I Break the PCMark 2005 World Record
08.26.08 - 01:09am
PCMark 2005 might be an older test but it sure is fun to run. In short, PCMark runs a suite of tests that attempts to simulate the loads the average computer undergoes and quantifies the experience with a set number of PCMarks. PCM05 is heavily input/output dependent with the RAM and hard drive drastically affecting it’s score. For months I had been thinking about tackling this benchmark and now that I jointly hold the World Record, I can move on in my conquest of HWBot.
The Setup
My friend Gautam from Columbia drove down last Saturday with a car load of gear. He was supplying the i-rams, processor, and video card while I supplied the memory, motherboard, and cooling. Once he arrived we swiftly setup the two rigs we were going to use and then began tweaking the setup. We used two Gigabyte GA-EP45T-Extremes, an Intel QX9650 for the main rig, an Intel E8400 for the slave rig, a eVGA GTX 280 for the main rig, Corsair PC3-14400 Dominators for the main rig, and an F1EE for the cooling. Unfortunately our CPU was less than stellar so we were operating at 5355MHz with 2.04v at -82 Celsius to -88 Celsius. This was a huge penalty to work around but we still managed to set the record.
Results
The previous record was 27,601 PCMarks set by none other than K|ngp|n. We beat his run by 399 points for a solid 28,000 PCMarks. What I find to be more interesting though was the fact that his CPU was at 5801MHz while ours was at 5355MHz. Through sheer efficiency we beat him, not brute force. After our second run that set 28,000 PCMarks we then started trying for a backup run and achieved 28,165 PCMarks but it crashed immediately afterwards due to coldbug. The processor really was a nightmare to work with and since I was pouring the liquid nitrogen I had to toe the line usually within a single degree which required all my concentration.
And?
28,000 PCMarks really wasn’t that high of a score in my mind. I had a goal of hitting 30,000 PCMarks so over the next 2 weeks I’ll be preparing for a 30,000 PCMark run. I’m quite confident in bringing down 30k, just waiting on a replacement QX9650 and another i-RAM or two. I’m certain I’ll be able to claim 30,000 PCMarks for myself and let Gautam keep the 28,000 PCMark run. Now back to working for LegitReviews, working on a review of OCZ Flex II PC2-9200 4GB sticks and it’s taking forever.
Thanks to Gigabyte for the GA-EP45T-Extreme, Corsair for the PC3-14400C7 Dominators, Gautam for driving down and showing me some super tweaks, g h z and sno.lcn for the I-RAMs, and AirGas for the stupidly cheap liquid nitrogen.
Links: XtremeSystems Post HWBot Link Futuremark Orb Link
Truly sick sir! That is an amazing feat and I’m confident in your ability to hit the 30k mark solo! Keep it up and good luck with everything.
Thanks! Was practicing this weekend and I can confidently say if nothing breaks I have atleast 30k in the bag. It’s going to be plain sick to say the least.
Is the slave rig used solely for the i-rams? Wouldn’t moving to v2s mean you could get rid of that rig?
What happened to the 30k run?
Yup, the slave rigs solely exist to power the i-RAMs. Switching to OCZ Core V2 SSDs would make it possible to run all this off one PSU/motherboard but I’d need ~8 SSDs to match the 5 i-RAMs.
The 30k run will actually occur later this week if all goes well, had a slight mishap where my QX9650 decided it wanted to retire. The replacement arrived two weeks ago and I’ve been too busy to arrange for another 180L liquid nitrogen dewar delivery.
Oh whoops, by v2, I meant the version 2 of the i-RAM. It isn’t powered by PCI, but a 4-pin molex connector.
Good luck on the next run!
Ahh, didn’t know one of those existed. I had seen some 5.25″ bay things but they weren’t i-RAMs. No worries, these will work fine but pretty soon SSDs will be better options with much larger capacities.
Yeah I’ve been watching the Fusion-io for some time. Absolutely smoking performance, but not bootable just yet. Apparently that feature is coming Nov-Dec time.
You are wonderful…
I like you cat.