Test System And Benchmark Suite
Synthetic and game tests are performed on the MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2, Eurocom Panther 5D, and Alienware M18x. The Dragon uses Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 780M mobile GPU, while the M18x employs the previous-generation GTX 680M. Eurocom's Panther 5D employs a desktop processor and a pair of GeForce GTX 680M modules running in SLI. All comparison machines utilize DDR3 or DDR3L-1600 RAM, and their CPUs and GPUs run at factory clock rates. The MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2 uses a GPU clock rate 75 MHz higher than stock and 500 MT/s-higher memory.
| Alienware M18x | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3940XM (Ivy Bridge) Quad-Core @ 3.0 GHz, 55 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel HM77 Express |
| Memory | 8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M 2 GB GDDR5 |
| Storage | 180 GB Intel SSD 520 + 500 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive |
| Eurocom Panther 5D | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme (Ivy Bridge) Six-Core, 3.5 GHz Base Frequency, 150 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel X79 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 32 GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s |
| Graphics | 2 x (SLI) Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M, 4 GB GDDR5 |
| Storage | 3 x 256 GB Crucial m4, RAID 5 |
The productivity-oriented benchmarks are run on comparison machines with Intel's Core i7-3940XM (Ivy Bridge) and Core i7-4930MX (Haswell) quad-core processors. The -3940XM is in Dell's Precision M6700 Covet Edition. The -4930MX is in MSI's GT70 Dragon Edition 2, which is slightly overclocked to let the CPU run at 4.1 GHz in its most aggressive Turbo Boost mode.
All of these tests are run on an optimized image of Windows 8 loaded on a 180 GB Intel SSD 520 drive that we install ourselves. Compression tests are run on a RAM drive to minimize the impact of storage hardware on each machine.
| Dell Precision M6700 Covet Edition | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3940XM (Ivy Bridge) Quad-Core, 3 GHz Base Frequency, 55 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel QM77 Express |
| Memory | 8 GB DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s, Dual-Channel |
| Graphics | Nvidia Quadro K5000M |
| MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2 | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-4930MX (Haswell), Quad-Core, 3 GHz Base Frequency, 4.1 GHz overclock, 57 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel HM87 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 16 GB Dual Channel DDR3L @ 1600 MT/s |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M, 4 GB GDDR5, Optimus Switchable Graphics Technology |
| Storage | 3 x 128 GB SanDisk SDSA5SF2-128G mSATA, RAID 0 (Primary System Drive) |
Benchmark Suite
| Synthetic | |
|---|---|
| Futuremark 3DMark 11 | Version 1.0.3.0, Benchmark Only |
| Futuremark 3DMark Vantage | Version 1.1.2, Benchmark Only |
| Productivity | |
| File Compression | 7-Zip Version 9.28: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to 7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" WinRAR Version 4.2: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" WinZip Version 17.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
| Photoshop CS6 | Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Premiere Pro CS6 | Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
| Maxon Cinebench | Version 11.5 Build CB25720DEMO CPU Test, Single- and Multi-Threaded |
| HandBrake CLI | Version 0.98: Video From Canon EOS 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minute 22 Seconds Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
| iTunes | Version 11.0.2.23: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 52 min, convert .wav to .m4a audio format |
| LAME | Version 11.0.2.26: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert .wav to .mp3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
| Gaming | |
| Battlefield 3 | Campaign Mode, "Going Hunting" Mission 90-Second Fraps Test Set 1: Ultra Quality Settings Test Set 2: High Quality Settings Test Set 3: Medium Quality Settings |
| BioShock Infinite | Built-In Benchmark Utility @ 1920x1080 Test Set 1: Ultra, DirectX 11, DDOF Test Set 2: Ultra, DirectX 11 Test Set 3: Very High Test Set 4: High |
| Call Of Duty: Black Ops II | Campaign Mode, "Celerium" Mission 2-Minute Fraps Test Set 1: Extra Quality, High Filtering, 8x MSAA, Ambient Occlusion, High Depth of Field Test Set 2: High Quality, Medium Filtering, 2x MSAA, Ambient Occlusion, Medium Depth of Field Test Set 3: Normal Texture Quality, Low Texture Filtering, Low Depth of Field |
| Crysis 3 | Test Set 1: Very High Details, Very High Textures, Motion Blur Medium, Lens Flare Enabled, 2x SMAA, 16x AF Test Set 2: High Detail, High Textures, Motion Blur Low, Lens Flare Enabled, 2x SMAA, 8x AF Test Set 3: Low Detail, Medium Textures, Motion Blur And Lens Flare Disabled, No AA, 4x AF |
| DiRT: Showdown | Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: Ultra Quality Settings Test Set 2: High Quality Settings Test Set 3: Medium Quality Settings |
| Hitman: Absolution | Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: Ultra Quality Settings Test Set 2: High Quality Settings Test Set 3: Medium Quality Settings |
| Sniper Elite V2 | Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: Ultra Quality Preset Test Set 2: High Quality Preset Test Set 3: Medium Quality Preset Test Set 4: Low Quality Preset |
| Tomb Raider | Built-In Benchmark @ 1920x1080 Test Set 1: Ultimate Test Set 2: Ultra Test Set 3: High Test Set 4: Normal |
| Total War: Shogun 2 | Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Graphics @ 1920x1080, FXAA Test Set 2: Very High Preset @ 1920x1080 Test Set 3: Balanced Graphics @ 1280x720 |
| World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria | Honeydew Village, Between Guards In The Rain, 60-Second Fraps Test Set 1: Ultra Preset Test Set 2: High Preset Test Set 3: Medium Preset |
| Storage | |
| CrystalDiskMark | Version 3.0.2 |
| Display | |
| Datacolor Spyder4 Elite | Brightness, Contrast, White Point, Luminance Uniformity, Color Uniformity, Color Gamut, Color Accuracy, Monitor Rating |
A Note on FPS
We realize that playable frame rates can be debated on a per-game and per-vendor basis, which is why I'm simply listing averages. As long as we're getting smooth gameplay, I tend to choose higher-quality visuals over higher frame rates. After all, we want to see all of the work that game designers put into making a game visually appealing. Typically, we find that 20 FPS is the absolute minimum we’re willing to call acceptable, with 30 FPS a more ideal minimum. In multi-player games, we favor higher frame rates and low lag.
Display Testing Methodology
Display testing and calibration is carried out using Datacolor’s Spyder4Elite calibration system, which we walked through in Display Calibration 101: Step-By-Step With Datacolor's Spyder4Elite. The system consists of a full-spectrum, seven-color sensor. All of the measurements and charts are generated by the Spyder4Elite software. The only changes are a quick crop to make the images easier to read.
