Intel Core i7-6700K And Z170 Chipset Review: Skylake For Enthusiasts

by Marco Chiappetta — Sunday, November 22, 2015, 08:00 AM EDT

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GPU Testing: 3DMark Fire Strike

In the following game benchmarks and actual in-game testing, we're specifically pitting Intel integrated graphics solutions versus similar solutions from AMD APUs. Its Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200/5200 and mainstream HD graphics cores versus the Kaveri APU offerings from AMD featuring the company's GCN (Graphics Core Next) GPU architecture. Traditionally, Intel has been at a marked deficit versus AMD when it comes to graphics horsepower, but the tables are turning with integrated solutions.

Futuremark 3DMark Fire Strike

Synthetic DirectX Gaming

3DMark Fire Strike has two benchmark modes: Normal mode runs at 1920x1080, while Extreme mode targets 2560x1440. GPU target frame buffer utilization for normal mode is 1GB and the benchmark uses tessellation, ambient occlusion, volume illumination, and a medium-quality depth of field filter. The more taxing Extreme mode targets 1.5GB of frame buffer memory and increases detail levels across the board. For the following tests, we ran the benchmark in Normal mode since we were testing integrated graphics solutions and not high-end discrete GPUs.

3DMark Fire Strike

Both of the Iris Pro graphics engines lead the pack here, but AMD's solutions come out ahead of the HD 530 series graphics core built-into the Core i7-6700K.