Benchmark Results: 3DMark Vantage
Synthetics: 3DMark Vantage
First, we'll take a look at the synthetic tests and then move on to the more important games and application benchmarks. 3DMark Vantage was run with both graphics cards, and we’ll start by looking at the Radeon HD 4870.
Notice that GPU scores remain fairly even under all four stock processors, with a boost realized from overclocking the GPU. However, the CPU scores are vastly different, and greatly favor the extra processor cores (we know that synthetics tend to push the latest technology, so it's no surprise that 3DMark is optimized for threading).
It's also no shock that the most scaling in the overall suite score takes place under the Performance preset, where CPU performance has a greater impact. But this lead for the quad-core CPUs disappears at the Extreme presets, when the GPU is pushed harder and the overall score is based even more on the GPU.
We again see vastly different CPU scores for these processors, but notice that with the Radeon HD 4870 X2, there is now significant CPU scaling seen in the performance preset GPU score itself.
If this synthetic is any prediction of performance in the latest or future games, we would expect to see the Athlon 7750, and even the Phenom X4 9950BE, negatively impacting a gaming experience when paired with such a high-end GPU like the Radeon HD 4870 X2. The message boils down to the importance of building balanced platforms.