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| by MAC | July 2, 2009 | ||
| Test Setup & Methodology Test Setup & Methodology  Click on image to enlarge Test Platform:  Testing will occur on a Highspeed PC Standard Top Deck Tech Station and not in a traditional case. This allows easier access to the motherboard for the constant poking and prodding that is required during the reviewing process. The setup remained as pictured during the duration of the benchmarking and stability overclocking process. Overclocking MethodologyAs part of the Republic of Gamers product line, this model is designed with high-level overclocking in mind. As result, we expect to achieve some impressive overclocking results and we are definitely going to find out what it is truly capable of. The overclocking section is definitely the part of our reviews that we take the most pride in, and we spend an excruciating numbers of hours testing, tweaking, failing, and eventually succeeding in order to give you the best possible insight into each motherboard’s overclocking capabilities. After all, if you are anything like us, the overclocking section is the first (and often last!) part that you read when checking out a motherboard review. For the purposes of this review, our overclocking efforts will primarily focus on three main areas: highest stable front-side bus (FSB) overclock, and highest stable overall overclock. In these three overclocking tests we put an emphasis on stability. While the question “What is stable?” could be debated endlessly, we have devised a methodology that combines a wide range of programs that test the stability of the entire system. Here is the suite of applications that will be run in order to validate each of the overclocks:
Altogether, the above suite should provide enough stress testing to ensure a completely stable overclock, however we are always up for new suggestions. As always, no two systems are ever alike, so your results may vary. Also, overclock at your own risk! If you aren’t fully confident in what you are doing, feel free to stop by our forums and our helpful community will be glad to offer some assistance. Benchmark MethodologyIn our benchmarking section, we will be comparing the ASUS Maximus II GENE to the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6 (F12 BIOS), a mature high-end P45 motherboard, in both stock and overclocked configurations. Keep in mind that there is generally a minuscule clock-for-clock performance difference between two motherboards that share an identical chipset and declaring one product a winner based on a 1% performance advantages seems futile to us.  We have outlined the two setups in both stock and overclocked configurations in the sample graph above. The purple and green results will indicate the performance at the stock BIOS defaults. All the settings were at the default that the respective BIOSes set. The blue and red results were achieved with the following overclocked settings: Core 2 Duo @ 4.0Ghz (8 x 500Mhz FSB), 2 x 1GB DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15, Performance Level of 8, all CPU energy-saving features disabled. For all of the benchmarks, appropriate lengths are taken to ensure an equal comparison through methodical setup, installation, and testing. The following outlines our testing methodology: A) Windows is installed following a full format. B) Intel Chipset drivers and accessory hardware drivers (audio, network, GPU) are installed followed by a defragment and a reboot. C) Programs and games are then installed followed by another defragment. D) Windows updates are then completed installing all available updates followed by a defragment. E) Benchmarks are each ran three times after a clean reboot for every iteration of the benchmark unless otherwise stated, the results are then averaged. We have listed the benchmark versions on each graph as results can vary between updates. That should about cover everything so let's see what kind of numbers this motherboard puts up in the overclocking section and in our chosen suite of benchmarks. | ||
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