3DMark2001SE	Source: FutureMark

By combining DirectX8 support with completely new graphics, 3DMark 2001 SE continues to provide a good overall system benchmark. 3DMark2001 SE was created in co-operation with the major 3D accelerator and processor manufacturers to provide a reliable set of diagnostic tools. The suite demonstrates 3D gaming performance by using real-world gaming technology to test a system's true abilities. Tests include: DirectX8 Vertex Shaders, Pixel Shaders and Point Sprites, DOT3 and Environment Mapped Bump Mapping, support for Full Scene Anti-aliasing and Texture Compression and two game tests using Ipion real-time physics. Higher 3DMark scores denote better performance.

3DMark2001SE
Memory:	Points	Ranking
2x 512MB Corsair TwinX1024-3200XL PRO (200/400)	28053
2x 512MB Centon GEMiNi PC3200 (200/400)	28340
2x 512MB OCZ PC4000 Gold DC VX (200/400)	28102
2x 512MB OCZ PC4000 Gold DC VX (268/536)	29431

3DMark2001 is essentially a system benchmark these days. The OCZ PC4000 Gold Dual Channel VX sees a large boost due to the increased memory bandwidth when overclocked.

3DMark05	Source: FutureMark

3DMark05 is the latest version of the highly favoured 3DMark graphics benchmarking series. It is the first benchmark to require DirectX®9.0 compliant hardware with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 or higher.

3DMark05
Overall:	Points	Ranking
2x 512MB Corsair TwinX1024-3200XL PRO (200/400)	5598
2x 512MB Centon GEMiNi PC3200 (200/400)	5597
2x 512MB OCZ PC4000 Gold DC VX (200/400)	5594
2x 512MB OCZ PC4000 Gold DC VX (268/536)	5600
CPU:	Points	Ranking
2x 512MB Corsair TwinX1024-3200XL PRO (200/400)	5009
2x 512MB Centon GEMiNi PC3200 (200/400)	5015
2x 512MB OCZ PC4000 Gold DC VX (200/400)	5009
2x 512MB OCZ PC4000 Gold DC VX (268/536)	5492

3DMark05 is mostly taxing on videocards, so it shouldn't be a surprise the overall scores are so close considering that all the modules in the test are running on the same platform. The increased memory bandwidth when overclocking gives the OCZ PC4000 Gold Dual Channel VX system a slight edge in the CPU tests.

X2: The Threat	Source: Egosoft

A completely rewritten 3D engine based on DirectX8 encompasses many visual effects such as volumetric Nebulae (gas clouds) that have a real impact in the game (you can hide in them) and many new engine, shield, weapon and explosion effects. Objects cast real dynamic 3D shadows! Dynamic DP3 bump mapping allows a previously unseen level of detail.

X2 The Threat
640x480:	FPS	Ranking
2x 512MB Corsair TwinX1024-3200XL PRO (200/400)	193.801
2x 512MB Centon GEMiNi PC3200 (200/400)	193.488
2x 512MB OCZ PC4000 Gold DC VX (200/400)	191.11
2x 512MB OCZ PC4000 Gold DC VX (268/536)	197.743

In our first real world game benchmark, the results are quite disappointing. Despite all the increased bandwidth and the other synthetic benchmarks reporting better performance, X2: The Threat only shows a slight boost in framerate. Let's see what the other game benchmarks say...