Shootout at the Core 2 Corral: Seven P965 Motherboards Compared

Test Setup

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System Hardware
Socket 775 ProcessorsIntel Core 2 Duo E6700(Conroe 65 nm, 2.67 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache)
RAM2x 1024 MB DDR2-800 (CL 4.0-4-4-8)Corsair CM2X1024-6400C4 XMS6404v1.1
Hard DriveWestern Digital WD1500ADFD-00NLR1150 GB, 10.000 RPM, 16 MB cache, SATA/150(Firmware 20.07P20)
Graphics CardConnect3D X1900XTX VIVO, P/N : 3055ATI Radeon X1900XTX - 512 MB
Power SupplyOCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI - 700W
System Software & Drivers
OSWindows XP Professional 5.10.2600, Service Pack 2
DirectX Version9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Platform Drivers8.0.1.1006
Graphics DriverATI Catalyst 6.8

Connect3D’s X1900XTX ensured that each platform could reach its full performance potential in games.

Most applications see some benefit from low memory latencies, and Corsair’s XMS2 performed flawlessly.

With 16 MB of cache and a 10,000 RPM spindle speed, Western Digital’s 150 GB Raptor allowed applications and game maps to load quickly.

Benchmarks And Settings

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Benchmarks and Settings
3D-Games
Call of Duty 2Version : 1.03Video Mode : 1024x768Anti-aliasing : offShadows : notimedemo demo2
F.E.A.RVersion : 1.0 RetailVideo Mode : 1024x768Computer : MediumGraphics : MediumTest Path : Options/Performance/Test Settings
Quake 4Version : 1.2 (Dual-Core Patch)Video Mode : 1024x768Video Quality : defaultTHG Timedemo waste.maptimedemo demo8.demo 1 (1 = load textures)
Audio
Lame MP3Version 3.97 Beta 2 (12-22-2005)Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 minwave to mp3160 kbps
OGGVersion 1.1.2 (Intel P4 MOD)Version 1.1.2 (Intel AMD MOD)Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 minwave to oggQuality : 5
Video
TMPEG 3.0 ExpressVersion : 3.0.4.24 (no Audio)fist 5 Minutes DVD Terminator 2 SE (704x576) 16:9Multithreading by rendering
DivX 6.2Version : 6.2.2 (4 Logical CPUs)Profile : High Definition Profile1-pass, 3000 kbit/sEncoding mode : Insane QualityEnhanced multithreadingno Audio
XviD 1.1.0Version : 1.1.0 Beta 2Target qantizer : 1.00
Applications
Autodesk 3D Studio MaxVersion : 8.0Characters "Dragon_Charater_rig"rendering HTDV 1920x1080
Synthetics
PCMark05 ProVersion : 1.1.0System, CPU and Memory TestsWindows Media Player 10.00.00.3646Windows Media Encoder 9.00.00.2980
SiSoftware Sandra 2005Version 2005.7.10.60CPU Test = Arithmetic, Multimedia BenchmarksMemory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.