Three Core i7 Systems From Boutique Builders

Features
By Michael Brown
published

Benchmark Results: Media

CyberPower takes the win in our first audio-conversion test, which isn’t a big surprise considering that it has the fastest CPU in the roundup, the Core i7 940. AVADirect comes in second by overclocking the Core i7 920; Alienware lags the field with its virtually stock Core i7 920.

The LAME benchmark result is more interesting. In the iTunes test, just 13 seconds separate first place from last. In our WAV-to-MP3 conversion, the gap widens to 38 seconds. CyberPower, with the fastest CPU, takes the win in both categories.

All four rigs are equipped with quad-core CPUs, and our MainConcept benchmark uses them all. Clock speed then becomes the determining factor, with the CyberPower once again being the predictable winner. If you’re looking to perform a lot of media conversion, the Core i7 940 is much more desirable than its lesser cousin--especially at the overclocked settings CyberPower is using here.

The DivX test taps all four cores while this version if XviD takes advantage of just two. Once again, the CyberPower leaves the Alienware in the dust and is considerably faster than AVADirect’s entry. It’s all about the CPU here, and there’s no way a Core i7 920 is ever going to beat a Core i7 940.

Here’s yet another multi-threaded CPU test and CyberPower once again leads the field, albeit not by as wide a margin as we saw with our other benchmarks.

Clock-rate is king in our 3ds Max 9.0 benchmark, so the CyberPower rules the day by virtue of having the fastest CPU on the battlefield.

Michael Brown
99 Comments Comment from the forums
  • gkay09
    Well this article would help people buying preassembled computer very much...
    Reply
  • 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.

    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.
    Reply
  • 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.

    I mean, the subjective evaluation provided is still useful, but... how noisy is "surprisingly quiet" or "the loudest of the three machines"?
    Reply
  • pivalak
    Hummm, 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"?
    Reply
  • pivalak
    Hummm, 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
  • 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.
    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)
    Reply
  • 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?
    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).
    Reply
  • “No one ever got laughed at for buying an Alienware.”

    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.
    Reply