Test Setup and Methodology:

We talked a little bit last week about the state of PC Gaming, and it looks like the situation is not improving much, especially with Infinity Ward's recently announced decision to remove PC-centric aspects of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, that could infect the game with a nasty case of portitis.  I am still vigilant in the hope that the availability of affordable yet powerful hardware will be an incentive for developers to bring some love to the PC gaming world again, however that is going to take some time. 

In the meantime, our test suite remains unchanged, with Crysis:Warhead heading up the eyecandy delivering, pixel-pushing, videocard torture that we crave.  Here is our complete test suite: 

• Crysis: Warhead

• X3: Terran Conflict

• Stalker: Clear Skies

• Unigine Tropics

• 3DMark06

• 3DMark Vantage

In addition, for the hwbot crowd, I am bringing back some classic benches that will see some action from the overclocking community:

• 3DMark01se

• 3DMark03

• 3DMark05

Our test bed, is identical to what we used in the HD5770 review, including 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate and our new SSD array.  We will also include the results of the previous HD5770 review:

Now, on to the testing!

Intro Card Layout Test Setup and Methodology 3DMark Unigine S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky X3: Terran Conflict Crysis: Warhead Overclocking Conclusion