming computer a 5 out of 5.<ref name="PC Magazine 2004">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A 2015 review in PCWorld, praised the Mach V's performance but noted the high price that comes with buying a computer running three graphics cards.<ref name="Ung 2015" />
In 2022, PC Magazine reviewed the Falcon Northwest FragBox,<ref name="Jefferies 2022frag">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Talon,<ref name="Jefferies 2022talon">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Tiki.<ref name="Jefferies 2022tiki">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In each case, the reviewer gave the computer a 4.5 out of 5 rating. The reviews praised the three models' performance, noise, and build quality, though, like previous reviews, noted that all of Falcon Northwest's products had a high price as a result.<ref name="Jefferies 2022frag" /><ref name="Jefferies 2022talon" /><ref name="Jefferies 2022tiki" />