Test System And Benchmarks
We're skipping the relatively unsuccessful Core i3 build we put together in December 2010 when it comes to comparing synthetic and application benchmark results. Instead, we’re using our build from September 2010's SBM. The new Core i5-2500K/Radeon HD 6950 combo is an interesting competitor for September’s Core i5-750/GeForce GTX 470 system, and the results below show how much the new Sandy bridge CPU changes versus that Core i5-700- series-based build.
For gaming, we include December's Core i3 system and its dual GeForce GTX 460 graphics muscle. We’re in the middle of upgrading our SBM gaming suite, so two of the new game titles we’re using don’t include the Core i5-750/GeForce GTX 470 system we built back in September.
| Current $1000 Enthusiast PC Test Settings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Standard Speed | Overclocked | |
| Motherboard | ASRock P67 Extreme4 LGA 1155, Intel P67 chipset | Unchanged |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo), Quad-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache | 4400 MHz at 1.3 V |
| Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333 Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit, CAS 7-7-7-20-1T | Unchanged |
| Graphics | Gigabyte Radeon HD 6950 2 GB GDDR5 @ 1250 MHz 1408-shader Cayman GPU @ 800 MHz | GDDR5 @ 1300 MHz GPU modded to 1536 shaders @ 880 MHz |
| Hard Drives | Samsung Spinpoint 1 TB 1 TB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB cache SATA 3Gb/s | Unchanged |
| Optical | Asus DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD Burner | Unchanged |
| Case | In-Win Android | Unchanged |
| Power | Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650 W ATX12V, EPS12V, 80 PLUS-Certified | Unchanged |
| $1000 Enthusiast PC Test Settings (December 2010) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Standard Speed | Overclocked | |
| Motherboard | Asus Sabertooth 55i Chipset: Intel P55 | Unchanged |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-550 3.2 GHz, Dual-Core, 4 MB L3 Cache | 4019 MHz at 1.35 V, 167.5 MHz BCLK |
| Memory | GeIL Black Dragon 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333 Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit, CAS 7-7-7-24-1T | DDR3-1004, CAS 7-7-7-24-1T |
| Graphics | 2 x ECS NBGTX460 (SLI) 1 GB GDDR5-3700 Per Card GeForce GTX 460 GPU at 765/1530 MHz core/shaders | GDDR5-3800 825/1650 MHz core/shaders |
| Hard Drives | Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s | Unchanged |
| Optical | LG 22x DVD-GH22LS50 OEM 22x DVD+R, 8x DVD+RW, 48x CD ROM | Unchanged |
| Case | NZXT Gamma | Unchanged |
| Power | Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650 W ATX12V, EPS12V, 80 PLUS-Certified | Unchanged |
| $1000 Enthusiast PC (September 2010) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Standard Speed | Overclocked | |
| Motherboard | Asus P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156, Intel P55 chipset, BIOS 1003 | Unchanged |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-750 2.66 GHz, Four Cores, 8 MB L3 Cache | 3.75 GHz, 178 MHz Reference Clock |
| Memory | Crucial 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR3-1333 Dual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit, CAS 9-9-9-24-1T | DDR3-1070, CAS 8-8-8-22-1T |
| Graphics | MSI GeForce GTX 470 1280 MB GDDR5-3348 Per Card 607/1215 MHz GPU/Shaders, 837 MHz Mem | GDDR5-4500 690/1380 MHz GPU/Shaders, 845 MHz Mem |
| Hard Drives | Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s | Unchanged |
| Optical | Lite-On iHAS124 24x DVD+R, 8x DVD+RW, 48x CD ROM | Unchanged |
| Case | Antec Three Hundred | Unchanged |
| Power | Corsair CMPSU-650HX 650 W ATX12V, EPS12V , 80 PLUS-Certified | Unchanged |
And here's a list of the benchmarks:
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Very High Quality, No AA |
| DiRT 2 | In-game benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 sec. FRAPS) Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat | S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat benchmark version Test Set 1: High Preset, DX11 EFDL, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, DX11 EFDL, 4x MSAA |
| World in Conflict | Patch 1009, DirectX 10, timedemo Test 1: Very High Details, No AA / No AF Test 2: Very High Details 4x AA / 16x AF |
| Just Cause 2 | In-game benchmark: Concrete Jungle Test Set 1: Medium Details, No AA, 8x AF Test Set 2: Highest Details, 8x AA, 16x AF |
| F1 2010 | In-game benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| iTunes | Version: 9.0.2.25 x64 Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min Default format AAC |
| HandBrake 0.9.4 | Version 0.9.4, convert first .vob file from "The Last Samurai" (1 GB) to .mp4 High Profile |
| TMPGEnc 4.0 Express | Version: 4.7.3.292 Import File: "Terminator 2" SE DVD (5 Minutes) Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9 |
| DivX 6.9.1 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search |
| Xvid 1.2.2 | Display encoding status = off |
| MainConcept Reference 1.6.1 | MPEG-2 to MPEG-4 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2) Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 KHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s) Mode: PAL (25 FPS) |
| Productivity | |
| Adobe Photoshop CS4 (64-bit) | Version: 11.0 x64, Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 | Version: 11.0 x64, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
| Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 9.0 | Version: 9.0.663, Virus base: 270.14.1/2407 Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
| WinRAR 3.90 | Version x64 3.90, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
| 7-Zip | Version 4.65: Format=Zip, Compression=Ultra, Method=Deflate, Dictionary Size=32 KB, Word Size=128, Threads=8 Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
| Synthetic Benchmarks | |
| 3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.01, GPU and CPU scores |
| PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.0.1.0 x64, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2010 | Version 2010.1.16.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
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That is one funky looking case. Great $1k system!
