Three Core i7 Systems From Boutique Builders
Features
published
Test Setup
Hardware Comparison
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MODEL | Alienware Area-51 X-58 | AVADirect Custom Gaming PC | CyberPower Xtreme Gamer |
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CPU | Intel Core i7 920, 2.67 GHz | Intel Core i7 920, 2.67 GHz (OC'd to 3.33 GHz) | Intel Core i7 940 2.93 GHz (OC'd to 3.61 GHz) |
Motherboard | Asus Custom Socket 1366 | Asus P6T Deluxe | Asus P6T Deluxe |
RAM | 6 GB DDR3 at 1,066 MT/s (Elipida) | 6 GB DDR3 at 1,333 MT/s (Corsair XMS3) | 6GB DDR3 at 1,600 MT/s (Kingston HyperX) |
Chipset | Intel X58 | Intel X58 | Intel X58 |
Video Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 295 | EVGA GeForce GTX 260 (two cards in SLI) | Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 X2 |
Audio | Analog Devices SoundMAX | Analog Devices SoundMAX | Analog Devices SoundMAX |
Hard Drive | Two Seagate Barracuda ST3500620AS (500 GB) in RAID 0 | Fujitsu MBA3147RC SAS (147 GB) and Seagate Barracuda ST315003141AS (1.5 TB) | Two Hitachi Deskstar (500 GB) in RAID 0 and Western Digital WD10EACS (1 TB) |
Optical | LG Electronics Super-Multi GH22NP20 | Two TSST CDDVDW SH-S223Q | Sony BR-5100S 20X Blu-ray, plus Sony 20x DVD-RW |
CPU Cooling | Alienware custom heatsink/fan | CoolIT Domino ALC | Asetek LCLC |
GPU Cooling | Stock heatsink/fan | Stock heatsink/fan | Stock heatsink/fan |
LAN | Marvell Yukon 88E8056 (dual Gigabit) | Marvell Yukon 88E8056 (dual Gigabit) | Marvell Yukon 88E8056 (dual Gigabit) |
Media Reader | None | 68-in-1 | 12-in-1 |
Operating System | Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) | Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) | Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit) |
Enclosure | Alienware Custom | Thermaltake V9 | Cooler Master Storm Sniper |
Power Supply | Alienware Custom (750 watts) | Corsair TX750W (750 watts) | Thermaltake Toughpower (600 watts) |
Benchmarks and Settings
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3D Games Benchmarks and Settings | |
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Benchmarks | Details |
Far Cry | Version: 1.02, Video Mode: 1280x960, no AA, Overall Quality Very High and 1920x1200, 4x AA, Overall Quality Very High, Demo: Far Cry 2 benchmark tool, Ranch Mediu |
Supreme Commander | Version: 1.5.359, Video Mode: 1920x1200 Fidelity Preset: Low and 1920x1200 Fidelity Preset: High, Demo: WallaceTX_006_00, Benchmark: Fraps 2.9.4 – Built 7037 |
Unreal Tournament 3 | Version: 1.2, Video Mode: 1920x1200, Texture and Level Details 1; and 1920x1200, Texture and Level Details 5, Sound and DirectX 10; Window off, Demo: CTF-Reflection_fly, Time: 12/60 |
World In Conflict | Version 1.0.0.9, Video mode: 1920x1200, Very Low Details and 1920x1200, Very High Detail, Demo: Game Benchmark |
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Media Benchmarks and Settings | |
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Benchmarks | Details |
DivX | Version: 6.8.3,- Main Menu -, Default, - Codec Menu -, Encoding Mode: Insane Quality, Enhanced multi-threading, Enabled using SSE4, Quarter-pixel search, - Video Menu -, Quantization: MPEG-2 |
iTunes | Version: 8.0.2Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minDefault format to AAC |
LAME MP3 | Version 3.98Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minWAV to MP3, 160Kbps |
MainConcept Reference Reference H.264 Plugin Pro | Version 1.5.1 MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264) MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2)Audio: MPEG2 (44.1KHz, 2 channel, 16-bit, 224Kbs)Codec: H.264Mode: PAL (25 FPS)Profile: Tom’s Hardware Settings for Qct-Core |
Nero 8 Recode | Version: Nero Recode 3.1.4.0 Record entire DVD to DVDDefault settings |
Pinnacle Studio Ultimate | Version: 12.0.0.6163Encoding and Transition RenderingDV camcorder movieVideo:720 x 576 Pixel, PAL, 25 fps, 6000 Kbits/secAudio:MPEG Layer 2, 224 Kbits/sec 16 Bit, Stereo 44.1 KHzFile Type: MPEG-2 (DVD Compatible) |
TMPEGnc Xpress | Version: 4.5.1.254Video: Terminator 2 SE DVD (720x576, 16:9) 5 Minutes Audio: Dolby Digital, 48000 Hz, 6-channel EnglishAdvanced Acoustic Engine MP3 Encoder (160Kbs, 44.1KHz) |
Xvid | Version: 1.1.3 - Other Options / Encoder Menu - Display encoding status = off |
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Applications Benchmarks and Settings | |
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Benchmark | Details |
3ds Max 9 | Version: 9.0, Benchmark: Render Dragon image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
