Orbital Computers C2000 Nano: A Review

A few days back, my doorbell bellowed its irritating whine. Unlike most instances (even when I know it’s announcing welcome company), I wasn’t rankled by my home’s hideous summons.

It took me a few moments to get to the door. I didn’t want to appear too eager. You see, a brand new workstation was being delivered to my place and it’d been a while since that had happened. 

Opening the door, I was greeted by a box. How it got there is still a mystery to me. No delivery person, let alone a delivery truck, was in sight. For a new workstation to just appear—well, that’s nothing short of astounding. This had to bode well for what sat inside this box.

But before we get to the contents of the box, first, let me provide a little backstory.

Three years ago, Danny Payne started Orbital Computers with the idea of building highly customized and optimized workstations for CAD and CAM users. Unlike the Dells, HPs and other mass-market computer companies, Orbital prides itself on building bespoke machines that are specifically engineered to each user’s needs. Regardless of whether your work rarely features large assemblies or whether you’re constantly running complex components through multiphysics simulations, Orbital can build a machine that matches your needs.

So, it was with a great deal of anticipation that I cracked open the Orbital box.

What’s in the Box?

Tucked between a cocoon of pink popcorn was a compact box that contained Orbital’s Nano C2000. As its name hints, the Nano C2000 is a compact workstation that’s short and squat with a glass panel on its right side to satisfy hardware voyeurs.

Peering through the machine’s transparent panel, the most prominent feature is the C2000’s CORSAIR Hydro Series H80i Water Cooling unit, which glows white with the CORSAIR logo. Sitting just to its right are a pair of CORSAIR 8 GB DDR4 2400 DIMMs.

Bounding the southern side of the machine’s motherboard is an 8 GB NVIDIA Quadro M4000 GPU. For those in adventurous mood, the machine’s two hard drives, a 256 GB Samsung 950 PRO M.2 SSD and a secondary 1 TB solid-state hybrid drive, can be brought to light by removing the opposite side of the case. Not for nothin’, upon opening up the C2000’s second panel, one can witness the quality and care that’s given to an Orbital system. All of its cables are impeccably tied and the routing would be the envy of even the most rigid traffic cop.

Driving this whole operation is a 4.5 GHz overclocked Intel Core i7 6700K Skylake processor. 

All told, the Nano C2000, chock-full of the highest-quality components, shipped to my door for $3,198 including shipping (the C2000’s starting price is $1,795). 

But wait, isn’t this supposed to be an objective review of the Nano C2000? 

Fine. Let’s get down to business.

How’d the Machine Fare? 

The best benchmark comparison that I could make for the Nano was to compare it to a comparable system built by Dell and benchmarked using the SPECwpc 2.0 Product Development tests. So without further ado, here’s a side-by-side comparison of the two machines: 

At first glance, both machines seem to have relatively even stats, though there are some trade-offs. While both machines share the same CPU (though the Dell model isn’t overclocked), there’s a big disparity between the onboard RAM (Orbital does say that it can max out at 64 GB).

Moving down the list, both machines come with an 8 GB NVIDIA M4000 GPU, but again a divergence appears when it comes to storage. Both systems use NVMe SSDs; however, the Dell system’s boot drive is twice the size of the Nano C2000’s. When it comes to the secondary drives of each system, the roles are reversed and the C2000 comes out on top, doubling the storage that the Dell Precision Tower 3620 carries with it. 

Lastly, the bottom-line numbers need to be compared. Dell is offering its 3620 for $3,073. Orbital’s Nano C2000 costs $125 more.

With the tale of the tape established, it’s time to see how both machines fared when benchmarked using the same package. 

Before we get started, I think it’s worth noting that SPECwpc is a “non-profit organization that sponsors the development of standardized, application-based benchmarks,” so that those interested in buying a new system can get a good idea of what kind of performance they can expect from a configuration.

Beginning with the top-line numbers, the Dell 3620 outperforms the C2000 by just the narrowest margin, earning a Product Development composite score of 2.38 compared to the latter’s 2.34. As the table clearly shows, each machine holds its own by outperforming its competition in some areas and underperforming in others.

My Takeaway

All told, both the Nano C2000 and the Dell Precision 3620 seem capable of trading blows and coming out with a split decision. Though Dell does come out on top, its top-level score isn’t that much higher than the Nano C2000’s score.

Both machines can handle most CAD work, but if complex simulation or working with large assemblies is in your future, it might be best to upgrade the RAM on the Nano C2000 and the GPU on both machines. For those working on small to medium 3D assemblies, both machines would be adequate for your needs. 

That being said, one thing that hasn’t been mentioned in this review so far is the quality of the warranty and service that comes with each machine. Every Orbital computer comes with a two-year, same day, on-site warranty. That means that if something breaks inside your Orbital machine, a tech will be called out to your house to fix it that very same day. Amazing.

I can say that in all of my experience of working with Dell, that same level of service hasn’t ever been met. In fact, whether I’m talking to a person right up I-35 or someone a few layovers away, I can be certain that it’ll be two or more days before any hardware issues are resolved. That leaves me with a sinking feeling best summed up by the late Johnny Cash:

I hear the train a comin'

It's rollin' 'round the bend

And I ain't seen the sunshine

Since, I don't know when.

I'm stuck in Folsom Prison

And time keeps draggin' on

But that train keeps a-rollin'

On down to San Antone 

Being without a workstation for a day, let alone two or three, can throw off an entire product design schedule, particularly if you’re a freelance designer or working on a small team. And the fact that Orbital is willing to remove that reality from your work life is nothing short of amazing.

Aside from the merits of its warranty, it has to be said that Orbital Computers Nano C2000 performed admirably when it was pushed against the wall by our benchmark testing. Admittedly, the Nano C2000 is a bit more expensive than the Dell Precision 3620, but with a Gold-rated power supply, high-quality CORSAIR RAM and the obvious care that was taken in building the machine, I’d say that the relatively meager $125 price increase might be worth every penny. 

This is my first experience with an Orbital Computers system and my initial takeaway is that the company is dedicated to building high-quality, high-performance workstations customized to a user’s needs. If you require a machine that can keep up with or outpace a truly monster workstation, then I’d shy away from the Nano C2000 and look for another Orbital model. I’m positive that the company’s founder Danny Payne would be more than happy to build you the machine of your dreams. I think that’s the kind of business the company does.

Orbital Computers has sponsored ENGINEERING.com to write this article. It has provided no editorial input. All opinions are mine. —Kyle Maxey