System Performance

The HP Phoenix h9se we have for review presents us with a rare opportunity: we have a gaming desktop configured entirely at stock speeds. Also keep in mind that the GTX 580 we have in our system is no longer being offered, as it is being replaced by the AMD Radeon HD 7950 at an ever-so-slightly lower price point, so you'll be getting the same or better performance for about the same amount of money.

We also have a special guest in our charts; the unit marked "Unknown Sample" is a custom rig from a boutique that isn't yet available. We had intended to post that review first, but we've been asked to hold that for a couple more weeks, so we'll just let the numbers speak for themselves.

Futuremark PCMark 7

Futuremark PCMark Vantage

The SSD used in the HP Phoenix is an Intel 320, which is unfortunately limited to 3Gbps operation. As a result our PCMark charts skew heavily in favor of other machines that use faster SSDs. The Intel 320 is by no means awful (an SSD of virtually any stripe is still a notable upgrade as a system drive), but it's a generation behind in terms of performance.

3D Rendering - CINEBENCH R10

3D Rendering - CINEBENCH R10

3D Rendering - CINEBENCH R11.5

Video Encoding - x264

Video Encoding - x264

It's interesting to see how a stock-clocked i7-3960X is able to line up against heavily overclocked Sandy Bridge quad-cores (not to mention the previous generation's i7-990X). Every overclocked processor on these charts is running in excess of 4GHz, while the 3960X has to make do with only being able to turbo up to 3.6GHz on all six cores. When it can't leverage the extra two cores, the 3960X carries a notable deficit behind the heavily overclocked Sandy Bridge chips, but once those two come into play, the stock-clocked 3960X is able to mostly hang with the 4GHz+ i7-990X chips and blows past the quads.

Futuremark 3DMark 11

Futuremark 3DMark Vantage

Futuremark 3DMark06

By this point the GeForce GTX 580 is a well-known quantity. A single-GPU card isn't going to be able to compete with dual- and quad-GPU solutions, but it remains among the fastest single-GPU cards available. Unless you're running multiple monitors, the GTX 580 remains very capable, and once the 7950 becomes available for HP things should get shaken up a bit more.

Introducing the HP Phoenix h9se Gaming Performance
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  • faster - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    I went to HP's website to check this bad boy out. Their base model was $2349, not $999. Thats a huge difference.
  • SteveKosh - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    The H9 series startsat $999. But I do agree that it looks like it says it for the h9se.
  • JarredWalton - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    If you'll read the text, we specifically mention that the SNB-E config is the least sensible of all the H9 options.
  • faster - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    It is also worth mentioning that they only offer 2 choices of video card - a 550ti or 6850. Fairly lame for a "high end" desktop costing over $2000.
  • StrangerGuy - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    ...That's ugly as sin. And nothing screams cheapness like glossy plastic.
  • Gunbuster - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    Did you have a pizza party before the photo shoot? Wipe those fingerprints off!
  • Dustin Sklavos - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    I did.
  • TrackSmart - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    I appreciate that this comment leaves it ambiguous about whether Dustin had a pizza party (I hope) or wiped off the fingerprints (less fun). Good stuff!
  • SteveKosh - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    "That leaves the highest performance users hanging in the breeze until March 7th when the AMD Radeon HD 7950 will become available."

    To my knowledge the 7950 is out already. I think you mean the 7850.
  • JarredWalton - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link

    No, it means that HP is not offering the HD 7950 in the Phoenix until March 7.

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