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Test System Configuration
| CPU Cooler | Waterblock - EK Supremacy Evo (Insert 2, Jet 3) Radiator - EK CE280 and PE360 Fans - EK F3-140ER (2) and EK F4-120ER (3) Pump - D5 PWM G2 Reservoir - EK XRES 140 Revo (200 mL) Tubing - 13/10 DuraClear |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | Antec HCP-1200: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold |
| Software | |
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit |
| Graphics | Crimson 16.10.1 WHQL |
The CPU isn't the only new hardware for the X99 bed. We've retired the old Samsung SATA SSD in favor of Toshiba's RD400 NVMe model and its PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. The GPU cooling loop is now upgraded and expanded to include the CPU. The new "Frakencooler" features EK's Supremacy Evo block, D5 pump with 200mL reservoir, CE 240 radiator, PE 360 radiator, and an entire liter of coolant. A little Dremel work allowed both to mount to the stripped HAF xB Evo case used to hold the test bed together. This replaces Noctua's venerable D14 (though the Frakencooler has assimilated the D14's cable splitters and extensions).
Comparison Products
Benchmark Suite
| Benchmark Settings | |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| PCMark 8 | Version 2.7.613 Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft) |
| 3DMark 13 | Version 4.47.597.0 Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets |
| SiSoftware Sandra | Version 2016.03.22.21 CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth |
| DiskSPD | 4k Random Read, 4k Random Write 128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write |
| Cinebench R15 | Build RC83328DEMO OpenGL Benchmark |
| CompuBench | Version 1.5.8 Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing |
| Application Tests and Settings | |
| LAME MP3 | Version 3.98.3 Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.9.9 Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4 |
| Blender | Version 2.68a BMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark |
| 7-Zip | Version 16.02 THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9" |
| Adobe After Effects CC | Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144 PCMark driven routine |
| Adobe Photoshop CC | Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64 PCMark driven routine (light and heavy) |
| Adobe InDesign CC | Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64 PCMark driven routine |
| Adobe Illustrator | Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit) PCMark driven routine |
| Game Tests and Settings | |
| Ashes of Singularity | Version 1.31.21360, DirectX 12, GPU-Focused High Preset Crazy Preset |
| F1 2015 | 2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, Rain Medium Preset Ultra High Preset |
| Metro Last Light Redux | Version 3.00 64-bit High Quality Very High Quality |
| The Talos Principle | Version 267252, 64-Bit, DirectX11 High Preset, Max Render 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, Max Render 1920x1080 |
Each board is set to stock clocks, Speed Step and energy saving features are enabled, and the CPU fan is set to maximum. We use Windows default "Performance" power option preset for everything except idle power consumption where it gets set to "Balanced."
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