{"id":10535,"date":"2009-08-18T21:58:29","date_gmt":"2009-08-18T21:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=10535"},"modified":"2009-08-19T16:11:29","modified_gmt":"2009-08-19T16:11:29","slug":"amd-value-platform-analysis-part-2-the-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/amd-value-platform-analysis-part-2-the-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"AMD Value Platform Analysis Part 2: The Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--pagetitle:Introduction-->In <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=10270\" target=\"_blank\">Part 1<\/a> we took a look at the components used in this analysis and the reasoning behind it. If you read the conclusion, you must have been excited at the little overclocking teaser that I left <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=10270&amp;page=7\" target=\"_blank\">there<\/a>. In this part, we are going to cover the overclocking in detail on this platform and take a look at the performance. The tests have been carefully selected to represent some of the most widely used synthetic benchmarks such as Everest, 3DMark and gaming benchmarks.<\/p>\n<p>In this part, I will be testing the following configurations as far as the gaming tests go<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> AMD Athlon II X2 250 @3.0 GHz\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0 HD 4650 512MB GDDR3 600\/667 MHz\u00a0\u00a0 @ 1280&#215;1024<\/li>\n<li> AMD Athlon II X2 250 @3955 MHz +\u00a0 HD 4650 512MB GDDR3 770\/955 MHz\u00a0\u00a0 @ 1280&#215;1024\u00a0 (Overclocked Configuration) <\/li>\n<li> AMD Athlon II X2 250 @3.0 GHz\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0 HD 4770 512MB GDDR5 750\/800 MHz\u00a0\u00a0 @ 1280&#215;1024 <\/li>\n<li> AMD Athlon II X2 250 @3.0 GHz\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0 HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 750\/900 MHz\u00a0\u00a0 @ 1280&#215;1024 &amp; 1920&#215;1200 <\/li>\n<li>AMD Athlon II X2 250 @3.0 GHz\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0 HD 4890 1GB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 GDDR5 925\/1050 MHz @ 1280&#215;1024 &amp; 1920&#215;1200 (HD 4890 is Diamond XOC version)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The reasoning behind only testing the HD 4870 and the HD 4890 at a high resolution like 1920&#215;1200 is that the power in these cards is limited by the CPU at a low resolution like 1280&#215;1024. In some of the games, the GPU is not even being used 100%. So if you are going to spend money on such beefy cards, it is wise to invest in a higher resolution monitor. Additionally other cards used in this analysis won&#8217;t be able to provide a smooth experience at such a high resolution.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the GPU-Z shots of all the video cards used in the above configurations:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4650gpuzstock-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"HD-4650-GPU-Z-Stock\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4650gpuzstock_thumb-png.png?resize=109%2C128\" alt=\"HD-4650-GPU-Z-Stock\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4650oc-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"HD-4650-OC\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4650oc_thumb-png.png?resize=109%2C128\" alt=\"HD-4650-OC\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4770stock-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"HD4770-Stock\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4770stock_thumb-png.png?resize=109%2C128\" alt=\"HD4770-Stock\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4870-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"HD-4870\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4870_thumb-png.png?resize=109%2C128\" alt=\"HD-4870\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4890-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"HD-4890\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/hd4890_thumb-png.png?resize=109%2C128\" alt=\"HD-4890\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here at ABT, we believe in delivering the cleanest results to the best of our ability. As a result, I will be adding videos of gaming benchmarks running on the CPU + GPU overclocked configuration to show proof of what this low cost platform can do when overclocked. Another new feature that I am adding is a screenshot from Rivatuner showing the CPU and GPU usage while the benchmark is running. This comes in addition to the standard bar graph and line graphs that I feature in my reviews. All these extra features take a lot of time to make so I hope you appreciate them. Please leave a comment or suggestion even if you don\u2019t like them.<\/p>\n<p>We are using Catalyst 9.7 for testing. The CPU cooler used is Zerotherm Nirvana 120mm.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s move on to taking a look at the BIOS settings on the GIGABYTE\u2019s MA770T-UD3P.<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:BIOS--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>BIOS Settings<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We are using the F2 Bios in the screens below. The settings may change slightly as newer BIOSes are released.<\/p>\n<p>Here is the screen that you will first see on starting the board. This screen masks the POST test and can be turned off on the BIOS options. It displays the major feature of this board that is called the \u201cUltra Durable 3\u201d branding.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/bios-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Bios\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/bios_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=183%2C147\" alt=\"Bios\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosa-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Bios-a\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosa_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=184%2C147\" alt=\"Bios-a\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosb-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Bios-b\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosb_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=181%2C147\" alt=\"Bios-b\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Press the \u201cDel\u201d key here and you will reach the main BIOS screen as shown in the second image. The \u201cMB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.)\u201d is where you need to be to have some overclocking fun.<\/p>\n<p>The third image shows that you can save on different BIOS setting profiles this board and load them as needed without adjusting every setting again. This is a big time saver, as there are so many overclocking options you may have to deal with.