PC Build Log: Benchmarking

Now it's time to find out what you've all been wondering: How does it perform in performance and gaming benchmark tests?

Let's start off with performance testing. 

First, I decided to run the trusted and relibale PassMark to see how the different components in my computer would handle in different situations. 

Overall, my system scored a 2836.3.

Diving into the individual tests, the CPU did very well. It was able to edge out its cousin, the FX-8150, while falling behind the much more powerful Intel Core i7 in every test.

Moving on to RAM, a test that I didn't place much weight on, the 8GB DDR3-1600 kit fell into the middle of the pack, only beating out smaller kits in most of the tests except for latency.

Now, onto the Graphics tests. The 2D Graphics test is where the Radeon R7 370 really falls behind, coming in last place or near the back of the pack in all of the tests.

Next was the 3D Graphics benchmark, a test that, after seeing the 2D benchmarks, I didn't have any confidence in at all. Surpisingly, this is where the GPU shined, coming in second place in every test behind the GTX 980 (which costs over twice as much as the R7 370).

Moving on from PassMark, I then decided to push my GPU to the limit using FurMark and it's GPU Burn Test. I scored 1881 points in their 1080p benchmark, reaching a maximum GPU temperature of 80°C, and an average frame rate of 31 FPS. Overall, I was pretty impressed. Considering that the R7 370 is one of AMD's budget GPUs, I was very happy with the semi-playable frame rate it was able to produce at maximum load.

Performance benchmarks are great indicators for people who run their CPU and/or GPU at maximum load all the time. But, I was much more interested in how they would both fair in everyday tasks that I'd acutally be doing. That's why I placed a lot more weight on Gaming Benchmarks for games that I would actually be playing on my PC.  Those games were War Thunder and DiRT Rally, both running at maximum graphical detail at 1080p.

In War Thunder, running the Pacific War (Day) test, the system achieved an impressive average of 133.7 FPS and a minimum of 88.0 FPS. Since War Thunder is a free-to-play game and since it ran smoothly at the same resolution on my laptop (closer to 40-50 FPS), I didn't expect it to do poorly in the tests. However, the results completely blew me away, especially considering the price point of the Radeon R7 370. Playing the game, I get a very enjoyable frame rate hovering around 70 FPS, which in my mind, makes my choice in Graphics Cards very worth while.

In DiRT Rally, running it's standard test, the system achieved an average of 76.87 FPS, a minimum of 60.51 FPS and a mazimum of 103.61 FPS. This was the real shocker. DiRT Rally was only released about three months ago and is still currently in beta. With the DiRT franchise's popularity and reputation as a mainstream racing title, I really didn't expect the system to perform so well. But, achieving a minimum of 60 FPS means another enjoyable gaming experience at 1080p.

In conclusion, this entire experience has been awesome. Not only was I able to fulfil my dream of building a PC, but the performance I get out of it is outstanding. I'll be sure to post updates over the next few months on how it fairs after a little bit of time, but that's all for now!

Be sure to check out Parts 1 to 4 of my PC Build Log and Stay Tuned for more in the Coming Months!