3.0GHZ QUAD + 4870X2 REVIEW

[Maziar]

Hello all hope u are fine well got my new rig and i wanted to post a review of how this performs.
before i start let me thank 4745454b,emp,Zorg,aevm,jaydeejohn,TheGreatGr​apeApe,pauldh,nukemaster and other useres who helped when i wanted to buy my new PC.

Lets start


System specification:
CPU:Intel Core2Quad Q6600 G0 stepping @ 3.0GHZ
RAM: OCZ 4GB DDR2 800 RAM (With 4-4-4-15 timings)
VGA:SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2
MOTHERBOARD:ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA
HDD:SEAGATE BARRACUDA 500GB 7200RPM 32MB
PSU: OCZ MODXSTREAM 900W
CASE:THERMALTAKE ARMOR FULL TOWER SILVER ALUMINIUM + 25cm FAN
CPU COOLING:THERMALTAKE V1
OPTICAL DRIVE: PIONEER DVD RW
MOUSE:RAZER DIAMONDBACK 3G
KEYBOARD:LOGITECH G15
SPEAKER:LOGITECH X530
HEADSET:CREATIVE FATALITY
MONITOR:LG W2284F with 1680x1050 resolution
VGA Driver:CATALYST 8.8
OS: Windows XP 32bit SP2

Well before i start to post the benchmarks let me tell you something about OC,with the default BIOS of motherboard,i couldnt OC my CPU at all,it was unstable so i installed the latest BIOS and managed to get it to 3.0GHZ.

So lets start

3DMARK 06
Resolution is 1280x1024 and the score is 16963.


Super PI
I tested SuperPI 1M and the score is 18s


WORLD IN CONFLICT
I set everything at highest quality with 4xAA and 16xAF and tested using the games benchmark tool.

Average:46, Min:20,Max:99



MASS EFFECT:
Again everythig was set at highest settings possible.
I played a mission which had a good combination of outdoors and indoors and the minimum FPS was 46 and average FPS was between 60-80



HL2:EP2
Same for this too,everything maxed out.
I played the first mission(not all of it)and my min FPS was 65 and average FPS was 130-140.




COD4:ModernWarfare.
Still the same settings like games above.
I played the first mission and my min FPS was 50(which was exactly at the end of the mission) and in indoors i got 180-220 FPS and outdorrs it was about 130-140.


Crysis
I use a Config called "Cuban Ultima Doom Sword's CCC Tweak v1.3" which lets you enable "UltraHigh" Quality on XP which i think is the best config out there and it has alot of options.

I tested with 2 configurations,in both configuarations everything is set at UltraHigh but in the first one i used 0xAA and in the second one i used 8xAA and i played the first mission.

1_0xAA:
Well something strange happens in the game,i play with 45-50 FPS on average for some minutes and then it comes down to 25 or like that and again it rises to 45 FPS and its like this but it is very playable and i enjoyed it alot
and the min FPS was 18






2_8xAA:
I was amazed how it ran excellent with 8xAA but again i had the FPS issue too but not that much, the average FPS was 25-35 and the min FPS was 14


I really didnt notice a difference betwen 0xAA and 8xAA


My last computer which i gave it to my sister has an Intel Core2Duo E6600,Nvidia 8800GTX and 4GB RAM,now moving from that to this rig,i noticed alot of differences,my FPS are much higher and i have a very smooth gaming and a QuadCore really helps especially in games like WIC,Supreme Commander and......

So i hope you enjoy reading this little review
and thanks again to all who helped me

 

[rangers]

thanks for the feedback, as long as your happy, but i think ur motherboard could go higher, what bios settings are you using

 

[Maziar]

thanks yeah it may go higher but 3.0GHZ is fast enough for me
I used 1.35 voltage for CPU and 2.1 for RAM.
And CPU temp is 25c at idle (The core temps are between 35-38) and at full load the CPU temp is 39c(Core temps are between 48-55)

 

[dirtmountain]

Nice rig and nice review, grats on that great system.

 

[Maziar]

Thanks

 

[Annisman]

Good job mate, gotta love the X2 eh ?

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Yea, squeeze that Go for more. Looks fantastic, and as games like the new stalker come out, Im thinking youre really going to appreciate your new rig

 

[emp]

Almost makes me want that X2 ... And definitely made me want to play Crysis again now.

