In an effort to make our reviews easier to digest we decided to outsource the description of our test systems as well as the list of the testing software, benchmarks and games into a separate article to which we link from within future reviews. Apart from that we will also explain our approach as to why we do what we do.




This particular article explains our approach to testing PC systems. When looking at complete systems from OEM vendors or system integrators we’re going to assemble a reference system with similar components. The system that is to be tested should achieve results in the different benchmark routines that don’t deviate by more than -2% from our reference values. If we see that the deviation is higher there must be issues with the system that was to be tested.

Regarding SSD and power supply we follow a slightly different approach. Since there is a vast variety of SATA SSDs these days it’s unlikely we have the exact same drive in our collection. Therefore we’re always going to choose a similar drive for comparison. In the case of the power supply unit we use a Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W. We’re aware that this is an exceptionally high-quality unit and it’s unlikely that PC systems we’re going to test achieve better energy efficiency values, if the exact same components were used. Therefore as long as the values from the system that is to be tested and our test system are in the same ballpark/order of magnitue, we will just be showing the values. Should there be significant differences, then we would factor in the differences in efficiencies and write down the absolute numbers.

Test System / Software