Intel Core i7 "Nehalem" 920, 940 & 965 XE Processor Review

PCMark Vantage x64

PCMark Vantage Advanced 64-bit Edition (1.0.0.0)
PCMark Suite / Default Settings
Comparison: Generated Score

The main focus of our General Tasks category lies with the most recent installment of the PCMark series, Vantage. While still classified under the description of a Synthetic benchmark, PCMark Vantage uses many of Vista's (Note - Vantage is Vista-only) built-in programs and features along with its own tests, so it is "real-world" applicable in regards to CPU performance. The following is a general list of the tests in the PCMark suite, very much in line with tasks of an average user: Data encryption, Data compression, CPU image manipulation (compression/decompression/resize), Audio transcoding,Video transcoding,Text editing,Web page rendering, Windows Mail, Windows Contacts, and CPU game test.



As you can see, only the (previously) über-high-end Core 2 Extreme QX9770 3.2Ghz model comes close to competing with the new Core i7 processors, and even then it is beaten by the 2.66Ghz i7-920 model. Our real-life experience with these processors supports these results, as everything does actually feel faster than with a Core 2 Quad.

WinRAR

WinRAR 3.7.1
Test: Compression of 1GB of Assorted Files
Comparison: Time to Finish

One of the most popular file compression tools, we take a 1GB batch of files and archive them, timing the task until completion.


If you compare the i7-965 to the QX9770 on a clock-per-clock basis, the Core i7 chip is a substantial 30% faster. As we mention in all our motherboard reviews, WinRAR is always the first application that we install on a fresh Windows installation, and it is one of the tools we use the most day in, day out. Therefore, witnessing this level of performance improvement is absolutely fantastic. In particular, consider the enormous 63% performance difference between the i7-920 and the Q6600. That is a $284 chip demolishing the most popular quad-core model on the market. Clearly, you don't have to spend big bucks to benefit from this new microarchitecture.