Introduction

One of our mottos here at FiringSquad is "if you can build it, why buy it?" Custom computers have been preferred by enthusiasts, not only do you have the ability to create the most powerful system possible, but also the nicest looking systems tend to be custom designs. This is why you won’t find too many system reviews at FiringSquad. Well, we found a system that might change all that.

The Tek Panel 300 is not just a repackaging of off-the-shelf parts behind a fancy faceplate. Even at first glance it reinforces that this isn’t just another computer system. Built around a 30 inch LCD panel, the Tek Panel 300 also includes the fastest motherboard, CPU, and video card on the market. This is all integrated into a streamlined, one-piece unit that can be wall mounted or self-standing -- we got all that just from the press materials.

Tek Panel 300. Notice how bright the screen is even with a flash.

The real question that we were challenged to discover would be if we could even build a similar system. The quick answer is no. The Tek Panel 300 includes so much custom fabrication that no enthusiast without access to aluminum fabrication facilities can replicate what Tek Panel has done. That fact alone makes this system stand out among all the other premium computer systems.

Hy-Tek, which makes the Tek Panel has already gathered a growing list of awards since the Tek Panel’s introduction at CES. They initially targeted the system at the most expensive computer market, the gaming system. Once they established that they could compete with the fastest systems on the market, Tek Panel’s market grew to include corporate America and the living room. For one system to be so at ease in all of these markets means that Hy-Tek really held nothing back with the Tek Panel.

First let’s go over what really makes up the Tek Panel 300.