Test System And Benchmarks
We're using the same memory and storage subsystem on both platforms in order to normalize as many variables as possible. In addition to the Core i3-3220 and FX-4170, we're also including Intel's Core i5-3550 in our benchmark results. This gives us a reference point in order to gauge how these $125 budget-oriented CPUs measure up to a $200 model.
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Header Cell - Column 0 | Socket AM3+ | LGA 1155 |
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CPU | AMD FX-4170 (Zambezi), 4.2 GHz Base Clock Rate, 4.3 GHz Turbo Core | Intel Core i3-3220 (Ivy Bridge), 3.3 GHz, Hyper-Threading enabled |
Motherboard | Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5Socket AM3+, Chipset: AMD 990FX | ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Performance LGA 1155, Intel P67 Express PCH |
Networking | On-Board Gigabit LAN controller | |
Memory | Corsair Vengeance, 2 x 4 GB, 1866 MT/s, CL 9-9-9-34-2T | |
Graphics | AMD Radeon HD 7970925 MHz GPU, 3 GB GDDR5 at 1375 MHz | |
Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache, SATA 3Gb/s | |
Power | ePower EP-1200E10-T2 1200 W ATX12V, EPS12V | |
Software and Drivers | ||
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 x64, Service Pack 1, KB2645594 and KB2646060 installed | |
DirectX | DirectX 11 | |
Graphics Drivers | AMD Catalyst 12.8 |
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Benchmark Configuration | |
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3D Games | |
Battlefield 3 | Campaign Mode, "Operation Swordbreaker" 60-Second Fraps Run Ultra Quality Defaults (4x AA, 16x AF), 1920x1080 |
DiRT Showdown | Run with -benchmark example_benchmark.xml, Modified to two laps and no competing cars Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA, 1920x1080 |
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Update 1.4.27, Celedon Aethirborn Level 6, 25 Seconds Fraps DX11, Ultra Details, 8x AA, 16x AF, FXAA enabled, 1920x1080 |
StarCraft II | Custom map "Tom's Hardware Guide", 60 seconds Fraps Ultra Details, Extreme Quality, 1920x1080 |
Metro 2033 | Full Game, Built-In Benchmark, "Frontline" SceneDX 11, High Preset, 4x MSAA, 4x AF, PhysX/DOF Disabled, 1920x1080 |
Audio/Video Encoding | |
iTunes | Version 10.4.1.10 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
Lame MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
HandBrake CLI | Version 0.95: "Big Buck Bunny" (720x480, 23.972 FPS) 5 Minutes, Audio: Dolby Digital, 48 000 Hz, Six-Channel, English, to Video: AVC Audio: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile) |
MainConcept Reference | Version: 2.2.0.5440: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, Two-Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
Productivity | |
Adobe Photoshop CS5 | Version 12.1 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 | Version 12.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
WinZip | Version 15.5 Pro: THG-Workload (650 MB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
WinRAR | Version 4.1: THG-Workload (650 MB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
7-Zip | Version 9.22: THG-Workload (650 MB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.82: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
3DMark 11 | Version: 1.0.1.0, Benchmark Only |
SiSoftware Sandra 2012 | Version 2011.10.17.80, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |