Conroe Buying Guide: Feeding the Monster
by Gary Key & Wesley Fink on July 19, 2006 6:20 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Test Setup
Test conditions were maintained the same, as much as possible, over the platforms tested. For better comparison standard test results (1280x1024) were run with a single NVIDIA 7900GTX on all platforms. A single ATI X1900XTX was also tested at standard resolutions on the Intel 975X boards which support CrossFire. Consider this result a sanity check for single card performance and CrossFire. It should not be directly compared to other test results. Since SLI and CrossFire are not yet interchangeable, 1600x1200 4xAA/8xAF SLI was run on the single NVIDIA-based board with a pair of 7900GTX cards. 1600X1200 4xAA/8xAF CrossFire was run on the Intel 975X boards using a Master+Standard X1900XT CrossFire setup. All results are reported in our charts and color-coded for easier identification of results.
All Core 2 Duo benchmarking used Corsair PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) 2GB kit at 3-3-3 timings at 2.2V. In recent months the memory market has moved from a 1GB kit to a 2GB kit being the common memory configuration. Our new DDR2 test standard is 2GB.
| Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (X2, 2.67GHz, 4MB Unified Cache) |
| RAM | 2 x 1GB Corsair Twin2X2048-8500C5 Tested at DDR2-800 3-3-3 2.2V |
| Hard Drive(s) | Hitachi 250GB SATA2 enabled (16MB Buffer) |
| System Platform Drivers | Intel - 8.0.1.1002 NVIDIA - 6.86 |
| Video Cards: | 1 x EVGA 7900GTX - All Standard Tests 2 x EVGA 7900GTX - SLI on NVIDIA 1 x ATI X1900XTX - ATI Standard Tests on Intel 2 x ATI X1900XT (Master+Standard) - CrossFire on Intel |
| Video Drivers: | NVIDIA 91.31 ATI Catalyst 6.6 |
| CPU Cooling: | Tuniq Tower 120 |
| Power Supply: | OCZ GameXstream 700W |
| Motherboards: | ASUS P5W-DH Deluxe (Intel 975X) Intel 975XBX (Intel 975X) ASUS P5B Deluxe (Intel P965) ASUS P5N32-SLI (nF4 SLIX16 Intel) Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe (Intel P965) Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 (Intel P965) DFI Infinity 975X/G (Intel 975X) ASRock 775Dual-VSTA (VIA PT880 PRO) |
| Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
Test conditions were maintained the same, as much as possible, over the platforms tested. For better comparison standard test results (1280x1024) were run with a single NVIDIA 7900GTX on all platforms. A single ATI X1900XTX was also tested at standard resolutions on the Intel 975X boards which support CrossFire. Consider this result a sanity check for single card performance and CrossFire. It should not be directly compared to other test results. Since SLI and CrossFire are not yet interchangeable, 1600x1200 4xAA/8xAF SLI was run on the single NVIDIA-based board with a pair of 7900GTX cards. 1600X1200 4xAA/8xAF CrossFire was run on the Intel 975X boards using a Master+Standard X1900XT CrossFire setup. All results are reported in our charts and color-coded for easier identification of results.
All Core 2 Duo benchmarking used Corsair PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) 2GB kit at 3-3-3 timings at 2.2V. In recent months the memory market has moved from a 1GB kit to a 2GB kit being the common memory configuration. Our new DDR2 test standard is 2GB.
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Gary Key - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
I did not see any tpoys... :)R3MF - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
"The 965 has an X8 PCIe slot and an X4 PCIe slot and does not support CrossFire"the tech-diagram on the same page clearly says:
16x PCIe on the northbridge
6x1 PCIe on the southbridge
which is it?
JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
I've edited the wording slightly. You are correct that the NB only supports an X16, and there is at most an X4 from the SB. It should read correctly now.yacoub - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
How about a pagedetailing who actually has them in stock and hasn't price-gouged them? ;)It could link to the RTPE.
Hopefully by the time Part2 comes out, C2Ds will actually be available.
Gary Key - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
We are disappointed in the intial pricing structures but when demand exceeds supply you know what you get.... :)zsdersw - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
No GA-965P-DS3? Is there a reason it wasn't included in the roundup?Gary Key - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
We have one on its way for review in the near future for review. In fact, over the course of the next four weeks we will probably receive 20 or more Conroe boards so expect a lot of motherboard coverage in August. ;-)zsdersw - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Thanks. Looking forward to it.yacoub - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Thank you, guys! This is a huge help.danidentity - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
GREAT article!I wonder if the 965 chipset over time will become faster than 975 with BIOS revisions.