Intel Core i7-990X Extreme: Crazy Fast Got Faster
Low-Res Gaming: Crysis and ETQW
For our final set of tests, we moved on to some in-game benchmarking with Crysis and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. For these test configuration, we drop in-game resolution to 800x600, and reduce all graphical image quality options to their minimum values, in order to isolate CPU and memory performance as much as possible. However, the in-game effects, which control the level of detail for physics engines and particle systems, are left at their maximum values, since these actually do place some load on the CPU rather than GPU.
|
|
|
Editor's Note: We've updated these graphs with the latest scores from our Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge testbed.
Note that the newer Sandy Bridge-built Core i7-2600K, in the lightly threaded ET: Quake Wars test, actually bests, the Core i7-990X by a little bit, again due to its more aggressive Turbo Boost speed of 3.8Ghz. However, under the heavier workload of Crysis, the 2600K falls back to the middle of the pack. Beyond that in terms of gaming performance, the picture is pretty clear; the new Core i7-990X is faster than the previous gen 980X by a "little bit." Not off-the-hook like Charlie but hey, we probably couldn't handle it if was anyway.
