Benchmark Results
3D Games
Note that the budget build benchmarks do not include the ultra-high resolutions above 1600x1200. We could rationalize this by suggesting that people who are aiming for the budget segment probably won't have a 30" LCD monitor, but it has more to do with the fact that the budget system was tested in a separate lab without the benefit of the monster Dell monitor. We'll see if we can source the higher resolution numbers for the final comparison between different systems.
Doom3 shows an impressive gain in performance when overclocked, but once we hit 1600x1200 with 4xAA/8xAF things start to get pretty close.
We see the same story with FEAR. With only one graphics card, the system really takes a hit at the higher resolutions when eye candy is enabled. Still, performance is certainly very playable across the board.
Oblivion is the budget system's Achilles heel. Indoor scores look smooth, but the outdoor score is the one that counts. With a single 8800 GTX, we only get a measly 30 frames per second at 1600x1200 with 4xAA. Even the lower resolutions don't fare much better, this game is a real stress-test for any system.
