System setup and notes
Hardware and Software
Test Platforms
| Systems | Athlon 64 S939 PCI-Express System | Athlon 64 S939 AGP System |
| Processor | AMD Athlon 64 4000+ | |
| Mainboard | ABIT AX8 K8T890 | ASUS A8V Deluxe K8T800 Pro |
| Memory | 1GByte (2x512MB) Corsair XMS3200XL | Memory timings | 2-2-2-5 1T @ DDR400 |
| Graphics Card #1 | PowerColor X800 XL 512MB PCIe (400/980) | |
| Graphics Card #2 | ATI RADEON X850 XT PE 256MB PCIe (540/1180) | |
| Graphics Card #3 | NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB PCIe (425/1100) | Graphics Card #4 | NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 512MB PCIe (430/1100) | Graphics Card #5 | ATI RADEON X800 XL 256MB AGP (400/980) | Disk Drive | 160GB WD IDE |
| BIOS Version | BIOS 10 - 14th February 2005 | BIOS 11 - 20th April 2005 |
| Operating System | Windows XP Professional, SP2 | |
| Mainboard Software | VIA Hyperion Pro v4.55 | |
Software
ATI CATALYST 5.4 for ATI-based cards
NVIDIA ForceWare 71.89 for NVIDIA-based cards
Futuremark 3DMark05 Build 1.2.0 - AA and AF set via application
DOOM 3 v1.1 (1282) Timedemo 1 - AA and AF set via application
Far Cry v1.3 - custom HEXUS benchmark - AA and AF set via application
Half-Life 2 - custom HEXUS benchmark - AA and AF set via application
Chronicles Of Riddick - Escape from Butchers Bay - custom HEXUS benchmark - AA and AF set via control panel
Notes
We'll be comparing the performance of PowerColor's 512MB X800 XL against a 256MB AGP version's. Further, it will be compared against both 256MB and 512MB GeForce 6800 Ultra cards and ATI's X850 XT PE, with all three high-end cards run off PCI-Express.
Overclocking
With a design that's geared towards quietness over inflated clocks, overclocking was always going to be a concern. Overclocking a card that uses large heatsinks and a quiet fan, along with a heatpipe approach, pushes external factors to the fore. Ambient temperature becomes increasingly important, as does extra cooling and airflow. That's why reporting overclocked figures isn't all that helpful in this situation. That being said, we managed a solid overclock of 430MHz core and 1075MHz memory.
