Core i7 Better then Phenom II 940 ?

ilikegirls

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So here is the thing, i just got a new core i7 and after running a few benchmarks such as the Far Cry 2 benchmark and 3DMark06 and for some reason my set up before with the Phenom II got a better score

here are the 3DMark06 Scores
Core i7
NewsystemConfigwithi717332.png




Phenom II
Myscorewith3Dmark0616486.png




So why is the score so close when i have a better CPU ?
 
Processors do play a pretty large role but not when the processors are that close in performance.

I have 3 8800GTX ACS3 cards and almost reach 20,000. I am running a Q9550 which is comparable to the PII.

Whats the BB Code to paste pics on the post again? I can never remember it. I will post my results once someone tells me, lol...
 

ilikegirls

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you need a photbucket account to do so (or so i was told) and i would really like to know how come im getting such a a low score with the i7 !
 
If you are running the same video card at its max capability from the cpu, you cant expect much more of an increase from any cpu upgrade if the cpu can't unlock anymore potential from the video card.

Also, you can run the same bench mark 12 times and get different results with the same setup. There are a lot of variables that effect the score.
 

jennyh

Splendid
The 2nd score has the 4890 overclocked somehow. Maybe fusion for gaming is running. Just check the SM3 scores in each, the cpu scores stay the same but in the one where the 940 scores highest, the SM3 score is a lot higher. That's a gpu overclock doing that.
 

ilikegirls

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Ok so what do you think i should do if the score is almost the same should i just return the core i7 or is it just the 4890 holding it back ?
 

ilikegirls

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btw what im seeing in the photos look at them for the second time the CPU score is 1000 higher so does that mean what i said before that the GPU is holding it back ?
 

jennyh

Splendid
It's fine. A top end Phenom II will be pretty close to an i7 920 in 3dmark06 because at stock values they are almost identical in power.

When you overclock the i7 you will get much higher scores. The i7 scales a lot better in 3dmark06 when overclocked. Try upping it to 3.6ghz or something and you'll be close to 20k 3dmarks.
 

ilikegirls

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Are you for real ??? if I OC it to like 3.6 it will jump that high from 10K to 20K or even 15K?
 

jennyh

Splendid
You're already at 17k at 2.8ghz. Yes, if you overclock the i7 to 3.6ghz it will probably get close to 20k 3dmarks.

I have a phenom II 940 at 3.6ghz, and crossfired 4770's, and I get 20k 3dmarks. The i7 @ 4.2 ghz with the same cards scores 24k 3dmarks.

Another example is cjl's 4870x2 and i7 scoring 17500 at stock, and 24k with the i7 overclocked. 06 is old now and the i7 seems to take advantage of how it works, and with a high overclock you will get to huge scores.
 

ilikegirls

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lol i just reilized that i do get 17K its Vatage i get 10K with but i dont seem to have a Key for it so i cant get it to work. im overlocking it now and going to run 06 and ill post the score in a few minutes
 

randomizer

Champion
Moderator
I don't think 3DMark06 is much good at using 8 threads so the Phenom II will come close as jennyh said. But CPU score is not very important in the grand scheme of 06, your SM2 and SM3 scores are.

The game score used in the calculation is 0.5 x (SM3.0 + SM2.0)
3DMark06 score = 2.5 x 1 / ((1.7 / Game score + 0.3 / CPU scores points) / 2) rounded to the nearest unit.

The two bolded dividers are the important details here. The CPU score has a much smaller weighting than the game score, and your game scores are virtually identical for both rigs, so the final score will be similar.

For your i7 system:

0.5 x (SM3.0 + SM2.0) = 7335
2.5 x 1 / ((1.7 / 7335 + 0.3 / 5289) / 2) = 17332

For the Phenom II system:

0.5 x (SM3.0 + SM2.0) = 7273
2.5 x 1 / ((1.7 / 7273 + 0.3 / 4313) / 2) = 16485
 

ilikegirls

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Thanks you have been a grate deal of help ill post back in a sec !
 

Actually, it's even more dramatic than that. It's 24k at 3.73GHz (my normal daily use speed), and 27k at 4.2GHz (my benchmarking, Crysis, MATLAB, and Solidworks speed). Of course, that's a pair of 4870x2s, so it's basically completely CPU limited even on the graphics tests in 3dmark06. Still, overclocking the CPU is definitely worth a try.