Operating System: Windows Vista Enterprise
We have recently switched to a different version of Windows for our benchmarks. Now, all benchmarks at THG are run on Windows Vista Enterprise. While this version is not available in stores, its performance results are identical to Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate. However, we were forced to make this switch, since this is the only version that offers an Open License. This License allows us to activate Windows Vista over the Internet repeatedly, without having to make calls to Microsoft’s activation hotline each time.
Hardware Configuration
We have updated our testbed system with new components, such as the graphics card, sound card and hard drive, in order to offer our readers results based on a platform which is both current and practical.
Hardware Setup
| AMD Platform AM2+ (AMD 790FX) | Gigabyte GA-790FX-DQ6 (Rev.1.0) AMD 790FX, BIOS: F3 |
| AMD Platform AM2 (Nvidia Nforce 5) | Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe, Rev.1.03G NVIDIA nForce5, BIOS: 1001 (03/13/2007) |
| Intel Platform S775 (Intel P35) | Gigabyte P35C-DS3R, Rev. 1.0 Intel P35, BIOS: F2o (05/11/2007) |
| Intel Platform S775 (Intel X38) | Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6, Rev. 1.0 Intel X38, BIOS: F4 (09/19/2007) |
| Memory | 2x 1GB A-Data DDR2-1066+ Vitesta Extreme Edition |
| DVD-ROM | Samsung SH-D163A , SATA150 |
| Graphics Card | Foxconn Nvidia Geforce 8800 GTX GPU: 575 MHz Shader: 1350 MHz Memory: 786 MB DDR4 (900 MHz, 384 Bit) |
| Sound Card | Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer |
| Power Supply | Zalman, ATX 2.01, 510 Watt |
- Intel Skulltrail - Benchmarks and Analysis
- Benchmarks – Skulltrail 1.6% Slower
- Benchmarks – QX9775 up to 15% faster at 4.00 GHz.
- Benchmarks – QX9775 34.1% faster than the Q6600
- Performance Analysis – 2 Years Too Early and no Software Support
- Total Cost of the Skulltrail System – At least €4000{{According to Intel, pricing for the Core 2 Extreme QX9775 and the D5400XS Skulltrail motherboard have not yet been decided. Nonetheless, we have attempted to compile a list of parts and prices based on
- A Brief History of Extreme Systems
- Test Setup
- Software Configuration
- Benchmarks and Settings
- 3D-Games - UT2004, Prey
- 3D-Games - Quake 4, Warhammer
- 3D-Games - Supreme Commander, Serious Sam 2
- 3D-Rendering - Cinema 4D, 3D-Studio Max
- Applications - AVG, WinRAR
- Applications - Photoshop, PDF
- Applications - Deep Fritz
- Audio Encoding - iTunes, Lame
- Synthetic - Sandra CPU
- Synthetic - Sandra Memory
- Synthetic - Sandra Multimedia
- Synthetic - PC-Mark
- Synthetic - 3DMark06
- Video Encoding - Xvid, Pinnacle Studio
- Video Encoding - Premiere, Mainconcept
- Video Encoding - HDTV, DivX
- Video Encoding - CloneDVD
- Conclusion – Technologically not mature and Lacking Software Support