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosc-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Bios-c\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosc_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=182%2C147\" alt=\"Bios-c\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosd-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Bios-d\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosd_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=184%2C147\" alt=\"Bios-d\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biose-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Bios-e\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biose_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=185%2C147\" alt=\"Bios-e\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The first image shows the M.I.T. section that I talked about above. It contains all the necessary settings to overclock the CPU, HTLink, NB, Memory, PCI-E bus and also control the voltages.<\/p>\n<p>The second image shows the multipliers that can be used to control the CPU Northbridge (Integrated Memory Controller) clock.<\/p>\n<p>The third image shows the various speeds that can be set for the HTLink.<\/p>\n<p>There is a bit of a BIOS bug with this board. The HTLink speed is the same as the CPU Northbridge speed even when the maximum allowed speed in the BIOS for HTLink is 2GHz. If you check the maximum overclock <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=10270&amp;page=7\" target=\"_blank\">image<\/a> I left in the part one, the HTLink is running at 2930 MHz. I have written to GIGABYTE about this issue but have yet to receive any response.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosf-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Bios-f\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosf_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=184%2C148\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bios-f\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosg-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Bios-g\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosg_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=185%2C148\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bios-g\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosh-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Bios-h\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosh_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=182%2C148\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bios-h\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On the left is the memory multiplier selection which is basically 800, 1066, 1333 and 1600 DDR3 speeds.<\/p>\n<p>In the middle is the DRAM Configuration section where you can set all the timings for your memory kit.<\/p>\n<p>On the right is the CPU NB Voltage control section. The voltage can be set from \u20130.6V to +0.6V in 0.025V increments.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosi-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Bios-i\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosi_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=183%2C148\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bios-i\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosj-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Bios-j\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosj_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=182%2C148\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bios-j\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosk-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Bios-k\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosk_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=183%2C148\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bios-k\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The left image shows the CPU Voltage control which can be set from \u20130.6V to +0.6V in 0.025V increments.<\/p>\n<p>The middle image is the Memory Voltage control allowing you to set voltages from 1.5-2.38V with 0.02V increment.<\/p>\n<p>The third image shows the voltage control for the Northbridge.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosl-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Bios-l\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosl_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=186%2C147\" alt=\"Bios-l\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosm-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Bios-m\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosm_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=180%2C147\" alt=\"Bios-m\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosn-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Bios-n\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosn_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=186%2C147\" alt=\"Bios-n\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The first image shows the \u201cStandard CMOS Feature\u201d section where it shows the connected drives.<\/p>\n<p>The middle image shows the \u201cAdvanced BIOS Features\u201d section which contains necessary settings for AMD C1E power saving state, AMD Cool&amp;Quiet control etc.<\/p>\n<p>The third image is for the \u201cIntegrated Peripheral\u201d control.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/bioso-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Bios-o\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/bioso_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=275%2C223\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bios-o\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosp-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Bios-p\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/biosp_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=279%2C223\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bios-p\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The last two images are for the Power Management setup control and PC Health Status which allows you to check on CPU temperature, fan speed and CPU votlage.<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Overclocking--><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">Overclocking<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Overclocking can be fun, but it can also be dangerous. It\u2019s fun to get extra \u201cfree\u201d performance out of your hardware but you also run the risk of destroying it by overheating or overvolting. So I\u2019m going to show you how I achieved my overclock but I don\u2019t take any responsibility for any damage you may do to your own hardware by following my method.<\/p>\n<p>The MB Intelligent Tweaker is where you need to be if you are trying to overclock. I started off by turning Cool&amp;Quiet and C1E options off. Then I set all the multipliers from \u201cAuto\u201d to their default values for stock speed. To find the maximum overclock\u00a0 I bumped up the voltages \u2013 CPU Vcore to 1.5V, Memory to 1.8V, CPU NB +0.1V, NB Voltage +0.1V, HT Votlage +0.1V. As the Athlon II X2 250 has a locked multiplier, I had to increase the bus frequency to overclock. So I proceeded with increasing the bus frequency. After I found my final stable overclock, I started to lower the RAM timings. The lowest the memory would do is 7-6-6-15 1T. Then I lowered the voltages to obtain the lowest voltages the overclock would be stable at. The final overclock required a voltage of +0.125 on the CPU, +0.3V on the memory, +0.075V on the CPU NB. All other voltages were kept at normal.<\/p>\n<p>My final overclock is as shown below:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/AthlonOverclockMemory.