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This is one of the cleanest system installs yet, with only barebones drivers and software installed. We always appreciate being able to install our own anti virus software for instance without having to immediately clean the registry.
Interesting to see GPU-Z preinstalled, although we aren't sure if this is because we have a review sample and PC Specialist were double checking the configuration before shipping.
The system scores very highly, 7.3 points overall. This tool just uses the lowest common denominator for the final score however, rather than the ‘average'. The Solid State Drive scores the maximum 7.9 points, which is a good indication for later benchmarks.
At the heart of the system is the latest generation Intel Core i7 3610QM processor, built on the 22nm engineering process. The mainboard is manufactured by Clevo, with an American Megatrends bios. There is 8GB of Kingston DDR3 memory installed, in a 2x4GB configuration. This memory is set to 1,600mhz with relatively tight 9-9-9-27 1T timings.
GPU-Z failed to pick up the details of the AMD HD7970m discrete graphics card, although we know this is Direct X11 compliant, with 1280 pixel shaders. The core clock runs at 850mhz and the memory at 1200mhz connected via a 256 bit memory interface. On paper it is a very powerful mobile graphics solution.
AMD's Catalyst Control center is the hub for adjusting the switchable graphics settings – between Intel HD graphics and the HD7970m. We didn't run into issues during testing, although when first running a few programs CCC did ask a few times if we wanted to use power saving (Intel onboard) or high performance (AMD discrete). It saved the choices directly into the control panel, with the option to change later.
The choice of 90GB Solid State boot drive is inspired. It is a perfect size for maintaining a cost to usability ratio. Any smaller and you are likely to run out of space over time. With Windows 7 and all the applications installed, there is over 30 GB of space free. PC Specialist have also included a 750GB Hard drive for storage and backup purposes.
Comparison Systems (for specific synthetic test compares):
Asus G74SX-91013Z (featuring Core i7 2360QM)
Dell XPS 14z (featuring Core i7 2640M).
AlienWare M18X (featuring Core i7 2960XM Extreme Edition).
MSI CX640 (featuring Core i5 2410M).
Intel Core i7 2600k desktop processor.
Intel Core i5 2500k desktop processor.
Software:
3DMark Vantage
3DMark 11
PCMark 7
Cinebench 11.5 64 bit
FRAPS Professional
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
CrystalDiskMark
Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra 11
Cyberlink MediaEspresso
HQV Benchmark V2.
Alien V Predator.
Dirt Showdown.
Total War : Shogun 2.
Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Asus BluRay Drive
Lacie 730 Monitor (Image Quality testing)
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter
Nikon D3X with R1C1 Kit (4 flashes), Nikon 24-70MM lens.
