HyperX 16GB DDR4 (2×8 GB, dual channel at 3333 MHz), supplied by HyperX
RTX 2080 Ti 8GB FE, stock Founders Edition clocks, on loan from NVIDIA
480 GB Team Group SSD
1.92 TB San Disk enterprise class SSD
2 TB Micron 1100 SSD
Seasonic 850W Gold Focus power supply unit
EVGA CLC 280mm CPU water cooler, supplied by EVGA
EVGA Nu Audio stereo PCIe sound card, on loan from EVGA
Diamond 7.1 USB sound card.
Edifier R1280T active desktop speakers
Grado SR60e headphones
EVGA DG-77, mid-tower case supplied by EVGA
Monoprice Crystal Pro 4K
Test Configuration – Software
Nvidia GeForce 417.01 WHQL drivers
Highest quality sound (stereo).
Windows 10 64-bit Home edition. Latest DirectX
Metro Exodus patched to its latest build.
Primary PC Game
Metro Exodus
Primary Music (CDs)
A Decade of Steely Dan
Supernatural, Carlos Santana
IZ the Man and His Music in Concert, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Songs of Experience, U2
Audio tracks courtesy of EVGA (wav. audio)
Primary Comparison Method
Windows 10 instant software switching between sound cards, A/B. Two sound cards are both connected simultaneously to the Edifier R1280T speaker inputs and auditioned at the same volume by switching back and forth while listening to well-known and well-recorded audio CDs.
