In order to test all motherboards, we used the same components so as to have the most objective results:

DDR2 Memory Testbed (Asus P5K Premium, Gigabyte P35-DQ6, Asus Blitz Formula)

• CPU: Retail Intel E6600
• CPU Cooler: Stock Intel + additional fan
• Memory: 2x1GB Crucial PC-8000 (1067MHz @ 5-5-5-15-2T@ 2.25V)
• VGA: MSI 7600GT Silent with Nvidia 163.71 installed
• HDD: WD 80GB SATAI (primary)
• HDD: Seagate 80GB SATAII (secondary)
• Operating system: Windows XP SP2 with all latest updates installed

DDR3 Memory Testbed (Asus P5K3 Deluxe, Asus Bltz Extreme, Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe)

• CPU: Retail Intel E6600
• CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7
• Memory: 2x1GB SuperTalent PC3-1600 CL7 (1067MHz @ 5-5-5-15-1T, 1.80V)
• VGA: MSI 7600GT Silent with Nvidia 163.71 installed
• HDD: WD 80GB SATAI (primary)
• HDD: Seagate 80GB SATAII (secondary)
• Operating system: Windows XP SP2 with all latest updates installed

We used a variety of benchmark software to measure the performance of each motherboard:

• Sisoft Sandra XII
• Everest Lavasys Ultimated Edition 2007
• SuperPI Mod v1.5XS
• PC Mark05 v1.2.0
• 3D Mark06 v1.2.0
• ScienceMark 2
• POV 3.70 beta15
• CineBench R9.5
• CineBench R10
• SysMark 2007 Preview
• WorldBench 6 Beta 2
• x264 Benchmark
• Lost Planet Demo