How We Tested
Test System Components
At twice the price of the Munchkin, there's little information we can glean from comparing it against builds from last quarter. However the Q1 systems were $700 and $1300, so the Munchkin will slot nicely between them.
Both of those systems feature Intel CPUs (an i3 and i7, respectively), and Intel's had the CPU efficiency crown for a while. I already know the Munchkin will get slaughtered in the productivity benchmarks. I'm not too worried about that because I built this as a LAN box. The Q1 $1300 machine has a GTX 970 as well, so this is a perfect opportunity to test my hypothesis. If I'm right and the 860K isn't a big bottleneck, we should see similar framerates between the two, especially at the higher detail levels.
I've done something a little different this time in calculating system cost. I've tallied the total cost for each system into Complete System, Hardware Only, Performance Parts, and Core Components categories. Core Components includes the CPU, CPU cooler, motherboard, RAM, GPU, system drive, and power supply. The Performance Parts category take the Core group and adds the case. My reasoning on this is that the case is an integral part of system cooling and directly responsible for the overclocks achieved. The Hardware Only category should be self-explanatory, and the Complete System total includes the OS.
System Comparison Components | |||
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Row 0 - Cell 0 | Q3 2015 $800 Munchkin | Q1 2015 $700 Budget Gaming PC | Q1 2015 $1300 Enthusiast PC |
Processor | AMD Athlon X4 860K: 3.7 GHz-4.0 GHz, Four Cores, No L3 | Intel Core i3-4150: 3.5GHz, Two Cores, 3 MB Cache | Intel Core i7-4790K: 4.0GHz-4.4GHz, Four Cores, 8 MB Cache |
CPU Cooler | AMD Boxed Heatsink and Fan | Intel Boxed Heatsink and Fan | Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B |
Motherboard | ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+: FM2+/FM2, AMD A88X, Mini ITX | ASRock H81M-HDS: LGA 1150, Intel H81 Express | MSI Z97 PC Mate: LGA 1150, Intel Z97 Express |
Graphics | Asus TURBO-GTX970-OC-4GD5 GeForce GTX 970 4GB | SAPPHIRE DUAL-X 100373L Radeon R9 280 3GB | ASUS Strix STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5 GTX 970 4GB |
Memory | Crucial Ballistix Sport BLS2KIT4G3D1609DS1S00: DDR3-1600 C9, 8GB (2 x 4GB) | G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3-1600 C9, 8GB (2 x 4GB) | G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3-2133 C9, 8GB (2 x 4GB) |
System Drive | WD Blue WD10EZEX; 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5" HDD | WD Blue WD10EZEX; 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5" HDD | PNY Optima SSD7SC240GOPT-RB: 2.5" 240GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD |
Power | Corsair CX500M 500W Modular, ATX12V, 80 PLUS Bronze | EVGA 100-W1-0500-KR: 500W, 80 PLUS (standard) | EVGA 600B 100-B1-0600-KR: 600W, 80 PLUS Bronze |
Core Components | $645 | $519 | $1,019 |
Case | Cooler Master 130 Elite Mini ITX | NZXT Source 210 Elite Black | Cooler Master HAF XB Evo |
Total Performance Components Cost | $695 | $569 | $1,114 |
Storage Drive | Uses System Drive | Uses Sustem Drive | WD Blue WD10EZEX; 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5" HDD |
Optical Drive | Asus DRW-24F1ST: 24x DVD±R, 48X CD-R | Asus DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD±R | Pioneer BDC-207DBK 8x BRD Reader, 16x DVD±R |
Total Hardware Cost | $707 | $589 | $1,214 |
OS | Windows 8.1 X64 OEM | Windows 8.1 X64 OEM | Windows 8.1 X64 OEM |
Complete System Price | $797 | $689 | $1,314 |
Benchmark Suite
As with my motherboard reviews, I set this machine to stock clocks, enabled AMD Cool'n'Quiet and other energy saving features, and set the CPU fan to maximum. I use Windows default "Performance" power option preset for everything except idle power consumption where it's set to "Balanced."
3D Games | |
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Battlefield 4 | Version 1.0.0.1, DirectX 11, 100-sec. Fraps "Tashgar" Test Set 1: Medium Quality Preset, No AA, 4X AF, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4X MSAA, 16X AF, HBAO |
Grid 2 | Version 1.0.85.8679, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 8x MSAA |
Arma 3 | Version 1.08.113494, 30-Sec. Fraps "Infantry Showcase" Test Set 1: Standard Preset, No AA, Standard AF Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, 8x FSAA, Ultra AF |
Far Cry 3 | V. 1.04, DirectX 11, 50-sec. Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO |
Adobe Creative Suite | |
Adobe After Effects CC | Version 12.0.0.404: Create Video which includes 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneosly |
Adobe Photoshop CC | Version 14.0 x64: Filter 15.7MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
Adobe Premeire Pro CC | Version 7.0.0 (342), 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
Audio/Video Encoding | |
iTunes | Version 11.0.4.4 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
Lame MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 kb/s) |
Handbrake CLI | Version: 0.99: Video from Canon Eos 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds Audio: PCM-S16, 48000 Hz, 2-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
TotalCodeStudio 2.5 | Version: 2.5.0.10677: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
Productivity | |
ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
Adobe Acrobat 11 | Version 11.0.0.379: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 | Version 15.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
Blender | Version: 2.68A, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1 |
File Compression | |
WinZip | Version 18.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
WinRAR | Version 5.0: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
7-Zip | Version 9.30 alpha (64-bit): THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
3DMark Professional | Version: 1.2.250.0 (64-bit), Fire Strike Benchmark |
PCMark 8 | Version: 1.0.0 x64, Full Test |
SiSoftware Sandra | Version 2014.02.20.10, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Multimedia / Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth Benchmarks |