How We Tested Our Q4 2014 Budget Gaming PC
The following tables include the stock and overclocked settings for current budget build, followed by the gaming PC from last quarter, 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 | Header Cell - Column 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Setting |
| CPU | Intel Pentium G3258 (Haswell): 3.2GHz, 3 MB Shared L3 Cache, Power savings enabled | 4.0 GHz (40*100), 1.19V, EIST Enabled |
| CPU Cooler | Intel Boxed Heat Sink and Fan | Custom Fan Setttings |
| Motherboard | MSI H81M-P33 LGA 1150, Intel H81 Express, BIOS: v.1.7 (07-18-2014) | Unchanged |
| RAM | 8.0 GB Team Vulcan PC3-12800 kit 2x 4048MB, @ DDR3-1333, CL 9-9-9-24 at 1.500V | DDR3-1333, CL 7-8-8-24 at 1.545V |
| Graphics | MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming 2GB GDDR5 1080 MHz GPU, 1400 MHz (5600 MT/s) Memory | 1140 MHz GPU, 1500 MHz (6000 MT/s) GDDR5 Memory |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 1TB, 72000 RPM, 16MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Integrated 8 -Channel HD Audio | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking | Unchanged |
| Power | EVGA 100-W1-0500-KR 500W | Unchanged |
| Optical | LG 24X SATA DVD Burner Model 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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| Q3 2014 Budget Gaming PC System Test Configuration | Header Cell - Column 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Setting |
| CPU | Intel Pentium G3258 (Haswell): 3.2GHz, 3 MB Shared L3 Cache, Power savings enabled | 4.1 GHz (41*100), 1.240V, 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 | 8.0 GB Team Dark Series PC3-12800 kit 2x 4048MB, @ DDR3-1333, CL 9-9-9-24 at 1.500V | DDR3-1333, CL 7-7-7-21 at 1.545V |
| Graphics | Sapphire Dual-X Radeon R9 270 2GB GDDR5 945 MHz GPU, 1400 MHz (5600 MT/s) Memory | 1050 MHz GPU @ 1.225V, 1500 MHz (6000 MT/s) GDDR5 Memory |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 1TB, 72000 RPM, 16MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Integrated 8 -Channel HD Audio | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking | Unchanged |
| Power | Antec VP 450 450W | Unchanged |
| Optical | LG 24X SATA DVD Burner Model 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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| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Arma 3 | V. 1.34 Current PC, V.1.26 Q3 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, 48000 Hz, 2-Kanal, 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 (MPEG2), Audio:MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16 Bit, 224 kbps) 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 15.7MB 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 Encyption |
| 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 (1.3GB) |
| WinRAR | Version 5.0, RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3GB) |
| WinZip | Version 18.0 Pro, Syntax "-a -ez -p -r" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 (1.3GB) |
| 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 |
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