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How We Test

Test System Configuration

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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

ASRock X99 Taichi

Gigabyte GA-X99P-SLI

MSI X99A Gaming Pro Carbon

Benchmark Suite

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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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