Test Settings
| Test System Configuration | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 920 (2.66 GHz, 8.0 MB Cache) |
| CPU Cooler | Swiftech Apogee GTZ Liquid Cooling |
| RAM | Kingston KHX16000D3ULT1K3/6GX (6.0 GB) DDR3-2000 at DDR3-1866 CAS 7-8-7-20 |
| Graphics | XFX GeForce GTX 285 XXX Edition 670MHz GPU, GDDR3-2500 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital WD5000AAKS, 500 GB 7,200 RPM, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16 MB cache |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | Coolermaster RS850-EMBA 850W, ATX12V v2.2, EPS12V |
| Software | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 |
| Graphics | Nvidia Forceware 181.20 WHQL |
| Chipset | Intel INF 9.1.0.1007 |
We left power-savings features and Turbo mode enabled for our Core i7 processor during benchmarks and power tests, since most users can benefit from these in daily use. We then disabled EIST and enhanced C-States during our overclocking tests to assure all motherboards would be stressed equally and continuously.
Kingston won our 6GB DDR3 overclocking shootout with memory that can actually clock farther than the memory controller of our Core i7 processors, making it the perfect choice for testing the overclocking stability of each motherboard. The company even sent a second set so we could test six-module stability in addition to our standard three-module test. For benchmarks, we set six of the seven motherboards to DDR3-1866 CAS 7-8-7-20 where possible: The Biostar TPower X58 would not boot at any DDR3-1866 settings, so we had to choose DDR3-1600 mode instead. Also, the MSI X58 Platinum SLI was unstable at a DDR3-1866 CAS 7 setting, so we had to use 8-8-7-20 timings with this motherboard sample.
Quick set-in time, excellent thermal characteristics, and no-mess/no-waste application make Zalman’s ZM-STG1 the perfect thermal compound for bench testing. The company sent enough for us to equip the entire U.S. hardware team with two bottles per tester.
Swiftech’s Apogee GTZ allows us to maintain low temperatures, even during our Core i7 overclocking tests. An MCP-655b pumps the warm liquid into Swiftech’s 3x120mm radiator.
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Call of Duty: World at War | Patch 1.1, FRAPS/saved game High Textures, No AA / No AF, vsync off Ultra Textures, 4x AA / Max AF, vsync off |
| Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Very High Quality, 8x AA |
| Far Cry 2 | DirectX 10, Steam Version, in-game benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra High Quality, 8x AA |
| World in Conflict | Patch 1009, DirectX 10, timedemo Test 1: High Details, No AA / No AF Test 2: Very HighDetails 4x AA / 16x AF |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| iTunes | Version: 7.7.0.43 Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min Default format AAC |
| Lame MP3 | Version: 3.98 Beta 3 (05-22-2007) Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min wave to MP3 |
| TMPEG 4.5 | Version: 4.5.1.254 Import File: Terminator 2 SE DVD (5 Minutes) Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9 |
| DivX 6.8.3 | Encoding mode: Insane Quality Enhanced multithreading enabled using SSE4 Quarter-pixel search |
| XviD 1.1.3 | Display encoding status = off |
| Mainconcept Reference 1.5.1 Reference H.264 Plugin Pro 1.5.1 | MPEG2 to MPEG2 (H.264), MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG2), Audio: MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 kbp/s), Mode: PAL (25 FPS) |
| Productivity | |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 9 | Version: 9.0, Rendering Dragon Image at 1920x1080 (HDTV) |
| Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus 8 | Version: 8.0.134, Virus base: 270.4.5/1533, Benchmark: Scan 334 MB Folder of ZIP/RAR compressed files |
| Winrar 3.80 | Version 3.70 BETA 8, WinZIP Commandline Version 2.3, Compression = Best, Dictionary = 4,096 KB, Benchmark: THG-Workload (334 MB) |
| Winzip 11 | Version 11.2, Compression = Best, Benchmark: THG-Workload (139 MB) |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.02, GPU and CPU scores |
| PCMark Vantage | Version: 1.00, System, Memory, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks, Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646 |
| SiSoftware Sandra XII SP2 | Version 2008.5.14.24, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Multimedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
