Cerise Desktop

Key Specs
Processor: 3GHz Core 2 Quad Q9650Memory: 8GB DDR3Storage: 500GB hard drive; 1TB hard driveOptical Drives: DVD+/-RWMonitor: NoneGraphics: Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTOperating System: Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)

Review
Reviewed by: Matt Safford Review Date: March 2009
Cerise isn’t as well-known as other makers of workstation PCs, such as Hewlett-Packard or Lenovo. But the company’s quad-core Cerise Desktop system shows an attention to detail and smart system design that makes for a solid PC for image and video editing, and a smart buy for those who aren’t inclined to build their own machines. We only wish Cerise offered a three-year warranty like other workstation-PC vendors; if you choose Cerise, a year will have to suffice.

Here you can see the side-mounted FireWire, USB, and audio ports. They're conveniently located only if your PC sits on your desk.
While this system is made entirely from off-the-shelf parts, it’s evident that the company’s builders knew what they were doing when they chose the components. The NZXT Hush case is outfitted internally with sound-dampening pads on four sides and two quiet case fans, along with a large fan on the CPU cooler. The result is one of the quietest performance systems we’ve ever had in our labs. Though our test machine emitted an audible blowing sound when first powered on, it lasts only a second or so. By the time our machine booted up, it was quieter than the lightly humming powered-down air conditioner running a few feet away outside a closed window. If not for the blue fan and light on the front of the case, you could easily forget this machine is running.
The only caveat we have about the case is the questionable positioning of the external ports (FireWire, two USB, audio in and out) on the right side of the case, close to the bottom. If you’re planning on placing this midsize tower on your desk, the ports will be in a perfectly convenient spot, but if you want to house your PC near the floor, those ports will be out of easy reach. That said, a multiformat flash-card reader with two USB ports is hidden behind the case door on the front, easy to get to no matter where you put the PC.
Inside the case, our $1,735 configuration housed two enterprise-class Seagate hard drives: a 500GB drive for your OS and apps, and a 1TB drive for media files. The dual drives are a smart move that means your editing tasks won’t choke trying to read from the C: drive while Windows performs a random upgrade task or virus scan. A nice touch: The drives are conveniently labeled as "C:" and "D:" with large stickers, making swapping them out a bit simpler for novices; the case's tool-free design helps in that regard as well. Our system also featured meticulous cable routing, which helps air flow freely through the case, keeping components cooler, which should help them last longer. Should you want to upgrade later on, the motherboard has free SATA ports for two additional hard drives, another PCI Express 2.0 x16 video-card slot, and three free PCI slots.


Inside the NZXT Hush case, Cerise has done a fair bit of cable routing. It could be cleaner, but major effort has obviously been made to keep cables from affecting airflow.

Our test machine was configured with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 processor running at a speedy 3GHz, a smart choice for video editors, as editing apps are among the few programs that thus far can make use of all four cores. Graphics professionals could choose a cheaper dual-core configuration without seeing much of a slowdown, at least until multithreaded graphics applications start taking advantage of all available CPU cores.
Adobe’s Creative Suite 4, however, can make ample use of the processing power of graphics cards, so Cerise smartly included an Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT, which, while no longer the high end of gaming cards, adds plenty of muscle for labor-intensive Adobe design tasks. And with two DVI ports, you’ll be able to easily add a second monitor.
Adding 8GB of DDR3 memory to the mix of already impressive components, it’s no surprise the Cerise Desktop did well our tests. We don’t often test systems built specifically for photo- and video-editing tasks, so apples-to-apples comparisons are difficult. But on PCMark Vantage, which specifically tests for these tasks (among others), this system turned in a respectable 5,941 in 32-bit mode, and 5,441 in the OS’s native 64-bit mode, well above the similarly priced Alienware Area-51 750i's score of 4,684 (64-bit) and 4,853 (32-bit) in the same test. But the Cerise Desktop can’t compete with systems like the Cyberpower Gamer Xtreme XE, equipped with an Intel Core i7 processor. To be fair, that’s a system that costs nearly twice as much, but there are Core i7-equipped systems available for less than the Cerise Desktop. Our only major beef with this machine's hardware in that regard is that Core i7 isn’t an option. The 3GHz Core 2 Quad Q9650 CPU in this system is definitely powerful, but those who want the latest and greatest processing power will have to look elsewhere, at least for now.

Behind the door of the NZXT Hush case, you'll find a quiet, blue-lit intake fan, as well as a multi-card reader with a useful USB port.
Still, from the moment we turned on the machine, our experience with this desktop was smooth and speedy. There’s no unnecessary software installed to bog things down—an experience you'll rarely have with a major-maker PC. The other area where the Cerise falls short, however, is with its warranty. Lenovo and HP offer three-year plans standard, and Cerise offers just one year for parts and labor. But the company does offer lifetime technical support for the original owner of the computer.
That aside, this is one well-built, smartly set-up system that has all the muscle needed for today’s graphics- and video-editing programs, and none of the bloatware found in machines sold by more mainstream vendors. Because it’s made from off-the-shelf parts, you could build the same machine yourself and save a little money, but then you wouldn’t get the tech support and warranty. And with all the effort put into cable routing and quiet, efficient airflow, even we’d be hard-pressed to build a better system. As long as you don’t feel the need for the absolute high-end performance offered by the new Core i7 processors, the Cerise Desktop is a smart choice, whether you're a graphics professional or just looking for a powerful, dependable, well-designed system that’s as quiet as it is quick.Price (at time of review): $1,735 (direct, as configured)