How we test
Hardware
| Graphics cards | HIS Radeon HD 5970 2,048MB | ASUS Radeon HD 5870 2,048MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 TOXIC 2,048MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1,024MB | Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 1,024MB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1,536MB | ZOTAC GeForce GTX 470 1,280MB | Inno3D GeForce GTX 295 1,792MB | BFG GeForce GTX 285 1,024MB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current pricing, including VAT | £550 | £400 (estimated) | £400 | £325 | £230 | £400 | £300 | £425 | £275 | |
| Shader model | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | |
| Stream processors | 3,200 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1,600 | 1440 | 480 | 448 | 480 | 240 | |
| GPU clock speed (MHz) | 725 | 900 | 925 | 850 | 725 | 700 | 607 | 576 | 648 | |
| Shader clock speed (MHz) | 725 | 900 | 925 | 850 | 725 | 1,401 | 1,215 | 1,242 | 1,474 | |
| Memory clock speed (MHz) | 4,000 | 4,800 | 5,000 | 4,800 | 4,000 | 3,698 | 3,348 | 2,016 | 2,484 | |
| Memory bus width (bits) | 256 x 2 | 256 | 256 | 256 | 256 | 384 | 320 | 448 x 2 | 512 | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition (3.20GHz, 8MB L3 cache, quad-core, LGA1366 - Turbo Boost on) | |||||||||
| Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D Premium | |||||||||
| Motherboard BIOS | 0703 | |||||||||
| Mainboard software | Intel Inf 9.1.1.1025 | |||||||||
| Memory | 6GB Crucial DDR3-1,067 CL7 | |||||||||
| Memory timings and speed | 7-7-7-20 1T @ DDR3-1,066 | |||||||||
| PSU | Corsair HX1000W | |||||||||
| Monitor | Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px | |||||||||
| Disk drive(s) | Corsair Nova V128 SSD | |||||||||
| Graphics driver | Catalyst 10.3a/10.4 | Catalyst 10.3a/10.4 | Catalyst 10.3a/10.4 | Catalyst 10.3a/10.4 | Catalyst 10.3a/10.4 | ForceWare 197.17/75 | ForceWare 197.17 | ForceWare 197.45 | ForceWare 197.45 | |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit | |||||||||
Software
| Benchmarks | Battlefield: Bad Company
2 v523648 - FRAPS-recorded benchmark Crysis Warhead v1.1.1.711 - train map - enthusiast quality DiRT 2 v1.1, London map - ultra quality Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - ultra quality - FRAPS-recorded benchmark Power-draw Temperatures Real-world noise Overclocking HEXUS.bang4buck and HEXUS.bang4watt |
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Notes
Benchmarks were conducted at 1,680x1,050, 1,920x1,200, and 2,560x1,600, where applicable, with decent degrees of image quality. Catalyst 10.4 and ForceWare 197.75 were used to benchmark the latest (re)addition to the suite, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
