Paradigm SHIFT: MainGear's Unique Gaming Rig Tested
PCMark Vantage
Next, we ran the test systems through Futuremark’s latest system performance metric, PCMark Vantage. This benchmark suite runs through a host of different usage scenarios to simulate different types of workloads including High Definition digital video playback and editing, gaming, image editing and manipulation, music compression, communications, and productivity. We like the fact that most of the tests are multi-threaded as well, in order to exploit the additional resources offered by multi-core processors.
One thing to keep in mind when comparing PCMark Vantage results is that the benchmark's margin of error is fairly wide—we'd estimate 5-7 percent. Relevant factors include whether or not the hard drive was defragmented immediately prior to the run and whether Vantage was run immediately following OS+driver installation, or only after a full suite of tests and other benchmarks had been run.
We used the 64-bit version of the benchmark and defragmented the hard drive immediately prior to running it. However, since the Origin PC used an Intel SSD instead of a standard hard drive, we avoided defragging the drive in favor of using Intel's TRIM utility.
Most systems and motherboards, including Origin's Genesis, ship with their storage controllers set for IDE mode. In some cases, this makes sense—IDE mode doubles as a legacy compatibility mode, and some SATA controllers, including those made by JMicron and AMD, actually perform better in that mode. The problem with disabling AHCI is that it prevents the drive from using features like NCQ or hot-swapping. MainGear's SHIFT ships with AHCI enabled, and we're guessing that accounts for at least a chunk of the 6000+ gap in scores.
One thing to keep in mind when comparing PCMark Vantage results is that the benchmark's margin of error is fairly wide—we'd estimate 5-7 percent. Relevant factors include whether or not the hard drive was defragmented immediately prior to the run and whether Vantage was run immediately following OS+driver installation, or only after a full suite of tests and other benchmarks had been run.
We used the 64-bit version of the benchmark and defragmented the hard drive immediately prior to running it. However, since the Origin PC used an Intel SSD instead of a standard hard drive, we avoided defragging the drive in favor of using Intel's TRIM utility.
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Origin Genesis: Core i7 920 @ 3.8GHz, Maingear Shift: Core i7 980X @ 4.2GHz
Most systems and motherboards, including Origin's Genesis, ship with their storage controllers set for IDE mode. In some cases, this makes sense—IDE mode doubles as a legacy compatibility mode, and some SATA controllers, including those made by JMicron and AMD, actually perform better in that mode. The problem with disabling AHCI is that it prevents the drive from using features like NCQ or hot-swapping. MainGear's SHIFT ships with AHCI enabled, and we're guessing that accounts for at least a chunk of the 6000+ gap in scores.
