Our testing methods
As ever, we did our best to deliver clean benchmark numbers. Tests were run at least three times, and the results were averaged.

Our test system was configured like so:

Processor Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.4GHz
System bus1GHz HyperTransport
MotherboardAsus A8R32-MVP Deluxe
BIOS revision0404
North bridgeRadeon Xpress 3200
South bridgeULi M1575
Chipset driversULi Integrated 2.20
Memory size2GB (2 DIMMs)
Memory typeCorsair CMX1024-4400 Pro
DDR SDRAM at 400 MHz
CAS latency (CL)2.5
RAS to CAS delay (tRCD)3
RAS precharge (tRP)3
Cycle time (tRAS)8
Hard driveMaxtor DiamondMax 10 250GB SATA 150
AudioIntegrated M1575/ALC880 with Realtek 5.10.00.5247 drivers
GraphicsATI Radeon X1900 XTX 512MB with Catalyst 6.5 drivers
PhysicsBFG Tech PhysX 128MB PCI with 2.4.3 FC1 drivers
OSWindows XP Professional (32-bit)
OS updatesService Pack 2, DirectX 9.0c update (April 2006)

Thanks to Corsair for providing us with memory for our testing. Although these particular modules are rated for CAS 3 at 400MHz, they ran perfectly for us with 2.5-3-3-8 timings at 2.85V.

Our test systems were powered by OCZ GameXStream 700W power supply units. Thanks to OCZ for providing these units for our use in testing.

Unless otherwise specified, image quality settings for the graphics cards were left at the control panel defaults.

The test systems' Windows desktops were set at 1280x1024 in 32-bit color at an 85Hz screen refresh rate. Vertical refresh sync (vsync) was disabled for all tests.

We used the following versions of our test applications:

The tests and methods we employ are generally publicly available and reproducible. If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.