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

3DMark06

3DMark06 v1.1.0
Graphic Settings: Default
Resolution: 1280X1024

Test: Specific CPU Score and Full Run 3Dmarks
Comparison: Generated Score

The Futuremark 3DMark series has been a part of the backbone in computer and hardware reviews since its conception. The trend continues today as 3DMark06 provides consumers with a solid synthetic benchmark geared for performance and comparison in the 3D gaming realm. This remains one of the most sought after statistics, as well as an excellent tool for accurate CPU comparison, and it will undoubtedly be used for years to come.


With its high clock speed and huge L2 cache, the $1500+ QX9770 barely competes with the $284 i7-920 when it comes CPU score. In the overall score, there is a mere 10% difference performance difference between the high-end i7-965 and the more budget-friendly i7-920.

3DMark Vantage

3DMark Vantage v1.0.1
Graphic Settings: Performance Preset
Resolution: 1280X1024

Test: Specific CPU Score and Full Run 3Dmarks
Comparison: Generated Score

3DMark Vantage is the follow-up to the highly successful 3DMark06. It uses DirectX 10 exclusively so if you are running Windows XP, you can forget about this benchmark. Along with being a very capable graphics card testing application, it also has very heavily multi-threaded CPU tests, such Physics Simulation and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which makes it a good all-around gaming benchmark.


Unlike its predecessors, 3DMark Vantage was clearly designed with multi-core processors in mind, and it has very technically impressive and heavily multi-threaded CPU tests. Therefore, as you can see, the Core i7's really distinguish themselves once again with their CPU score. The overall score is fairly stagnant across all the tested processors, and that is due to the fact that our GeForce 9800GTX is a bottleneck in this graphics-intensive benchmark.