Core i7 vs. Penryn vs. Phenom II with HD 4870-X2 & TriFire

Conclusion

This has been quite an enjoyable exploration for us in comparing our Penryn Core2Quad Intel PC with Intel’s highest performing CPU, Core i7, and also with Phenom II 550 X2, 720 X3 and 955 X4. We finally do see that higher performing graphics make more of a difference then they did with our last testing setup for the previous review with the GTX 280.

As you can see from our benchmarks, if you want absolutely the very fastest frame rates with your HD 4780-X2 or with HD 4870-X3 Tri-Fire – and cost is no object – you will chose the fastest quad-core CPU you can afford and overclock it as far as you can. We also see that as your graphics gets more powerful, generally your CPU needs to also be progressively faster to match it. We noted that there was generally less difference with varying clock speeds and the amount of CPU cores needed with our single GTX 280 from the last review; often the differences were magnified by using the faster HD 4870-X2 and certainly they are more noticeable with our HD 4870-X3 Tri-Fire setup. So, future and more powerful video card purchases should be considered whenever you upgrade your CPU.

However, this fact is to be noted. If you are looking for bang for buck now, with a single video card of the HD 5870 class of card or HD 4870 CrossFire, Core i7 is generally overkill for gaming and often it not the fastest when compared to either our (now midrange) Q9550S or even the decidedly budget Phenom IIs.

Of our fifteen gaming benchmarks, even with our HD 4870-X3 Tri-Fire setup, only World in Conflict seems to really benefit from a quad-core so as to make any practical difference to the game play – and Core i7 was also the fastest. The rest of the benchmarks demonstrate that all five of our CPUs run fairly close in performance to each other and the results are satisfactory once they are overclocked a bit. We even note that overclocking is not necessary if you don’t mind sacrificing just a few frame rates.

Our current conclusion from this and past testing would still confirm that graphics are the single most important factor for determining most game frame rates at maximum detail – not the CPU. As long as you have a decent tri- or dual-core, you are not really losing much by not having four CPU cores – other than bragging rights – in most games.

Our current performance versus value series has drawn to a close – for now. We will revisit it in the future when we have much faster graphics than our HD 4870-X3 Tri-Fire setup – perhaps with Fermi SLI or with HD 5870 CrossFire, this coming year. We are also saying goodbye to Vista64 as we have moved to Windows 7 for all of our subsequent testing.

In the meantime, this editor is leaving for Las Vegas, Nevada tomorrow morning. Consumer Electronic Show (CES) starts January 7, and this editor expects to report live for ABT beginning tomorrow and on through its conclusion Sunday, January 10th, 2010. Many reviews, interviews and articles will follow the show in the coming weeks as we bring you “what’s coming” for 2010 and beyond.

In the meantime, feel free to comment below, ask questions or have a detailed discussion in our ABT forum. If you have any requests on what you would like us to focus on at CES, let us know. We want you to join us and Live in Our World. It is fast expanding and we think you will like what you progressively discover here.

Mark Poppin

ABT Senior Editor

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