Testbed Setup

Foxconn Black Ops Overclocking / Benchmark Testbed
Processor Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650
   (Quad-core, 3.0GHz, 9x Multiplier, 2x6MB Cache)
Intel Core 2 Due E8500
   (Dual-core, 3.16GHz, 9.5x Multiplier, 6MB cache)
CPU Voltage Various
Cooling Dtek Fuzion CPU cooler
2 x PA120.2 Radiators
3X Noctua NF-P12 120MM fans
DDC Ultra with Petra top
Dual cascade cooling 2x1.5HP rotary compressors
Power Supply PCP1200W
Memory Corsair XMS3-2133 2x1GB (ver 4.1)
Corsair XMS3-1600 2x2GB (ver 4.1)
Cellshock 1866 2x1GB
OCZ Platinum 1800 2X1GB
Memory Settings Various
Video Cards ASUS 8800 GTS 512MB
Foxconn GTX 280 for Extreme Benchmarking
Video Drivers Nvidia 169.25 (Beta) & 177.41 For Benchmarking
Hard Drive Western Digital 7200RPM 250GB SATA 3/Gbps 16MB Buffer
Optical Drives Plextor PX-B900A, Toshiba SD-H802A
Case Open Test Bed - Dimastech Benching Station
Lian-Li V2110
BIOS G28
Operating System Windows XP SP2
Vista Home Premium 64-Bit
.

We decided to stick with Vista 64-bit with SP1 installed for basic benchmarking and testing and to use XP with SP3 for the cascade cooled testing. E8500 and QX9650 processors were used as the sacrificial lambs for all benchmarking purposes.

A number of memory kits were utilized for overclocking, with a 2x1GB configuration being preferred for the benchmarking runs. For 24/7 use on the Vista 64-bit platform, the Corsair 2x2GB kit is our choice as it proved to scale very well whilst remaining easy to overclock, even with our QX9650.


Both high-resolution 1920x1200 and 1280x1024 resolution game benchmarks were run to find performance benefits for gamers, should such advancements through BIOS tweaking exist. We utilize new drive images on each board in order to minimize any potential driver conflicts. Our 3DMark results are generated utilizing the standard benchmark resolution for each program. We run each benchmark five times, throw out the two low and high scores, and report the remaining score.

Recent reviews of 790i, P45, and X48 boards have allowed us to compile benchmark results for comparative purposes. This gives us the chance to look at single card results from two different chipsets running either DDR3 or DDR2 memory. It's no surprise that things will be close, as most of us already know that memory bandwidth and speed typically only makes a 1-3% difference between DDR2 and DDR3 boards.

Board Layout and Features Synthetic Memory Performance
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  • ImmortalZ - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    You do realize these people are given QX9770s, GTX280s and assorted hardware for free, every generation?

    Do you know most of these people end up working for the very manufacturer's products they torture test?

    Do you know that you're a moron?
  • strikeback03 - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    Personally, I'd rather grow a mullet, buy a Mustang, and head for the local drag strip.
  • Berger - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    'Digital Freak' what a freaking handle.

    No need to be discriminative you narrow minded moron.

  • Nyarlathotep - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    I used to really like linux but the more posts I´ve read by linux users, the more I hate it. Linux nerds probably get paid by Microsoft for ruining linux chances. They are everywhere whining and crying. For every decent linux user there seem to be 5 obnoxious nerds.

    Yesterday I uninstalled Ubuntu from my laptop because it made me feel like if I supported obnoxious linux nerds. If it wasn´t for them linux would probably be the most popular OS right now, not windows.
  • TA152H - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    One thing I have been saying for 25 years, and has been validated by the years is that Unix will never be a popular operating system. Linux often mentioned by people that don't really use it that much, they want to whine about Microsoft and such, or at a higher level, whine about the establishment in general. Don't get me wrong, I despise Microsoft too, but I'm not so pathetic as to act like Unix is the answer. It's a horrible operating system that's a pain in the backside to work with. They can sugar coat that dung all they want, but it will always smell and will only be a niche product. GUIs help some by insulated the user from the miserable underpinnings, but, really, anyone that likes the word "grep", and thinks upper and lower case parameters should have different meanings, is generally going to be a maladjusted dickhead.

    I still think OS/2 was better than Windows, but it's very much a niche product now (in its new incarnation as Ecomstation) and is used about as often as rotary telephones. I whined for a while about Windows too, but mainly because all my work experience had been with OS/2, and I didn't want to be jobless :-P.

    No one really listens to the whining dorks that cry to the sky about foul play. Linux isn't popular because, basically, it sucks like all Unix varieties do. They'll exist in niches, but you can't expect the mainstream market to embrace it. Apple did a good job of hiding the difficulty of the underlying operating system, but it's still a niche product as well. Even if there were a good operating system it would be extremely difficult to break the software monopoly of Microsoft, so saying a Unix variety would be the dominant operating system were it not for some oft-ignored dweebs, is as silly as the whiners are.

    We've already gone from MVS, to DOS, to Windows NT as the dominating operating systems during the lifetime of Unix. It's always been a niche product. Outside of the Microsoft haters, do many people really want it to be anything more than that? It's a pity IBM still won't make OS/2 open source. It would at least have a chance as an open source competitor. Unix? Never. But, as has been the case for 30 years, you'll still hear them saying it's just about to take off. It never changes, and kind of gives one a sense of security in a world that changes too fast. Unix will take over soon! Just wait! It's even money if it will happen before the Sun eats the Earth.
  • swaaye - Friday, August 1, 2008 - link

    :)
  • yyrkoon - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    Look. You should be using your OS of choice for YOU, not anyone else.

    The whole idea is HAVING the ability to make that choice.

    I use Windows on my main machines here at home, but I like the option of being able to use which over OS I please on them, and yes, I have a couple of Linux boxen too, as well as an openSolaris machine. Hell, I would not be adverse to putting OSX on my own hardware, IF Steve Jobs and Apple will ever pull its head out of their backsides . . . In a general purpose computer world, proprietary systems are the 'bad guys' not the OS.
  • yyrkoon - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    http://ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org/showthread...

    Companies need to learn that business tactics as such will put you into a world of hurt in a hurry. Behold the wonderful internet at its finest.
  • swaaye - Friday, August 1, 2008 - link

    Just how much of an audience in the real world do you think slashdot gets? lol.
  • swaaye - Friday, August 1, 2008 - link

    or any site, for that matter.

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