Intel Core i5, Core i7 800 Processors and P55 Express

Name: Intel Core i5, Core i7 800 Processors and P55 Express - Page 15
Brand: Intel

by Marco Chiappetta — Monday, September 07, 2009, 11:59 PM EDT

For our next set of tests, we moved on to some high-resolution graphics benchmarking with 3DMark Vantage, ET:QW, and Left 4 Dead. For these tests, we've tested a Core i7 870 powered system outfitted with single, or dual GeForce GTX 275 (SLI) or Radeon HD 4890 (CrossFire) graphics cards. Due to the fact that these new Core i5 and i7 800 series processors feature integrated PCI Express lanes, and the graphics cards essentially connect directly to the CPU, we wanted to see how graphics performance and multi-GPU scaling were affected in more GPU bound circumstances.

High-Resolution Gaming: 3DMark Vantage

Taxing the Whole Rig

Both the GeForce GTX 275s and Radeon HD 4890s showed solid performance on the Core i7 870 / P55 Express platform, and scaled properly when switching from single to dual-card configurations. The GeForces held a sizable lead here, thanks in no small part to their support for PhysX, which is used in this benchmark.

Tags: Intel, core i7, memory, CPU, Motherboard, processor, Lynnfield, Core i5, Socket 1156, Coolers

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com