Our testing methods
All tests were run three times, and their results were averaged, using the following test systems.

 System
ProcessorAthlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
Front-side busHT 16-bit/800MHz downstream
HT 16-bit/800MHz upstream
MotherboardAbit KV8-MAX3
North bridgeVIA K8T800
South bridgeVIA VT8237
Chipset driverHyperion 4.51
Memory size512MB (1 DIMM)
Memory typeCorsair XMS3500 PC3000 DDR SDRAM
GraphicsATI Radeon 9800 XT
Graphics driverCATALYST 4.6
Storage

Western Digital Raptor WD360GD

Operating SystemWindows XP Professional
Service Pack 1 and DirectX 9.0b

We used the following versions of our test applications:

The test systems' Windows desktop was set at 1024x768 in 32-bit color at a 75Hz screen refresh rate. Vertical refresh sync (vsync) was disabled for all tests. All of the 3D gaming tests used the high detail image quality settings.

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.