Hardware Enthusiast’s Paradise
If you’re a fan of high-end hardware, insane graphics configurations, and equatorial heat, you’re going to love the platforms we set up in order to test Core i7’s gaming alacrity.
We’ve lined up the three fastest desktop platforms currently available—Intel’s Core i7 965 Extreme, Intel’s Core 2 Extreme QX9770, and AMD’s Phenom X4 9950. As we know, Core i7’s X58 chipset supports CrossFireX and SLI, so one board is able to yield numbers for all of our graphics configurations with this CPU. We used X48 for CrossFireX and Core 2 Extreme, swapping out for nForce 790i SLI Ultra when it came time to test SLI and Core 2 Extreme. The Phenom X4 setup supports CrossFireX-only, so our numbers were drawn from AMD’s 790FX/SB750 chipset combination. To each of these setups we applied a range of graphics subsystems.
- X58 (Core i7 Extreme): 1/2/3-way SLI using GeForce GTX 280s and 1/2/4-way CrossFireX using a single Radeon HD 4870 and two Radeon HD 4870 X2s
- X48 (Core 2 Extreme): 1/2/4-way CrossFireX using a single Radeon HD 4870 and two Radeon HD 4870 X2s
- 790i SLI Ultra (Core 2 Extreme): 1/2/3-way SLI using GeForce GTX 280s
- 790FX (Phenom X4): 1/2/4-way CrossFireX using a single Radeon HD 4870 and two Radeon HD 4870 X2s
| Platform | Core i7 965 Extreme | Core 2 Extreme QX9770 | Phenom X4 9950 |
| Chipset | Intel X58 | Intel X48/Nvidia nForce 790i SLI Ultra | AMD 790FX/SB750 |
| Motherboard | ASUS Rampage II Extreme/Gigabyte EX58-Extreme | Intel DX48BT2/EVGA nForce 790i SLI Ultra | ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe |
| Memory | 6 GB DDR3-1333 7-7-7 (triple-channel) | 4 GB DDR3-1600 7-7-7 (dual-channel) | 4 GB DDR2-1066 5-5-5 (dual-channel) |
| Storage | Intel SSDSA2MH080G1GN 80 GB SSD | Intel SSDSA2MH080G1GN 80 GB SSD | Intel SSDSA2MH080G1GN 80 GB SSD |
| Optical | Lite-On DH-4O1S BD-ROM | Lite-On DH-4O1S BD-ROM | Lite-On DH-4O1S BD-ROM |
| Power | Cooler Master UCP 1100W | Cooler Master UCP 1100W | Cooler Master UCP 1100W |
| Platform | Core i7 965 Extreme | Core 2 Extreme QX9770 | Phenom X4 9950 |
| Operating System | Windows Vista x64 with Service Pack 1 | Windows Vista x64 with Service Pack 1 | Windows Vista x64 with Service Pack 1 |
| Graphics Drivers | AMD: 8.551 / Nvidia: GeForce 180.43 | AMD: 8.551 / Nvidia: GeForce 180.43 | AMD: 8.541 |
| Platform Drivers | Intel: 9.1.0 Build 1005 | Intel: 8.3.1 / Nvidia: nForce 15.23 | AMD: Catalyst 8.10 |
We need to thank a few manufacturers who aren’t being expressly evaluated in this piece, but were still willing to lend us the mountain of hardware needed to pull it off.
- Zotac provided us with three GeForce GTX 280 cards, all operating at their stock frequencies
- Sapphire provided us with two Radeon HD 4870 X2s, operating at stock frequencies
- ASUS provided us with its Rampage II Extreme and P6T Deluxe
- Gigabyte provided us with its EX58-Extreme
- Cooler Master provided us with its UCP 1100W
- Corsair provided us with 6 GB of DDR3-1600 (TR3X6G1600C8D)
- OCZ provided us with 6 GB of DDR3-1333 (OCZ3P1333LV6GK)
| Benchmark | Configuration |
|---|---|
| World in Conflict | Very High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1009, DirectX 10 |
| Row 1 - Cell 0 | Very High Quality Settings, 4x AA / 16x AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1009, DirectX 10 |
| Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance | High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.5.3599, DirectX 9, Fraps 2.9.4 |
| Row 3 - Cell 0 | High Quality Settings, 8x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.5.3599, DirectX 9, Fraps 2.9.4 |
| Crysis | Very High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1900x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit Executable |
| Row 5 - Cell 0 | Very High Quality Settings, 8x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1900x1200 / 2560x1600, Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit Executable |
| Crysis: Warhead | Enthusiast Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Steam Version |
| Row 7 - Cell 0 | Enthusiast Quality Settings, 8x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Steam Version |
| Company of Heroes | High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Steam Version |
| Row 9 - Cell 0 | High Quality Settings, 8x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Steam Version |
| Unreal Tournament 3 | 5/5 Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Patch 1.2 |
| Row 11 - Cell 0 | 5/5 Quality Settings, 8x AA / 16x AF, vsync off, 1920x1200 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Patch 1.2 |
| Far Cry 2 | Very High Quality Settings, No AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1600 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Steam Version |
| Row 13 - Cell 0 | Very High Quality Settings, 8x AA / No AF, vsync off, 1920x1600 / 2560x1600, DirectX 10, Steam Version |
| 3DMark Vantage | Performance Default |
