Power, Heat And Efficiency
Last quarter's system lagged in memory performance at stock settings, but it was also able to claim the lowest combined-load power consumption.
Meanwhile, the new system needs far less voltage to achieve its best overclock, actually reducing power consumption in our CPU-only test.
Of course, the performance of two graphics cards costs big in terms of power for the $2400 machine. These days, you could use a couple of GeForce GTX 980s and enjoy better performance for similar consumption.
The new PC’s CPU temperature doesn’t rise when it's overclocked, mostly because I was able to reduce the fixed voltage setting compared to the stock slope’s maximum. GPU temperatures are similarly stable, mostly because I was able to leave the card’s fan slope at PowerColor's factory settings.
From a cooling value perspective, I might have gone overkill on the new $1600 PC. It certainly didn’t need a $75 cooler to run at this low overclocked voltage. Conversely, I couldn’t have known how much voltage it would need until after I received the processor! Oh, the real-world issues we face as PC builders.
The new build starts out 2.2% more efficient than Q1’s $2400 machine and 11% better than its second-quarter incarnation. Because it was overclocked at relatively low voltage, its class-leading efficiency improves with the added frequency.
