We used the Asus Maximus III Formula, a high-end P55 motherboard, and an Intel Core i7-870 processor to analyze memory performance.
To be able to set all described memory clock speeds and timings, we grabbed two Corsair CM3X2G1600C9DHX Dominator DIMMs. These are specified for DDR3-1600 speed at CL9 timings, but they can also run at CL8 settings. Keep in mind that all other system parameters, such as the processor speed, remained unchanged for the sake of consistency.
Swipe to scroll horizontally
System Hardware
Hardware
Details
CPU
Intel Core i7-870 (45 nm, 2.93 GHz, 4 x 256KB L2 and 8MB L3 Cache, TDP 95W, Rev. B1)
Motherboard (Socket 1156)
Asus Maximus III Formula (Rev. 1.0) Chipset: Intel P55 BIOS: 0902 (09/24/2009)
Western Digital VelociRaptor, 300GB (WD3000HLFS) 10,000 RPM, SATA/300, 16MB Cache
Blu-ray Drive
LG GGW-H20L, SATA/150
Power Supply
PC Power & Cooling, Silencer 750EPS12V 750W
System Software and Drivers
Operating System
Windows Vista Enterprise Version 6.0 x64 Service Pack 2 (Build 6000)
Drivers and Settings
Nvidia GeForce Drivers
GeForce 185.85
Intel Chipset Drivers
Chipset Installation Utility Ver. 9.1.0.1015
Intel storage Drivers
Matrix Storage Drivers Ver. 8.8.0.1009
Swipe to scroll horizontally
3D Game Benchmarks and Settings
Benchmarks
Details
Far Cry 2
Version: 1.0.1 Far Cry 2 Benchmark Tool Video Mode: 1280x800 Direct3D 9 Overall Quality: Medium Bloom activated HDR off Demo: Ranch Small
GTA IV
Version: 1.0.3 Video Mode: 1280x1024 - 1280x1024 - Aspect Ratio: Auto - All options: Medium - View Distance: 30 - Detail Distance: 100 - Vehicle Density: 100 - Shadow Density: 16 - Definition: On - Vsync: Off Ingame Benchmark
Left 4 Dead
Version: 1.0.0.5 Video Mode: 1280x800 Game Settings - Anti Aliasing none - Filtering Trilinear - Wait for vertical sync disabled - Shader Detail Medium - Effect Detail Medium - Model/Texture Detail Medium Demo: THG Demo 1
Audio Benchmarks and Settings
Benchmarks
Details
iTunes
Version: 8.1.0.52 Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min. Convert to AAC audio format
Lame MP3
Version 3.98 Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min. convert WAV to MP3 audio format Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kbps)
Video Benchmarks and Settings
Benchmarks
Details
TMPEG 4.6
Version: 4.6.3.268 Video: Terminator 2 SE DVD (720x576, 16:9) 5 Minutes Audio: Dolby Digital, 48000 Hz, 6-channel, English Advanced Acoustic Engine MP3 Encoder (160 Kbps, 44.1 kHz)
DivX 6.8.5
Version: 6.8.5 == Main Menu == default == Codec Menu == Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading Enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search == Video Menu == Quantization: MPEG-2
XviD 1.2.1
Version: 1.2.1 Other Options / Encoder Menu - Display encoding status = off
Mainconcept Reference 1.6.1
Version: 1.6.1 MPEG-2 to MPEG-2 (H.264) MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec 28 sec. HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2) Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2-Channel, 16 Bit, 224 Kbps) Codec: H.264 Mode: PAL (25 FPS) Profile: Settings for eight threads
Adobe Premiere Pro CS4
Version: 4.0 WMV 1920x1080 (39 sec.) Export: Adobe Media Encoder == Video == H.264 Blu-ray 1440x1080i 25 High Quality Encoding Passes: one Bitrate Mode: VBR Frame: 1440x1080 Frame Rate: 25 == Audio == PCM Audio, 48 kHz, StereoEncodingPasses: one
Application Benchmarks and Settings
Benchmarks
Details
Grisoft AVG Anti Virus 8
Version: 8.5.287 Virus base: 270.12.16/2094 Benchmark Scan: compressed ZIP and RAR archives
Winrar 3.9
Version 3.90 x64 BETA 1 Best compression Benchmark: THG Workload
Winzip 12
Version 12.0 (8252) WinZIP command line Version 3 Compression = Best Dictionary = 4096KB Benchmark: THG Workload
Version: 9.0.0 (Extended) == Printing Preferenced Menu == Default Settings: Standard == Adobe PDF Security - Edit Menu == Encrypt all documents (128-bit RC4) Open Password: 123 Permissions Password: 321
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
Benchmarks
Details
3DMark Vantage
Version: 1.02 Options: Performance Graphics Test 1 Graphics Test 2 CPU Test 1 CPU Test 2