Überclok Reactor: Balanced Performance
by Matt Campbell on October 10, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
3DMark Vantage
As we mentioned in previous reviews, Vantage is a new addition to our test suite to replace the aging 3DMark 2006, and though the new payment scheme is inconvenient, it is still user reproducible (once…). As a brief recap, Vantage runs on Windows Vista only, and has four different default test settings: Entry, Performance, High, and Extreme.
Obviously the extra GTX 280 in the CyberPower machine gives it a huge lead here, but the Reactor does very well, all things considered.
Crysis
Crysis is punishing to even the most recent PC hardware. This demo also has two built-in benchmarks in the "bin32" folder, one "CPU" and the other "GPU". We ran several configurations to show the scalability of this game. We ran all benchmarks three times, discarding the first result and averaging the other two. We ran all tests at "High" quality unless otherwise specified. Per Derek's recent findings, Crysis benchmarks were run with VSync at default settings (i.e. not forced off in the driver).
Looking at opposite ends of the spectrum here, we see that the CPU benchmark shows the Reactor on par with the SwordM, as did CINEBENCH. Remember, however, that Crysis is completely GPU bound at higher resolutions.
We see further evidence of the brick wall here even on the multi-GPU systems. With only one GTX 280, the Reactor can still pull out a reasonably good average framerate at 1920x1200, but for smooth play it'll likely need to stick to 1680x1050 or lower.
World in Conflict
World in Conflict is a strategy wargame where the Cold War has erupted into a full-scale conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The demo has a built-in benchmark under Options->Graphics. Quality settings in the game also modify anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering; however, these were controlled independently while all other settings were left at the default for High quality.
We see very nice results here for the Reactor. Wait a minute, too nice… We doubted our own results here and ran the benchmark several times in several different configurations, with the same framerates coming up. We suspect that the latest NVIDIA drivers have given significant performance increases to World in Conflict, which disproportionately skew the results here. We will update this article as we find out more information.
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emilyek - Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - link
You could buy these parts on newegg for close to a third of that.Maybe I should start my own company. I wouldn't even need a wholesale license.
Why 1k watts? Because it's a Cooler Master PSU. You'll find lots of those in pre-builts on e-bay; they can be had cheap, and anyone foolish enough to buy that box will be totally impressed by the high number.
TheGoat Eater - Sunday, October 12, 2008 - link
as you can tell by the subject line that pictured HSF (http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/system/2008/ub...">http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/system/2008/ub... is not the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...tem=N82E... the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 has 3 heatpipes and the one pictured clearly has 6 heatpipes.Just a FYI...
Uberclok - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - link
Quite correct - sorry for the confusion. We built this unit for Anandtech ove a month ago, when we were using the Thermalright Ultima-90 HSF. Not long after we shipped it, we switched to the Xigmatek. Both are heatpipe-based air coolers, not a liquid/air hybrid as a previous poster suggested.Matt Campbell - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - link
Thanks for the catch!Zebo - Saturday, October 11, 2008 - link
Like any regular reader here is going to buy this overpriced computer.Whens Anandtech going to start reviewing the Bugatti Veyron or Caviar?
CEO Ballmer - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
These people are suing us over the "Vista Ready" stickers, this could solve the problem. All we need to do is send one of these to all of those cheap PC owners!http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com">http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
Stas - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
so, aside from the fact that I can build the same system for almost half the price, the 1KW power supply is stupidity. The efficiency cannot be more than 75% even at max load. I would put a Corsair HX520 in it, maybe 600. Cheaper and more efficient. Probably hit 85% at max load, ~80 idle.Stas - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
I guess it makes sense for the sake of marketing, as been said, that way customers could put 2xHD4870x2 in it. Which in my opinion is stupid, considering it comes with a $500 card already (just get another one of the same to match in SLI), but whatever. If it sells, it sells.GaryJohnson - Saturday, October 11, 2008 - link
I'm interested in how well it does sell. I really think these system reviews should be written from the 'here's what the competition is doing' perspective, as I think an AT reader is more likely to be selling pre-built systems than buying them.mgmason - Friday, October 10, 2008 - link
Is the CPU vCore really set to 1.44 volts as we see on the bios screen, or the more reasonable 1.37? Still seems a bit high, I'm getting a stable 3.2 Ghz out of my Q9450 using only 1.22 volts. I get CPU temps of about 60 degrees under load using air cooling with an Arctic Freezer Pro 7.