MSI FX5700 Ultra TD128 - Drivers and Test Setup

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The latest Forceware drivers from NVIDIA are version 53.03, which are also now WHQL certified. MSI already has this driver available on their website. I will be using the 53.03 drivers from NVIDIA's website in this review.

Notice in the third and fourth screenshots the default 2D and 3D speeds of the 5700 Ultra: 300/906MHz and 475/906MHz respectively. The last screenshot shows the temperature monitoring feature in use. The 5700U can detect both core and ambient temperature. The default core slowdown threshold is set at 129 degrees Celsius.
Today's test setup will be:

1. Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz "B" @ 3.0GHz (166 FSB)
2. Abit IS7 (i865P), F1 GAT setting
3. 2 x 512MB Kingston HyperX PC3200 Dual Channel (DDR322 2-6-2-2)
4. 2 x 40GB Western Digital WD400BB in RAID 0 array
5. Windows XP SP1 with DirectX 9.0b
6. MSI FX5700 Ultra-TD128 - 475/906MHz (default) using Forceware 53.03
7. FIC Radeon 9600Pro 128MB - 400/600MHz (default) using Catalyst 3.7
8. FIC Radeon 9600Pro 128MB - 479.25/796.5MHz (overclocked) using Catalyst 3.7
9. XFX FX5600 Ultra 128MB - 400/800MHz (default) using DetonatorFX 45.23
   Driver settings:
10. NVIDIA - image settings at Quality, D3D Mipmap Detail Level at Best image quality
11. ATI - texture preferences and mipmap detail level both at High Quality, quality AF used
12. Both - vsync off, 60Hz refresh rate.

The overclocked 9600Pro is being used as a substitute for a 9600XT, the 9600XT being the 5700 Ultra's prime competition. The 9600XT variant is identical to the 9600Pro in terms of technology, but is clocked at 500/600MHz. While a 9600Pro at 480/800 definitely does not represent accurately the performance of a 9600XT, it should be close. Expect the overclocked Pro to do better than the default XT in memory intensive apps but not as well as the default XT in apps involving pixel and vertex shaders.

In our first set of tests, all three GPUs (FX5600U, FX5700U, and 9600Pro) will be compared, with the 9600Pro running both stock and overclocked (to represent a XT). The later tests will focus on just the overclocked 9600Pro and 5700U. Also, the first four tests have built-in benchmarking functions, while in the latter games, a manual run-through was performed with FRAPS recording framerate.

Next: Testing UT2K3, Splinter Cell >>
 

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