HQV Benchmark 2.0 Analysis – ATi, nVidia and Intel

Our test results today will be gathered from various systems and a broad cross section of graphics hardware.

For nVidia will be using their latest Forceware driver 257.15 beta and for ATI the June 2010 edition of its WHQL driver, Catalyst 10.6, which features new media functionality (and should just be released by the time you are reading this). Options such as Mosquito Noise Reduction and Deblocking have been added and help improve the picture quality. There is also improved Cadence Detection, Skin Tone Correction and Dynamic Contrast. I will speak about these more later during some of the tests.

To accurately test the hardware today everything is being routed via digital output through our reference LaCie 730 Monitor. We have attempted to arrange a variety of systems to suit every budget. 750w and 850w power supplies courtesy of Corsair.

We would like to thank (in no particular order): Intel, AMD Canada/Europe, Corsair, nVidia, Crucial, Kingston, ADATA,  Zotac, Mesh, YoyoTech, Asus, Dell, Noctua, Sapphire, XFX for their support with this review and getting hold of various hardware.

System 1: Intel GMA X4500 (G41) based desktop system
This is an entry level system with integrated Intel graphics. It uses Intel's GMA X4500 and is equipped with a Quad Core Intel Q6700 processor which runs at 2.66ghz. There is 2GB of DDR3-1066mhz memory in this system and we are using Intel's display driver, V15.​17.​4.​2119

System 2: Intel HD Graphics (i3)
This is based around an Intel IGP solution with a Core i3 540 processor running at 3.06ghz. We have 2GB of DDR3 1066mhz ram in this system and Intel driver V15.​17.​4.​2119 is used.

System 3: HD Radeon 4200 (RS880 IGP)
An AMD Integrated graphics system, which utilises a HD4200 processor with an Athlon X4 945 Black Edition which runs at 3 ghz. We have 4GB of Crucial Ballistix 1600mhz DDR3 in this system. We are using Catalyst 10.6 for testing (V 8.741).

System 4: HD Radeon 5450/5550/5770/5850/5870 (Discrete)
In this AMD system we are using an Intel Core i7 875k Cpu running at 2.93ghz. We are using 4GB of ADATA DDR3 2000mhz ram running at 1600mhz. We are using Catalyst 10.6 for testing (V8.741).

System 5: nVidia G210/G220 (Discrete)
This is a system based around an Intel Core i5 750 processor running at 2.66ghz. The machine was equipped with 4GB of Crucial DDR3 memory running at 1600mhz. Display driver 275.15 beta was used for testing.

System 6: nVidia GTX465/GTX480 (Discrete)
This system is based around a Core i7 980x system running at 3.33ghz. The machine was equipped with 6GB of Crucial DDR3 memory running at 1600mhz. Display driver 275.15 beta was used for testing.

HQV contains 39 tests, organised into four major Classifications. Each of these comprises a number of chapters and each chapter offers specific tests. You run the test, look at the results, compare what you see to the guidance book and give your score. Easy!   We had laid out the chart below for ease of use and we will look at each later in the article.

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