System Builder Marathon, June 2010: $550 Gaming PC

Benchmark Results: Productivity

Productivity

The two systems both finish rendering just a bit under a minute. Overclocking alone reduces the time by 10 seconds, but adding a core steals the show yet again with a massive 74% reduction in job time.

Forget overclocking. Reducing scan times in AVG demands additional processing cores.

The March PC holds a 4% lead over the current rig, while overclocking yields a 15% reduction in job time. Unlocking holds a clear, although less pronounced, lead in WinRAR compression.

7-Zip follows the trend, clearly showing benefits from both additional cores and core speed.

Whether due to faster or more RAM, the March PC is the quicker platform in Photoshop, finishing 15 seconds ahead of the June system. Overclocking helps, but unlocking provides massive gains by comparison.