The contest is closed. BoFox please PM me.





The results are in and i am about to write my evaluation of Core i3 2105 (3.1GHz dual-core w/HT) versus Phenom 970 X4 (quad-core at 3.5GHz) in gaming. i also tested Intel's 3000 IG, but that is not the focus of this contest (it did OK at 720p, min everything - so you can get a sneak peak now if you like in this thread).

My evaluation should be published on Thursday and it will cover the "usual" plus a real focus on Core i3-2105 with a GTX 580 and HT On vs HT Off (versus stock Phenom II 970 X4). These CPUs compete on price as at Newegg they are priced within $5 of each other. My evaluation is the Classic Quad- versus Dual-core; Intel vs AMD - with a Twist of HyperThreading tossed in to be really different
(and useful)


Your guess please (before the article is published!!): 1) Which CPU is overall faster - both at stock (each w/GTX 580 and HT is ON in the i3) - in my usual 20 game benchmarks?,
and ...2)Which games benefit from HT (if any) and which games have performance issues (if any)?

• Batman
• Wolfenstein
• Left4Dead
• Mafia II
• World-in-Conflict
• Crysis
• Far Cry 2
• Resident Evil 5
• Just Cause 2
• BattleForge
• Alien vs.Predator
• Call of Pripyat
• F1 2010
• Metro 2033
• Lost Planet 2
• H.A.W.X. 2
• Civilization 5
• DiRT 3
• TW: Shogun II
• Deus EX: HR

Best overall (closest) guesses gets my code to DiRT 3 that was included with my (now broken) HIS HD 6770 IceQ TurboX video card. i do not know for sure that you will be able to redeem it as you have to register on AMD's site and wait .. and wait .. and wait .. or so i heard. It says on the coupon that it must be redeemed by 12/31/11 and is subject to a geographic code.
---It is offered in good faith


. . . and frankly, i was a little surprised by the results

Would it make a difference if it was a Battlefield 3 (Origin North America) code?


i have a couple of XBox360 games ... new .. still shrink wrapped
(Riddick: Dark Athena & Sacred 2) .. do i have to bribe you to get you to get free stuff?


What does it take to get some *participation* here? ... Letsee .. i got a slightly-used Galaxy GTX 480 SoC that might need a new home .. but the contest has to be more than 24 hours for that one . . .

I think that for apart from a couple of corner cases the i3 will come out overall faster. You don't need to enter me in the contest though.

You don't want a DiRT 3 code?

And you only guessed half. i want specific guesses on HyperThreading.
- i guessed most of them myself

I already have a copy of the game.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=186

I don't know if they enable or disable Hyperthreading, but either way it isn't a pretty picture for the Phenom II. It takes a Thuban 6 core Phenom II to round up even an older i3 Sandy Bridge. Quad core variants have no hope.

Anand has no gaming benchmarks worth a crap - his results are beyond *useless*
... and how many games really take advantage of more than 4 cores? Clockspeed has always been king. i'd take a fast Phenom X4 over a slower Phenom 6-pack in gaming any day

.... and my BF3 Origin key may be universal .. i have to find out if i can even give it away. i know i can give DiRT 3 away.

Well, my guess is Phenom 970 X4 since 3.5 GHz is already 13% higher than 3.1 GHz, plus the cores are real rather than just HT which would only offer about 40% increase over 2 cores. It would depend on the games (some of the games are a bit old but still popular.. like L4D, but most are rather new). I might be wrong, especially considering that you said you were a little surprised!

Games that benefit from HT (for 2 cores):
Batman:AA
Left 4 Dead (EDIT: I did add that one in.. )
Mafia II
World-in-Conflict
Crysis
Far Cry 2 (I know it's not as demanding as Crysis, but it was so bottlenecked by my 2.9GHz Opteron 170 dual-core)
Resident Evil 5
Just Cause 2
Call of Pripyat
F1 2010 (not really sure on that one, but it's more demanding than GRID)
Lost Planet 2 (LP1 did max out my 2 Athlon 64 cores.. this sequel is even more demanding, right?)
Civilization 5
Deus EX: HR

There are only 5 games that I think would not use more than 2 cores (Wolfenstein, Dirt 3, AvP, TW: Shogun II, HAWX2 being completely GPU-limited).

******** It would be greatly helpful if you could state the resolution, and the game settings (with AA or no AA)? If high settings are used, then some games won't show a difference being so GPU-limited.


Gotta go, brb later on in the day! FUN, thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am benching at 1920x1080 with GTX 580. Same settings as in my latest driver performance comparison
(except for Shogun II; using the built-in bench 'high' setting)

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/catalyst ... rce-285-62

Of course, some games will be GPU-limited even with a GTX 580 at 1080p. Related to this is what surprised me .. but i won't say one way or another 'how' i was surprised


And i had to get to bed early and got some sleep for a change, so i am not finished yet. i am close to a flu and the article may be late; hopefully published later on tonight .. or tomorrow. ... i am writing it now and uploading charts; still have to do an overall (non-gaming) summary chart.

Just thought I'd add in pricing info on the CPU's in question
AMD $139.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103894
INTEL $ 134.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115090

It looks like you took the links right from my emerging article


i could have used the Ph II 965 X4 at $129.99 but i didn't want to give Intel a +100Mhz advantage for $5