That case is a behemoth.
After seeing that case i was afraid for Princess Leia.
After seeing that case i was afraid for Princess Leia.
LOL
Crazy looking case, but nice system overall!
for 1k usd seems to be a cheap system.. hmm nice review, is good to see that new processors are really efficient even when overclocked ..to bad about the 22cm cooler of the side panel of that funny case. My Armor+ has exactly the same issue with a V6gt cooler and I decided to go back to my hyper212+
.
you forgot to add the cost of your beloved Windows
LOL
Huh?
Huh?
Good to see the Tom's team is on the same page XD
that has to be the ugliest case I've ever seen in my life. At the end of the day the case is 100% taste, to 'recommend' a case is futile.
Just for testing purposes, could that 220mm fan have been mounted on the outside of the case, to see if its worth buying a slimmer fan with that extra $24 in the budget?
Strange results in games. 460 1gb SLI is equal to gtx580 in Crysis, but in this article two 460gtx show the same performance as 6950...
Amazing value. This machine can do rip trough anything @ 1920x1200. I like how you're keeping your eyes open on mobos yet to appear;
Asrok P67 Extreme4, MSI P67 GD45, Intel Boxdp67bg, Asus P67Pro, Gigabyte P67UD4: Cheapest SLI/CF x8 w/3slot-for-each-card-boards out there. Only one can be the best. My bet is on Intel.
6950 all the way and nothing less, not even to fit in a SSD.
For $10 more, I would pick the Inwin Dragon Slayer for bigger size, 4 fans, meshed covers (Princess Leia's daddy).
Another $10 for the Corsair TX650 Version 2.0, but that was just released 3 weeks ago.
i think i said this in the last build....modular PSU please, especially since you had a bit of money you had left over. OCZ do some good ones.
I saw the case, and it made me instantly awaken. Not quite sure how to explain it - though it does come down to personal taste anyway.
As for some of the gaming benchmarks, it's really a mixed bag. Sandy Bridge/6950 rules at 1080p & lower but anything higher seems to be in the domain of the dual Nvidia cards. Though the Core i3 was a really extreme compromise.
Now waiting for the AMD build to show up!
UGGGGGHHHHH-ly casr
I saw the case, and it made me instantly awaken. Not quite sure how to explain it - though it does come down to personal taste anyway.As for some of the gaming benchmarks, it's really a mixed bag. Sandy Bridge/6950 rules at 1080p & lower but anything higher seems to be in the domain of the dual Nvidia cards. Though the Core i3 was a really extreme compromise. Now waiting for the AMD build to show up!
That has to do with the way certain games are programmed and made to prefer certain architecture over another. it's not exactly the fault of the video cards.
I have to learn to spell 'case'... lol
Seagate drive? No way... pure junk.
I have to learn to spell 'case'... lolSeagate drive? No way... pure junk.
Nothing wrong with a seagate drive...as an external HDD. Never used one as an internal though.
The case itself looks real good, and hopefully efficient at cooling. Although I must say, it looks like a 'gaming' case that was first built around early 2000. I personally like it though, it looks quite unique.
Just pulled the trigger on this system.. trumps your 1K system..
For 820.00 shipped..
http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Special-B/w/62031