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Christmas is almost upon us and Wired2Fire clearly sees its Diablo Extreme with its two 8800GTX graphics cards and a 3GHz quad core as the perfect present.
Intel's Core 2 Extreme QX6850 provides the grunt, which is one of the last processors to be based on the Kentsfield core before we see Penryn architecture in the next few weeks. Penryn will have 12MB L2 cache rather than 8MB on display here.
Four gigabytes of Corsair's low-latency Twin2X DDR2 Ram, which Vista Home Premium 64-bit takes full advantage of, keeps the CPU fed and storage comes courtesy of a 150GB 10,000rpm Western Digital Raptor for program performance and a regular 500GB disk for documents.
Wired2Fire hasn't overclocked the processor, leaving it at 3GHz. Indeed any overclocking does seem rather pointless since its score of 10,595 in PCmark05 (9,582 in the CPU section) puts it beyond all other systems we've tested.
By using two BFG 8800GTX graphics cards in SLI mode (with cores overclocked to 621MHz and 768MB of GDDR3 2GHz Ram each), it wiped the floor in our 3D benchmarks too, scoring 19,371 in 3Dmark05 and 15,906 in 3Dmark06.
Fear isn't particularly kind to SLI setups and a score 197fps (frames per second) in SLI mode was only 7fps faster than with one card disabled. We also decided to test both 3Dmark05 and 3Dmark06 with a single 8800GTX, which showed they were nine and 12 per cent slower respectively, so you'll have to think long and hard about whether SLI is worth the extra cost.
Remaining curious, we decided to test this system with Windows XP since we've had serious reservations about Nvidia's Vista SLI drivers for some time. It came as no surprise to find scores were 4 and 5 per cent faster respectively in the older operating system.
Our system arrived with one graphics card popped out of its slot - a common problem when desktops are shipped - but a poorly routed internal cable didn't make things easy when putting the card back in.
Cooling is exemplary throughout this system. Copper heatpipes on the quality Asus P5N32-E motherboard, huge case fans and a Thermaltake Blue Orb Cooler all combine to keep the CPU at just 30°C, even after several days testing.
While the system's specifications caught our imagination, the Thermaltake Armour case caught our body parts and clothes, quite literally. We got watches and hands stuck on the flaps that semi-cover the front panel several times.
Other aspects of the case are also quirky - one 5.25in bay is filled with a draw that slides out and the hard disks are difficult to access, while a selection of ports, including USB, sit on top of the case behind a flimsy plastic flap. Inside, the case is differs from most by holding the Targan 900W PSU vertically, which makes space for a fan along side it.
The PSU isn't a modular design, so there are a few leads that get tucked away behind the motherboard tray, but we've used this model for several months at PCW and found it both quiet and powerful. It even has a pair of 2-pin PCI Express connectors that can combine with regular 6-pin plugs to power upcoming 14-pin graphics cards, a rare feat indeed.
Wired2Fire has put together a fast setup that's cheaper than other 8800GTX SLI systems we've tested. But if you're already spending £2,500 without a monitor (the price is set to drop by over £100 by mid-November, so hold off until then if you can) then you might also have enough cash to buy a Commodore XX with its impressive paint job.
See also:
Intel’s new T7800 processor speeds into view, housed in a plush chassis 09 Oct 2007
Dell adds a bit of colour to its notebook range 25 Sep 2007
Plenty of bang for your buck from this quad-core desktop 19 Sep 2007All Desktops Tags: Deskop PC
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