Testing Methodology
Test methodology
Comparison Systems - Part One |
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|---|---|---|---|
| System name | Chillblast Fusion Whisper Mini | CyberPower Infinity Xtreme XT | Dell Alienware Aurora R4 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.2GHz | Intel Core i7-3820 @ 4.56GHz | Intel Core i7-3930K @ 4.1GHz |
| Cooler | GELID Tranquillo | Asetek 510LC | Alienware Liquid Cooling |
| Motherboard | ASUS P8Z68-M PRO | Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 | Alienware mATX X79 |
| Memory | Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 | Kingston HyperX 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 | Hynix 16GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 |
| Memory speed | 9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-1T @ 1,600MHz | 11-11-11-28-1T @ 1,600MHz |
| Graphics card(s) | Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Ti Phantom 1GB | PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 3GB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB |
| Sound card | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio |
| Disk drive(s) | 1TB Samsung HD103SJ HDD | 64GB Kingston V+200 SSD 1TB Samsung HD103SJ HDD |
256GB Samsung PM810 SSD 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD |
| Optical drive(s) | Samsung Blu-ray drive | Lite-On IHES112-115 Blu-ray drive | PLDS DH-24ABS DVD-RW |
| PSU | BeQuiet Straight Power CM (680W) | CyberPower PSU (950W) | Alienware PSU (875W) |
| Chassis | Fractal Design Define Mini | Cooler Master Storm Enforcer | Alienware Aurora ALX |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
| Standard Warranty | Two years collect-and-return | Three years limited (three-year labour, one-year parts, one-month collect and return) | One year next day in-home service |
Comparison Systems - Part Two |
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|---|---|---|---|
| System name | Dino PC Raptor X79 OC | PC Specialist Vanquish XT-680 | Scan 3XS Performance GTX |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3820 @ 4.4GHz | Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.6GHz | Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.7GHz |
| Cooler | Xigmatek Prime SD1484 | CoolIT ECO II ALC Fat Boy | Cogage Arrow |
| Motherboard | ASUS Sabertooth X79 | ASUS P8Z77-V | Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 |
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 | Kingston HyperX 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 | Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 |
| Memory speed | 9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-1T @ 1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz |
| Graphics card(s) | VTX3D Radeon HD 7950 2GB | Palit GeForce GTX 680 2GB | EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB |
| Sound card | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio |
| Disk drive(s) | 60GB Corsair Force Series 3 SSD 1TB Hitachi Deskstar HDD |
120GB Kingston HyperX SSD 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD |
2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD |
| Optical drive(s) | Samsung SH-222B DVD-RW | LiteOn Blu-ray Drive / DVD-RW | Pioneer DVD-RW |
| PSU | Xigmatek NRP-PC702 (700W) | Corsair TX850 (850W) | Corsair Gaming Series GS600 (600W) |
| Chassis | Zalman Z11 Plus | Cooler Master CM Storm Trooper | Corsair Carbide Series 300R |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
| Standard Warranty | Three years (three-year labour, one-year parts, 30-day collect and return) | Three years (one-year collect-and-return, one-year parts, three-year labour) | Two years collect-and-return |
Benchmarks |
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| HEXUS PiFast | A number-crunching test that shows a PC's performance in lightly-threaded applications | |||||||||||
| Cinebench | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible. | |||||||||||
| PCMark 7 | PCMark 7 combines various single- and multi-threaded CPU, Graphics and HDD tests to score overall system performance. | |||||||||||
| Aliens vs. Predator | 1,920x1,080 resolution, 2xAA, 16xAF, very high quality. | |||||||||||
| Just Cause 2 | 1,920x1,080 resolution, 4xAA, 16x AF, very high quality. | |||||||||||
| 3DMark 11 | Run at the 'extreme' preset. | |||||||||||
| Temperature | Noted for CPU idling, under Prime95 all-core load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||
| Power consumption | Noted for system idling, under Prime95 all-core load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||
| Noise | A PCE-318 noise level meter is placed at the front of the chassis. Noted for system idling, under Prime95 all-core load, and for GPU playing Aliens vs. Predator. | |||||||||||
Notes
The Vanquish XT-680 is up against five other systems that are all equipped with a single graphics card. The one that we recommend you keep a beady eye on is the Scan 3XS Performance GTX, which features the same graphics but is powered by a Core i5-2500K instead of the Ivy Bridge-based Core i7-3770K found in the PC Specialist.
