Testing Configuration and Benchmarks Used
We compared the MSI X58 Platinum against two of Gigabyte’s entry-level and enthusiast-level boards – the GA-X58-UD3R and GA-X58-UD5. All three of these boards have very comparable specs and features, so we expect our benchmark results to be similar as well.
Our test bench consisted of the following components:
CPU: Intel i7-920 (running at 2.66GHz, 133×20)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+ Superclocked Edition
RAM: OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
PSU: PC Power & Cooling 750W 80 PLUS
HD: Western Digital 160GB SATA
Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
Our 64-bit test bench for Core i7 processors includes 6GB of RAM, a GeForce 9800GTX+ graphics card, and a Western Digital 160GB SATA hard drive for storage. This configuration is based off a typical mid-range users system.
Benchmarks used:
- SiSoft Sandra 2009 SP1
- CineBench 10
- LAME 3.97a MP3 Encoder
- Handbrake DVD compression
- 3DMark Vantage
- Crysis Warhead
- Far Cry 2
- PCMark Vantage
- HDTach 3.0.1.0 – SATA, eSATA, USB
