Gaming tests
Gaming, as always, begins with 3DMark2001SE. Remember, that both 900-series chipsets have done away with an AGP interface. Instead, both boards use the X16 PCI Express protocol for graphics data transfers. To make the comparisons as fair as possible, we've used GeForce 6800 GTs in both PCI Express and AGP forms.
Two aspects to note here. Firstly, both ASUS boards benchmark within a whisker of each other. Futuremark hasn't approved NVIDIA's 61.76 driver set, but you can see the score breakdown here and here. Secondly, notice just how far in front AMD's Athlon 64 Model 3800+ and an AGP-powered GeForce 6800 GT are.
A similar story in Comanche 4.
Our custom UT2003 low-detail test takes in a bot match. Consequently, the test becomes more subsystem than graphically limited. Another case where AMD's CPUs shine.
Quake III is pretty damn quick on any new system.