Performance Analysis, Continued

AMD's Quad FX is designed mostly as an ultimate multitasking solution, but few benchmarks could use the additional threads and even then, both it and the Quad Extreme had four cores. An average of all tests will further define the overall difference between competing technologies.

The QX6800-powered, overclocked Dell wins by 54%, but the XPS 720 H2C we tested costs around $7,200! By comparison, the Vigor Force Recon QX4 costs "only" around $4,900.

Conclusion

If one were to add up everything Vigor Gaming put into its Vigor Force Recon QX4, its $4,900 price appears reasonable. Yet the 54% performance gain from Dell cost only 46% more. For anyone with an extra $2300 to spend, the Dell appears to be a better deal without even considering peripherals.

The Vigor Force Recon QX4 doesn't include a monitor it its base price. The Dell we tested included its 2407WFP 24" LCD monitor, a $670 value. Deducting that, the Dell system actually cost only 33% more, for a 54% performance gain.

We can't fault Vigor for building a system using inferior processors when these are the best an AMD enthusiast can buy. Instead, we'll put the blame on AMD for not keeping pace with the competition, and hope for a quick turnaround as new products are released.

Author's Note

Expert Lab technician and up-and-coming overclocker Shelton Romhanyi deserves special credit for all his hard work testing. We'll continue working on the overclocking part.

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