Test Configuration
| Test System Configuration | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-870 (2.93 GHz, 8 MB Cache) Overclocked to 4.00 GHz at 1.35 V, 200 MHz BCLK |
| Lucid Hydra Motherboard | MSI P55A Fuzion BIOS V1.1 (09-09-2010), Intel P55 Express/Lucid Hydra LT22102, LGA 1156 |
| Standard Motherboard | ASRock P55 Extreme4 BIOS 1.42 (08-20-2010), Intel P55 Express, LGA 1156 |
| RAM | Kingston KHX2133C9D3T1K2/4GX (4 GB) DDR3-2133 at DDR3-1600 CAS 7-7-7-21 |
| AMD Graphics | 2 x MSI R5850 Twin FROZR II 1 GB 725 MHz GPU, GDDR5-4000 Single, CrossFire, HydraLogix A-Mode |
| Nvidia Graphics | 2 x Sparkle GeForce GTX 460 1 GB 700 MHz GPU, GDDR5-3600 Single, SLI, HydraLogix N-Mode |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Velociraptor WD3000HLFS, 300 GB, 10 000 RPM, SATA 3Gb/s, 16 MB cache |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | OCZ-Z1000 1000 W Modular ATX12V v2.2, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold |
| Software | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit |
| GeForce Graphics | ForceWare 258.96 |
| Radeon Graphics | AMD Catalyst 10.9 |
| HydraLogix | Version 1.6.109 |
| Chipset | Intel INF 9.1.2.1007 |
MSI doesn’t include an SLI bridge with its P55A Fuzion, assuming instead that Nvidia graphics users will always chose HydraLogix N-Mode over SLI, even when the cards are identical. While that’s not a problem for a site that has SLI bridges laying about the test bench, it could be a problem for some buyers. With the bridges missing from the P55A Fuzion, most buyers who insist on SLI capability would choose a different board rather than buy the connectors separately. This makes sense, since you're paying extra for the HydraLogix functionality up front. Our desire to produce the most realistic configurations led us to add a second motherboard to the test, ASRock’s P55 Extreme4.
The P55 Extreme4 is slightly better-equipped by way of USB 3.0 and SATA connectivity, but doesn’t have a PCI Express bridge on the CPU’s sixteen PCIe 2.0 lanes. Like most P55 motherboards, it switches from x16 mode to dual x8 mode when two graphics cards are installed. We used it for single card, SLI, and CrossFire tests.
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Aliens Vs. Predator Benchmark | Alien vs Predator Benchmark Tool Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 sec. FRAPS) Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA |
| Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: Highest Quality, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Quality, 4x AA |
| DiRT 2 | Run with -benchmark example_benchmark.xml Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat | Call Of Pripyat Benchmark version Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x MSAA |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.0.1, GPU and CPU scores |