System setup & notes
Hardware
| Graphics cards | NVIDIA GTX 280 1GB | EVGA GTX 260 FTW 896 MB | NVIDIA GTX 260 896 MB | NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB | Force3D Radeon HD 4870 512MB | PowerColor HD Radeon 4850 512MB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current pricing, including VAT | £281.87 |
£258.50 | £192.53 | £136.95 | £167.95 |
£116.31 |
|
| Shader model | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.1 | |
| Stream processors | 240 | 192 | 192 | 128 | 800 | 800 | |
| GPU clock speed (MHz) | 602 | 666 | 576 | 738 | 750 | 625 | |
| Shader clock speed (MHz) | 1,296 | 1,404 | 1,242 | 1,836 | 750 | 625 | |
| Memory clock speed (MHz) | 2,214 | 2,214 | 1,998 | 2,200 | 3,600 | 1,986 | |
| Memory bus width (Bits) | 512 | 448 | 448 | 256 | 256 | 256 | |
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 LGA775 (3.0GHz, 12MiB L2 cache, quad-core) | ||||||
| Motherboard | EVGA CK-132 NF79 (nForce 790i Ultra SLI) | MSI X48 Platinum | |||||
| Motherboard BIOS | P06 | v2.3 (07/07/2008) |
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| Mainboard software | nForce 15.17 |
Intel Inf 9.0.0.1008 |
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| Memory | 4GB (2x 2GB) Corsair XMS3 DMX DDR3-1333 | ||||||
| Memory timings and speed | 9-9-9-24 1T @ 1333MHz | ||||||
| PSU | Enermax Galaxy DXX 850W | Cooler Master 1000W | |||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | ||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Seagate 500GB - 32MB cache - SATAII (ST3500320AS) | ||||||
| Graphics driver | ForceWare 177.79 | AMD-supplied HD4870 X2 press driver (build 8.52.2-080722a-066081-ATI) | |||||
| Operating system | Windows Vista Business SP1, 64-bit | ||||||
Software
| 3D Benchmarks | Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts v2.301: DX10 - ultra quality Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.5 (demo_00010.dem, map Valley): OpenGL - vhq Race Driver: GRID v1.2 - custom-recorded benchmark - ultra quality Call Of Duty 4 v1.7.568 custom-recorded benchmark: DX10 - highest quality |
|---|
Notes
Since our last testing we've made a few alterations to our platforms, and, as such, results are not comparable to the old numbers.
The Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850s have been replaced by 45nm-based QX9650s, to keep any CPU bottlenecks to the minimum and better reflect the current choice of CPUs.
The long-serving EVGA nForcce 680i SLI motherboard has been retired from active duty, replaced by the 790i Ultra SLI. Doing so allows both our NVIDIA and AMD/ATI test platforms to now run identical DDR3-1,333 modules from Corsair.
We've also replaced our hard-disks with more capacious and higher-performing models, and lastly, but certainly not least, we've made the jump to Vista SP1.
To complete the transition we've also refreshed our benchmark suite, waving goodbye to GPU-bound Crysis and Lost Planet, and welcoming Race Driver: GRID and Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. In addition, we've patched both Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts to the latest versions, and moved Company Of Heroes over to high-quality DX10 mode.
