Dual core central processors like Intel's Conroe have become the CPU of choice in high-end gaming systems. The hard part about building an objective review platform is to pick something that will not change for a specific period of time.

Our AMD Athlon FX-60 system setup has proven to be solid, and was at the top of the food chain until Intel and AMD started their current high-end war. While Intel is in the lead, we will need to wait to see who will be ahead next year - AMD has yet to demonstrate its next generation processors to the public.

Kentsfield brings quad core processors to the arena; two cores was exciting, but quad is four times the fun. As core frequencies increase, we might get more out of these new chips for gaming and graphics performance, but right now some graphics applications cannot take full advantage of the extra cores. (Such is the nature of game and software development).

Jumping on the next big thing too quickly can make objective and clear reviews hard to do. It is best to have one standard from one review to the next, so all of the data coming out of the labs is consistent. We did not move from Socket 939 to AM2 when the newest AMD processors were available, because there was no major changes that would enhance a review.

This brings us to what we hope to be using over the next six months, or until there is an undeniable need to change platforms again. That being said, let us introduce you to the next generation platform for graphics testing here at Tom's Hardware Guide.