HOW WE CONFIGURED THE TEST SYSTEMS: We tested the MSI NX7600GT-VT2D256E on an Abit AL8 Intel 945P chipset based motherboard. When configuring the test system, we entered the BIOS and loaded the "High Performance Defaults." The hard drive was then formatted, and Windows XP Professional with SP2 was installed. When the installation was complete, we installed the latest chipset drivers, installed all of the other necessary drivers for the rest of our components, and removed Windows Messenger from the system. Auto-Updating and System Restore were also disabled, the hard drive was defragmented, and a 768MB permanent page file was created on the same partition as the Windows installation. Lastly, we set Windows XP's Visual Effects to "best performance," installed all of the benchmarking software, and ran the tests. For all comparisons, an ATI X1600XT was used, which is quite comparable on price and in specification.
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The HotHardware Test System
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Pentium D 820 Powered
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Hardware Used
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Relevant Software
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Processor -
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Pentium D 820 (2.8GHz)
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Operating System -
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Windows XP Pro SP2
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Motherboard -
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Abit AL8
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Chipset Drivers -
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Intel Drivers v8.0.1.1002
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Intel 945P chipset
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DirectX -
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DirectX 9.0c (March Redist)
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Video Cards -
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MSI NX7600GT-VT2D256E (580/1500)
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Video Drivers -
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NVIDIA Forceware v84.21
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Radeon X1600 XT (586/1380)
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ATI Catalyst v6.5
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Memory -
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1024MB PQI 24200-1GDB
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Benchmarks Used
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CAS 2
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Synthetic (DX) -
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3DMark06 v1.0.2
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Audio -
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Integrated on board
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DirectX -
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FarCry v1.33*
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Hard Drive -
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Western Digital
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DirectX -
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F.E.A.R.
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80GB - 7,200RPM - PATA
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DirectX -
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Half Life 2*
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OpenGL -
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Quake 4*
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OpenGL -
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Riddick-EFBB*
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* Custom Test (HH Exclusive demo)
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Performance Comparisons with 3DMark06 v1.0.2
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Details: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark06/
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3DMark06
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Futuremark recently launched a brand-new version of their popular benchmark, 3DMark06. The new version of the benchmark is updated in a number of ways, and now includes not only Shader Model 2.0 tests, but Shader Model 3.0 and HDR tests as well. Some of the assets from 3DMark05 have been re-used, but the scenes are now rendered with much more geometric detail and the shader complexity is vastly increased as well. Max shader length in 3DMark05 was 96 instructions, while 3DMark06 ups the number of instructions to 512. 3DMark06 also employs much more lighting, and there is extensive use of soft shadows. With 3DMark06, Futuremark has also updated how the final score is tabulated. In this latest version of the benchmark, SM 2.0 and HDR / SM3.0 tests are weighted and the CPU score is factored into the final tally as well.
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When looking at the overall 3DMark06 results, the NX7600GT-VT2D256E topped the X1600XT by 774 3DMarks, which equates to a 31% advantage.
When we breakdown the SM 2.0 and SM 3.0/HDR test results, we continue to see a clear lead with the NX7600GT-VT2D256E. In SM 2.0 testing, the margins increased to 45% whereas SM 3.0/HDR rounded out with a 28% lead over the X1600XT
;)
