How We Tested Our Q3 2014 Budget Gaming PC Build
The following tables include the stock and overclocked settings for this quarter's budget build, followed by the gaming PC from earlier this year, which is used as a comparison point. At the very bottom you’ll find the programs and games used for benchmarking.
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| Current Budget Gaming PC System Test Configuration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Settings |
| CPU | Intel Pentium G3258 (Haswell): 3.2 GHz, 3 MB shared L3 cache, Power-saving features enabled | 4.1 GHz (41*100), 1.240 V, EIST disabled |
| CPU Cooler | Intel boxed heat sink and fan | 100% duty cycle |
| Motherboard | MSI H81M-P33 LGA 1150, Intel H81 Express, BIOS: v.1.7 (07-18-2014) | Unchanged |
| RAM | 8 GB Team Dark Series PC3-12800 kit 2 x 4 GB, DDR3-1333, CL 9-9-9-24 at 1.500 V | DDR3-1333, CL 7-7-7-21 at 1.545 V |
| Graphics | Sapphire Dual-X Radeon R9 270 2 GB GDDR5 945 MHz GPU, 1400 MHz (5600 MT/s) memory | 1050 MHz GPU @ 1.225 V, 1500 MHz (6000 MT/s) GDDR5 memory |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB 7200 RPM, 16 MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Integrated eight-channel HD Audio | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated GbE networking | Unchanged |
| Power | Antec VP 450 450 W | Unchanged |
| Optical | LG 24x SATA DVD burner, GH24NSB0B | Unchanged |
| Software and Drivers | ||
| Operating System | Windows 8 Professional x64 | Unchanged |
| Graphics Driver | AMD Catalyst 14.4 | Unchanged |
| Platform Driver | Intel Inf. v. 9.4.0.1017 | Unchanged |
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| Q2 2014 Budget Gaming PC System Test Configuration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Setting |
| CPU | AMD Athlon X4 750K (Trinity), 3.4 GHz (4 GHz max. Turbo Core), Socket FM2, No L3 Cache, Turbo Core enabled, Power-savings enabled | 4.2 GHz (42*100), 1.272 V (Load), Turbo Core disabled, Power-savings enabled, 2000 MHz CPU-NB frequency |
| CPU Cooler | AMD boxed heat sink and fan | Unchanged |
| Motherboard | ASRock FM2A75M Pro4+ AMD A75, BIOS: P1.30 (10-15-13) | Unchanged |
| RAM | 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) Team Dark Series DDR3-1600, CL 9-9-9-24 XMP at 1.5 V | DDR3-1866, CL 9-9-9-24 at 1.625 V |
| Graphics | MSI R7 265 2GD5 OC 2 GB, 955 MHz GPU, 1400 MHz (5600 MT/s) memory | 1050 MHz GPU, 1450 MHz (5800 MT/s) GDDR5 memory, Custom fan profile |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB 7200 RPM, 16 MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Integrated eight-channel HD Audio | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated GbE networking | Unchanged |
| Power | EVGA 100-W1-0430-KR 430 W | Unchanged |
| Optical | Asus 24x DVD burner DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS | Unchanged |
| Software and Drivers | ||
| Operating System | Windows 8 Professional x64 | Unchanged |
| Graphics Driver | AMD Catalyst 14.4 | Unchanged |
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| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Arma 3 | V. 1.26 Current PC, V.1.20 Q2 PC 30-Sec. Fraps "Infantry Showcase" Test Set 1: Standard Preset, No AA, Standard AF Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, 8x FSAA, Ultra AF |
| Battlefield 4 | Version 1.0.0.1, DirectX 11, 100-sec. Fraps "Tashgar" Test Set 1: Medium Quality Preset, No AA, 4x AF, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4x MSAA, 16x AF, HBAO |
| Far Cry 3 | V. 1.05, DirectX 11, 50-sec. Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO AMD/ HBAO NVidia |
| Grid 2 | Version 1.0.85.8679, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.99, Video: Video from Canon EOS 7D (1920x1080, 25 frames) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds, Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
| iTunes | Version 11.0.4.4 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
| LAME MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
| TotalCode Studio 2.5 | Version: 2.5.0.10677, MPEG2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, Two-channel, 16-bit, 224 Kb/s) Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
| Adobe Creative Suite | |
| Adobe After Effects CC | Version 12.0.0.404: Create Video, 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously |
| Adobe Photoshop CC | Version 14 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 | Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
| Adobe Acrobat XI | Version 11.0.0: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption |
| Productivity | |
| ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 | Version 15.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
| Blender | Version 2.68a, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1 |
| Visual Studio | Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted |
| Compression | |
| 7-Zip | Version 9.30 alpha, LZMA2, Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB) |
| WinRAR | Version 5.0, RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB) |
| WinZip | Version 18.0 Pro, Syntax "-a -ez -p -r" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3 GB) |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark Professional | Version: 1.2.250.0, Fire Strike Standard and Extreme |
| PCMark 8 | Version: 1.0.0 x64 Full Test |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2014 | Version: 2014.02.20.10, Processor Arithmetic, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth Benchmarks |
