Intel Core i7-980X Gulftown Six-Core 32nm Processor Review

Gaming Benchmarks: Crysis / Far Cry 2

Crysis

Crysis v1.21
Resolution: 1680x1050
Anti Aliasing: 0
Quality Settings: High
Global Settings: DX10 / 64-Bit

Test 1: Ice benchmark_CPU2 demo
Comparison: FPS (Frames per Second)

Still one of the most hardware intensive game on the market today, Crysis has been chosen for its obvious ability to be able to showcase the differences between platforms and to showcase just how far one will need to go in the quest for maximum performance. The game also features the renowned CryEngine, the power behind the incredible graphics, which is expected to be foundation of future titles.

Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2 1.02
Resolution: 1680x1050
Anti Aliasing: 0
Quality Settings: Very High
Global Settings: DX10 Enabled

Test 1: Ranch Long Demo
Comparison: FPS (Frames per Second)

Far Cry 2 is the hot new new first-person shooter from Ubisoft's Montreal studio, and the first game to utilize the new visually stunning Dunia Engine, which will undoubtedly be used by numerous future games. Using the included Benchmarking Tool, we ran the Long Ranch demo in DX10 mode at 1680x1050 with all settings set to very high.


Far Cry 2 has always been quite quirky in our experience. The Dunia engine performs exceptionally well on Phenom II processors. It also loves L2 cache, hence why the Core 2 Quad Q9550 and its 12MB L2 cache performs so well. For some reason, the Clarkdale processor is also a force to be reckoned with in this game. It's numbers are legit we run, re-run, and re-re-run it again. While the i7-980X does beat out the other Core i5 & i7 models, the difference is minimal.