Intel Xeon X3210 2.13GHz Quad-Core B3-Revision

Regardless of the OS we are running or product being reviewed, there are a few conditions that need to be met:

• Desktop and scrap files are cleaned up, including emptying of recycle bin/trash.
• No virus scanner or firewall is installed in our stand-alone installations.
• Internet is completely disabled prior to any testing.
• Computer has proper airflow and room temperature is 80°F or less.

Here is the machine used for testing, followed by our operating systems configurations.

• Processor: Intel Xeon X3210 2.13GHz Quad-Core
Compared Processors
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40GHz
• Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 3.0GHz
• Motherboard: ASUS P5K3 Deluxe WiFi-AP
• Memory: OCZ 2GB Platinum DDR3-1333 (7-7-7-20, 1.7v)
• Video: ASUS 8800GTX 768MB (NVIDIA 158.22)
• Sound: Onboard HD Audio
• Storage: Seagate 7200.10 320GB
• Etcetera: Windows XP Professional SP2, Windows Vista Ultimate, Fedora 7 x86
• Cooling: Corsair Nautilus 500
  * 1066FSB processors are run with DDR3-1066 6-6-6-15 1.6v

For our CPU reviews, we use two different versions of Windows and one version of Linux. Even though Vista has been out for half a year now, we focus on XP because it has a much wider user base, and is preferred for the best performance and compatibility. Vista is used only for our SYSmark 2007 Preview suite.

Windows XP Professional SP2
• Screensaver and all power-related options are disabled.
• All chipset/motherboard drivers are installed, in addition to GPU.
• Windows Update is called in if a specific update is needed.
• Internet is disabled.

Windows Vista Ultimate
• Screensaver and all power-related options are disabled.
• Welcome Center is disabled.
• UAC is disabled.
• Critical Windows Updates are downloaded, including a fix for the GPU.
• Security Center is altered to never nag about the settings.
• Internet is disabled, and Aero theme is enabled.

Fedora 7 x86
• During installation, Firewall and SELinux are disabled.
• GCC 4.1.2, Flex and Bison are installed.
• Internet is disabled.

Game benchmarking is an important part of testing the capabilities of a CPU, and for this review we’ve included four popular titles: Half-Life 2, Prey, STALKER and Supreme Commander. Average FPS is captured using FRAPS 2.8.2, except for Prey, which is our only non-manual game.

Half-Life, Prey and Stalker are played at 1600×1200 with 4xAA, Half-Life being the only one with bumped AF.

Supreme Commander is the only game run at 1920×1200 with all options maxed alongside an 8xAA. This is because the game is multi-core compatible, and we wanted to see if the game would benefit from a quad-core in a realistic scenario.

Each game play through lasts between 3 and 5 minutes, except Supreme Commander which lasts closer to 8. All run-throughs are manually played, except for Prey which uses a time demo, in order to break through the 60FPS hard-limit. Results are captured using FRAPS 2.82.

Half-Life 2: Episode 1
ep1_c17_02a

STALKER
Thumb Drive Mission

Prey
Keepers Fortress

Supreme Commander
Finn’s Revenge

All other non-game benchmarks will be explained along the way. Without further ado, let’s proceed.