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It would be fair to say that the CyberPower Fang III Black Mamba is like nothing we've ever tested before. It features some of the finest components on the market which are sure to excite the vast majority of our readers.
We're not entirely convinced that this ‘review' specification is logical in some areas, however. For example, we don't understand why CyberPower has decided to install two OCZ Agility 3 SSDs in the main system. They're not organised in a RAID configuration so there isn't any performance advantage unless you're one of the few people who will use the second as a dedicated scratch disk.
We feel Cyberpower could have included a larger Solid State Drive instead. Also, we expected to see a top of the range SSD in this system, such as the OCZ Vertex 3 or 4. The Agility 3 is after all considered a budget drive.
Considering that CyberPower have went to the effort of water-cooling the graphics cards, we would have liked to see them supplied in an overclocked state. It would improve performance noticeably out of the box and isn't that difficult for Cyberpower to set up in the factory.
Also, as a topic of interest, the Arctic Accelero Xtreme which we reviewed recorded lower temperatures than this loop with a factory overclocked GTX 680.
Furthermore, the system is very loud, which negates one of the major benefits of watercooling in the first place.
We also question the choice of case. The Azza Fusion 4000 is undoubtedly very attractively featured and it has plenty of physical space for the water cooling kit and a second ITX system. However the build quality just isn't up to scratch when we consider the £4,000 system price tag. There are better built Corsair, Lian Li and SilverStone cases available on the market today.
We would much prefer to see Cyberpower using the Silverstone TJ07 which is light years ahead of the Fusion 4000 in terms of build quality and is much more pleasing to the eye. Sure it doesn't have room for a media server in the top but it wouldn't be inconvenient to have one in a separate case if necessary.
Negatives aside, it takes a lot of time and skill to build a water cooled system and it is clear that the CyberPower engineers know what they are doing. The attention to detail and build quality really is exemplary.
While we don't feel that the configuration of this particular system is ideal, CyberPower have a tool on their website which will let you choose almost any selection of components that you desire. With some tweaks to the component selection, this system could be a world beater.
We would delete the media server from the system, replace the two SSDs with a faster, larger single SSD, add a large storage drive for media and swap the case for either a Corsair Obsidian 800D, Silverstone TJ07 or Cooler Master Cosmos II. If you decide to buy the system with the Azza Fusion 4000 case we would also recommend a fan controller to reduce the fan noise a little, because it is uncomfortably loud.
Pros
- Very powerful.
- Integrated media server.
- Full water cooling.
Cons
- Illogical component choices.
- Poor quality case considering price.
- No graphics overclocking.
- Very noisy.
KitGuru says: This system is definitely worth considering but we would suggest changing the configuration slightly before parting with your money.
I am impressed to be honest, as I know how difficult this build is. If they had opted for a larger SSD and the 3960X I would be more impressed.
3930k in a 4k system? id want the extra cache im afraid, even if its not really noticed. so its a good system in some areas (build) and surprisingly novice in others (components).
I like the case, but id swap out for bequiet fans, would solve the problem, at a little extra cost.
as a talking point its interesting, but the build has a lot of flaws. I think the review needed to be more negative, although most of the problem areas were mentioned.
my main gripe? it has two systems. cool concept.
but.
its a big but.
why would you use a media center in this system with a blasting of fan noise in the room? do the fans all turn off when the media center is on? if so, thats cool, if not. useless.
I have maybe missed this, how do you turn either system on? are there two power buttons? can both be turned on together?
Not for me, ive heard this case and its almost the same as buying a helicopter and putting it in the garden.
Im splitting hairs, but why dont Cyberpower replace the fans in the case with quality stealth units? there are quite a few so i doubt air flow would be an issue, especially with the huge physical dimensions.
I like the case, its a talking point due to the size and two systems is a great idea, but I have an issue with cyberpower. my friend in london bought a system and it was troubled from day one. perhaps he got a bad system, but the motherboard failed in a week and it took some time to get it back.
I still believe its best buying your own system.
For this money I would get
3960X with corsair H100
32GB of 2400mhz ram
asus rampage IV extreme
corsair 1200i PSU
silverstone case (same as henry said in conclusion).
256GB SSD boot – vertex 4 or patriot wildfire
2x2TB HDD for storage
ASUS GTX680 (one is enough) and maybe add another later.
I worked this out at close to 3k, not 4k.