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Athlon-Overclock-&amp;-Memory\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/athlonoverclockmemory_thumb-png.png?resize=550%2C264\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Athlon-Overclock-&amp;-Memory\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The memory was running at x5.33 multiplier which is DDR 1066 speed to keep the memory stable.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a look at the Everest cache and memory benchmark at stock (left) and overclocked (right)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/stock-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Stock\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/stock_thumb-png.png?resize=275%2C247\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Stock\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/3-951562mhzcrucialram-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"3.95 1562 MHz Crucial RAM\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/3-951562mhzcrucialram_thumb-png.png?resize=275%2C247\" border=\"0\" alt=\"3.95 1562 MHz Crucial RAM\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Memory overclocking<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>So I had three memory kits sitting on my desk. What would an enthusiast do ? Overclock all of them, of course and have a mini battle royale. So to see which kit overclocked the best, I tried to keep all other settings as close to stock speeds as possible while increasing the bus speed with the memory multiplier set at x8 or DDR1600 Speeds.<\/p>\n<p>First the Corsair memory overclock:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/corsairmemory-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Corsair Memory\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/corsairmemory_thumb-png.png?resize=550%2C264\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Corsair Memory\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Up next, Crucial:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/crucialmemoryoverclock-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Crucial Memory Overclock\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/crucialmemoryoverclock_thumb-png.png?resize=550%2C264\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Crucial Memory Overclock\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now it\u2019s Kingston\u2019s turn<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/kingstonmemoryoc-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"Kingston Memory OC\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/kingstonmemoryoc_thumb-png.png?resize=550%2C264\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Kingston Memory OC\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Although GIGABYTE says that the board is rated to run with DDR3 1666 speeds, you can see that it can run up to 1880 MHz DDR3 speed. Kingston took the honors in the pure speed test while doing it at the lowest voltage out of the three kits. The Kingston memory was running at 1.7V while other two kits ran at 1.8V.<\/p>\n<p>Surprisingly, the Kingston kit did not play well with my overall maximum overclock. This kit would not boot at 1562 MHz with a x5.33 multiplier to match the Crucial kit. <!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Explanation of Tests Used--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Explanation of the Tests<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Cinebench R10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here is a bit about Cinebench from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.maxon.net\/index.php?id=162&amp;L=0\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.maxon.net\/index.php?id=162&amp;L=0', 'official site']);\" target=\"_blank\">official site<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>CINEBENCH is a real-world test suite that assesses your computer&#8217;s performance capabilities. MAXON CINEBENCH is based on MAXON&#8217;s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation.<\/p>\n<p>The test procedure consists of two main components: The first test sequence is dedicated to the computer&#8217;s main processor. A 3D scene file is used to render a photorealistic image. The scene makes use of various CPU-intensive features such as reflection, ambient occlusion, area lights and procedural shaders. During the first run the benchmark only uses one CPU (or CPU core) to ascertain a reference value. On computers that have multiple CPUs or CPU cores and on those that simulate multiple CPUs (via HyperThreading or similar technologies), MAXON CINEBENCH will run a second test using all available CPU power.<\/p>\n<p><a><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong> <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The second test measures graphics card performance and is run inside the 3D editor window. The project file used can test all graphics cards that support the OpenGL standard. In this scene, only the camera was animated. This scene places medium to low demands on graphics cards and tests the maximum speed with which the scene can be properly displayed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>SANDRA<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>SiSoftware Sandra<\/strong> (the <strong>S<\/strong>ystem <strong>AN<\/strong>alyser, <strong>D<\/strong>iagnostic and <strong>R<\/strong>eporting <strong>A<\/strong>ssistant) is an information &amp; diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) that you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Everest<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>EVEREST Ultimate Edition is a system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for enthusiast PC users. During system optimizations and tweaking, it provides essential system and overclock information, advanced hardware monitoring and diagnostics capabilities to check the effects of the applied settings. The CPU, FPU and memory benchmarks are available to measure the actual system performance and compare it to previous states or other systems. Furthermore, complete software, operating system and security information makes EVEREST Ultimate Edition a comprehensive system diagnostics tool that offers a total of 100 pages of information about your PC.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>CustomPC Benchmark<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>These benchmarks use widely available open-source applications to carry out the tasks that most of us perform on a regular basis. There are three tests, each of which measure different aspects of a PC\u2019s performance. These tests are NOT synthetic benchmarks, but instead they use real world scenarios to test the performance.<\/p>\n<p>The tests are:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">GIMP Image Editing<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">H.264 Video Encoding<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Multitasking<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">PCMark Vantage<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>PCMark Vantage is a PC benchmark suite designed for Windows Vista offering one-click simplicity for casual users and detailed, professional grade testing for industry, press and enthusiasts.