Grisoft AVG Anti-virus | Version: 8.0.134, Virus base: 270.4.5/1533, Benchmark: Scan some compressed ZIP and RAR archives |
WinRAR | Version 3.70 Beta 8, WinZIP Commandline Version 2.3, Compression = Best, Dictionary: 4096KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload |
WinZIP | Version: 11.2, Compression = Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload |
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Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
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3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.02, GPU and CPU Scores obtained with Performance Preset |
PCMark Vantage | Version 1.00, System, Memories, Productivity and Hard Drive Benchmarks |
SiSoftware Sandra XII | Version: 2008.5.14.24, CPU Test=CPU Arithmetic/MultiMedia, Memory Test=Bandwidth Benchmark |
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A/C Power Consumption | |
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Kill-A-Watt P4400 | Each system’s A/C power draw measured at the wall in watts at idle and then while running the Far Cry 2 benchmark using a P3 Kill-A-Watt P4400 power meter |
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99 Comments
Comment from the forums
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crisisavatar all 3 suck concidering you can add a 24 inch monitor, high quality speakers, audio card, gaming mouse/keyboard and still have money to spare.Reply
ps. running a couple of gtx 260s at stock will be more than enough to pull 45 fps in crysis and everything else at idk fps. -
crisisavatar ups forgot to add the new OCZ vortex 30g ssd in raid 0 to boot up and still be in budget.Reply -
pivalak Hummm, what I tend to miss on these reviews is an actual measurement of the noise generated by the system.Reply
I mean, the subjective evaluation provided is still useful, but... how noisy is "surprisingly quiet" or "the loudest of the three machines"? -
pivalak Hummm, what I tend to miss on these reviews is an actual measurement of the noise generated by the system.Reply
I mean, the subjective evaluation provided is still useful, but... how noisy is "surprisingly quiet" or "the loudest of the three machines"? -
pivalak Hummm, what I tend to miss on these reviews is an actual measurement of the noise generated by the system.Reply
I mean, the subjective evaluation provided is still useful, but... how noisy is "surprisingly quiet" or "the loudest of the three machines" in this case? -
pivalak Oooops... sorry for the multiple posts. I had some issues with my browser (does anyone know how to delete them?) :(Reply -
nerrawg Kind of surprised that Thomas Soderstrom's (is he swedish btw?) $2,500 core i7 build from December wasn't mentioned from what I could see for comparison.Reply
If anyone is curious how tom's home-build system compares to the boutiques here's the link: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclock,2116.html
From the gaming benches on that review it appears that the now slightly outdated december build still trumps the above builds with its triple 260 SLI and 4.0 Ghz overclocked 920. Best value award goes Tom's own Build! Now if only that one came pre-built with a 3 year warranty .... guess I'll still be getting out my toolkit (no pun intended)
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MrMick pivalakHummm, what I tend to miss on these reviews is an actual measurement of the noise generated by the system.I mean, the subjective evaluation provided is still useful, but... how noisy is "surprisingly quiet" or "the loudest of the three machines" in this case?Reply
Hi, I'm the author of the story. Trying to objectively measure a system's noise levels without sophisticated measurement equipment is as problematic as describing them subjectively.
I have a level meter, but decided not to use it because it wasn't sensitive enough to measure noise levels where it mattered--at ear level where I was seated. I needed to measure the ambient room noise with no computers running to set a basis for comparison, and the meter wasn't sensitive enough to do that.
And even if the meter was sensitive enough for my purpose, the decibel measurement would be relevant only for the environment in which I was testing (my home office, which measures 13.6x8 feet).
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“No one ever got laughed at for buying an Alienware.”Reply
Are you kidding? They have to be the most overpriced POS on the market.
Pfft. Alienware = glorified console.
Real PC gamers build their own. Period.