Wired2Fire Diablo Reactor Gaming PC Review

1. Introduction2. Wired2Fire Diablo Reactor: Packaging and Bundle3. Wired2Fire Diablo Reactor System4. Testing Methodology and Configuration5. Tests: System-related6. Tests: Processor-related7. Tests: Gaming-related8. Tests: Motherboard-related9. Technical: Thermals, Acoustics, and Power10. Closing Thoughts11. View All Pages

Wired2Fire does a good job of installing very little bloatware. Classic Shell allows a user to view the installed programs that they can adjust – i.e. not the important Windows-based software.

The Crucial BX100 SSD ships with more than 200GB of free space. Due to Wired2Fire's positioning of the default directories on the SSD, that 200GB will fill up quickly unless a users opts to store files on the 1TB Seagate 7200.14 HDD.

Wired2Fire applies a custom power plan that minimises power saving features in Windows in order to maximise system-wide performance. This is the power profile that we used throughout testing.

Classic Shell restores the start menu to Windows 8.1. This is a good addition that I attach value to.

A 1.22V CPU core voltage is used to maintain the 4690K's 4.4GHz clock speed. This voltage level is sensible for 4.4GHz and results in a thermal output that is manageable for the Raijintek Themis CPU cooler.

Memory is maintained at its stock value of 1600MHz CL11, and the same is true for the CPU cache frequency that operates at 3.9Ghz.

The GTX 970 graphics card is clocked at reference GPU speeds. Maximum core boost clock is listed as 1178MHz, however we observed spikes in the region of 1250MHz. This level, however, was unable to be maintained due to thermal throttling once 80°C on the GPU temperature was reached.

Wired2Fire Diablo Reactor

• Intel Core i5 4690K overclocked to 4.4GHz.
• Asus Z97-P motherboard.
• 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair XMS3 1600MHz CL11 DDR3.
• Palit Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB (reference model).
• Crucial BX100 250GB SSD.
• Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200.14 SATA 6Gbps HDD.
• Raijintek Arcadia Case.
• Raijintek Themis CPU cooler.
• FSP 600W PSU.
• DVD-RW.
• Windows 8.1.

Comparison Gaming Systems

• Chillblast Fusion Raptor
• Chillblast Fusion Barbarian
• OcUK Ultima Finesse Blackhole

Z97 Comparison Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 4790K ES (4.4GHz forced turbo).
• Motherboard: Asus Maximus VII Impact.
• Memory: 16GB (2x 8GB) Corsair Vengeance Pro 2400MHz CL10.
• Graphics Card: Asus R9 280X Matrix Platinum 3GB.
• System Drive: 240GB SanDisk Extreme II SSD.
• CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i.
• Case: NZXT Phantom 630.
• Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 1000W.
• Operating System: Windows 7 Professional with SP1 64-bit.

Tests:

• 3DMark – Fire Strike (System)
• SiSoft Sandra – Processor arithmetic, memory bandwidth (System)
• Cinebench R15 – All-core CPU benchmark (CPU)
• HandBrake – Convert 4.36GB 720P MKV to MP4 (CPU)
• ATTO – Drives and USB 3.0 transfer rates (Motherboard)
• Bioshock Infinite – 1920 x 1080, ultra quality (Gaming)
• Metro: Last Light – 1920 x 1080, high quality (Gaming)
• Tomb Raider – 1920 x 1080, ultimate quality (Gaming)

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