Epox 5LWA+ i925XE Motherboard
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For our next game test, we benchmarked both test systems using a custom multiplayer Doom 3 timedemo. We lowered the resolution down to 640 x 480, and configured the game to run at its "Low-Quality" graphics setting. Although Doom 3 typically taxes today's high-end GPUs, when it's configured at these minimal settings it's more CPU / Memory-bound than anything else.
We're back to the original order in Doom 3, with similar differences in frame rates seen between the top, middle, and bottom systems. The Epox 5LWA+ led the trio, as it has in almost all of our benchmarks, producing an outstanding 153.1 fps in our custom Doom 3 time demo.
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In our last in-game test, we benchmarked Half-Life 2 with a custom recorded time demo that takes us along a cliff and through a few dilapidated shacks in an area of the "Coastal" map, battling enemies throughout. These tests were run at low-resolution and low graphical detail, to allow the CPUs to run flat out and not be held back by graphics subsystem performance.
Our final benchmark continued the recent trend, with the Epox 5LWA+ on top, followed by the Shuttle SB95P, and finally the Intel D915PBL. We noticed that in the OpenGL testing, the Shuttle SFF PC usually was typically centered between the Epox and Intel boards. When it came to DirectX gaming, however, the gap between the Epox and Shuttle boards widened, with the performance of the Shuttle SB95P ending up closer to that of the i915P board.
