The $750 Computing Challenge: Germany Versus USA
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By
Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos
Published
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USA Versus Germany Comparison Table, Test Setup
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| Components | USA | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Core 2 Duo E8500 (3.16 GHz dual-core, 6 MB L2 cache, FSB1333) | Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 GHz quad-core, 2x 4 MB L2 cache, FSB1066) |
| CPU Cooler | Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro | EKL Alpenföhn Groß Clockner |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L (P45 Chipset) | Asus P5QL-SE (P43 Chipset) |
| RAM | G.Skill PI Black 2x 2 GB DDR2-800 | Kingston ValueRAM 2x 2 GB DDR2-800 KVR800D2N5K2/4G |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Green 1 TB WD10EADS, 32 MB Cache, SATA/300, 5,400 RPM | Western Digital Caviar Blue 320 GB WD3200AAKS, 16 MB Cache, SATA/300, 7,200 RPM |
| Graphics | Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512 MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 4870, 1 GB |
| Sound / Network | integrated on motherboard | integrated on motherboard |
| Case | Antec Three Hundred | PNL-Tech Rasurbo BC-05 |
| Power Supply | Antec EarthWatts EA 380 380 W | PNL-Tech ATX 64BIT 460WP 460 W |
| Optical Drive | Lite-On 20X DVD±R SATA Model iHAS120-04 | Samsung SH-S223F SATA |
| Total Cost | < $730 (570 Euros) | ~600 Euros ($775) |
Please keep in mind that the exchange rate between Euros and dollars keeps changing. Also, the prices for Europe include a 19% VAT, while prices for North America typically exclude sales tax, which may differ from state to state.
The US team spent a larger part of its budget on the motherboard, the hard drive, the memory, and the case and power supply, while the German team focused on purchasing maximum performance by getting a quad core processor and a faster graphics card model. Let’s look at the results!
Benchmark Setup
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| 3D Games Benchmarks and Settings | |
|---|---|
| Benchmarks | Details |
| Crysis | Version: 1.2.1, Video Mode: 1680x1050, Overall Quality: low, Demo: CPU-Benchmark2 + Tom's Hardware Tool |
| Unreal Tournament 3 | Version: 1.2, Video Mode: 1680x1050, Sound and DirectX10, Video Quality: Texture Details: 1, Level Details: 1, Demo: vCTF-CONTAINMENT_fly, Time: 12/60 |
| World In Conflict | Version: 1.0.0.9, Video Mode: 1680x1050 and 800x600, Video Quality: low details, Demo: Game-Benchmark |
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| Audio Benchmarks and Settings | |
|---|---|
| Benchmarks | Details |
| Lame MP3 | Version 3.98, Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, wave to mp3 conversion, 160 Kbps |
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| Video Benchmarks and Settings | |
|---|---|
| Benchmarks | Details |
| Mainconcept Reference 1.5.1 Reference H.264 Plugin Pro 1.5.1 | Version: 1.5.1, MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16 Bit, 224 kbps), Codec: H.264, Mode: PAL (25 FPS), Profile: Tom's Hardware Settings for Qct-Core |
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| Application Benchmarks and settings | |
|---|---|
| Benchmarks | Details |
| WinRAR 3.8 | Version 3.80 BETA 4 WinZIP Commandline Version 2.3 Compression = Best Dictionary = 4096 KB Benchmark: THG-Workload |
| Autodesk 3D Studio Max 9 | Version: 9.0 Rendering a Dragon picture rendering HTDV 1920x1080 |
| Adobe photoshop CS 3 | Version: 10.0x20070321, Filtering from a 69 MB TIF-Photo, Benchmark: Tomshardware-Benchmark V1.0.0.4, Programmed by Tomshardware using Delphi 2007, Filters: Crosshatch, Glass, Sumi-e, Accented Edges, Angled, Strokes, Sprayed Strokes |
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| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
|---|---|
| Benchmarks | Details |
| 3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.02, Options: Performance, Graphics Test 1, Graphics Test 2, CPU Test 1, CPU Test 2 |
| PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.00, PCMark Benchmark, Score: Memory, TV and Movies, Gaming, Music, Communications, Productivity, HDD, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646 |
We used Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 for all tests.
Clock Speeds
Both the US and German teams decided to run the benchmarks at stock speeds and overclocked, to show the potential of their systems:
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| Clock Speeds | US: Core 2 Duo E8500 | Germany: Core 2 Quad Q6600 |
|---|---|---|
| Stock Speed | 3.16 GHz (FSB1333) | 2.40 GHz (FSB1066) |
| Overclocked to | 3.95 GHz (FSB1664) | 3.05 GHz (FSB1352) |
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