Test Systems & Configurations
First of all, we wanted to compare the MaxForce to the high-end machine from our last System Builder Marathon in March. Then, that machine retailed for $3,400; today the retail price is more like $2970 with two comparable GeForce 9800 GTX+ cards instead of obsolete 8800 GTXs and Windows Vista Ultimate for a fair price comparison.
To be fair, according to MaxForce’s Web site, the Revolution would only cost $3,144 if it sported a pair of GeForce 9800 GTX+ cards, so the pricing of the MaxForce looks very fair for a pre-overclocked machine with a good warranty.
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 o/c to 4.35 GHz |
| CPU Cooler | Swiftech H20—120 Compact Cooler Kit |
| Motherboard | Asus Striker II Formula |
| RAM | Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 PC2-6400—4 GB |
| Graphics | 2x Gigabyte GeForce 8800GTX—GV-NX88X768H-RH |
| Hard Drives | 2x Western Digital Caviar WD7500AAKS |
| Sound | Asus SupremeFX II Riser Card |
| Case | Silverstone Temjin TJ09BW |
| Power | Coolermaster RS850-EMBA 850W |
| Optical | Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology SH-203B |
| OS | Windows Vista Professional 32 bit |
The only real beef we have with the Revolution GTX3 compared to our System Builder Marathon machine is that MaxForce does not offer an option for liquid cooling. In our opinion, air cooling is stretching it when you’re running quad-core CPUs at 4 GHz, even with an excellent cooler like the Tuniq Tower 120. We have reservations about the long-term effects of running these CPUs at 4 GHz on air, but with the warranty MaxForce offers, it’s the firm’s prerogative we suppose.
Because the graphics world has moved on since the last System Builder Marathon, it’s unfair to compare the MaxForce against the high-end SBM machine when it comes to gaming, so we’re going to limit its comparison to synthetic and application benchmarks.
For the game benchmarks, we’ll compare the MaxForce PC against some current high-end gaming rigs: The first is HP’s Blackbird 002 LC with two GeForce GTX 280 cards in SLI. Comparing against this machine will give us an opportunity to see the advantage of running three GeForce GTX 280 cards instead of two. We will also compare the triple-SLI MaxForce against the Falcon Northwest Mach 5 system, which sports a pair of Radeon 4870 X2 cards. This will let us see how quad-CrossFire compares against 3-way SLI.
Since all of these systems have quad-core CPUs clocked in the 4 GHz range, this should make for an interesting comparison. Do note, however, that both the HP and Falcon Northwest systems use liquid cooling to tame the CPU heat—Asetek’s LCLC system.
| System | HP Blackbird 002 LC | Falcon Northwest Mach 5 |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 3.20 GHz, FSB-1600, 12 MB Cache Overclocked to 3.60 GHz, Stock FSB | Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.00 GHz, FSB-1333, 12 MB Cache Overclocked to 4.00 GHz, FSB-1776 |
| CPU Cooler | Asetek LCLC with Dual 120 mm Fans | Asetek LCLC with Single 120 mm Fan |
| Motherboard | EVGA nForce 790i Ultra SLI 790i Ultra SLI, BIOS P05 (05/16/2008) | Asus P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP Intel X48, BIOS 0505 (06/11/2008) |
| RAM | 4x Corsair CM3X1G1600C8D4 4x 1024 MB, DDR3-1600, CL 8-8-8-24 Underclocked to DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 | 4x Kingston KHX14400D3/1 G 4x 1024 MB, DDR3-1800, CL 8-8-8-24 Underclocked to DDR3-1333 6-6-6-15 |
| Graphics | 2x EVGA 01G-P3-1282-AR (SLI) Nvidia GTX-280 GPU (621 MHz) 1024 MB GDDR3-2268 (Per Card) | 2x Radeon HD 4870 X2 (Crossfire) 2x ATI 4870 GPU (Per Card) 750 MHz 2x 1024 MB GDDR5-3600 (Per Card) |
| Hard Drives | Western Digital Raptor WD1600ADFS 160 GB, 10000 RPM, 16 MB Cache | 2x WD WD3000GLFS (RAID 0) 300 GB, 10000 RPM, 16 MB Cache |
| Sound | Integrated Realtek ALC888S Codec | Integrated ADI 1988B Codec |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | Topower 1100W Modularized | Silverstone SST-ST1200 Modularized |
| Optical | TSST DVD-R/RW TS-T632L 8x DVD±R/RW/DL, 8x DVD-RAM | LG GGW-H20L BD-RE/HDDVD-ROM 6x BD-R, 2x BD-RE, 16x DVD±R |
| Keyboard | Not Included (Optional) | Not Included (Optional) |
| Mouse | Not Included (Optional) | Not Included (Optional) |
| OS | Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit | Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit |
| Warranty | One Year | Three Years (One Year Overnight Ship) |
| Support | One Year | Lifetime |
| Price | $5,869 | $6,097 |
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Why is Crysis exceptionally run on 32-bit mode??? Your test setup states that you are running 64-bit everything. Of course 4870x2 in crossfire will be a pig in 32-bit os.
the 4Gigs of GFX ram take up ALL the addresses. What a sham. Basically you don't want to conclusively show that the NVIDIA rigs are a waste of money.
I hate your slanted results.
Again another poor review..
Don't you think it is about time you put more work into these? You certainly won't fool anyone who knows what they are talking about.
Why moan about the CPU cooler without giving us any numbers - if it runs at a decent temperature then why put in water cooling which has many more parts that could go wrong?
Why is Crysis exceptionally run on 32-bit mode??? Your test setup states that you are running 64-bit everything. Of course 4870x2 in crossfire will be a pig in 32-bit os.the 4Gigs of GFX ram take up ALL the addresses. What a sham. Basically you don't want to conclusively show that the NVIDIA rigs are a waste of money.I hate your slanted results.
i don't know where you got the idea of 4 gigs gfx ram but there are only 3 gtx 280's with one gig of ram each ...
are you a ati geek or something ??? (excuse me if i insult you)
and i dunno but my rig has an asus striker II extreme mobo (based on the same nforce 790i ultra sli) and also 3 gtx 280 in sli and this thing kicks ass...
i do have to agree with david__t on the cpu cooler why moan about the cooler if it work ???
i just wouldnt trust a watercooling setup that i didn't build anyways...
I am refering to the line...
"With or without AA enabled, 3-way SLI is the way to go in this game on a 32-bit platform, and the MaxForce delivers. If you remember from the Gaming System Shootout, the Radeon’s reclaim the lead upon switching over to 64-bit mode."
I AM refering to the ATI beast that it is compared to. These are equipped with 2 4870x2's. My first comment stands. He mentions in words that the 4870x2's BEAT the tri-sli rig, but it shows a chart of the Geforce rig "beating" it in crysis.
He is using his editorial power to mislead readers into thinking that the Geforces can achieve better performance when they in fact do not on any sensible setup.
This is especially sneaky considering no mention of this is mad ein the test setup section which is ALL 64-bit setups.