I review CPUs for Tom’s Hardware. I don’t review products in a dozen different categories, cosplaying as some expert in each of them; I review CPUs. As you can imagine, my day is filled with cleaning TIM, unmounting coolers, swapping CPUs, and darting back and forth across different platforms to gather the data I need for reviews, comparisons, and just about anything else in the world of CPUs that’s worth taking a closer look at.
We do a lot of benchmarking here at Tom’s Hardware, but CPUs and GPUs require even more than other categories. A full pass of our test suite can take upwards of 10 hours for a single chip, and that doesn’t include the time it takes to swap chips and get benches prepped for another pass. It should go without saying, but efficiency is king for benchmarking CPUs here. We don’t want to (and won’t) sacrifice the abundance of data we gather for reviews, even when going across a dozen or more SKUs for a single review.
Outside of the hardware, there are a handful of tools I use that make the process of benchmarking and reviewing CPUs more efficient. There are some problems unique to reviewers, and I don’t want to recommend products that serve no practical purpose outside of my specific role. The tools here should be useful to enthusiasts, assuming you have an inclination toward tinkering and benchmarking your own hardware.
I’m not focused on the hardware itself inside the benches. You can find that detailed in any of our CPU reviews . Given the catch-22 of PC hardware pricing right now, it’s hard to justify a new build anyway. Instead, I’m focusing on the tools I use nearly every day to streamline CPU testing, including some tips I’ve learned after years of flipping chips.
Alamengda Open Computer Case
The best test bench around is probably the Open Benchtable, with the Praxis WetBench and newer Thermal Grizzly Der8enchtable coming in close behind. The problem is that they’re ridiculously expensive. The Open Benchtable is $200. The WetBench reaches all the way to $300 for the SX version, and the Der8enchtable is $270 — though, admittedly, the Der8enchtable does a lot more with its active PCB. I have three benches running at any given time, so shelling out $600 to $900 just wasn’t an option. Let me introduce you to the Alamengda Open Computer Case, which is around $25.
It may seem innocuous, but finding a test bench with this layout at this price is surprisingly difficult. For starters, it’s aluminum. There’s no shortage of cheap acrylic benches you can pick up on AliExpress or any other provider of direct Chinese goods, but I wanted aluminum. It’s also flat, while many similar inexpensive benches are set up so your motherboard is oriented vertically.
The critical perk of the Alamengda benches I have, however, is that there isn’t a shroud for the PCH. Several flat, inexpensive benches have a single piece of aluminum for the PCIe brackets, PCH, and power supply, such as this one and this one . During benchmarking, I have a single 120mm fan sitting on top of the PCH to help keep everything cool, including the NVMe SSD I have installed. These Alamengda benches allow me to easily place a fan on top of the PCH, as well as move it out of the way when I’m flipping chips.
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I’m using the ATX version, but Alamengda offers E-ATX and ITX variants, as well. For the ATX version, you get an optional metal rail for installing up to three 120mm fans (or up to a 360mm radiator), as well as a bottom bracket that can house two 2.5-inch drives. There isn’t space for a 3.5-inch drive. In addition, the bench comes with feet so it’s slightly elevated off your desk, as well as a metal carrying handle if you need to move your test rig around.
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