Hellcat Xtreme Machine is a product coming from Smoothcreation, Premier Boutique system builder, so you can be sure that this baby will serve you well. The secret behind the sheer power of this rig is that it uses the best available hardware and Danger Den water cooling. It packs two Diamond HD 4870 XOC Black Edition cards with Koolance water blocks, but there’s also the upgrade option for two Diamond HD 4870 X2 cards. Basically, you can customize the whole system to fit your needs.

Today, we follow up with a full review of Hellcat, a gaming computer made by a company called Smoothcreation. Since our preview many things have changed for better. We often talked to the guys from Smoothcreation and almost all our critiques of early Hellcat samples were taken into account and solved.

Hellcat gaming computer is one exquisite piece of equipment and the paintjob stands as a testament to that. After you receive a case with artwork of your choice, giving this baby up will be very difficult. Eventually you’ll probably replace some components (not everyone does that, but those who’d buy this computer in the first place do) but we guarantee that you’ll keep the case. In case you decide to replace some or all the components, Smoothcreation can do that for you. Their computers come with lifetime technical support, whereas the warranty on components and labor is good for one year. Shipment is completely free of charge.

There's also an option to send your own computer in to get it airbrushed and, if you wish, replace all your components that aren't up to date.

The motif-sample gallery is huge, but these guys don't mind going out of their way to fulfil your special requests. All the currently popular motifs can be viewed here. Furthermore, these guys will airbrush your peripheral devices if you wish, just in case you want your entire workspace in one theme.

Our tested rig comes with Hellcat image, which means it's one mean piece of hardware.



You'll get a lifetime warranty on the airbrush-job, and there's also an additional available method of applying paint. Since all the side panels are transparent, there's an option to airbrush the image from the inside. This makes the painted side almost completely isolated from the outer elements, so scratching the outside won't affect the artwork.

The next photo shows Lan Shark featuring the same motif like the Hellcat rig, and you'll notice that the paintjob is done from the inside. Lan Shark is half the size of Hellcat Xtreme Machine, and this tiny 16-inch desktop computer starts at $1,300.



Compared to the more affordable Lan Shark series, Hellcat is aimed at gamers and enthusiasts that won't settle for anything but the best. It takes a lot of work to assemble and airbrush this rig, so $8,000 might sound like a lot, but given the hardware quality it's definitely worth it for those who can afford it.



This is the first time we held a computer made of Plexiglass, and this enables the rig to feature custom dimensions. Hellcat Xtreme Machine is one giant rig and although it's quite tall, it's not nearly as lengthy. Dimensions are adapted to the Danger Den water cooling system that features a large radiator.



The glass panel shows the insides and the already mentioned Diamond HD 4870 graphics cards. Since we recieved the early sample of this system, the cards in question aren't the Black Edition cards, but rather Diamond's standard edition cards. The cards run at 780MHz, which is 20MHz less than Black Edition cards can churn out. Still, there's plenty of room for overclocking in both cases.

The front shows four "S.C" symbols placed in front of the four 120mm fans. These are the only fans in this case, but since the airflow is virtually unobstructed, additional fans are not needed. In case you doubt this, just hold your hand over the air outlets and this rig will surely turn you into a believer. The test sample features some high-speed fans that are incredibly loud, but retail version of Hellcat Xterme Machine will feature new fans that are quiet. It's important to note that this was the biggest flaw of this rig, which paints the picture of just how close to perfect this machine came.

All the cables are neatly arranged, and if you want to locate the nicely hidden radiator, you can simply follow the pipes. Due to the radiator's size, it had to be fitted vertically, which is the reason why the case is so tall.



The radiator is cooled by the fans mounted on it. Since it’s so large, there was room left for only one optical drive and Matrixorbital GX LCD panel that shows the readings and the state of the computer. This is only one of many available panels to choose from when configuring your rig. Through the GX panel and the LCD studio software that comes with it, you can easily customize what information you want the panel to display. Thanks to the Danger Den water cooling system, the temperatures are so low that you don’t even have to monitor them – so put on the winamp look and enjoy the music.



Power and restart buttons are on the upper panel, and the only thing missing is the USB connector panel. All the panels on this rig are airbrushed, so every angle will give you something to look at. Artwork transitions are very well done and there’s no visible start/finish where the airbrushing work started.

If you’re not into scary horror themes, then refrain from looking at the opposite panel as the large agitated “cat from hell” looks really nice.



The back panel of the case reveals some additional details. Due to the weight of the PSU, the same is positioned on the bottom, whereas the hard disks populate the upper part. Intel DX48BT2 motherboard doesn’t feature PS2 ports for the keyboard and the mouse, and since there are no front or top USB panels you’ll have to use your USB connections wisely and sparingly.



The airflow is excellent and there are many visible air outlets. This panel also features a regulator that you can use to turn off the lights or just tone them down. Although we might just be picking hairs, we’d still like the option to turn off the radiator lights and not just the green cold cathode tube one.



