"Vista Ultimate 64 bit on Quad FX"

Shame that the current index only goes to 5.9, so you can't get a frame of reference by using the Vista scores alone. For instance, the generic Ultimate/64 system I just built (X1950pro, E6600 (slight overclock-2.9) and only DDR2-667) gives me a 5.6 score - their uber QuadFX with twin 8800GTX cards and 800 RAM has a 5.9.

Granted, other benchmarks would show the difference between these systems, but if Vista sytems are going to be sold by using the Vista index - many mass consumers (non-enthusiasts) are going to get the wrong performance impressions on the higher-end systems.

Fuad Abazovic has an IT site??? What's next - Charlie Demerjian's SQL Tutorage?

That index is so messed up and it is completely inconsistent between manufacturers. Has MS released whether they will change the index slide when hardware specs are upgraded? In other words, will the ATI 9600 index score decrease when the next generation cards are released or will, presumably, all new generation hardware get perfect scores?

I have no idea, but until they fix that I'll use Bungholio(3D)Mark 06 to test my hardware.

Unfortunately, the way the index is figured - includes RAM and drive speed. The CPU and GPUs advance much faster than drives or RAM. Therefore, it is possible that even a future QuadFX with 2 Barcelona cores - 8 core total - and 4 - 8800GTX (or later) would have the same score as a dualcore with one GPU, since the index is based on the lowest score - the RAM and harddrive are going to bottleneck the index on top-end systems.

Again, not a problem with enthusiasts - as we rely on other benchmarks. It's just going to be an issue at places like Best Buy, where 2 systems are going to have the same index score, yet one is going to cost more than twice the price of the other. In the end, this could wind up being very confusing to the mass market.