<\/p>\n<p>A PCMark score is a measure of your computer\u2019s performance across a variety of common tasks such as viewing and editing photos, video, music and other media, gaming, communications, productivity and security.<\/p>\n<p>From desktops and laptops to workstations and gaming rigs, by comparing your PCMark Vantage score with other similar systems you can find the hardware and software bottlenecks that stop you getting more from your PC.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>7z Compression<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is one of our custom designed tests. For this test, I use the freely available <a href=\"http:\/\/www.7-zip.org\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.7-zip.org\/', '7z software']);\" target=\"_blank\">7z software<\/a> and the Big Buck Bunny movie available from this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.divx.com\/en\/downloads\/divx-7-showcase\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.divx.com\/en\/downloads\/divx-7-showcase', 'Divx HD Video showcase']);\" target=\"_blank\">Divx HD Video showcase<\/a> page. I compress this 507MB video file using normal settings for 7z. The settings are shown below<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/7z_settings-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"7z_settings\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/7z_settings_thumb-png.png?resize=150%2C130\" border=\"0\" alt=\"7z_settings\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong> Fritz Chess Bench v4.2<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Download from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jens.tauchclub-krems.at\/diverses\/schach\/Fritz%20Chess%20Benchmark.zip\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','download','http:\/\/www.jens.tauchclub-krems.at\/diverses\/schach\/Fritz%20Chess%20Benchmark.zip']);\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/fritz-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"Fritz\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/fritz_thumb-png.png?resize=150%2C158\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Fritz\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>x264 HD Benchmark v2<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We are using <a href=\"http:\/\/www.techarp.com\/showarticle.aspx?artno=520\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.techarp.com\/showarticle.aspx?artno=520', 'TechARP\u2019s x264 HD benchmark']);\" target=\"_blank\">TechARP\u2019s x264 HD benchmark<\/a>. This test uses the open source x264 encoder for H.264 streams to encode videos and measure the time taken. In this test, we are reporting the results of the second pass from the newer version of x264 used in this test. The reasoning behind reporting only the second pass FPS is that 100% CPU may not be used in the first pass due to bottlenecking by Avisynth or other factors.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>LameXP<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is another of our custom tests. <a href=\"http:\/\/mulder.dummwiedeutsch.de\/home\/?page=projects\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/mulder.dummwiedeutsch.de\/home\/?page=projects', 'LameXP']);\" target=\"_blank\">LameXP<\/a> software is specifically used for this purpose because it is highly multi-threaded. The way multi-threading works is that this software assigns each track to be encoded to an individual core. As an example, say you are encoding 4 tracks and have a quad core processor. Instead of waiting for first track to complete encoding to start the encoding of the second track, this software will instead assign each track to a core. LameXP is a graphical front-end for the <a href=\"http:\/\/lame.sourceforge.net\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/lame.sourceforge.net\/', 'LAME MP3']);\" >LAME MP3<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vorbis.com\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.vorbis.com\/', 'Ogg Vorbis']);\" >Ogg Vorbis<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nero.com\/eng\/technologies-aac-codec.html\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.nero.com\/eng\/technologies-aac-codec.html', 'Nero AAC']);\" >Nero AAC<\/a> audio encoders. Supported input types are Wave, MP3, MP2, OGG\/Vorbis, FLAC, MP4\/AAC, AC3, DTS, WavPack, Musepack, TTA, Speex, Monkey&#8217;s Audio, Shorten, ALAC and WMA. It also reads M3U, PLS and ASX playlists as well as Cuesheets.<\/p>\n<p>For this test, I used 30 WAV files obtained from my collection of <em>Gladiator and The Village<\/em> soundtrack CDs and converted them to mp3 using the LAME encoder with maximum quality\/q0 settings.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Game Benchmarks<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>For some of the games we use a custom recorded timedemo. All these timedemos can be downloaded from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mediafire.com\/?m4zoyzj2ioj\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.mediafire.com\/?m4zoyzj2ioj', 'here']);\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I would like to mention that the FRAPS min\/max results don&#8217;t always correspond with the frame by frame FPS results. So, you might see some discrepancy in the min\/max and min\/max of the line graphs.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s move on to the results.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Test Results--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Test Results<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px\" title=\"Synthetic-Tests-Table\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/syntheticteststable-png.png?resize=556%2C2115\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Synthetic-Tests-Table\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:3Dmark 06 &#038; Vantage--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Synthetic 3D Tests<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>3DMark 06<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>3DMark06 is a PC benchmark suite designed to test the DirectX9 performance of your graphics card. 3DMark06 is the most downloaded benchmark and the ORB database of 3DMark 06 results, maintained by Futuremark, now contains over 8.5 million 3DMark06 benchmark scores from around the world. Three main graphic tests from 3DMark05 were carried over to 3DMark06 and updated. The tests included in 3DMark 06 feature HDR rendering, shadow mapping, water surfaces created using pixel shaders with HDR refraction, HDR reflection, depth fog and Gerstner wave functions, heterogeneous fog, light scattering and cloud blending, etc.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px\" title=\"3DMark-06\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/3dmark06-png.png?resize=540%2C574\" border=\"0\" alt=\"3DMark-06\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>3DMark Vantage<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>3DMark Vantage is a PC benchmark suite designed to test the DirectX10 performance of your graphics card. It is the latest addition to the 3DMark series. As it is a DX10-only benchmark, it only runs on Windows Vista and Windows 7. 