Our testing methods
All tests were run at least twice, and their results were averaged, using the following test systems.
| Processor | Core 2 Duo E6700 2.67GHz | ||
| System bus | 1066MHz (266MHz quad-pumped) | ||
| Motherboard | EVGA 122-CK-NF68 | ||
| Bios revision | P20 | ||
| North bridge | Nvidia nForce 680i SLI SPP | ||
| South bridge | Nvidia nForce 680i SLI MCP | ||
| Chipset drivers | ForceWare 9.53 | ||
| Memory size | 2GB (2 DIMMs) | ||
| Memory type | Corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5 DDR2 SDRAM | Corsair TWIN2X2048-8888C4DF DDR2 SDRAM | Corsair TWIN2X2048-9136C5D DDR2 SDRAM |
| CAS latency (CL) | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| RAS to CAS delay (tRCD) | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| RAS precharge (tRP) | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Cycle time (tRAS) | 12 | 12 | 15 |
| Audio codec | Integrated nForce 680i SLI MCP/ALC885 with Realtek HD 1.47 drivers | ||
| Graphics | GeForce 7900 GTX 512MB PCI-E with ForceWare 91.31 drivers | ||
| Hard drive | Western Digital Caviar RE2 400GB | ||
| OS | Windows XP Professional | ||
| OS updates | Service Pack 2 | ||
Thanks to Corsair for providing us with memory for our testing. 2GB of RAM seems to be the new standard for most folks, and Corsair hooked us up with some of its 1GB DIMMs for testing.
Also, all of our test systems were powered by OCZ GameXStream 700W power supply units. Thanks to OCZ for providing these units for our use in testing.
We used the following versions of our test applications:
The test systems' Windows desktop was set at 1280x1024 in 32-bit color at an 85Hz screen refresh rate. Vertical refresh sync (vsync) was disabled for all tests. Most of the 3D gaming tests used the Medium detail image quality settings, with the exception that the resolution was set to 640x480 in 32-bit color.
All the tests and methods we employed are publicly available and reproducible. If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.
