Test System And Benchmarks
Now that we’ve looked at our choices and justifications in detail, let’s recap our components one more time before getting into the benches and compare them to last month's $1,250 enthusiast PC against which we'll benchmark this month's machine:
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Setting |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 920 2.66 GHz, QPI-2429, 8 MB Cache | 3.7 GHz (20x 185 MHz), QPI-1330 1.32 V Core, QPI/VTT 1.3 V, IOH Core 1.2 V |
| CPU Cooler | Stock | Unchanged |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte EX58-DS4 Intel X58, BIOS F3 (11/12/2008) | |
| RAM | 3.0 GB PNY XLR8 3x 1024 MB, DDR3-539, CL 7-7-7-20 at 1.50 V | 3x 1024 MB, DDR3-555, CL 8-8-8-21 at 1.50 V |
| Graphics | Powercolor Radeon 4870 X2 2x AMD 4850 GPU, underclocked 575 MHz 2x 1,024 MB GDDR3 900 MHz | 575 MHz GPU, GDDR3 (1,060 MHz) |
| Hard Drives | Western Digital Caviar black 640GD 640 GB, 7,2000 RPM, 32 MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Onboard | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking | Unchanged |
| Power | Corsair 650TX ATX 12 V2.2, 52A on a single 12 V Rail | Unchanged |
| Optical | LG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GH20NS15 | Unchanged |
| Software and Drivers | ||
| Operating System | Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit, SP1 | Unchanged |
| Graphics Driver | Catalyst 8.10 32-bit Edition | Unchanged |
| Component | Base Settings | Overclock Setting |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16 GHz, FSB-1333, 6 MB Cache | 4.25 GHz (9.5x 448 MHz), FSB-1792 1.3 V Core |
| CPU Cooler | Xigmatek HDT-S1283 | Xigmatek HDT-S1283 |
| Motherboard | DFI Lanparty X38 Intel X38, BIOS 6.00 (10/03/2008) Northbridge Voltage : 1.30 V | |
| RAM | 4.0 GB PNY XLR8 2x 2,048 MB, DDR2-800, CL 4-4-4-12 at 1.80 V | 2x 2,048 MB, DDR2-896, CL 5-5-5-14 at 1.90 V |
| Graphics | Powercolor Radeon 4870 X2 2x AMD 4870 GPU , 750 MHz 2x 1,024 MB GDDR5 (Per Card) 900 MHz | 777 MHz GPU, GDDR5 (950 MHz) |
| Hard Drives | Western Digital Caviar black 640GD 640 GB, 7,2000 RPM, 32 MB Cache | Unchanged |
| Sound | Onboard | Unchanged |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking | Unchanged |
| Power | Antec Neo 650W ATX 12 V/EPS 12 V, 57A between three 12 V Rails | Unchanged |
| Optical | LITE-ON 20X DVD±R SATA Model iHAS120-04 | Unchanged |
| Software and Drivers | ||
| Operating System | Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit, SP1 | Unchanged |
| Graphics Driver | Catalyst 8.11 32-bit Edition | Unchanged |
You now know the hardware and the overclock, so let’s have a detailed look at the benchmarks and settings before we scrutinize the results.
| Crysis | Version: 1.2.1, Video Quality: Very High Details, Demo: CPU-Benchmark + Tom’s Hardware Tool |
| Supreme Commander Forged Alliance | Version: 1.5.3599, Video Quality: Highest Settings, Demo: WallaceTX_006_006, Benchmark: Fraps 2.9.4 - Build 7037 |
| Unreal Tournament 3 | Version: 1.2, Sound and DirectX10, Texture Details: 5, Level Details: 5, Demo: vCTF-Reflection_bot, Time: 12/60 |
| World in Conflict | Version: 1.0.0.9, Video Quality: Very High details, Demo: Game-Benchmark |
| iTunes | Version: 7.7.0.43, Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min, Default format AAC |
| Lame MP3 | Version: 3.98 Beta 3 (05-22-2007), Audio CD ""Terminator II SE, 53 min, wave to MP3, 160 Kb/s |
| TMPEG 4.5 | Version: 4.5.1.254, Import File: Terminator 2 SE DVD (5 Minutes), Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9 |
| DivX 6.8.3 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality, Enhanced Multi-threading, Enabled using SSE4, Quarter-pixel search |
| XviD 1.1.3 | Display encoding status = off |
| Mainconcept Reference 1.5.1 Reference H.264 Plugin Pro 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 Kbp/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS), Profile: Tom’s Hardware Settings for Qct-Core |
| Autodesk 3D Studio Max 9 | Version: 9.0, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
| Adobe Photoshop CS 3 | Version: 10.0x20070321, Filtering from a 69 MB TIF-Photo, Benchmark: Tomshardware-Benchmark V1.0.0.4, Filters: Crosshatch, Glass, Sumi-e, Accented Edges, Angled Strokes, Sprayed Strokes |
| Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 8 | Version: 8.0.134, Virus base : 270.4.5/1533, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
| Winrar 3.80 | Version 3.70 BETA 8, WinZIP Commandline Version 2.3, Compression=Best, Dictionary=4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
| Winzip 11 | Version 11.2, Compression=Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload (139 MB) |
| 3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.02, GPU and CPU scores |
| PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.00, System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646 |
| SiSoftware Sandra XII SP2 | Version 2008.5.14.24, CPU Test=CPU Arithmetic/MultiMedia, Memory Test= Bandwidth Benchmark |
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man are we getting screwed in the UK?! i put this price list together at scan.co.uk and got to £1017,21 excluding delivery!
