Test System and Benchmarks
Our system setup for this preview reflects what an enthusiast in the market for a $500 video card will likely run—either a full-blown i7 965-based system or an i7 920 overclocked to those levels. In either case, the platform does a good job letting all four of our tested graphics setups breathe in most situations. Naturally, if you sprang for four-way SLI (which the GTX 295 does support) or four-way CrossFireX, you’d need to worry more about processing horsepower.
But for now, we’re worrying about the fastest single card moving into 2009.
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| Hardware Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7 965 Extreme (3.2 GHz) |
| Motherboard | Asus Rampage II Extreme |
| Memory | 6 GB DDR3-1333 7-7-7 (triple-channel) |
| Storage | Seagate 250 GB Barracuda 7200.10 7200 RPM |
| Optical | Lite-On DH-4O1S BD-ROM |
| Power | Cooler Master UCP 1100 W |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 295 1.8 GB |
| Row 7 - Cell 0 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 1 GB |
| Row 8 - Cell 0 | AMD Radeon HD 4870 X2 2 GB |
| Row 9 - Cell 0 | AMD Radeon HD 4870 512 MB |
We're again relying on the 64-bit version of Vista in this setup with 6 GB of system memory.
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| Software Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows Vista x64 w/ Service Pack 1 |
| Graphics Drivers | AMD: Catalyst 8.12 / Nvidia: GeForce 180.87 Beta |
| Platform Drivers | Intel X58: 9.1.0.1007 |
Our benchmark suite for this one, as follows:
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| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Crysis | Very High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1900x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool |
| Row 1 - Cell 0 | Very High Quality Settings, 4x AA / 8x AF, vsync off, 1900x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool |
| Call of Duty: World at War | Highest Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.1, FRAPS/saved game |
| Row 3 - Cell 0 | Highest Quality Settings, 4x AA / 8x AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.1, FRAPS/saved game |
| Dead Space | Highest Quality Settings, No AA / No AF forced in drivers, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, FRAPS/saved game |
| Row 5 - Cell 0 | Highest Quality Settings, 4x AA / 8x AF forced in drivers, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, FRAPS/saved game |
| Fallout 3 | Ultra Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.0.0.15, FRAPS/saved game |
| Row 7 - Cell 0 | Ultra Quality Settings, 4x AA / 8x AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.0.0.15, FRAPS/saved game |
| Far Cry 2 | Very High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Steam Version, in-game benchmark |
| Row 9 - Cell 0 | Very High Quality Settings, 4x AA / 8x AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Steam Version, in-game benchmark |
| Left 4 Dead | Highest Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, timedemo |
| Row 11 - Cell 0 | Highest Quality Settings, 4x AA / 8x AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, timedemo |
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