System setup and notes
| System name | SCAN 3XS Triad 'G80' | MESH Elite Extreme SLI | Alienware Area51 m7500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 (2.67GHz, 8MiB L2 cache, 1066MHz, quad-core) | Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 (2.93GHz, 4MiB L2 cache, 1066MHz, dual core) | |
| Motherboard | NVIDIA reference nForce 680i | ASUSTek P5N32-SLI Deluxe | |
| Memory | 2GiB (2 x 1024) Corsair Dominator PC8500 EPP | 2GiB (2 x 1024) OCZ PC6400 | 2GiB (2 x 1024) Patriot PC6400 |
| Memory timings and speed | 5-5-5-15-2T @ 800MHz | 4-4-4-15-2T @ 800MHz | 4-4-4-12-2T @ 800MHz |
| Graphics card(s) | XFX GeForce 8800 GTX 768MiB | 2 x NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX - SLI | NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2 1GiB (500/1200) |
| Disk drive(s) | WD 150GB Raptors (WD150ADFD) 10,000RPM, 16MB cache Seagate 750GB 7200.10 SATA2 |
Maxtor 6H500S0 500GB SATA | 2 x HGST Desktar 7K500 500GB SATA2 |
| Graphics driver | ForceWare 96.94 | ForceWare 91.33 | ForceWare 91.31 |
| Operating System | Windows XP Pro SP2 32-bit | Windows XP MCE 2005 | Windows XP Pro SP2 32-bit |
| Benchmarks |
HEXUS Pifast Benchmark HEXUS.in-house MP3 Encoding Benchmark using LAME 3.97a (Intel HT compiler) - 701.5MB WAV HEXUS.in-house DivX encode using DivX 6.4 and VirtualDub on 416MB DV file CINEBENCH 2003 v9.5 multi-CPU render HDTach 3.0.1.0 Far Cry v1.33 - HEXUS custom benchmark Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory v1.05 - HEXUS custom benchmark Quake 4 v1.04 HEXUS Custom Benchmark |
|---|
Notes
The SKU sent for evaluation was an engineering sample. NVIDIA's G80 drivers have been arriving thick and fast and SCAN was unable to conduct its usual array of exhaustive testing with respect to performance.The system was shipped with a default-clocked CPU and graphics card. We're notified that all full-production models will be factory overclocked with the final clockspeeds established after retail CPUs and graphics cards are available. That's why we've run our suite of benchmarks with regular clocks. We'll endeavor to take another look at a full-production, overclocked model in the not-too-distant future. Right now, then, it's a case of showcasing Core 2 Extreme QX6700 and GeForce 8800 GTX power, albeit at standard clocks.
For comparison, we've added in a MESH PC that features an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 CPU and dual GeForce 7900 GTX 512 cards in SLI. Further performance comparisons are made against the Alienware m7500, which features an identical CPU but a default-clocked GeForce 7950 GX2 1GiB graphics card. We note that both comparison were submitted 2-4 months ago and don't reflect the kind of machine that either MESH or Alienware would construct for the same money. Rather, they're included to highlight the advantages, if any, of quad-core CPUs and the latest iteration of graphics card(s).
Who it going to win this high-performance war. Read on and find out.