3DMark Vantage is composed of four full-bore benchmarking tests (2 CPU tests and 2 GPU tests) and 6 feature tests. This test makes good use of multi-core CPUs and can even use Nvidia\u2019s PhysX technology on its GeForce lineup of video cards.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px\" title=\"3DMark-Vantage\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/3dmarkvantage-png.png?resize=527%2C572\" border=\"0\" alt=\"3DMark-Vantage\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s move on to some gaming benchmarks.<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Call of Juarez--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Call of Juarez<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Call of Juarez<\/em> <\/strong>is one of the earliest DirectX10 games from the Polish developer Techland. It is a First Person Shooter set in the Wild West, loosely based on a number of Western movie hits which were popular in the sixties and early seventies. <em>Call of Juarez<\/em> uses the Chrome Engine which utilizes modern game programming technologies and techniques such as\u00a0 High Dynamic Range (HDR) rendering, Support for all modern per-pixel lighting and rendering techniques including normal mapping, relief mapping, self-shadowing using ambient occlusion, subsurface scattering simulating diffusion and diffraction of rays finding their way through translucent objects; realistic water surfaces based on dynamic liquid system, real time HDR reflections and refraction, fading underwater visibility based on distance.<\/p>\n<p>We used the benchmark tool that is added to the game with the patch 1.1.1.0. Since this game is very tough on even high end video cards, a HD 4650 was not able to play it smoothly at 1280&#215;1024 with the highest settings. So we have split the settings into a \u201cBest Playable\u201d and \u201cHighest Quality\u201d at 1280&#215;1024 resolution. In the \u201cBest Playable\u201d setting we have tried to achieve an average framerate of 25.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the \u201cBest Playable\u201d Settings:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cojplayablesettings-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"COJ-Playable-Settings\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cojplayablesettings_thumb-png.png?resize=150%2C140\" border=\"0\" alt=\"COJ-Playable-Settings\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"Call-of-Juarez-Best-Playabl\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/callofjuarezbestplayabl-png.png?resize=551%2C747\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Call-of-Juarez-Best-Playabl\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Next up is the \u201cHighest Settings\u201d category.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cojsettings-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"COJ-Settings\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cojsettings_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=150%2C139\" border=\"0\" alt=\"COJ-Settings\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"Call-of-Juarez-Max\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/callofjuarezmax-png.png?resize=461%2C546\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Call-of-Juarez-Max\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A HD 4770 represents the sweet spot in this game if you want to play it smoothly with maximum details. An alternate would be the HD 4850 which should give you about the same performance.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at the benchmark running with the same max settings, but now running at 1920&#215;1200:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"COJ-19x12\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/coj19x12-png.png?resize=555%2C499\" border=\"0\" alt=\"COJ-19x12\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Shown below is the screenshot from Rivatuner showing the CPU and GPU usage with the benchmark running on the HD 4650 Stock Configuration on \u201cBest Playable\u201d settings.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"Call_of_Juarez-Best-Playabl\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/call_of_juarezbestplayabl-png.png?resize=389%2C309\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Call_of_Juarez-Best-Playabl\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The videos below show the overclocked HD 4650 configuration running the benchmark in \u201cBest Playable\u201d settings. Youtube&#8217;s HD stream is 720p 2Mbps, while the Blip stream is 1080p 6Mbps high quality.<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/Glj2172_org&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/Glj2172_org&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj3EwA%2Em4v\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" src=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj3EwA%2Em4v\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Call of Duty 4--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Call of Duty 4<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.callofduty.com\/CoDMW\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.callofduty.com\/CoDMW', 'Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare']);\" >Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare<\/a><\/em> was one of the most successful games of 2007.\u00a0 It was the top-selling game worldwide for 2007, selling over seven million copies by January 2008. It uses a proprietary game engine that includes features such as true world-dynamic lightning, HDR lighting effects, dynamics shadows, and depth of field. It features a fictional story set in the near-future. The most well-received part of the game is its multiplayer modes, where you earn experience points for kills and completing certain tasks online. These experience points unlock certain abilities and new and more powerful guns which can tip the balance in your favor in online matches.<\/p>\n<p>For testing this game, I recorded a timedemo on the \u201cVacant\u201d map. The demo was recorded while trying to capture some of the most graphically intense sections of the game like throwing a smoke grenade and then walking and shooting in it which really brings all the cards to their knees resulting in the minimum FPS. The demo was played back at normal speed with the demo command from the console and the results were recorded by FRAPS.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the settings used:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cod4settings1-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"COD4-Settings-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cod4settings1_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=275%2C220\" border=\"0\" alt=\"COD4-Settings-1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cod4settings2-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"COD4-Settings-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cod4settings2_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=275%2C220\" border=\"0\" alt=\"COD4-Settings-2\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"COD4-12x10\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cod412x10-png.png?resize=557%2C809\" border=\"0\" alt=\"COD4-12x10\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The HD 4650 provides a pretty smooth experience except where we pass through the smoke resulting in the dip in FPS in all of the cards. Considering we are using 4AA, this has to be considered a\u00a0 pretty good result. You could always relax the settings on AA if you desire more FPS.