ECS GF9300T-A Black Series Motherboard Review

How We Tested

During our benchmarking sessions, we used the configuration listed below. Between our benchmarking sessions the only variable was the motherboard being tested and the addition or removal of a “real” video card (Sapphire Radeon HD 3450).

Hardware Configuration

• Motherboard revision: 1.0
• CPU: Pentium Dual Core E2180 (2 GHz, 1 MB L2 memory cache)
• Memory: 2 GB Corsair Dominator TWIN2X2048-8500C5D (DDR2-1066/PC2-8500 with 5-5-5-15 timings), configured at 800 MHz with 5-5-5-18 timings.
• Hard Disk Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 160 GB (ST3160815AS, SATA-300, 7,200 rpm, 8 MB buffer)
• Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 3450 256 MB, 64-bit memory interface (on some tests, se
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• Video resolution: 1440×900 75 Hz
• Video Monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 932BW
• Power Supply: OCZ ProXStream 1000 W
• CPU Cooler: Intel stock cooler
• Optical Drive: LG GSA-H54N

Software Configuration

• Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit
• Service Pack 1

Driver Versions

• NVIDIA video driver version: 7.15.11.7615
• ATI video driver version: Catalyst 8.9 (for Radeon HD 3450)

Software Used

• PCMark Vantage Professional 1.0.0
• 3DMark06 Professional 1.1.0 + October 2007 Hotfix
• Folding at Home GPU client 6.20r1
• Half-Life 2: Episode Two – Patch June 9th 2008 + HardwareOC Half-Life 2 Episode Two Benchmark Tool 1.2.0.0
• Quake 4 – Patch 1.4.2
• Unreal Tournament 3 – Patch 1.2 + HardwareOC UT3 Benchmark Tool 1.2.0.0

Some Information About our Methodology

All motherboards included in our comparison were configured with 256 MB shared memory.

Since we were reviewing a motherboard with on-board video, we were very interested in comparing its 3D video performance with the performance achieved by other motherboards with on-board video and also with a very low-end video card, so we could have an idea of how slower on-board video is compared to a very inexpensive video card. We chose Sapphire Radeon HD 3450 with 256 MB and 64-bit memory interface because this is one of the cheapest video cards available today.

We chose an entry-level CPU to go with the motherboard, a Pentium Dual Core E2180. It is our opinion that a regular user wouldn’t pick a high-end CPU to go with a motherboard with on-board video and that is why we kept this CPU, but of course there is space for discussion. Unfortunately there is no way to create a methodology that pleases all opinions and that is why we are sticking to ours. On other websites you can find reviews for GeForce 9300-based motherboards using other methodologies, which is great, as you can have an idea of their performance using different components and programs. It would make no sense if all websites published the same tests and results, don’t you think?

Even though we had DDR2-1066 memories, we configured them as DDR2-800 units, since entry-level PCs won’t use DDR2-1066 memories and all motherboards we included in our comparison can only access memory up to 800 MHz.

Error Margin

We adopted a 3% error margin; thus, differences below 3% cannot be considered relevant. In other words, products with a performance difference below 3% should be considered as having similar performance.