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

Cinebench R10

Cinebench R10 64-bit
Test1: Single CPU Image Render
Test2: Multi CPU Image Render
Comparison: Generated Score

Developed by MAXON, creators of Cinema 4D, Cinebench 10 is designed using the popular Cinema software and created to compare system performance in 3D Animation and Photo applications. There are two parts to the test; the first stresses only the primary CPU or Core, the second, makes use of up to 16 CPUs/Cores. Both are done rendering a realistic photo while utilizing various CPU-intensive features such as reflection, ambient occlusion, area lights and procedural shaders


Cinebench is arguably one of the the most efficient programs at utilizing all available cores, and it perfectly showcases the Core i7's unparalleled multi-threading processing power. In particular, pay close attention the difference between the single-threaded and multi-threaded results. The performance improvement is more than 4X, which signifies that Hyper-Threading is actually contributing to improving multi-threaded performance.

Valve Particle Simulation Benchmark

Valve Particle Simulation Benchmark
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Comparison: Particle Performance Metric

Originally intended to demonstrate new processing effects added to Half Life 2: Episode 2 and future projects, the particle benchmark condenses what can be found throughout HL2:EP2 and combines it all into one small but deadly package. This test does not symbolize the performance scale for just Episode Two exclusively, but also for many other games and applications that utilize multi-core processing and particle effects. As you will see the benchmark does not score in FPS but rather in its own "Particle Performance Metric", which is useful for direct CPU comparisons.


Designed by Valve as a special showcase for multi-core processors, Valve Particle Simulation Benchmark is obviously heavily multi-threaded and produces exceptionally reliable results. As a result, the Core i7 series once again demonstrates its multi-threading dominance.