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at 1920&#215;1200 performance:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"COD4-19x12\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/cod419x12-png.png?resize=552%2C504\" border=\"0\" alt=\"COD4-19x12\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Again we see the smoke section bringing the HD 4870 and the HD 4890 to their knees, and just managing to stay playable.<\/p>\n<p>Shown below is the screenshot from Rivatuner showing the CPU and GPU usage with the benchmark running on the HD 4650 stock configuration at 1280&#215;1024 resolution.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"Call_of_Duty_4\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/call_of_duty_4-png.png?resize=316%2C274\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Call_of_Duty_4\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The videos below show the overclocked HD 4650 configuration running the benchmark. The Youtube&#8217;s HD stream is 720p 2Mbps, while the Blip stream is 1080p 6Mbps high quality.<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/A1aswjgp5Ks&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/A1aswjgp5Ks&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZjwNQA%2Em4v\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" src=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZjwNQA%2Em4v\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:GRID--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>GRID<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Race Driver: GRID<\/strong><\/em> is the latest addition to the TOCA Touring Car series by Codemasters. GRID is a hybrid between arcade and simulator of mainly road racing that consists of 43 cars featuring very fast racing, awesome graphics, along with a great damage model that leads to some of the most fantastic crashes we have seen in a game. There are several types of competitions for different cars: GT races, open wheel races, demolition derbies, etc.\u00a0 There are also several tracks from different countries, including Japan, the United States and European tracks, such as Le Mans and Spa Francorchamps.\u00a0 A track racing through the streets of Milan is also available.<\/p>\n<p>I use the GRID Demo for the benchmark. I take the first place in the first lap and use the second lap for benchmarking purposes.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the settings we used:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/gridsettings1-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"GRID-Settings-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/gridsettings1_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=185%2C101\" border=\"0\" alt=\"GRID-Settings-1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/gridsettings2-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"GRID-Settings-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/gridsettings2_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=185%2C101\" border=\"0\" alt=\"GRID-Settings-2\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/gridsettings3-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"GRID-Settings-3\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/gridsettings3_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=185%2C101\" border=\"0\" alt=\"GRID-Settings-3\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"GRID-12x10\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/grid12x10-png.png?resize=560%2C691\" border=\"0\" alt=\"GRID-12x10\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The HD 4650 Stock configuration provides a smooth experience in one of the best looking racing games ever even at stock. Overclocking the platform only makes the experience better.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"GRID-19x12\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/grid19x12-png.png?resize=568%2C527\" border=\"0\" alt=\"GRID-19x12\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Shown below is the screenshot from Rivatuner showing the CPU and GPU usage with the benchmark running on the HD 4650 stock configuration at 1280&#215;1024 resolution.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"GRID\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/grid-png.png?resize=382%2C308\" border=\"0\" alt=\"GRID\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The videos below show the overclocked HD 4650 configuration running the benchmark. The Youtube&#8217;s HD stream is 720p 2Mbps, while the Blip stream is 1080p 6Mbps high quality.<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/REXiW-gxay4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/REXiW-gxay4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj3MwA%2Em4v\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" src=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj3MwA%2Em4v\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Street Fighter IV--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Street Fighter IV<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Street Fighter<\/em> is one of the most popular and historical games. First released by Capcom for arcades in 1987, it has wowed gamers all around the world ever since. <em>Street Fighter IV<\/em> is the first numbered <em>Street Fighter<\/em> game released by Capcom for the arcades since 1999. It was released for coin-operated arcade machines in July 2008; for consoles in February, 2009 and the PC got its version in July, 2009. <em>Street Fighter IV<\/em> sold more than 2.5 million copies since its release.<\/p>\n<p>It features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D while the gameplay takes place in a traditional 2D plane.<\/p>\n<p>A benchmark for the PC version can be downloaded from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gamershell.com\/news_78322.html\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.gamershell.com\/news_78322.html', 'here']);\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the settings used:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/streetfighterivsettings1-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"StreetFighterIV Settings 1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/streetfighterivsettings1_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=275%2C220\" border=\"0\" alt=\"StreetFighterIV Settings 1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/streetfighterivsettings2-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"StreetFighterIV Settings 2\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/streetfighterivsettings2_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=275%2C220\" border=\"0\" alt=\"StreetFighterIV Settings 2\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"SFIV\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/sfiv-png.png?resize=553%2C429\" border=\"0\" alt=\"SFIV\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is another game that the HD 4650 + Athlon platform is able to play comfortably.