System Builder Marathon: Mid-Cost System

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Test System & Benchmarks

Now that we've looked at our choices and justifications in detail, let's recap one more time:

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SBM Mid-Range PC System Hardware
Processor Intel Core2 Quad CPU Q6700, 2.66 GHz, 1066 FSB, 8 MB Cache
Motherboard Asus P5N-T Deluxe, BIOS 0903 (03/06/2008)
RAM Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400, 4x 1024 MB, CAS 4.0-4-4-12
Hard Drive 1x Western Digital Raptor 150 GB1x Western Digital Caviar 500 GB
Networking NVIDIA nForce onboard Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Graphics Cards EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX, 768 MB RAM575 MHz GPU, 1800 MHz RAM Data Rate
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling Silencer S75Q (750W, ATX12V)
System Software & Drivers
OS Windows Vista Ultimate 6.0.6000 (Vista Retail)
DirectX Version DirectX 10.0
Platform Driver nVIDIA nForce Version 9.46
Graphics Driver nVIDIA ForceWare 169.25

Building the mid-range system went well, but we had to deal with a boot issue.

The problem we had with booting only occurred when we first configured the system; we could not boot to the OS because the PC would shut down in pre-boot. This also prevented us from installing Vista, and occurred when idling in the BIOS or running testing applications such as KillDisk.

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After some quick research online we found out that this is a common problem with the ASUS P5N-T motherboard, and that it can be resolved with a BIOS update. Once we flashed the new BIOS, everything was smooth sailing and we had no other stability issues.

We have completely revamped our test suite this time, so unfortunately we won't be comparing results with the previous builds until the next system builder marathon.

Below are the test settings we've used for our myriad benchmarks and tests.

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Benchmarks and Settings
3D-Games
Crysis Version: 1.1Video Quality 1: High Details No Anti-AliasingVideo Quality 2: Very High Details, 4x Anti-AliasingBenchmark: Benchmark_CPU.bat
Prey Version: 1.3Video Quality 1: Default (No AA, 8x AF)Video Quality 2: High Quality, 4x AABenchmark: THG-Demo
Supreme Commander Version: 3.220Video Quality 1: DefaultVideo Quality 2: High Fidelity, High Shadow, 4x AABenchmark: Real 60 Game
Unreal Tournament 3 Version: RetailTexture Detail: 5World Detail: 5Field of View: 100Benchmark: Botmatch (WAR-Torlan, 12 bots, 1 Minute)
Warhammer Mark of Chaos Version: 1.6Video Quality:Default (Highest Settings)Demo: THG Timedemo (1 Minute)
Audio
iTunes 7.2 Version: 7.1.1.5Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 minHigh Quality (160kb/s)
Lame MP3 Version: 3.98 Beta 3 (05-22-2007)Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 minwave to MP3160kb/s
Video
TMPEGEnc 4.0 Xpress Version: 4.2.10.211Import File: Terminator 2 SE DVD (2 Minutes)Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9Audio: Dolby Digital, 48000 Hz, 6-Channel, EnglishAdvanced Acoustic Engine MP3 Encoder (160kb/s)
DivX 6.6 Version: 6.6.1Profile: Home Theater Profile (720 x 576)1-pass, 780 kb/sEncoding mode: Insane QualityEnhanced multithreading
XviD 1.1.2 Version: 1.1.2Target quantizer: 1.00 (maximum quality)
Applications
Adobe Photoshop CS3 Version: 10.0x20070321Filtering 69 MB TIF PhotoBenchmark: Tom's Guide-Benchmark V1.0.0.4
Autodesk 3D Studio Max Version: 9.0Rendering One Video FrameQuality: HTDV 1920x1080 & 1280x720
Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus Version: 7.5.467Virus Base: 269.6.1/776Benchmark: Scanning 3.82 GB Application Folder
Maxon Cinema 4D Version: 10.008Resolution: 1280 x 1024Benchmark: Rose Drop, 8-bits (50 Frames)
Rarlab Winrar Version 3.70 BETA 8Compression = BestDictionary = 4096 kBUncompressed Folder Size: 642 MB
Synthetics
SPECviewperf 9 Version: 9.0.3
PCMark05 Pro Version: 1.1.0System, CPU and Memory TestsWindows Media Player 11.0.6000.6324Windows Media Encoder 9.00.00.2980
Futuremark 3DMark 2006 Version 1.10System Test Only
SiSoftware Sandra XII Version 2007.5.11.40CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic, MultimediaMemory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark

Once again, we will be looking at the results in isolation and conclusions will be difficult to draw in some cases. However, later in the week we will be comparing all of the systems in the marathon against each other for a more meaningful analysis.

Don Woligroski
Contributor

Don Woligroski was a former senior hardware editor for Tom's Hardware. He has covered a wide range of PC hardware topics, including CPUs, GPUs, system building, and emerging technologies.

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • crites
    Why wouldn't you put 1066MHz (PC2-8500) memory on this machine?
    Reply
  • OS43
    I assume they are using Cas 4 memory, which you are not going to find in this price range at PC2-8500.
    Reply
  • AngryClown
    This build is identical to my current rig, except I chose an 8800GT, and the Q6600 oc'd to 2.88. It plows through AVCHD editing, and Oblivion.

    I spent weeks researching the best price points. Good job guys.
    Reply