All of this Hyperclocking pays off with gaming performance that stomps the nearest competitors. Running Half-Life 2 at extremely demanding settings--1,600x1,200 resolution with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering--the Torque SLI managed a whopping 120 frames per second (fps). The next closest competitor, the Velocity Micro Gamer's Edge DualX, was left in the dust at 97fps. Doom 3 scores were similarly impressive, with the Torque SLI benchmarking 105fps at 1,600x1,200, compared to the Velocity Micro's 96.1fps. The Torque SLI blazed through productivity applications as well, with a SysMark 2004 score of 255, the fastest of its group. In fact, the only benchmark test where the Torque SLI came up short was with SysMark 2004's Internet content creation, where it was trounced by the dual-core Athlon 64 X2-equipped Alienware Aurora 7500. PCs with dual-core processors may hold a speed advantage over the Torque SLI in heavy multitasking, but not in single applications or gaming.
The Torque SLI doesn't ship with much software by default; you get Norton AntiVirus 2005, Nero Express for disc burning, the free OpenOffice productivity suite, and an assortment of benchmarking tools and utilities, though you can add other software titles, including games and commercial office suites, at the time of purchase. The Torque SLI's clean desktop and carefully categorized Start menu are testament to its careful fine-tuning. Our test system didn't ship with a monitor or speakers, though a variety of options are available from Overdrive. However, we did get Logitech's Cordless Desktop LX 700 mouse and keyboard set.
Overdrive PC backs the Torque SLI with a one-year parts-and-labor warranty, which includes toll-free tech support, available weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, and return shipping on repairs. The optional Platinum warranty is available in one-, two-, or three-year lengths (add $100 per year), and we highly recommend it as it covers all associated shipping costs to and from Overdrive PC for repairs. One year of warranty coverage has emerged as the industry standard, but given the system's $5,000 price tag, we think Platinum-level coverage should be the default. Overdrive PC's Web site features a tech-support e-mail address in addition to a well-organized list of manufacturer links for component documentation and drivers. The PC itself includes recovery CDs and the printed user manuals from several of the PC's components, but no overall setup guide. Instead, Overdrive prefers a more personal approach: a company rep will call when you receive your system to walk you through the setup procedure.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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BAPCo SysMark 2004 rating | |
SysMark 2004 Internet-content-creation rating | |
SysMark 2004 office-productivity rating |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Doom 3 1,600x1,200 4XAA 8XAF | |
Doom 3 1,024x768, 4XAA 8XAF | |
Half-Life 2 1,600x1,200 4XAA 8XAF | |
Half-Life 2 1,024x768 4XAA 8XAF |
Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
System configurations:
ABS Ultimate X8
Windows XP Professional SP2; 3.2GHz Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 840; Intel Nvidia Nforce 4 SLI Intel Edition chipset; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 256MB (2) Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX (PCIe SLI); two WDC WD740GD-00FLA2 74GB SATA 10,000rpm; Hitachi HDS724040KLSA80 400GB SATA 7,200rpm; integrated Nvidia Nforce 4 Intel Edition SATA RAID Controller
Alienware Aurora 7500
Windows XP Professional SP2; 2.4GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+; Nvidia Nforce 4 SLI chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 256MB (2) Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX (PCIe SLI); two Hitachi HDS728080PLA380 80GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA; integrated Nvidia Nforce RAID class controller (RAID 0)
Dell Dimension XPS 600
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 3.8GHz Intel Pentium 4 670; Nvida Nforce 4 SLI Intel Edition chipset; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX (PCIe SLI); two Hitachi HDS725050KLA360 500GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA; integrated Nvidia Nforce 4 Intel Edition SATA RAID Controller (RAID 0)
Overdrive PC Torque SLI
Windows XP Professional SP2; 2.8GHz AMD Athlon 64 FX-57; Nvidia Nforce 4 SLI chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 256MB (2) Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX (PCIe SLI); two WDC WD740GD-00FLA2 74GB 10,000rpm SATA; one Seagate ST3200826AS, 200GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA; integrated Nvidia Nforce RAID class controller (RAID 0)
Velocity Micro Gamer's Edge DualX
Windows XP Professional SP2; 2.8GHz AMD Athlon 64 FX-57; Nvidia Nforce 4 SLI chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 256MB (2) Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX (PCIe SLI); two WDC WD740GD-00FLA2 74GB 10,000rpm SATA; one WDC WD250JD-00HBB0 250GB 7,200rpm SATA; integrated Silicon SiL3114 SoftRAID5