<\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"SFIV-19x12\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/sfiv19x12-png.png?resize=554%2C260\" border=\"0\" alt=\"SFIV-19x12\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Shown below is the screenshot from Rivatuner showing the CPU and GPU usage with the benchmark running on the HD 4650 stock configuration at 1280&#215;1024 resolution.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"Street Fighter\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/streetfighter-png.png?resize=375%2C310\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Street Fighter\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It is interesting to see that this game is not even using 100% of the video card.<\/p>\n<p>The videos below show the overclocked HD 4650 configuration running the benchmark. The Youtube&#8217;s HD stream is 720p 2Mbps, while the Blip stream is 1080p 6Mbps high quality.<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/LzWFqjsWIYE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/LzWFqjsWIYE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj3VwA%2Em4v\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" src=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj3VwA%2Em4v\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl<\/strong><\/em>, previously known as <em><strong>S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost<\/strong><\/em>, is a first-person shooter computer game by Ukrainian developer <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gsc-game.com\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.gsc-game.com\/', 'GSC Game World']);\" >GSC Game World<\/a>, published in 2007. It features an alternate reality theme, where a second nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the near future and causes strange changes in the area around it. It features a non-linear storyline which feature role-playing gameplay elements such as trading and allying with NPC factions. The player assumes the identity of a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.; an illegal artifact scavenger in \u201cThe Zone\u201d which encompasses roughly 30 square kilometers.<\/p>\n<p>We are using a custom recorded timedemo for benchmark purposes. The Steam version of this game is used. Here are the settings used:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/stalkersettings-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"STALKER-Settings\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/stalkersettings_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=275%2C220\" border=\"0\" alt=\"STALKER-Settings\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/stalkersettings1-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px\" title=\"STALKER-Settings-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/stalkersettings1_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=275%2C220\" border=\"0\" alt=\"STALKER-Settings-1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"STALKER-12x10\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/stalker12x10-png.png?resize=551%2C729\" border=\"0\" alt=\"STALKER-12x10\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The HD4650 based platform is able to play through this game with relative ease.<\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"STALKER-19x12\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/stalker19x12-png.png?resize=552%2C518\" border=\"0\" alt=\"STALKER-19x12\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Shown below is the screenshot from Rivatuner showing the CPU and GPU usage with the benchmark running on the HD 4650 stock configuration at 1280&#215;1024 resolution.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"STALKER_SOC\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/stalker_soc-png.png?resize=316%2C275\" border=\"0\" alt=\"STALKER_SOC\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The videos below show the overclocked HD 4650 configuration running the benchmark. The Youtube&#8217;s HD stream is 720p 2Mbps, while the Blip stream is 1080p 6Mbps high quality.<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/gGkEvUI9D1w&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/gGkEvUI9D1w&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj3VQA%2Em4v\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" src=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj3VQA%2Em4v\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Team Fortress 2--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Team Fortress 2<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Team Fortress 2<\/strong><\/em> is a team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve.\u00a0 A sequel to Valve\u2019s previous <em>Team Fortress Classic<\/em>, it was first released as part of the video game compilation <em>The Orange Box, <\/em>which featured games like <em>Half Life 2:Episode 2<\/em> and <em>Portal<\/em>. <em>Team Fortress 2<\/em> is focused around two opposing teams competing for an objective. Players can choose to play as one of nine classes in these teams, each with his own unique strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n<p>This game gives a good idea of performance of other games based on Valve\u2019s source engine. We are using a custom recorded timedemo for benchmarking.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the settings used:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tf2settings-jpg.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"TF2-Settings\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tf2settings_thumb-jpg.jpg?resize=275%2C140\" border=\"0\" alt=\"TF2-Settings\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"TF2-12x10\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tf212x10-png.png?resize=552%2C839\" border=\"0\" alt=\"TF2-12x10\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Using this Value platform you will be able to do some multiplayer gaming pretty comfortably even if you are using 8xAA.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto\" title=\"TF2-19x12\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tf219x12-png.png?resize=464%2C491\" border=\"0\" alt=\"TF2-19x12\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Shown below is the screenshot from Rivatuner showing the CPU and GPU usage with the benchmark running on the HD 4650 Stock Configuration at 1280&#215;1024 resolution.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px\" title=\"TF2\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tf2-jpg.jpg?resize=318%2C314\" border=\"0\" alt=\"TF2\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>Here we see a good use of a dual core CPU, but not such a good use of the GPU.<\/p>\n<p>The videos below show the Overclocked HD 4650 configuration running the benchmark. Youtube HD stream is 720p 2Mbps, while the Blip stream is 1080p 6Mbps high quality.