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

Western Digital Raptor 150 GB – Review

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
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 @ 2.67 GHz @ 4 cores

Motherboards

Intel 975XBX2

Memory 

Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4

Hard Drive

Western Digital Raptor 150 GB – Review

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

Western Digital Raptor 150 GB – Review

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. 

  • SiSoft Sandra XI
  • Futuremark 3DMark06
  • Valve Source Engine tests
  • LAME 3.97a
  • Windows Media Encoder x64
  • WinRAR 3.70 Beta 8
  • POV-Ray 3.7 Beta 20b
  • Adobe Photoshop CS3
« PreviousNext »