[section_title title=Test Setup]

Testing Setup

• CPU: Intel Core i7-6600k @ Stock | Multicore Enhancement & Intel SpeedStep both disabled
• CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
• GPU: XFX R9 380 Double Dissipation 4GB
• Motherboard: ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2666MHz CL16 8GB (2x4GB)
• PSU: Cooler Master V1200 1200w
• OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Methodology:

All benchmarks are done on a fresh install of Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit that is fully up-to-date with Windows Updates to ensure that the performance reflects a real-world scenario and not that of a tweaked benchmarking system. Every benchmark runs for a total of three times and then an average is taken of those results.

2D Benchmarks:

• AIDA64 – CPU Queen/CPU Photoworxx/CPU AES/Memory Read/Memory Write
• AS SSD – Sequential Read/Sequential Write/4K Read/4K Write/4K IOPS Read/4K IOPS Write
• Cinebench 11.5 – CPU
• Cinebench R15 – CPU
• PCMark 7 – Overall/Computation
• SiSandra – Processor Arithmetic/Processor Multi-Core Efficiency/Cache & Memory Bandwidth

3D Benchmarks:

• 3DMark 11 – Performance
• 3DMark Fire Strike – Normal

Gaming Benchmarks:

• Company of Heroes 2 – Maximum Settings 1080/1440p
• F1 2015 – Ultra Preset 1080/1440p
• Total War: ROME II – Extreme Preset 1080p/1440p