Test notes
Let me say a word or two about video drivers. When you've compiled the sheer volume of test results we have in the following pages, driver revision management is bound to get tricky. Some of the single-card results from prior-gen GPUs were obtained with somewhat older drivers. We decided to go ahead and include them here since for those who are interested, although the comparison to newer cards and drivers may not be exact.
Also, the drivers we used for newer cards are pre-release or beta drivers, which may create some confusion. For instance, the driver revision we used for the Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 is newer than the WHQL'ed Catalyst 8.7 release available on AMD's website, despite the 8.5.xx version string we've reported. Similarly, the 177.39 drivers we used for the GeForce cards are newer than the 177.41 WHQL drivers posted on Nvidia's website. And, of course, the drivers we used on the 4870 X2 are brand-spanking-new and still unreleased.
Our testing methods
As ever, we did our best to deliver clean benchmark numbers. Tests were run at least three times, and the results were averaged.
Our test systems were configured like so:
| Processor | Core 2 Extreme QX9650 3.0GHz | Core 2 Extreme QX9650 3.0GHz |
| System bus | 1333MHz (333MHz quad-pumped) | 1333MHz (333MHz quad-pumped) |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6 | EVGA nForce 780i SLI |
| BIOS revision | F9a | P05p |
| North bridge | X38 MCH | 780i SLI SPP |
| South bridge | ICH9R | 780i SLI MCP |
| Chipset drivers | INF update 8.3.1.1009 Matrix Storage Manager 7.8 |
ForceWare 15.17 |
| Memory size | 4GB (4 DIMMs) | 4GB (4 DIMMs) |
| Memory type | 2 x Corsair TWIN2X20488500C5D DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz |
2 x Corsair TWIN2X20488500C5D DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz |
| CAS latency (CL) | 5 | 5 |
| RAS to CAS delay (tRCD) | 5 | 5 |
| RAS precharge (tRP) | 5 | 5 |
| Cycle time (tRAS) | 18 | 18 |
| Command rate | 2T | 2T |
| Audio | Integrated ICH9R/ALC889A with RealTek 6.0.1.5618 drivers |
Integrated nForce 780i SLI MCP/ALC885 with RealTek 6.0.1.5618 drivers |
| Graphics | ||
|
Radeon HD 2900 XT 512MB PCIe with Catalyst 8.5 drivers |
Dual XFX GeForce 9800 GTX XXX 512MB PCIe with ForceWare 177.39 drivers |
|
|
Asus Radeon HD 3870 512MB PCIe with Catalyst 8.5 drivers |
Dual Palit
GeForce GTX 260 896MB PCIe with ForceWare 177.39 drivers |
|
| Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB PCIe with Catalyst 8.5 drivers |
Dual Palit
GeForce GTX 260 896MB PCIe + GeForce GTX 260 896MB PCIe with ForceWare 177.39 drivers |
|
| Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCIe with Catalyst 8.501.1-080612a-064906E-ATI drivers |
Palit
GeForce GTX 280 1GB PCIe + XFX GeForce GTX 280 1GB PCIe with ForceWare 177.39 drivers |
|
| Dual Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCIe with Catalyst 8.501.1-080612a-064906E-ATI drivers |
Dual Palit
GeForce GTX 280 1GB PCIe + XFX GeForce GTX 280 1GB PCIe with ForceWare 177.39 drivers |
|
| Radeon HD 4870 512MB PCIe with Catalyst 8.501.1-080612a-064906E-ATI drivers |
||
| Dual Radeon HD 4870 512MB PCIe with Catalyst 8.501.1-080612a-064906E-ATI drivers |
||
| Radeon HD 4870
X2 2GB PCIe with Catalyst 8.52-2-080722a-066081E-ATI drivers |
||
| Diamond
Radeon HD 4870 512MB PCIe + Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB PCIe with Catalyst 8.52-2-080722a-066081E-ATI drivers |
||
| Dual Radeon HD 4870
X2 2GB PCIe with Catalyst 8.52-2-080722a-066081E-ATI drivers |
||
| MSI GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCIe with ForceWare 175.16 drivers |
||
| XFX GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB PCIe with ForceWare 175.16 drivers |
||
| XFX GeForce 9800 GTX XXX 512MB PCIe with ForceWare 177.39 drivers |
||
| GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB PCIe with ForceWare 177.39 drivers |
||
| XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB PCIe with ForceWare 175.16 drivers |
||
| GeForce GTX 260 896MB PCIe with ForceWare 177.34 drivers |
||
| GeForce GTX 280 1GB PCIe with ForceWare 177.34 drivers |
||
| Hard drive | WD Caviar SE16 320GB SATA | |
| OS | Windows Vista Ultimate x64 Edition | |
| OS updates | Service Pack 1, DirectX March 2008 update | |
Thanks to Corsair for providing us with memory for our testing. Their quality, service, and support are easily superior to no-name DIMMs.
Our test systems were powered by PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W power supply units. The Silencer 750W was a runaway Editor's Choice winner in our epic 11-way power supply roundup, so it seemed like a fitting choice for our test rigs. Because it needs ever more power and a different connector layout, our three-way GeForce GTX 280 SLI system used a PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1200, instead. Thanks to OCZ for providing all of these units for our use in testing.
Unless otherwise specified, image quality settings for the graphics cards were left at the control panel defaults. Vertical refresh sync (vsync) was disabled for all tests.
We used the following versions of our test applications:
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 1.5
- Crysis 1.2.1
- Half-Life 2 Episode Two
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars 1.5
- Assassin's Creed (unpatched)
- Race Driver GRID
- 3DMark Vantage 1.0.1
- FRAPS 2.9.4
The tests and methods we employ are generally publicly available and reproducible. If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.
