Crysis

Publisher: Electronic Arts

We patch Crysis to v1.21 and run it in DirectX 10 mode with High detail settings. We use 1,680 x 1,050 with 2x AA and no AF to give a reasonably real-world test without the risk that the graphics card will be a limiting factor to CPU performance.

We load a save game in the Relic level and play the game for roughly three minutes, following a strictly defined sequence of actions and movements. We repeat this test three times, or until a reliable set of results is achieved. The consistent results are then averaged to give the figures below.

This is the best way to test how a CPU affects game performance, as the game will be generating AI and physics and game rules for the CPU to perform. A timedemo addresses a CPU in a noticeably different way.



Strangely the performance has gone down slightly for the latest C3 965 Black Edition. We retested the manual play-through a number of times but the results were consistently slower on the newer model. Even overclocking heavily doesn't seem to help considerably.


Cool'n'Quiet uniformly kills the minimum frame rate by three or four frames per second across the C2 and C3 965 Black Editions, however the average fps remains virtually uniform between the two.

X3: Terran Conflict

Publisher: EgoSoft

X3: Terran Conflict is the latest space-based trading and fighting game in the X3 series. It uses masses of polygons and geometry to create the complex ships and so is a very stressful test for a CPU.

To run the benchmark, first download the rolling demo and set the graphics options as below. Then remember to tick the 'Run as benchmark' box and hit go. We average the results of the four component tests to give a single minimum and average frame rate.



The new C3 965 Black Edition is a few frames per second better than the older Phenom II X4 CPUs in both minimum and average frame rate when overclocked thanks to its slightly better clock speeds, and even at stock speed it commands a slight advantage. The Intel alternatives still lead, but not by much in the geometry heavy X3.