Looks great buddy, I hope you're happy with it

 

[L1qu1d]

Good job mate, gotta love the X2 eh ?

thats what you said about the GX2 lol, give it time ahaha

P.S

Nice review, I'm going to do a Tri-sli 280 GTX review see how well the strongest VGA setup does...lets hope it scales in a lot of games now...sigh

 

[rangers]

thanks yeah it may go higher but 3.0GHZ is fast enough for me
I used 1.35 voltage for CPU and 2.1 for RAM.
And CPU temp is 25c at idle (The core temps are between 35-38) and at full load the CPU temp is 39c(Core temps are between 48-55)

there's some CPU settings you have to disable, cant remember off the top of my head

 

[radium69]

3,0ghz with a Q6600 can do stock voltage? only change fsb 333?

 

[Nica Guy]

gratz for ur new rig mate!
one question though why arent u running at your maximum resolution i noticed u just tested at 1280 x 1024...
am i wrong?

 

[Maziar]

thanks yeah i love the X2 and as i said 3.0GHZ Quad is pretty fast for me but i am sure i can squeeze more out of it

To rangers,i disable those settings too like C1E.....

 

[radnor]

thanks yeah i love the X2 and as i said 3.0GHZ Quad is pretty fast for me but i am sure i can squeeze more out of it

AH !! BUY THAT 4870x2 !!! All that you needed was a little yell. Nice rig and have fun !!

 

[Maziar]

to radium69:
No i changed the voltage of CPU and RAM and disabled the necessary features

to Nica Guy:
thanks only for 3DMARK i used 1280x1024 because its standard for testing,all others are done with 1680x1050 resolution.

to radnor:
thanks

 

[3Ball]

Nice rig and review. You are definitely ready for Crysis Warhead with that thing! lol

Best,

3Ball

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Nice !

Now.... to get you blinky LEDs and Cool stickers !! [:mousemonkey]

 

[No1sFanboy]

thanks yeah i love the X2 and as i said 3.0GHZ Quad is pretty fast for me but i am sure i can squeeze more out of it

To rangers,i disable those settings too like C1E.....

Have you checked to see if your overclock is stable with C1E enabled?

I used to follow all the overclock guides and disable C1E. After reading a post from Jack(was the ape of the cpu section), I had a change of heart.

My last system, an e6600 at 3.2 and was stable with c1e enabled.

My new system is a Q9550 and is stable at 3.8 with C1E enabled.

If you can run with it enabled you save power and idle cooler.

 

[RME]

Wow sweet system!
But 32bit Os and 4gb ram plus 2gb from the VGA card? Doesn't 32 bit only support 4gb of memory max?

And btw do you think that your type of CPU coOler would fit on an 680i board?

 

[Maziar]

thanks 3dball and greatgrape ape
well its really cool inside,one fan is in front of case, 2 on the back,one is on top and one is the big 25cm fan and ofcoure the V1 CPU cooler

To No1sFanboy,thanks may try it but i kinda never let my system to be idle

 

[Maziar]

Wow sweet system!
But 32bit Os and 4gb ram plus 2gb from the VGA card? Doesn't 32 bit only support 4gb of memory max?

And btw do you think that your type of CPU coOler would fit on an 680i board?

thanks
I had XP 64 in my last rig and it really have some problems like Driver issues and some game problems(I had 4GB RAM) and i moved to XP 32bit and i didnt see any differences.and XP 32bit supports 3.2GB of RAM.

Also for your question,u can ask it in the MOBO section

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Also the graphics card will actually only eat 1 GB address space, not 2, because it's mirroring that for each VPU, and with Vista it'll more efficiently mange that than XP for the big cards (XP's more efficient for the small cards).

Had he been using it for some specific GPGPU apps, then there is the possibility of 2GB being used.

 

[Maziar]

thanks for the info
well i dont think i will move to VISTA soon,because i am happy with this

 

[englandr753]

Yes, very nice system. I guess for myself I will stick with my current 8800GTX ANS3 SLI setup until Nvidia can hit another video card release out of the park and make it worthwhile to upgrade again since I am married to Nvidia with my 780i mobo.

Setups like ours will last longer than we usually let them...

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Ive seen where ATI has focused alot with their drivers for the x2s on Vista 64. XP should only get better.