AquaMark is a relatively new DirectX 9 benchmark, and although it does not correspond to an actual game, it does use the same Krass engine as found in products such as Aquanox 2 and Spellforce. AquaMark 3 also supports new features such as Hyper-Threading, Pixel Shader and Vertex Shader 2.0, and uses a wide range of DirectX 9 effects and features. This makes it a great benchmark for our high-end platforms, and in this review, we've tested the Overall performance benchmark in standard 1024x768 32-bit mode.
AquaMark 3 is a very demanding DirectX 9 benchmark, and the results are once again pretty close between motherboards. The usual MSI and ASUS suspects are in the lead, and while the ASUS P4P800 Deluxe certainly proves up to the task, it does fall to the bottom of the i875P pile. The entry-level holds a bit of a surprise, with the ASUS P4P800S-E Deluxe posting a slim victory over the Soyo i865PE Dragon 2.
GunMetal is another DirectX 9 benchmark test, and uses the basic game engine (think Manga-based armor) to really stress a gaming PC. This is another very rough test that uses 2X AA as default, so don't be surprised at the relatively low framerate scores.
GunMetal gives a whole new meaning to CPU and video card dependence, and the scores are so close at to call it a dead heat. This test really doesn't illustrate any performance differences between the competing motherboards, but it does highlight that no every game or application will show higher performance with a faster motherboard or memory subsystem.
