CPU Reviews & Articles

3DMark06 Pro CPU Performance

3DMark06 is still one of the most popular gaming benchmarks but it's a bit old school in requiring DirectX 9.0 compatibility. The 3DMark06 program offers a high-end selection of both gaming and CPU tests, and is not only a prime way of determining potential DirectX 9 graphics card performance, but the individual CPU performance score also makes it a valuable tool in processor reviews and performance comparisons. This CPU benchmark is performed at the standard settings, with no anti-aliasing or filtering options enabled.

Standard game benchmarks usually don't show any real advantage with a dual or quad-core setup, primarily because most are not written with a multi-core platform in mind. One exception is the CPU test in 3DMark06 Pro, which does offer multi-threaded game benchmark support. This is clear from the chart, as the Core 2 Duo E7300 posts the lowest score, while the Phenom II X3 720 isn't far behind. The Phenom II X4 810 is in its standard position, easily ahead of the Core 2 Quad Q6600, but not quite able to catch up to the Q9400.

3DMark Vantage CPU Performance

3DMark Vantage is the latest DirectX 10 revision of the Futuremark gaming-oriented benchmark, and follows closely with the overall design of past 3DMark products. In addition to the graphics and features testing, there are also two CPU-specific benchmarks, handling both AI and Physics. We'll be including both in this review, although the former seems to have far less reliance on the graphics card.

The first CPU test, concentrating on AI, shows the Phenom II models losing ground to the Intel competition, and while the Phenom II X4 810 has posted consistently higher scores than the Core 2 Quad Q6600, it's not true in this benchmark.

The second CPU test highlights the Physics game component, but it seems to be more GPU-limited than the previous one. Even so, the Phenom II models acquit themselves quite well, with the Phenom II X4 940 outperforming even the Core i7-920.

Crysis CPU Performance

Crysis is a very demanding game from our friends at Crytek, and is very much like a significantly upgraded version of FarCry. The in-game visuals are incredible, and it even supports extra DirectX 10 goodies for those with top-end, enthusiast-level video cards. Since we're dealing with a processor, our Crysis test concentrates on the CPU benchmark, with all details set to Medium.

The Crysis results on the Phenom II processors are not very impressive, and this benchmark definitely has an Intel slant to it. The Phenom II X3 720 does quite well, as its 2.8 GHz clock speed relates more to pure gaming speed than the loss of a physical core.