System Setup and Benchmarks
Due to the inherent difficulty of comparing a dual-socket octo-core system to a single-socket quad- or dual-core system, these tests are hard to call “apples-to-apples”. But, they are close as you’ll be able to get when comparing what a system like the Intel “V8” can actually do compared to the current top of the line enthusiast systems out there.
Intel “V8” Test System Setup | |
CPU |
2 x Intel Xeon X5365 @ 3.0 GHz @ 4 cores |
Motherboards |
Intel S5000XVN |
Memory |
4 x Samsung 1GB DDR2-667 FB-DIMM @ 5-5-5 |
Hard Drive |
|
Sound Card |
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value |
Video Card |
ATI X1900 XTX |
Video Drivers |
Catalyst 7.4 |
DirectX Version |
DX 9.0c / 10 |
Operating System |
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit |
Intel Core 2 Test System Setup | |
CPU |
Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 @ 2.93 GHz @ 2 cores |
Motherboards |
Intel 975XBX2 |
Memory |
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4 |
Hard Drive |
|
Sound Card |
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value |
Video Card |
ATI X1900 XTX |
Video Drivers |
Catalyst 7.4 |
DirectX Version |
DX 9.0c / 10 |
Operating System |
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit |
AMD Test System Setup | |
CPU |
AMD Athlon FX-62 AM2 |
Motherboards |
NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI |
Memory |
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4 |
Hard Drive |
|
Sound Card |
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value |
Video Card |
ATI X1900 XTX |
Video Drivers |
Catalyst 7.4 |
DirectX Version |
DX 9.0c 10 |
Operating System |
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit |
You’ll also notice that our testing suite is pretty different this time around. Why? It makes no sense to compare this “V8” platform to the current Core 2 Duo or Athlon FX systems on a bunch of benchmarks that are geared around applications that the V8 simply isn’t designed for.
It takes a VERY particular type of user to see the benefits of an eight-core computer and so we’ll try our hand at both standard tests like PCMark05 and 3DMark06, but also throw in some new ones like Photoshop CS3 and POV-Ray in order to reach the target audience of this hardware.
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SiSoft Sandra XI
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Futuremark 3DMark06
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Valve Source Engine tests
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LAME 3.97a
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Windows Media Encoder x64
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WinRAR 3.70 Beta 8
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POV-Ray 3.7 Beta 20b
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Adobe Photoshop CS3