This case looks particularly nice in the dark.




Hellcat Xtreme Machine has a roomy case where everything is nicely arranged. The radiator with its fans is located on the front panel, whereas the PSU is placed on the bottom due to its size.



Using screws with Plexiglass is easy, but not very safe. That’s why special screws were used, and you can see that on the following picture.



The PSU is modular Silverstone 1200W that has enough juice for the most demanding configurations. In our case, powering two HD 4870 and quad core QX9650 was a breeze. The system consumed maximum 560W.

Due to the materials used, Hellcat didn’t strike us as very portable. However, two weeks of moving the system around didn’t affect this case, and the only thing wrong with it was the damage it took in transport from the U.S.A. It seems like it fell or got hit, as the back panel, above the PSU, was cracked. We, of course, reported this immediately and Smoothcreation reacted in a timely manner and reinforced this Achilles’ heel so such things could never happen again.

An important thing about retail models is the alternate airbrushing we’ve already mentioned. The artwork is done from the inside so scratching it from the outside won’t affect the paint.

The insides of the case are accessible by removing the see-through side panel. It’s held in place by 4 screws on the corners, and since our model features an outer paintjob, the screws damaged the paint a bit.



We had no need to meddle with other panels, so the paint is left unscathed.   



The optical drive and the GX panel are located above the radiator, firmly fixed in place. The opposite side houses the hard disks.



The primary hard disk is WD’s Raptor 300GB, whereas storage is a job for two WD’s 1TB disks. Next to them you’ll find a thick pipe that belongs to water cooling. You can use it to refill your water cooling, and water has been mixed with fluorescent green glow-in-the-dark paint.



The upper panel is very simple and it features only Power and Reset keys and the outlet for the pipe we’ve just mentioned.

Danger Den water cooling system is used for cooling the graphics cards, CPU and motherboard’s chipset. The pump is located on the bottom and it’s attached to the PSU.



The green lamp is placed on the back panel, and it helps the pipes radiate a nice green glow.

We had to move the lamp in order to remove the graphics cards, and you’ll find tiny holes that enable it to be removed by unscrewing it.



Diamond HD 4870 cards are overclocked from reference 750MHz to 780MHz for the GPU, whereas the memory got a major boost from 3600MHz to 4360MHz effectively. Koolance water blocks make sure that cards run stable.

Smoothcreation has a couple of exclusive deals with certain partners, such as Diamond, whose graphics cards were used in Smoothcreation’s rigs. HD 4870 Black Edition cards running at 800MHz are the weapons of choice.



The water block is, apart from the CPU, placed on the X48 chipset on Intel’s DX48BT2 motherboard. In our case, the processor is Core 2 Extreme QX9650, but if this isn’t enough for you, you can opt for Intel Skulltrail with two QX9775 processors and Crossfire made up of two Diamond HD 4870 X2 cards.



CPU temperatures are kept in check, and although it’s overclocked from 3GHz to 3.7GHz, the CPU never exceeded 50°C.





DX48BT2 motherboard works with DDR3 memory and officially supports speeds of up to 1600MHz, and Smoothcreation opted for Crucial DDR3 PC3-16000 9-9-9-28. We found in the BIOS that its speeds are downclocked to 1350MHz, and we left it like that during testing. Just to feed our curiosity, we tested the memory at its real speeds of 2000MHz and 1.9V, and it ran like a charm.

 

Just like CPU temperatures, graphics cards’ temperatures are very nice. We found that the GPU was at 29°C in idle mode, whereas during operation it heats up, but never exceeds 40°C.



CrossFire scores 15280 in Vantage mark, but GPU speeds can easily be adjusted for a better score. We played World in Conflict at 2048x1536 with AA on, and scored 46 frames.

Conclusion

Hellcat Xtreme Machine is a very interesting top performer that packs a lot of potential for further overclocking. Our test sample is not the retail version, so we found a couple of minor flaws, which were all fixed in the retail version except for the lack of the additional USB panel. Smoothcreation is obviously aimed at extreme gamers and enthusiasts, and the hardware used and its pricing stand as a testament to that. If you’re able to lay out $8,000, you can be sure that Hellcat will not fail to impress you.

Smoothcreation really went that extra mile to make this rig as good looking as it gets. Airbrushing the case is not an easy job and demands serious attention, and the good thing is that you can send your own case and pick the desired artwork to be applied on it. Apart from choosing the motif, there’s also an option to choose components for your future gaming rig.

Water cooling is excellent as it supplies additional overclocking room. Diamond HD 4870 and HD 4870 X2 cards are currently the crème of the crop, and gamers will be happy to hear that they’re watercooled, too. Any gamer knows that spending night after night in some hardcore gaming definitely requires some serious cooling.

Besides high end configurations, Smoothcreation offers some cheaper models at affordable prices. Hellcat Xtreme Machine is really one exquisite rig, but if you can’t afford it you might want to check out the rest of this company’s offer.