Our testing methods
Our test system was configured like so:

ProcessorAthlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
Front-side busHT 16-bit/800MHz downstream
HT 16-bit/800MHz upstream
MotherboardAbit KV8-MAX3
North bridgeVIA K8T800
South bridge VIA VT8237
Chipset driverVIA Hyperion 4.53
Memory size1024MB (2 DIMMs)
Memory typeCorsair XMS3500 DDR SDRAM at 400MHz and 2-7-3-3 timings
GraphicsGeForce 6800 GT 256MB
Graphics driverForceWare 61.77
Storage

Western Digital WD360GD 10,000RPM Serial ATA hard drive

Operating SystemWindows XP Professional
Service Pack 2 and DirectX 9.0c

We used this CS: Source demo for testing. The game was tested with CS: Source's high-quality and "5 speaker" audio settings. Because my ancient SoundBlaster Live! only supports four-channel audio, it was tested with CS: Source's "4 speaker" audio setting. I've marked the Live!'s results with an asterisk to highlight this difference.

The test systems' Windows desktop was set at 1280x1024 in 32-bit color at a 75Hz screen refresh rate. Vertical refresh sync (vsync) was disabled for all tests.

If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.