Skyrim is somewhat of an enigma. It’s not a very graphically-demanding game, but it does express a propensity for fast processors. We’re only using the Medium quality preset here. But it’s really only at 1280x720 where the game is smooth enough to be considered playable—and that’s only counting the two higher-end Trinity-based APUs.
Stepping down to the Low quality setting yields significantly higher frame rates. That’s what I used in the Intel Core i7-3770K review. After that piece, though, I decided that it’s simply not worth sacrificing all semblance of quality just to get decent performance. Personally, if I can’t play a game and have it look decent, it’s time to upgrade. In this title, you might want to consider something discrete.
Summary
- Trinity: Coming Soon To A Desktop Near You
- Piledriver: Half Of The Trinity Story
- Turbo Core Finds Its Way Into APUs
- Graphics: Fewer Shaders, Better Efficiency
- Memory Bandwidth Scaling: Feed The Beast
- Socket Compatibility And The A85X FCH
- Test Setup And Benchmarks
- Benchmark Results: 3DMark 11
- Benchmark Results: Sandra 2012
- Benchmark Results: Adobe CS5 And 6
- Benchmark Results: Content Creation
- Benchmark Results: Productivity
- Benchmark Results: Media Encoding
- Benchmark Results: File Compression
- Benchmark Results: Batman: Arkham City
- Benchmark Results: World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm
- Benchmark Results: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Benchmark Results: Diablo III
- Benchmark Results: OpenCL
- Power
- Trinity On The Desktop: Already Announced, But Enthusiasts Must Wait
