Three Core i7 Systems From Boutique Builders

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.