ABS Ultimate X9: Core 2 Extreme Hits a Speed Bump
by Jarred Walton on August 18, 2006 1:35 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Noise and Power
We've looked at how the system performs, but another aspect of performance that needs to be addressed is the noise and power requirements. We tested the ABS system at stock, overclocked, and underclocked speeds in both idle and 100% load situations. We then measured power draw and noise levels created by the system. 100% CPU load was achieved by running two instances of Folding@Home along with the Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory benchmark. Performing video encoding or other CPU intensive tasks while playing a game will achieve a similar CPU load. We also provided a CPU-only stress test to show the difference between 100% CPU load and 100% CPU + GPU load. The CPU load was achieved by running the two Folding@Home instances without starting any games or other tasks.
Noise results basically showed no difference between any of the clock speeds, as all of the fans run at a constant RPM. However, the water cooling fan does come with the ability to control fan speed, so we set that to minimum for idle testing and maximum speed to show the difference in noise levels.
It should come as little surprise that increasing the CPU speed requires more power. However, the system is designed such that noise levels are relatively constant. This is certainly not a silent system, but neither is it terribly loud, even at maximum fan speed. At minimum fan speed, the system does become nearly silent, which is particularly impressive when you consider the amount of noise normally generated by two X1900 cards. If your typical use of the system will not place it under heavy stress, you can use the fan speed control to dramatically lower the noise levels. We would recommend cranking up the fan speed for gaming sessions, however, as the GPUs and CPU will definitely put out a lot of heat. Besides, with all the noise from your speakers, the importance of reducing fan noise is greatly diminished.
The power results are interesting, as they show both the efficiency of the Core 2 CPU as well as the inefficiency of the X1900 GPUs. Going from 100% CPU load to 100% CPU + GPU nearly doubles the total system power draw. In other words, the two GPUs consume as much power together as all the remaining components. Needless to say, even at the heavily overclocked setting, power requirements are still lower than your typical NetBurst system, but we're now waiting for energy efficient GPU designs to go along with the lower power Core architecture.
Another interesting aspect of the power requirements for the Core 2 Extreme is that EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology) was able to function even at overclocked settings. The default CPU speed is 11 x 266, or 2.93 GHz. EIST allows the CPU to run at a 6X multiplier, resulting in a clock speed of 1.6 GHz. At the overclocked settings, the CPU runs at 3.5 to GHz under load, but drops to 1.92 GHz when idle. Now even overclockers can take advantage of energy-saving technologies. In case you were wondering, the idle power results for the "E6700" and X6800 are identical because the CPU throttled down to 1.60 GHz in both cases.
We've looked at how the system performs, but another aspect of performance that needs to be addressed is the noise and power requirements. We tested the ABS system at stock, overclocked, and underclocked speeds in both idle and 100% load situations. We then measured power draw and noise levels created by the system. 100% CPU load was achieved by running two instances of Folding@Home along with the Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory benchmark. Performing video encoding or other CPU intensive tasks while playing a game will achieve a similar CPU load. We also provided a CPU-only stress test to show the difference between 100% CPU load and 100% CPU + GPU load. The CPU load was achieved by running the two Folding@Home instances without starting any games or other tasks.
Noise results basically showed no difference between any of the clock speeds, as all of the fans run at a constant RPM. However, the water cooling fan does come with the ability to control fan speed, so we set that to minimum for idle testing and maximum speed to show the difference in noise levels.
The power results are interesting, as they show both the efficiency of the Core 2 CPU as well as the inefficiency of the X1900 GPUs. Going from 100% CPU load to 100% CPU + GPU nearly doubles the total system power draw. In other words, the two GPUs consume as much power together as all the remaining components. Needless to say, even at the heavily overclocked setting, power requirements are still lower than your typical NetBurst system, but we're now waiting for energy efficient GPU designs to go along with the lower power Core architecture.
