3. Install And Load Times For Games

The fastest system is no fun to use, if installing a game from a DVD stretches into eternity or when loading game levels takes too long. To test this behavior, we installed Need For Speed from DVD onto all of our test systems, measuring time with a stopwatch. We measured load times for game levels using Oblivion's first savegame menu option.

In both of these tests, the Aurora M7700 clearly leads the entire pack. In the case of the Asus A7J, for example, we learned how bothersome it can be when an optical drive has difficulty reading data quickly from an original, pristine DVD.