VGA Testing Methodology

With the widespread adoption of Windows7 in the marketplace, and given the prolonged and extensive pre-release testing that occurred on a global scale, there are compelling reasons to switch all testing to this highly anticipated, operating system. Overall performance levels of Windows 7 are favorable compared to Windows XP, and there is solid support for the 64-bit version, something enthusiasts have anxiously awaited for years. After almost a year of product testing with Win7-64, I can vouch for its stability and performance; I can't think of any reasons why I would want to switch back to XP.

Our site polls and statistics indicate that over 90% of our visitors use their PC for playing video games, and practically every one of you are using one of the screen resolutions mentioned below. Since all of the benchmarks we use for testing represent different game engine technology and graphic rendering processes, this battery of tests will provide a diverse range of results for you to gauge performance on your own computer system. All of the benchmark applications are capable of utilizing DirectX 10 or DirectX 11, and that is how they were tested. Some of these benchmarks have been used widely for DirectX 9 testing in the XP environment, and it is critically important to differentiate between results obtained with different versions. Each game behaves differently in DX9 and DX10 formats. Crysis is an extreme example, with frame rates in DirectX 10 only about half what was available in DirectX 9.

At the start of all tests, the previous display adapter driver is uninstalled and trace components are removed using Driver Cleaner Pro. We then restart the computer system to establish our display settings and define the monitor. Once the hardware is prepared, we begin our testing. According to the Steam Hardware Survey published at the time of Windows 7 launch, the most popular gaming resolution is 1280x1024 (17-19" standard LCD monitors) closely followed by 1024x768 (15-17" standard LCD). However, because these resolutions are considered 'low' by most standards, our benchmark performance tests concentrate on the up-and-coming higher-demand resolutions: 1680x1050 (22-24" widescreen LCD) and 1920x1080 (24-28" widescreen LCD monitors).

Each benchmark test program begins after a system restart, and the very first result for every test will be ignored since it often only caches the test. This process proved extremely important in several benchmarks, as the first run served to cache maps allowing subsequent tests to perform much better than the first. Each test is completed five times, the high and low results are discarded, and the average of the three remaining results is displayed in our article.

A combination of synthetic and video game benchmark tests have been used in this article to illustrate relative performance among graphics solutions. Our benchmark frame rate results are not intended to represent real-world graphics performance, as this experience would change based on supporting hardware and the perception of individuals playing the video game.

Intel P67 Test System

• Motherboard: ASUS P67 Sabertooth
• Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz
• System Memory: GSkill Ripjaws X Series 1600MHz (9-9-9-24)
• Primary Drive: Filemate SolidGO 60GB SSD
• Power Supply Unit: Corsair TX850W 850W 80+ Bronze Certified

DirectX-9 Benchmark Applications

• Mafia II
  • Extreme Settings: (Antialiasing, 16x AF, High Shadow Quality, High Detail, High Geometry, Ambient Occlusion)

DirectX-10 Benchmark Application

• 3DMark Vantage v1.02
  • Extreme Settings: (Extreme Quality, 8x Multisample Anti-Aliasing, 16x Anisotropic Filtering, 1:2 Scale)

DirectX-11 Benchmark Applications

• DIRT 2 DEMO Benchmark
  • Extreme Settings: (High Quality, 8x AA, 16x AF, High DirectX 11 Features)

• Aliens vs Predator
  • Extreme Settings: (High Quality, 4x AA, 16x AF, SSAO, Tessellation, Advanced Shadows)
• BattleField: Bad Company 2
  • Extreme Settings: (Highest Quality, HBAO, 4x AA, 16x AF, 180s Fraps Single-Player Intro Scene)
• Lost Planet 2
  • Extreme Settings: (4x MSAA, High Shadow Detail, High Texture, High Render, High DirectX 11 Features)
• Unigine Heaven Benchmark 2.5
  • Extreme Settings: (High Quality, Normal Tessellation, 8x AF, 4x AA)

Video Card Test Products

• MSI GeForce GTS 450 N450GTS Cyclone (850 MHz GPU/1700 MHz Shader/1000 MHz vRAM - Forceware 285.62)
• PowerColor Radeon HD 5770 PCS+ (875 MHz GPU/1225 MHz vRAM - ATI Catalyst Driver 11.10)
• EVGA GeForce GTX 460 SE 1GB (648MHz GPU/1296 MHz Shader/850 MHz vRAM - Forceware 285.62)
• MSI R6850 Radeon HD 6850 (775 MHz GPU/1000MHz vRAM - ATI Catalyst Driver 11.10)
• VisionTek 900339 Radeon HD 6850 (775MHz GPU/1000MHz vRAM - ATI Catalyst Driver 11.10)
• MSI R6870 Hawk Radeon HD 6870 (930 MHz GPU/1050MHz vRAM - ATI Catalyst Driver 11.10)
• PNY GTX 570 1280MB VCGGTX570XPB (732MHz GPU/1464MHz Shader/950MHz vRAM - Forceware 285.62)

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