Picking A Sub-$200 Gaming CPU: FX, An APU, Or A Pentium?
We really like to hunt down great values in the processor space. Since our last round-up of affordable CPUs, AMD released its Llano-based APUs and Bulldozer-based FX family. Also, Intel introduced a handful of Sandy Bridge-based Pentium chips.
Benchmark Results: Battlefield 3
Moving onto Battlefield 3, we get a single-player test that puts a much stronger emphasis on graphics performance, though a capable CPU is much more necessary for a smooth multi-player experience.
This benchmark is clearly bottlenecked by our graphics card. As we know from Battlefield 3 Performance: 30+ Graphics Cards, Benchmarked, campaign mode demonstrates this behavior throughout. Once you start jumping into 32- and 64-player maps, the emphasis shifts. Unfortunately, it's incredibly difficult to quantify performance in a consistent way using the game's compelling multi-player component.
Performance is similar across the board, and you can clearly see where the benchmark run becomes more demanding. Given such lush DirectX 11-class visuals that tax modern GPUs, we won't be able to draw any conclusions using Battlefield 3's campaign.
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Prev Page Benchmark Results: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Next Page Benchmark Results: Just Cause 2Don Woligroski was a former senior hardware editor for Tom's Hardware. He has covered a wide range of PC hardware topics, including CPUs, GPUs, system building, and emerging technologies.