Testing methodology
| System | AMD 880G | AMD 890GX | Intel H57 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processors | AMD Phenom II X6 1090T (3.20GHz, 3MB L2, 6MB L3, AM3, hexa-core) | AMD Phenom II X6 1090T (3.20GHz, 3MB L2, 6MB L3, AM3, hexa-core) | Intel Core i5 661 (3.33GHz, 512KB L2, 4MB L3, dual-core) |
| Motherboard | MSI 880GMA-E45 (880G + SB850), approx. £95 | Gigabyte GPA890-UD3H £105 | ASUS P7H57D-V EVO (Intel H57 + ICH10R), £150 |
| BIOS revision | 17.4 (30/04/10) | FB (17/05/10) |
1456 (14/05/10) |
| Memory | 4GB (2 x 2GB) Kingston HyperX KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX | 4GB (2 x 2GB) Kingston HyperX KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX | 4GB (2 x 2GB) Kingston HyperX KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX |
| Memory timings and speed | 9-9-9-24-2T @ DDR3-1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-2T @ DDR3-1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-1T @ DDR3-1,333MHz |
| Hard disk drive | Corsair X128 SSD | ||
| Optical drive | Samsung SH-D163 SATA DVD-ROM | ||
| Motherboard software | Standard drivers + AHCI 3.1.1540.127 | Standard drivers + AHCI 3.1.1540.127 | Intel Inf 9.1.1.1025 + Matrix Storage Manager 9.5.0.1037 |
| Graphics | ATI Radeon HD 4250 IGP | ATI Radeon HD 4290 IGP | Intel HD Graphics IGP |
| Graphics driver | Catalyst 10.4 | Catalyst 10.4 | 8.15.10.2104 |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit | ||
| Power supply | Corsair HX850W | ||
| Monitor | Dell 2405FPW | ||
Software
| Benchmarks | SiSoft SANDRA v16.26
memory latency and bandwidth HEXUS.PiFast calculation to 10m places CINEBENCH R11.5 multi-CPU render 64-bit x264 HD v3.0 media-encoding benchmark - both passes noted Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - 1,024x768 Normal quality H.A.W.X - 1,024x768 - Low quality Power-draw at idle and 2D load, as a platform |
|---|
Notes
We're giving the MSI 880G board a stern test by comparing it to the established 890GX, represented here by Gigabyte, and an Intel H57 board from ASUS. All three feature integrated graphics, although the 890GX's IGP speed is 700MHz and it features SidePort memory as standard. The IGPs' qualities will be examined in the gaming section. A closer look at the MSI's IGP shows that it operates at 500MHz, not 560MHz as per 880G spec.Both AMD motherboards use the latest Phenom II X6 1090T six-core processor. What we want to determine is how much of an advantage, if at all, does the 890GX chipset have over the 880G. Intel's latest IGPs are featured on dual-core chips from the Core i3 and Core i5 families. As such, the 2D benchmarks from the Core i5 661 chip should be taken for purely comparison purposes.