Another interesting aspect of the power requirements for the Core 2 Extreme is that EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology) was able to function even at overclocked settings. The default CPU speed is 11 x 266, or 2.93 GHz. EIST allows the CPU to run at a 6X multiplier, resulting in a clock speed of 1.6 GHz. At the overclocked settings, the CPU runs at 3.5 to GHz under load, but drops to 1.92 GHz when idle. Now even overclockers can take advantage of energy-saving technologies. In case you were wondering, the idle power results for the "E6700" and X6800 are identical because the CPU throttled down to 1.60 GHz in both cases.
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JarredWalton - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
As I pointed out on page 2, the price charged by ABS really isn't bad. I mean, $300 extra to build a super high-end setup, relative to what you'd pay at Newegg? That's not to say I think buying ultra-high-end isn't a bit crazy anyway, but getting all the watercooling and such installed isn't a 30 minute task. Anyway, you can always build a better PC for less money on your own, but you also then are fully responsible for supporting that PC if anything goes wrong. I'm fine with that, most of the people posting are fine with that, but there are a lot of people out there that would rather pay someone else to do the work. I've charged people $200 or so in the past to build a moderate system, and that's probably less than I would charge now.plewis00 - Friday, August 18, 2006 - link
Does anyone else think it's absolutely criminal to spend that amount of money on a system which would then turn out not to be 100% stable? In fact, any system which isn't 100% stable out of the box (unless by some freak one-off accident) I would consider a failure, like this one.DigitalFreak - Friday, August 18, 2006 - link
If you're going to spend that much on a system, you should be dealing with Alienware, VoodooPC, etc. This ABS system appears to be junk.BTW, you guys should take a page from Hardocp on how you conduct your system reviews.
rjm55 - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
-H- has turned into a joke in the mind of any real enthusiast. Stupid reviews like the Core 2 Duo launch "proving" AMD outperforms Conroe are posted, and then any one who questions his majesty is banned from making comments. You end up with King Kyle and his adoring "yes massah!" loyalists around his feet. Every REAL enthusiast I know has been banned from -H- at least once for asking questions - it's almost become the red badge of courage to be banned form -H-. Compare that to AT where hard questions and comments always stay up, are encouraged, and actually debated by Editors.Every one knows -H- only rewards Editors Choices to whoever bought his last truck. His recent Editors Choice to the ECS KA3 MVP has everyone I know rolling on the floor laughing. You start with the idea you need to give an Editors Choice to ECS. You run benchmarks that are meaningless and very few, that you know will "prove" the ECS was a great board. You ignore the fact this is the AM2 board that is the WORST overclocker anyone has ever tested - and mention quickly it doesn't even have the means to adjust CAS latency and runs Corsair 1066 at 800 at CAS 5 timings AT BEST (every other AM2 board can run it at 3-3-3). You can bet the award was payment for the new truck ECS bought this year. Based on the fact -H- has recently moved from giving anything Abit an Editors Choice to now trashing Abit, so it's a pretty safe bet Abit isn't buying the trucks any more.
You don't have to believe what everyone who tells you about -H-. Just go to -H- and ask a hard question about test methods or how a conclusion was reached. You'll be banned so fast it makes your head swim. Hitler also surrounded himself with yes men, as apparently do many other Texans who avoid reality.
JarredWalton - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
Careful! We might ban you from our forums for turning on white text! ;)rjm55 - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
has turned into a joke in the mind of any real enthusiast. Stupid reviews like the Core 2 Duo launch "proving" AMD outperforms Conroe are posted, and then any one who questions his majesty is banned from making comments. You end up with King Kyle and his adoring "yes massah!" loyalists around his feet. Every REAL enthusiast I know has been banned from {H] at least once for asking questions - it's almost become the red badge of courage to be banned form . Compare that to AT where hard questions and comments always stay up, are encouraged, and actually debated by Editors.Every one knows only rewards Editors Choices to whoever bought his last truck. His recent Editors Choice to the ECS KA3 MVP has everyone I know rolling on the floor laughing. You start with the idea you need to give an Editors Choice to ECS. You run benchmarks that are meaningless and very few, that you know will "prove" the ECS was a great board. You ignore the fact this is the AM2 board that is the WORST overclocker anyone has ever tested - and mention quickly it doesn't even have the means to adjust CAS latency and runs Corsair 1066 at 800 at CAS 5 timings AT BEST (every other AM2 board can run it at 3-3-3). You can bet the award was payment for the new truck ECS bought this year. Based on the fact has recently moved from giving anything Abit an Editors Choice to now trashing Abit, it's a pretty safe bet Abit isn't buying the trucks any more.
