Benchmark Results: Productivity
Intel rules our 3ds Max rendering project by a commanding margin. Given its threading optimizations, it's hardly a surprise to see AMD's Phenom II X4 940 sneak in second place, followed by the rest of AMD's quad-core offerings. The triple-core X3 720 ties Intel's dual-core E8500. Meanwhile, the older X3 8750 is outclassed by the dual-core chip.
Another threaded test, WinRAR favors AMD's 2.6 GHz Phenom II X4 810 over the triple-core X3 720 BE, despite the X3's clock speed lead. Interestingly, the X4 810 also outperforms our simulated X4 910, even though it has 2 MB less L3 cache. Considering the only other difference between the two setups is DDR3 memory running at 1,333 MHz, we have to give credit to the more modern memory technology here.
WinZip runs on two cores, which is why the 2.8 GHz X3 turns in better times than the 2.6 GHz X4 810 does (not to mention the 3.16 GHz Core 2 Duo beating every other processor tested).
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Our AVG test is able to take advantage of our quad-core contenders. Intel's Core i7 runs away with a strong lead and AMD's quad-core chips all place close to each other behind it. As you start taking away cores, the X3s fall further behind and Intel's dual-core Core 2 Duo E8500 places last.
