Test Setup, Benchmarks, And Notes
| Test Hardware | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 965 Extreme (3.2 GHz, 8 MB L3 Cache, 133 MHz Bclk), power-saving settings disabled |
| Motherboard | Asus Rampage II Extreme (X58/ICH10) |
| Graphics Cards | BFG GeForce GTX 260 OCX Maxcore 55 896 MB |
| Row 3 - Cell 0 | BFG GeForce GTS 250 OC 1 GB |
| Row 4 - Cell 0 | BFG GeForce GTX 9800+ 512 MB |
| Row 5 - Cell 0 | AMD Radeon HD 4870 512 MB Reference |
| Row 6 - Cell 0 | AMD Radeon HD 4850 512 MB Reference |
| Row 7 - Cell 0 | Powercolor Radeon HD 4830 512 MB |
| Memory | Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 8-8-8-24 |
| Hard Drive | Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250 GB 7,200 RPM |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master UCP 1100 W |
| CPU Cooler | Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme |
| Test Software | |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Ultimate Edition x64 |
| AMD Drivers | Catalyst 9.2 |
| Nvidia Drivers | GeForce 182.06 |
| Row 16 - Cell 0 | GeForce 182.08 (Beta) |
| Benchmark | Configuration |
|---|---|
| World in Conflict | Very High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, Patch 1009, DirectX 10 |
| Row 1 - Cell 0 | Very High Quality Settings, 4x AA / 16x AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, Patch 1009, DirectX 10 |
| Far Cry 2 | Ultra-High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, Steam Version |
| Row 3 - Cell 0 | Ultra-High Quality Settings, 4x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, Steam Version |
| Crysis | Very High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit Executable |
| Row 5 - Cell 0 | Very High Quality Settings, 4x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit Executable |
| Left 4 Dead | Highest Quality Settings, 4x AA / 8x AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, DirectX 10, Steam Version |
| Row 7 - Cell 0 | Highest Quality Settings, 4x AA / 8x AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, DirectX 10, Steam Version |
| Call of Duty: World at War | Highest Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, Patch 1.1 |
| Row 9 - Cell 0 | Highest Quality Settings, 4x AA / Max AF, vsync off, 1280x1024/1680x1050/1920x1200, Patch 1.1 |
| 3DMark Vantage | Performance Default, High Quality, Extreme Quality |
Notes
BFG supplied us with three boards for this piece: the GeForce GTS 250 OC being reviewed and, at our request, a GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 and GeForce GTX 9800+.
The GeForce GTS 250 OC edition does run faster than a reference GTS 250 otherwise would. The company’s GeForce GTX 9800+ does run at reference speeds, though. Both boards would operate at identical clocks were it not for the overclock.
Further, BFG’s GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 (dubbed the OCX Maxcore 55) employs dramatically higher clock speeds than a vanilla GTX 260 Core 216. Its core runs at 655 MHz (instead of 576 MHz), its shaders operate at 1,404 MHz (versus 1,242 MHz), and its 896 MB of GDDR3 memory are clocked at 1,125 MHz (instead of 999 MHz). At the time of writing, the Maxcore card includes a copy of Mirror's Edge for free, too. So, if you were planning on buying the $43 game, the price of BFG's overclocked $265 GTX 260 Core 216 card looks a little less imposing.
Knowing that the GTS 250 and GTX 9800+ are essentially the same board with 512 MB of memory and a minor overclock separating them, any variation at lower resolution settings without anti-aliasing (AA) and anisotropic filtering (AF) can likely be attributed to the clock speed tweak, while at higher resolutions (and especially with the detail settings cranked up), you’ll see where frame-buffer capacity plays a much more prominent role in determining performance.
