System setup and notes
Basic setup
- Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz 800FSB CPU
- EPoX 4PDA2+ i865PE Springdale motherboard
- 2 x 256MB Corsair XMS3500 memory run at 2-6-2-2 @ DDR400
- Intel reference cooler
- IBM 41.5GB Hard drive
- Pioneer 105 DVD/RW
- 420w Samcheer PSU
- Samsung 181T 18.1" TFT
- Hansol 920D 19" flat CRT for 1600x1200x32 tests
Video Cards used
- Hercules 3D Prophet 9600 256MB (325/400)
- Tyan Tachyon G9600 Pro 128MB (400/600)
- NVIDIA reference GeForce FX 5600 Ultra Rev. 2 128MB
Software
- Windows XP Professional Build 2600.xpclient.010817-1148
Notes
Catalyst 3.5 drivers are run in order to keep parity with the benchmarks derived from the Tyan Radeon 9600 Pro graphics card. Benchmarks will be conducted at 1024x768 and 1600x1200, both with 32-bit colour depths. Even this midrange card boasts up to 6x antialiasing and 16x anisotropic filtering, although running these settings will undoubtedly cause the card some serious frame-rate problems. We'll up the image ante by re-running the 1024 and 1600 resolutions with 4x AA and 8x AF employed. We also fully expect the 3D Prophet 9600 256MB card to be slower than the stock 9600 Pro, because the former gives away so much memory bandwidth and pixel-pushing power away to the latter. NVIDIA's very own FX 5600 Ultra will provide some cross-company competition. Its benchmarks have been subject to a little uncertainty after it was revealed that the 44.03 driver set didn't apply certain settings in well-used benchmarks. We'll be looking to update our 3D benchmarking suite to reflect the influx of DX9 titles that have and are coming into the retail domain. Expect to see very few 100FPS+ numbers once the new suite is active.
The Hercules 3D Prophet was exemplary through testing. 2D was great, as usual from an ATi-based card. The quietness of the cooler is a plus point but it can't compete with the variable fan speeds of the Tyan G9600 Pro or the silent 2D running of the FX 5600 Ultra. TV-Out (1024x768 maximum) was crisp and clear on a 28" flatscreen CRT TV. DVI running was as good as a 9800's. Overclocking the card was a little problematic. Both Hercules' and the newest iteration of Rage3D Tweak (3.9c) had a little difficulty in apply the chosen clock and memory speeds. Tentative testing put the safe overclock at 380MHz core and 430MHz memory.
