Our video card test platform is still relevant as the QX9770 is a very fast CPU even in this age of Phenom IIs and Core i7 CPUs. We will eventually update our test platform but it requires a lot of work testing various video cards on new benchmarks with a new chipset. For now, Crysis is still the benchmark by which all other cards are measured.

Test System

• Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 running 3.2GHz
• 2GB DDR3-2000 Crucial Ballistix DDR3 memory running at 1333MHz
• XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard running 15.23 Forceware drivers
• 2 74GB WD Raptor SATA HDDs in RAID 0 mode
• LG 16X DVD-RW drive
• Windows Vista with SP1 installed

Tests

DirectX 9.0

• STALKER Shadows of Chernobyl 1280x1024, 1920x1200, 4x AA 16x AF, Custom FRAPS walkthrough
• Enemy Territory QuakeWars 1280x1024, 1920x1200, 4x AA 16x AF, Custom FRAPS walkthrough
• Unreal Tournament 3 1280x1024, 1920x1200, 4x AA 16x AF, Custom FRAPS walkthrough
• Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare: 1280x1024, 1920x1200, 4x AA 16x AF, Custom FRAPS walkthrough
• 3DMark05/06 1280x1024, 1920x1200
• SPECViewPerf10 1280x1024
• PCMark05/Vantage

DirectX 10.0

• Bioshock DX10 1280X1024, 1920X1200, 4x AA 16x AF, Custom FRAPS walkthrough
• Crysis DX10 1280X1024, 1920x1200, 4x AA 16x AF, Custom FRAPS walkthrough
• Lost Planet DX10 1280x1024, 1920x1200, 4x AA 16x AF, Performance benchmark
• 3DMark Vantage 1280x1024, 1920x1200 default benchmark