Falcon Northwest FragBox SLI: Dare to Dream
by Jarred Walton on May 3, 2006 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Encoding Performance
For our encoding tests, we used AutoGK 2.27 with Xvid 1.2 and DivX 6.1.1. Note that we have upgraded to the latest versions of AutoGK as well as more recent versions of Xvid and DivX. DivX and Xvid should now show improved performance with multi-core configurations, and scores are not directly comparable with older AutoGK results that we've reported. We're still encoding the same content (chapter 9 from The Sum of All Fears), though, and if you're interested in seeing how the change to the new versions affected performance, we did include results using the earlier versions on the FragBox system. (The earlier results are shown in red.)
There are slight variations in encoding performance, but basically all of the system configurations are tied. Again, this is what we like to see, because it generally means that all of the computer configurations are pretty well optimized.
Memory Latency
CPU-Z includes a program called latency.exe that can be used to get a rough estimate of cache and memory latency. We used version 1.33 and converted the latency from CPU cycles into nanoseconds.
While there are noticeable differences in latency, even when using the same memory timings, it's also important to realize that a 10% difference in memory latency will generally only result in a small difference in actual application performance. Here at least the EVGA and Shuttle motherboards do not appear to be as well optimized as the DFI board. There is of course the possibility that a future BIOS will improve performance slightly, but it's a minor concern.
For our encoding tests, we used AutoGK 2.27 with Xvid 1.2 and DivX 6.1.1. Note that we have upgraded to the latest versions of AutoGK as well as more recent versions of Xvid and DivX. DivX and Xvid should now show improved performance with multi-core configurations, and scores are not directly comparable with older AutoGK results that we've reported. We're still encoding the same content (chapter 9 from The Sum of All Fears), though, and if you're interested in seeing how the change to the new versions affected performance, we did include results using the earlier versions on the FragBox system. (The earlier results are shown in red.)
There are slight variations in encoding performance, but basically all of the system configurations are tied. Again, this is what we like to see, because it generally means that all of the computer configurations are pretty well optimized.
Memory Latency
CPU-Z includes a program called latency.exe that can be used to get a rough estimate of cache and memory latency. We used version 1.33 and converted the latency from CPU cycles into nanoseconds.
While there are noticeable differences in latency, even when using the same memory timings, it's also important to realize that a 10% difference in memory latency will generally only result in a small difference in actual application performance. Here at least the EVGA and Shuttle motherboards do not appear to be as well optimized as the DFI board. There is of course the possibility that a future BIOS will improve performance slightly, but it's a minor concern.
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Pirks - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - link
Thanks, but that's still very far from what I was asking. If all the PC is made of were just ONE SINGLE ABIT MOBO, then yeah it'd be a close shot :Pislandtechengineers - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - link
small and powerful; like another has stated; Build my own. being rich and able to let someone else do the work for you = lazy , but i wouldnt mind putting it in my car if i had cash to throw out...Inkjammer - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - link
"Performance nerd-vana" may have to be one of the best quotes I've seen in a while. =DMissing Ghost - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - link
What's so special about it?unclebud - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - link
the review was still interesting, as alwayswhat i was saying is that another group of journalists reviewed the fragbox before and they encountered a very different type of experience... it's also interesting that they sent a fragbox with an evga board now and not the msi/ati 480~
Gary Key - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - link
I cannot answer directly for Jarred in this case, but my previous experiences with Falcon Northwest have shown they do listen to their customers and will correct any product issues immediately.unclebud - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - link
"I can't really evaluate the support that comes from Falcon at this time."imagine that...
JarredWalton - Thursday, May 4, 2006 - link
They put a customer sticker on every system. This one is for "AnandTech" - too bad I have to send it back.daftpunkit - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - link
My parents got me a Falcon NW for college, 4 years later it still runs pretty sweet, and 4 years in the computer world means it's ancient.The support was outstanding too I would say. They are quick too. I think the original had a MSI mobo but it blew up or something about a year into me owning it and I shipped it to them they replaced it with a nice ASUS mobo and got it back pretty quick.
Ryan Norton - Wednesday, May 3, 2006 - link
Man, I remember when I was 10-14 or so and my dad still picked out the family computer, guaranteeing slowness and poor Doom II performance... he subscribed to Computer Gaming World and the Mach V ads always made me drool! I would never buy a FNW system when I can build my own so much easier, UNLESS I get rich one day... then man, I'm gonna beat a path to their door for whatever octo-SLI quad-CPU 32GB RAM madness reigns in the future.