1 017.21 British pounds = 1 470.07189 U.S. dollars
mmm and in Ireland it adds up to 1101.16 Euros, thats 1554.76 U.S dollars on xe.com. Why is there a .co.uk version of this site when they are obviously exclusively U.S only? What relevance has any of this got to do with the UK? Why is Toms continually ignoring this discrepancy ?
be cool if you did a test using the q9550, very stable processor that can easily do 3.6ghz with air and more!
Finally! An article to help disprove the mythical £1000/€1100/$1200 Core i7 wonder build. Its not just wattage that the i7 eats for breakfast; you need to throw money hand-over-fist at i7 to realize its benefits. The i7-965 is Skulltrail all over again, but even the i7-920 seems more oriented toward protein-folding "trust-fund enthusiasts" than us mainstream gamers.
Its not that i7 is a bad platform, just that it was, is, and will be, an enterprise-oriented platform that only hardened enthisiasts can get the most out of; us mortals should stick with Core2 for a few more months and wait and see how the upcoming mainstream platforms (AMDs AM3 and Intel's LGA1120) shape up, rather than blow €1500-odd on a server platform then go "D'oh!" when we realise it really needed twice as much cash spent on it to make a significant return on investment.
And while I can't explain why the HD4850X2 refused to play ball at stock, its clear that you wouldn't have been able to get the CPU to 3.7GHz stable without the GPU underclock; check out the power consumption. Even the Corsair isn't really up to this, you need a 750W+ PSU if you're thinking about OCing an i7 build with gaming in mind.
The gaming benchmark was a no-brainer, but the i7 does seem to give both SLi and CF (with 2 or more cards, not on a single card)a boost. For the next SBM, i would like to see the i7 920 against the C2Q9550, tested with both single and dual graphiccard setup.
lol, i would like to see fps on GTA4, coz i wonder if even these great systems can play that really badly coded game.
....And while I can't explain why the HD4850X2 refused to play ball at stock, its clear that you wouldn't have been able to get the CPU to 3.7GHz stable without the GPU underclock; check out the power consumption. Even the Corsair isn't really up to this, you need a 750W+ PSU if you're thinking about OCing an i7 build with gaming in mind.
Yeh like +1.
Why are THG advocating a total overloading of a PSU like this... A 650Watt @ 591Watt OC load is crazy. A bet your power figures don't include instantaneous power consumption spikes either...
This article is really rank amateur IMHO. You guys should have stuck to C2D for this build - so that you could spend more money on your powersupply...
Bob
I think these articles are good myself there just doing what we normal pc buying mortals do give ourself a budget and buy a pc in that budget and we mere mortals almost never quiet have enough money to match our ideas and you sometimes make a mistake, like buy a wrong size power supply and a all new flashy cpu. For a extra 20quid i would have got the Q9550 and the 750watt power supply. If i was daft enough to buy now knowing that loads of new stuff coming out in a few months lol.
One thing I don't agree with though is buying everything from one place looking around different stores can save you loads. My last pc saved me 100quid I got my stuff from 3 stores which included 3 different delivery charges and I still saved a hundred and with the extra cash got a better graphics card and power supply just because I shoped around.
But there obviously getting paid advertising by that newegg company.
Exactly , if you had up the Hard Drive , DvD drive , motherboard chipset and power spikes to the 591w OC , is not very recomendable at all.
Plus , dont be surprise if take this configuration to a 2 night LAN party and systems shuts down several times during the even.
Botom line , the I7 should be scrapped from the NEXT SBM and replace with the q9550. But pleace do a comparasion between them , first.