Intel Core i7 Processors: Nehalem and X58 Have Arrived

Name: Intel Core i7 Processors: Nehalem and X58 Have Arrived - Page 12
Brand: Intel

by Marco Chiappetta — Monday, November 03, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

For our next set of tests, we moved on to some in-game benchmarking with Crysis and F.E.A.R. When testing processors with Crysis or F.E.A.R., we drop the resolution to 800x600, and reduce all of the in-game graphical options to their minimum values to isolate CPU and memory performance as much as possible. However, the in-game effects, which control the level of detail for the games' physics engines and particle systems, are left at their maximum values, since these actually do place some load on the CPU rather than GPU.

Low-Resolution Gaming: Crysis and F.E.A.R.

Taking the GPU out of the Equation

The low-resolution Crysis and F.E.A.R. benchmarks tell somewhat different stories. In Crysis, all of the Core i7-based systems finished ahead of the competition, regardless of clock speed. And the ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard in particular put up some strong numbers. In F.E.A.R., however, the Core 2 Extreme QX9770 finished strong, besting the Core i7 processors that were running in the Intel DX58SO motherboard. But in the more enthusiast-friendly ASUS and Gigabyte boards the Core i7 Extreme 965 comes out on top. It appears Intel still has some motherboard tuning to do with the DX58SO according to these results.

Tags: Intel, core i7, X58, Processors, Nehalem, Core, processor, CES, i7, HAL, process, Intel Core i7, AV, x5, arrive, Ive, pro, SSO, AR, and

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