Testing (continued):
3DMark Vantage:
While gaming performance is far more dependent on things like the CPU and GPU, 3DMark Vantage was executed to see if the results would vary if only the system memory was changed. Keep in mind that the speed of the processor was about 3.2GHz (8x 400MHz) with the memory running at 1600MHz and that the speed of the CPU was about 3.4GHz (8x 425MHz) with the memory running at 1700MHz. The results below were executed in 32-Bit Windows Vista Home Premium, in 3DMark's Performance mode, and with the display resolution set to 1280x1024 (higher is better).
The results are all very good, but nothing about the G.Skill kit's performance really stands out here. You can't go wrong with this kit installed, but it obviously isn't going to help you to the top of the 3DMark Vantage leader board all on its own.
Track Mania Nations Forever Benchmark:
The final test executed was the benchmark built in to the game Track Mania Nations Forever. In the 32-Bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium the settings were all put on high, the resolution was 1280x1024, anti-aliasing was set to 8x, and anisotropic filtering was set to 8x, I set out to see what impact memory would have on gaming performance (higher is better).
While 3DMark Vantage indicated that gaming performance wouldn't be improved by switching to the G.SKill Pi Series memory kit, and actual game says otherwise. At stock speeds the extra capacity of this 4GB kit provides a boost of 5.5 frames per second (or 8.9%) over the next best kit, and overclocking brings the total improvement to 10.4%.
