Custom PC - UK (2020-08)

How we test

REVIEWS / HOW WE TEST

Wetestimagequalitywith an

Xrite iDisplay Pro colorimeter

and DisplayCal software to

check for colour accuracy,

contrast and gamma, while

assessing more subjective

details such as pixel density and viewing angles by eye. We

also run games on them to assess their responsiveness, and

to see how well any adaptive sync tech works, and to gauge

their performance at high refresh rates.

MONITORS

TESTMOTHERBOARDS

 Intel LGA1200 MSI MEG Z490Ace

 Intel LGA2066 MSI MEG X299Creation

 AMD AM4 Gigabyte X570 AorusMaster

 AMD AM4 (APU) MSI X470 GamingProCarbon

 AMD TRX4 Asus ROG Zenith IIExtreme

Our CPU test setup comprises a GeForce RTX 2070 Super

Founders Edition (or an APU’s integrated GPU), a 2TB Samsung

970 Pro SSD, and Corsair Vengeance RGB 3466MHz DDR4

memory – a 16GB dual-channel kit for mainstream systems,

and a 32GB quad-channel kit for HEDT systems. A Corsair

Hydro-X water-cooling loop, with two XR5 240mm radiators,

an XD3 RGB reservoir and an XC7 RGB waterblock is also used.

We use Windows 10 Home 64-bit, and test with our

RealBench suite, as well as Cinebench for 3D rendering and

Adobe Premiere Pro for video export times. Far Cry New Dawn

and Metro Exodus test gaming performance. Finally, we record

the total power draw of the test PC. We run all tests at stock

speed and at the highest stable overclocked frequency.

PROCESSORS

WemeasuretheCPUtemperature with CoreTemp, and

subtract the ambient air temperature to give a delta T result,

enabling us to test in a lab that isn’t temperature controlled.

We load the CPU with Prime95’s smallfft test and take the

reading after ten minutes.

TEST KIT

Fractal Design Meshify C case, 3000MHz Corsair Vengeance

LPX memory, 256GB Crucial MX100 SSD, be quiet! System

Power 9 500W PSU, Windows 10 64-bit.

INTEL LGA1151

Intel Core i5-9600K CPU overclocked to 4.8GHz with 1.2V

vcore, Asus ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming motherboard.

INTEL LGA2066

Intel Core i9-7900X overclocked to 4.2GHz with 1.15V vcore,

MSI X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard.

AMD AM4

AMD Ryzen 7 1700 overclocked to 3.9GHz with 1.425V vcore,

MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard.

AMD TR4

AMD Threadripper 2950X overclocked to 4.1GHz with 1.425V

vcore, AMD Threadripper 2990WX overclocked to 4GHz with

1.3375V vcore, ASRock X399M motherboard.

CPU COOLERS

MOTHERBOARDS

TEST PROCESSORS

 Intel LGA1200 Intel Core i9-10900K

 Intel LGA2066 Intel Core i9-7900X

 AMD AM4 AMD Ryzen 9 3900X

 AMD TRX4 AMD Threadripper 3970X

Our test gear comprises a GeForce RTX 2070 Super Founders

Edition and a 2TB Samsung 970 Pro SSD (or a PCI-E 4 1TB

Corsair MP600 SSD on X570 and TRX40 boards). We also use

Corsair Vengeance RGB 3466MHz DDR4 RAM – a 16GB dual-

channel kit for mainstream systems, and a 32GB quad-channel

kit for HEDT systems. All CPUs are cooled by a Corsair Hydro-X

water-cooling loop, with two XR5 240mm radiators, an XD3

RGB reservoir and an XC7 RGB waterblock.

We test with our RealBench suite and Far Cry New Dawn on

Windows 10 Home 64-bit. We also test the board’s M.2 ports,

and record the noise level and dynamic range of integrated

audio using RightMark Audio Analyzer. Where possible, CPUs

are overclocked and benchmarked again.