You don't have to believe what everyone who tells you about . Just go to and ask a hard question about test methods or how a conclusion was reached. You'll be banned so fast it makes your head swim. Hitler also surrounded himself with yes men, as apparently do many other Texans who avoid reality.
Kalessian - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
whoa, how did you manage to break the comments system?JarredWalton - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
Urg... just to recap, don't post the {H} abbreviation with brackets instead of braces. You know how {B} and {I} do bold and italic? {H} does highlighting, which in this case means white text. We should probably disable that feature, though it does make things somewhat entertaining. ;)
rjm55 - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
What a f$#&ing joke!! has turned into a joke in the mind of any real enthusiast. Stupid reviews like the Core 2 Duo launch "proving" AMD outperforms Conroe are posted, and then any one who questions his majesty is banned from making comments. You end up with King Kyle and his adoring "yes massah!" loyalists around his feet. Every REAL enthusiast I know has been banned from {H] at least once for asking questions - it's almost become the red badge of courage to be banned form . Compare that to AT where hard questions and comments always stay up, are encouraged, and actually debated by Editors.Every one knows only rewards Editors Choices to whoever bought his last truck. His recent Editors Choice to the ECS KA3 MVP has everyone I know rolling on the floor laughing. You start with the idea you need to give an Editors Choice to ECS. You run benchmarks that are meaningless and very few, that you know will "prove" the ECS was a great board. You ignore the fact this is the AM2 board that is the WORST overclocker anyone has ever tested - and mention quickly it doesn't even have the means to adjust CAS latency and runs Corsair 1066 at 800 at CAS 5 timings AT BEST (every other AM2 board can run it at 3-3-3). You can bet the award was payment for the new truck ECS bought this year. Based on the fact has recently moved from giving anything Abit an Editors Choice to now trashing Abit, it's a pretty safe bet Abit isn't buying the trucks any more.
You don't have to believe what everyone who tells you about . Just go to and ask a hard question about test methods or how a conclusion was reached. You'll be banned so fast it makes your head swim. Hitler also surrounded himself with yes men, as apparently do many other Texans who avoid reality.
rjm55 - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
has turned into a joke in the mind of any real enthusiast. Stupid reviews like the Core 2 Duo launch "proving" AMD outperforms Conroe are posted, and then any one who questions his majesty is banned from making comments. You end up with King Kyle and his adoring "yes massah!" loyalists around his feet. Every REAL enthusiast I know has been banned from {H] at least once for asking questions - it's almost become the red badge of courage to be banned form . Compare that to AT where hard questions and comments always stay up, are encouraged, and actually debated by Editors.Every one knows only rewards Editors Choices to whoever bought his last truck. His recent Editors Choice to the ECS KA3 MVP has everyone I know rolling on the floor laughing. You start with the idea you need to give an Editors Choice to ECS. You run benchmarks that are meaningless and very few, that you know will "prove" the ECS was a great board. You ignore the fact this is the AM2 board that is the WORST overclocker anyone has ever tested - and mention quickly it doesn't even have the means to adjust CAS latency and runs Corsair 1066 at 800 at CAS 5 timings AT BEST (every other AM2 board can run it at 3-3-3). You can bet the award was payment for the new truck ECS bought this year. Based on the fact has recently moved from giving anything Abit an Editors Choice to now trashing Abit, it's a pretty safe bet Abit isn't buying the trucks any more.
You don't have to believe what everyone who tells you about . Just go to and ask a hard question about test methods or how a conclusion was reached. You'll be banned so fast it makes your head swim. Hitler also surrounded himself with yes men, as apparently do many other Texans who avoid reality.