<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/IqMwZH4T4as&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"340\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/IqMwZH4T4as&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x3a3a3a&amp;color2=0x999999\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<object classid=\"clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\"><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj4AQA%2Em4v\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" src=\"http:\/\/blip.tv\/play\/g9cBgZj4AQA%2Em4v\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/embed><\/object>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Power Usage and Undervolting--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Power Usage and Undervolting<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The world is in a recession. Many people are getting laid off and having to cut back on their expenses. Some users out there might be looking to save some money on their monthly electricity bill and they will definitely be interested in the power usage of this platform. But I am also interested in reducing the voltage on the CPU to see how low it can go.<\/p>\n<p>AMD\u2019s Cool&amp;Quiet and C1E power saving technologies were enabled.<\/p>\n<p>The lowest voltage the PC was stable was at 1.125V which is normal Vcore-0.225V. The stability was tested by running Cinebench R10 xCPU bench and a game at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the CPU-Z screens of <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">undervolted<\/span><\/strong> idle and load states.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/lowvoltlowestvoltage-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Low-Volt-Lowest-Voltage\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/lowvoltlowestvoltage_thumb-png.png?resize=315%2C303\" alt=\"Low-Volt-Lowest-Voltage\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/lowvoltmaxstable-png.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: 0pt none; display: inline;\" title=\"Low-Volt-Max-Stable\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/lowvoltmaxstable_thumb-png.png?resize=240%2C303\" alt=\"Low-Volt-Max-Stable\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here are the power usage numbers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note the voltages in this test:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Overclocked (Cool&amp;Quiet disabled)<\/strong> : CPU Vcore (Idle&amp;Load) \u2013 1.475V, RAM \u2013 1.8V, NB &#8211; +0.75V, all other voltages normal<\/li>\n<li><strong>Undervolted (Cool&amp;Quiet enabled)<\/strong> : CPU Vcore Idle\/Load \u2013 0.768V\/1.125V, RAM \u2013 1.5V, all other voltages normal<\/li>\n<li><strong>Normal Voltage (Cool&amp;Quiet enabled)<\/strong> : CPU Vcore Idle\/Load \u2013 0.992V\/1.35V, RAM \u2013 1.5V, all other voltages normal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px\" title=\"Power-usage\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/powerusage-png.png?resize=462%2C315\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Power-usage\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>People thinking about using this platform for HTPC use would appreciate the low power usage in undervolted mode; especially the lower heat output which means that slow spinning\/quiet fans can be used in the system. <!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:Conclusion--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I hope you liked all the extra features along with the regular staple diet of graphs. What we saw today is nothing short of extraordinary value. For $400, or even less if you migrate your old hardware, you get to play lots and lots of games on this PC with maximum details at 1280&#215;1024 resolution and some of the older ones at probably higher resolution. This gives you more value than your current console when you consider the HTPC use, web browsing and all other capabilities you get with a PC. Although this PC would not play some of the latest games such as Crysis, STALKER:Clear Sky, World in Conflict, Lost Planet with absolutely maximum details with AA+AF &#8211; it will play a lot of other games that have been released on PC in its history.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>GIGABYTE MA770T-UD3P<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pros <\/strong><br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Great Overclockability    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Numerous BIOS options for overclocking    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Ample USB ports    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> 8 channel HD audio    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Support for 140W TDP CPUs<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cons <\/strong><br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Smaller in width (about 3cm) than normal sized ATX motherboards\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> First memory slot close to the CPU cooler    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Placement of the 8-pin CPU connector near the middle of the board    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Bare CPU power circuitry<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>AMD Athlon II X2 250<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pros <\/strong><br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Great Overclockability    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Small size, not just a harvested Phenom die    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Low power consumption and heat output, ideal for HTPCs<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>HD 4650 <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pros<\/strong><br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Good Overclockablity    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Good performance for its price    <br \/>\n <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.dotnetscraps.com\/samples\/bullets\/021.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" align=\"middle\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Low power usage, more than enough for HTPC use<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned for the next part, where I replace the CPU with Phenom II X2 550 and see what kind of performance advantage we get over the Athlon II.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304 <\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 138705 <\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1', 'World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech']);\" target=\"_blank\">World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech<\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><br class=\"spacer_\" \/><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=10535\"><img decoding=\"async\" align=top title=\"Author: Karan\" src=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Front-Page-Part-2.png\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7814,6,7],"tags":[72,73,649,1882,130,954,1212,1143,107],"class_list":["post-10535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-news","category-technology","tag-amd","tag-ati","tag-corsair","tag-crucial","tag-games","tag-gigabyte","tag-kingston","tag-micron","tag-windows"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}