DOOM 3 is a game that needs no introduction, and continues in a long line of id Software Quake and DOOM first-person shooters. This latest installment is one serious 3D game test, including potentially the highest-end graphics yet seen on the PC. It is also a different type of game benchmark, especially compared to Quake 3, as it has a greater reliance on the 3D video card for high-end framerate results. This makes it less-than an optimum current CPU performance test, but may still bear fruit as newer and faster processors make an appearance.
The DOOM 3 results are similar to the other benchmarks, but due to some reliance on the graphics component, we don't see the noticeable separation as in some other games. There is still a real gap between the AMD and Intel processors, and only the powerful Pentium Extreme Edition 840 can even approach the performance of the Athlon 64 X2 models. The Manchester-based Athlon 64 X2 4600+ and 4200+ still post lower relative scores, but do acquit themselves better compared to the Athlon 64 X2 4800+ and 4400+, but again, this is likely due to the DOOM 3 video card limitations than anything else.
FarCry is a hot first-person shooter that takes in-game graphics to the next level, although in a different direction than DOOM 3. Instead of darkness and confined spaces, FarCry places you outdoors, on bright sandy beaches, jungles or even on the water itself. This game gives our processors a different kind of a stress test, and rest assured that FarCry ranks up there with the very toughest 3D game benchmarks. For this test, we are using the full retail version, and the included in-game demo.
We are seeing the same kind of performance results in FarCry was we did in the previous games, with AMD outpacing Intel, and the Athlon 64 X2 Manchester taking a back seat to the Toledo core and its 1MB of L2 cache per core. There is also a very noticeable performance gap between the 2.4 GHz Athlon 64 X2 4800+ and the 2.0 GHz Athlon 64 X2 3800+, and FarCry seems to scale well to faster CPU clock speeds.
Half-Life 2 is the latest in a line of serious first-person shooters from Valve, and has really taken in-game graphics to the next level. This is a great opportunity to really push our processors to the limit, as well as providing a counterpoint to newer 3D games like DOOM 3. This is also a CPU-reliant game in many ways, making Half-Life 2 a game that rewards higher-end processors and systems.
Half-Life 2 benchmarking also shows similar trends to FarCry, although the overall framerates and performance gaps are much smaller. Still, in terms of relative benchmark performance, the Athlon 64 X2 4600+ and 4200+ do fall back slightly from the AMD Toledo core models, and the larger L2 core continues to pay dividends in 3D gaming performance.
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