Half-Life 2: Episode Two

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The QX9650 performs better mostly because of the extra L2 cache, although at higher resolutions the game is more GPU limited, even though we're currently using the fastest single card available. There's only four frames at low resolution and one extra frame at higher resolution which can be attributed to a certain extent to experimental error, but for two CPUs at the same 3.00GHz clock speed, the QX9650 has come out on average slightly better.

In general, from the results we've obtained here, Half-Life 2: Episode Two does appear to benefit from a combination of processor cores and sheer MHz, but remember you can always increase core frequency with a bit of overclocking, whereas extra cores can't exactly be soldered on. This should prove more interesting when future Wolfdale and Yorkfield processors arrive that offer a better price:performance ratio, like the Core 2 Quad Q6600 did this summer.

Team Fortress 2

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For a more CPU limited game like the very popular (and extremely addictive) Team Fortress 2, there is a clearer gap between the QX9650 and QX6850 at high resolution. However both perform almost the same and clearly better than the rest of the field at both resolutions tested. The ~10fps difference at 60-70fps is arguably a noticeable gap for some people, especially those who enjoy twitch sensitive first person shooters.