Dell XPS 730x H2C Intel Core i7 Gaming System
LAME MT & Kribibench
In our custom LAME MT MP3 encoding test, we convert a large WAV file to the MP3 format, which is a popular scenario that many end users work with on a day-to-day basis to provide portability and storage of their digital audio content. LAME is an open-source mid to high bit-rate and VBR (variable bit rate) MP3 audio encoder that is used widely around the world in a multitude of third party applications.
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In this test, we created our own 223MB WAV file (a hallucinogenically-induced Grateful Dead jam) and converted it to the MP3 format using the multi-thread capable LAME MT application in single and multi-thread modes. Processing times are recorded below, listed in seconds. Once again, shorter times equate to better performance.
The two XPS systems have the two fastest processors in terms of clock speed and that gives them the lead. The new XPS 730x gets a slight leg up on its predecessor thanks to the new Core i7 architecture. Despite the fact the XPS 730x has a slightly lower processor clocks, the new Core i7 still gives it a considerable performance advantage, granting the 730x the overall lead in our Lame MT benchmark for both the single thread and multi threaded test modes.
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For this next batch of tests, we ran Kribibench v1.1, a 3D rendering benchmark produced by the folks at Adept Development. Kribibench is an SSE aware software renderer where a 3D model is rendered and animated by the host CPU and the average frame rate is reported. We used two of the included models with this benchmark: a "Sponge Explode" model consisting of over 19.2 million polygons and the test suite's "Ultra" model that is comprised of over 16 billion polys.
The Core i7 architecture has a noticable advantage in our Kribibench tests. All the Core i7 reference systems do very well for themselves, pushing the original XPS 730 down to second-last place. Despite having nearly an extra GHz of pure clock frequency over our Core i7-940 equipped reference system, the Core 2 equipped XPS 730 just couldn't compete.
