Origin Genesis Review: Triple Titan Terror
by Ryan Smith on April 23, 2013 9:00 AM EST
As some of you might recall, as part of NVIDIA’s GTX Titan launch NVIDIA not only sent out individual cards, but also some custom concept systems to showcase the unique aspects of Titan. Specifically its high quality construction and how its blower-style cooler means it can be exploited to pack high performance systems into relatively small spaces. NVIDIA shipped us two such concept systems, a small form factor (SFF) Falcon Northwest Tiki, and at the opposite end of the spectrum was the obscenely powerful tri-SLI Origin Genesis.
Of course that was almost two months ago, and there’s no getting around the fact that as the reviewer assigned to the Genesis I’ve ended up turning in this review very late. An initial delay to focus on the Titan launch turned into a serious illness, followed by not one but two conferences, two more video card launches, and some other fun stuff in between. So living up to the motto “better late than never”, now that everything has settled down (relatively speaking) I can finally pick back up where I left off and finish our look at Titan with the final piece of the puzzle: Origin’s monster gaming machine.
With the Genesis the idea was that Origin would put together a triple Titan system to showcase just how quiet Titan’s blower-style coolers were even when the cards were tightly packed together. Instead Origin unexpectedly exceeded NVIDIA’s specifications and was able to get three Titans hooked up to water in time for the Titan launch. The end result somewhat defeats the original purpose of sending the system out – we can’t tell you what three stock Titans sounds like – but in the end we got something far more interesting: three Titans hooked up to water, creating a tri-SLI system effectively unrestrained by heat and cooled by one of the only things quieter than NVIDIA’s blowers. Ultimately if one Titan on its own is powerful, then three Titans is nothing short of obscene. This is the same sentiment behind the Origin’s Genesis system we’re reviewing today.
In Origin’s product lineup, Genesis is Origin’s brand for their line full-tower computers. As a boutique builder, Origin uses a number of different configurations on their Genesis lineup, offering multiple CPU/motherboard combinations and multiple cases under the same Genesis heading. As a result Genesis spans everything from relatively simple systems to XL-ATX monsters.
The Genesis system we’ll be looking at today is positioned at the top end of that lineup, and is intended to be the fastest thing that can be put together in an ATX form factor. Sparing no expense, Origin has assembled a Genesis system that packs in Origin’s best components, best cooling, greatest overclocks, and highest price tag. Based around the combination of a Corsair Obsidian 800D case, NVIDIA’s GTX Titan, and Intel’s X79/SNB-E platform, it’s a luxury computer like no other.
With that thought in mind, let’s take a look at just how a $9,000 luxury gaming computer is built and configured.
| Origin Genesis (2013) Specifications | |
| Chassis | Corsair Obsidian 800D |
| Processor |
Intel Core i7-3970X (6x3.5GHz + HTT, Turbo to 4.0GHz, 4.9GHz Overclock, 32nm, 15MB L3, 150W) |
| Motherboard | Intel DX79SR(X79 Chipset) |
| Memory | 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1866 (expandable to 64GB) |
| Graphics |
3x NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan 6GB in SLI 3x (2688 CUDA cores, 837/6008MHz core/RAM, 952/6208MHz Overclock, 384-bit memory bus) |
| Storage |
2x Corsair Neutron GTX 120GB SATA 6Gbps SSD (LAMD), RAID-0 Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200-RPM SATA HDD |
| Optical Drive(s) | Hitachi-LG 14x BD Burner |
| Power Supply | Corsair AX1200i |
| Networking | 2x Intel 82579L Gigabit Ethernet |
| Audio |
Realtek ALC892 Speaker, mic/line-in, surround jacks, optical out for 7.1 sound |
| Front Side |
Optical drive 40-In-1 Media Card Reader 2x USB 2.0 2x USB 3.0 IEEE 1394a Headphone and mic jacks 4-channel fan controller Koolance RP-401X2 Reservoir |
| Top | - |
| Back Side |
4x USB 3.0 6x USB 2.0 Optical out IEEE 1394a 2x Ethernet Speaker, mic/line-in, surround, and optical jacks 6x DVI-D (3x GTX Titan) 3x HDMI (3x GTX Titan) 2x DisplayPort (3x GTX Titan) |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 |
| Dimensions |
24" x 9" x 24" (609.6mm x 228.6mm x 609.6mm) |
| Extras |
Card reader Custom liquid-cooling loop, CPU & GPU Custom LED lighting 80 Plus Platinum PSU |
| Warranty | 1-year parts, 45 days shipping, lifetime labor and 24/7 support |
| Pricing | As configured: $8,499 (+$479 paint job) |
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
63 Comments
View All Comments
Death666Angel - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
That's been square millimetres the whole time.Loonybean - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
I wonder if Origin missed the bus with the fans, I've just built a dual Titan rig for a customer with 1 x 360mm and 1 x 240mm radiator, using Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1450 fans, and you can hardly hear it with the fans running full speed. I did use a 3770K @ 4.75Ghz, so there's probably less heat there though.FalcomPSX - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
to put this in perspective, 1300w draw is pretty close to what an average air conditioner sucks down to cool a house. So this computer if running anywhere near 1000w draw while gaming, could effectively double your electric bill in the summer. Especially considering the heat it puts out cooling all these components means you'll run your AC even more to keep the house temperate. Crazy how much power this beast draws.That being said, under most normal scenarios I'd be willing to bet it still draws in the 300-600w range while surround gaming, if not more, which is a far cry from 1300w, but still enough to seriously spike your electricity use.
Hadwells - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
Thanks, Ryan,I tried some quick searches and couldn't find anyone testing multiple Titans in a dual/triple WQXGA (2650x1600) setup. I'm not really a gamer, is it that no games support 5300x1600 or 7950x1600 resolutions? You mention this in your last paragraph, any numbers for this setup?
Three of those "overclockable" monitors could be had for ~$1400 these days, not out of place for a $9000 computer.
Ryan Smith - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
They support it. We simply don't have the equipment to test it.garrun - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
Do you have the equipment to test a 4k monitor/TV with it? I don't even know what inputs 4k takes...Alien0007 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
Hey, I have been looking everywhere for a true liquid cooled titan review. Thanks for all the great information.What I have read about GPU boost 2.0 is that if you can keep the temps below the selected temp max setting the GPU will keep boosting at top speed.
What clock speeds are you hitting when you add the optional voltage increase that Nvidia allows?
Given that you can keep temps really low with the liquid cooling. Is this thing hitting 1200 Mhz or what?
As soon as I heard of GPU boost 2.0, I thought this is going to be killer when you can liquid cool the Titan. That's the only thing the article was missing for me.
Thanks
Alien0007 - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
?HisDivineOrder - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
Don't lie. You kept this system as long as they'd let you, gaming the hell out of it. You "got sick" and then "had some meetings" and what not while you were busy blowing Tomb Raider, Crysis 3, Metro, etc up.Then when you were done with all your gaming and you received your, "Final notice before we bill you for the review system, please return!" you squealed like a piggy and began hurriedly writing a review.
That's when the cold reality of day came the next morning. Soon, your precious would no longer be yours. Soon, you would not have tri-Titan SLI. Soon, you would be back to normal people gaming.
And you wept.
rwei - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
o.O