Benchmark Results: Synthetics
There weren’t any changes to our benchmark suite this month, so we’ll be able to make direct comparisons to data gathered in June.
Stepping down from a Radeon HD 5770 to a Radeon HD 5670 is huge, so this 3DMark blowout isn’t really a surprise. The extra 2800 point CPU score favoring the unlocked quad-core September PC, in the end, does little to counteract realizing 50% of the former $550 rig’s GPU score.
PCMark Vantage depicts slightly better overall system performance for last quarter's configuration, but a victory for the $400 PC once both are overclocked. The current build was edged out in productivity software, but held a slight lead in storage performance.
For Sandra’s processor and memory tests, we’re basically comparing two very similar system configurations. Different motherboards both based on the AMD 770/SB710 chipset, the same RAM, and an Athlon II X3 CPU separated by roughly 100 MHz (closer to 92 MHz, due to fractional reference clock variations).
The $550 PC overcomes its lower processor frequency and matches the stock September PC in the Processor Arithmetic test, but not in the Multimedia test. Once overclocked, the $400 machine’s four cores completely win out over June’s higher frequency three-core overclock.
Both systems have Crucial DDR3-1333 memory at 9-9-9-24 1T timings and in unganged mode, but we see a slight memory bandwidth advantage favoring the $550 PC. The overclocked systems share the same basic 8-8-8-24 1T memory timings, but otherwise differ with the $550 PC employing a lower memory frequency, higher northbridge frequency, and higher HyperTransport link speed.
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If it was built for games I would have gone for a bigger 3 core overclock and definitely tried to get a TX3 or something to allow a reasonable overclock
I think it's amazing as to what you can do with 400 bucks.
What about an OS? That pushes it to $500 =\
You cant really run games without an OS i think.
If you look at it that way, you are going to need a monitor, keyboard, mouse and power to run the thing as well! They always assume you have the other necessities as they are just looking at the box.
Very interesting read.
Quite a nice rig there, considering the budget. Even on a budget board that Athlon II x3 has unlocked to a Phenom II x4, running at a speed that would be more than enough for the vast majority of games and Windows applications. Not saying all Athlon's will do that, but it sure is tempting especially if you're watching every penny.
The only grey area for me personally, is the memory..do you need PC3-10600/ DDR3-1333 for games, or could you squeeze more, slower memory? This even opens up the debate about AM2+ vs AM3.
All in all a nice rig there.
thats obseen 5 years ago that would have cost how much
If we were going the AM2+ route, CAS4 memory is the least I'd go for (my current setup uses DDR2-6400 4-4-4-12).
Such a huge shame about the 4850; sure, it'd result in higher power consumption, but the performance increase would certainly be tangible (with the exception of Far Cry 2), if people aren't so fixated on DX11.
Yeah this deal rocks out loud. That crucial memory is crucial for a system like this. And if y'all ever have any questions about repairing computers, check out Computer Repair Boulder