Test Setup
Operating System: Windows Vista Enterprise
We have recently switched to a different version of Windows for our benchmarks. Now, all benchmarks at THG are run on Windows Vista Enterprise. While this version is not available in stores, its performance results are identical to Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate. However, we were forced to make this switch, since this is the only version that offers an Open License. This License allows us to activate Windows Vista over the Internet repeatedly, without having to make calls to Microsoft’s activation hotline each time.
Hardware Configuration
We have updated our testbed system with new components, such as the graphics card, sound card and hard drive, in order to offer our readers results based on a platform that is both current and practical.
Hardware Setup
| System Hardware | |
|---|---|
| AMD Platform AM2 (Nvidia Nforce 5) | Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe, Rev.1.03G NVIDIA nForce5, BIOS: 1001 (03/13/2007) |
| Intel Platform S775 (Intel P35) | Gigabyte P35C-DS3R, Rev. 1.0 Intel P35, BIOS: F2o (05/11/2007) |
| Intel Platform S775 (Intel X38) | Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6, Rev. 1.0 Intel X38, BIOS: F4 (09/19/2007) |
| Memory | 2x 1GB A-Data DDR2-1066+ Vitesta Extreme Edition |
| DVD-ROM | Samsung SH-D163A , SATA150 |
| Graphics Card | Foxconn Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX GPU: 575 MHz Shader: 1350 MHz Video Memory: 786 MB DDR4 (900 MHz, 384 Bit) |
| Sound Card | Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer |
| Power Supply | Zalman, ATX 2.01, 510 Watt |
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so what you just said, is the newer stuff is better
i dont know why they take 10 pages to show what can be said in 1 page + a few graphs
On top of that Crysis is meant to be very cpu dependant and prefers 4 cores - it's the way things are going
Hmm, if they'd have gone for a different motherboard they could have gotten the q6600 to 3.6 on air.
Dunno if you have a duff chip or mobo. I have a Q6600 and exactly the same cooler and I can do 3.41 GHz at stock voltage on a Gigabyte 965P-DS3P.
"Its stock clock speed is 2.4 GHz, which it operates at using a comparatively low core voltage of 1.3125 Volts – the lowest core voltage available for this chip"
Wrong my Q6600 is 1.26V although it runs slightly higher in practice.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums [...] s/Quad.jpg
I guess this shows how OC'ing can vary depending on luck. Even hand picking the best S numbers is no guarantee. A bit of luck (unless you have deep pockets) can be key.
Fortunately for myself, my Q6600 is 1.28v core, and hits 3.6GHz with only slight bump.
Indeed electron migration is a significant issue at high Vcore but realistically most of us overclocking are probably running 6-12 month cycles on our hardware (at least from my experience) and the cost of killing a mid range part every year against taking a top end part is still more cost effective.
That's given only one CPU in the past 15 that I've OC'd have failed (possibly luck?) on me and that was due to a faulty voltage regulator on my motherboard
Very nice review/test. Highly informative. I was gonna buy a 6850 or a quad core but now im just gonna grab the low cost msi board and a 6750 and spent my cash elsewhere.
question, you end up recommending the MSI motherboard, but the test system states that you used the gigabyte for the test. Will i be able to get the same clocking abilities with the MSI?