System setup and notes
Here's a quick rundown of the test system should you wish to compare benchmark results with your own.Rockdirect Quaddra 64 3700+ desktop-replacement system
MV Ixius 3.6 desktop-replacement laptop. Specifications here
Voodoo PC Envy m:855 desktop-replacement laptop. Specifications here
Software
Windows XP Home
DirectX 9.0b/c runtime
CATALYST 4.1/4.2 driver set (Voodoo/Rock)
NVIDIA Detonator 66.85
Benchmarks
Pifast v4.1 to 10m places
Lame v3.92 MP3 encoding with Razor-Lame 1.15 front-end using U2's Pop album (611MB)
HEXUS XviD encoding test
KribiBench 1.1
ScienceMark 2.0
Realstorm Raytracing benchmark 2004
Simplisoft HD Tach 3
3DMark2001SE
3DMark03
UT2003 High-Detail test
Comanche 4
Notes
3 power laptops go head-to-head in a benchmark clash. I recently took a look at the impressive MV Ixius 3.6 DTR laptop that showcased the all-new NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Go 256MB mobile video card. The Ixius' model name derived from the use of an LGA775 3.6GHz Pentium 4 Prescott CPU. A retail price of £1499+VAT makes it an indirect competitor to Rock's £300 cheaper DTR notebook. The Ixius' benchmarks should be indicative of the kind of performance gain the next rung on the financial ladder affords. Expect gaming performance to be stellar.
I also took a look at Voodoo PC's Envy m:855 DTR laptop a few months' ago. It shipped with an Athlon 64 3200+ (Clawhammer, 2GHz - 1MB L2 cache) and ATI RADEON 9600 Pro 64MB graphics card. This kind of system can now be purchased for around £1100 including VAT, so, along with the Ixius, it provides a neat sandwich by which to gauge the Rock Quaddra's performance by.
No problems to report during installation or testing. That's becoming the norm these days, much to consumers' relief. The highlight of this £1199 ex-VAT system has to be the use of an Athlon 64 3700+ CPU. Put in a desktop environment, it's a veritable screamer, so 2D performance will be the fastest we've seen yet.
Yup, it's housed in a laptop. Memory timings weren't too shabby.
It looks fast on paper.
