Our testing methods
Since the bulk of initial X48 boards appear to be of the DDR3 variety, we've evened the playing field and used DDR3 all around. This restricts our comparative platforms to Intel chipsets, notably DDR3 boards based on the X38 and P35 Express. Nvidia doesn't yet have a DDR3 chipset for Core 2 processors, so the nForce platform will have to ride the pine this time around. Check our nForce 780i SLI review for the latest on the green team's Core 2 chipsets.

All tests were run three times, and their results were averaged.

Processor Core 2 Duo E6750 2.67GHz
System bus 1333MHz (333MHz quad-pumped)
Motherboard Asus P5K3 Deluxe Asus P5E3 Deluxe Gigabyte X48T-DQ6
Bios revision 0604 0201 F4D
North bridge Intel P35 Express Intel X38 Express Intel X48 Express
South bridge Intel ICH9R Intel ICH9R Intel ICH9R
Chipset drivers Chipset 8.3.1.1009
AHCI 7.8.0.1012 		Chipset 8.3.1.1009
AHCI 7.8.0.1012 		Chipset 8.3.1.1009
AHCI 7.8.0.1012
Memory size 2GB (2 DIMMs) 2GB (2 DIMMs) 2GB (2 DIMMs)
Memory type Corsair CM3X1024-1600C7DHX DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz
CAS latency (CL) 7 7 7
RAS to CAS delay (tRCD) 7 7 7
RAS precharge (tRP) 7 7 7
Cycle time (tRAS) 21 21 21
Command rate 1T 1T 1T
Audio codec Integrated AD1988B with 5.10.1.6110 drivers Integrated AD1988B with 7.0.0.0 drivers Integrated ALC889A with 1.88 drivers
Graphics GeForce 8800 GT 1GB PCIe with ForceWare 169.25 drivers
Hard drive Western Raptor X 150GB
OS Windows Vista Ultimate x86 with KB936710, KB938194, KB938979, KB940105 updates

Thanks to Corsair for providing us with memory for our testing. 2GB of RAM seems to be the new standard for most folks, and Corsair hooked us up with some of its 1GB DIMMs for testing.

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

Finally, we'd like to thank Western Digital for sending Raptor WD1500ADFD hard drives for our test rigs. The Raptor's still the fastest all-around drive on the market, and the only 10K-RPM Serial ATA drive you can buy.

We used the following versions of our test applications:

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

All the tests and methods we employed are publicly available and reproducible. If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.