3d Benchmarking

[DrSpike]

Thanks for that info SC. I think I have decided that when I upgrade I'll get 2 of the 80GB Barracuda's and use them in a RAID 0 array. I can't find many people who are comparing the single 74GB Raptor to such a setup but those who do suggest that the performance is close. This is backed up by the similarity between your and Asher's PCMark HD tests.

I don't think there is any point upgrading and not using RAID 0. I don't want to do that with the smaller drives, and £350 for 2 74GB Raptors is too rich for my blood.

£110 for 2 Barracuda's that will perform at a similar level (to the solitary Raptor) when in a RAID 0 array looks a steal in comparison.

[Spaced Cowboy]

Again, I wasn't geared totally for speed. Case temp and 2x failure rate were bigger contributors to my path. Plus, I never filled up my old 30G drive so I did not need a lot of size.

[DrSpike]

Yeah I hear ya. I have a 80GB drive I can use to backup any essential stuff whilst using the RAID 0 array. Plus my case has great cooling. I think that's the most suitable way forward for me.

[DrSpike]

Btw I tweaked some stuff.

Asus a7n8x Deluxe
Athlon XP (Barton) 2600+ @ 182*11.5=2.1Ghz
Radeon 9800 Pro @ 400/350 (no I don't have one of those fancy coolers )
1 GB PC3200 RAM @ 182Mhz

Aquamark: 41,479
3dMark03: 5,779

[Spaced Cowboy]

Sorry, had problems DLing aquamark. Will try to get it soon. Did you get a chance to run PCMark04?

[DrSpike]

No.........it's on my list.

[DrSpike]

Dammit 'Poly.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Spaced Cowboy
Asher, do you think the video card cooler is worth 40$. Looks like you have the Zalman ZM80C-HP heat sink with the ZM-OP1 fan.

I think it is, it's virtually noiseless and cools exceptionally well.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Spaced Cowboy
Did you get a chance to run PCMark04?

General/overall: 3848
CPU: 3613
Memory: 2461
Graphics: 4966
HD: 4238

I can't compare this online since it somehow thinks my version is not entirely legitimate.

So SC, if your 5000+ score is correct overall, what accounts for the vast difference? My drive is the only real weak point.

[Spaced Cowboy]

Apparently it is not the only one.

PCMarks 5067
CPU 5007
Mem 4724
Graphics 4160
HDD 5959

Also, my scores seem to vary depending on time of day. I do remember getting 6100+ on the HDD score before I OC'd. I think that I can tweak my mem some more (more headroom on PC3700), but I'll need to be placing an order for a custom heatsink for my video card.

Hey Asher, did you go with the stock CPU cooler...or?

(And no comments about the Canadian numbers...weak!)

[DrSpike]

Well I'm not sure what to make of it............my scores are in line with similar systems I found online. It seems strange to me that your RAM and CPU win so markedly.

I wonder what your 3dMark03 and Aquamark scores are.

[Spaced Cowboy]

Well, I'm at home and ran it again. Same set-up as last time, except my pc has been on for hours.

PCMarks 5089
CPU 5070
Mem 4743
Graphics 4154
HDD 5999

The cpu score is being helped by the fact that I'm running a 3.0p4 at 3.3G, this seems to help the mem performance as well. My bud upgraded a 2.6 to a 3.2 and his mem score shot up over 1000 points (above 5k), but he has his latencies set to 2-2-2-5. I'm running 2.5-3-3-7, but I'm oc'd. That is my stock memory setting. He bought mem that performs better at 3200 and I bought mem that performs better on the oc.

Oh BTW, his system still does not top my total PCMark score, but not by much <100. I got him on CPU and hard drive. I seriously need to figure out what is up with this video card. Should be way higher.

Oh I have 3dmark03...let me check that one.

[DrSpike]

Your video score should be closer to 5000.

[Spaced Cowboy]

The 3d marks score is only 5780???

[DrSpike]

Mine is 5,779 using the normal (not Pro unlocked) tests.