Test Methodology
Comparison Processor Configurations |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel |
AMD |
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Core i7-3770K |
Core i7-2700K |
Core i5-2500K |
Core i7-3960X |
Core i7-3820 |
FX-8150 |
A8-3870K |
|
| Motherboard | Gigabyte Z77-D3H |
ASRock X79 Extreme 4 |
ASUS CrossHair V |
ASUS F1A75-V PRO |
|||
| BIOS | F10 |
1.80 |
1301 |
2201 |
|||
| Chipset Driver | Intel Inf 9.3.0.1020 and IMEI 7/8 |
Intel Inf 9.3.0.1020 and IMEI 7/8 |
AMD chipset drivers |
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| DDR3 Memory | G.Skill 8GB (2 x 4GB) |
G.Skill 16GB (4 x 4GB) |
G.Skill 8GB (2 x 4GB) |
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| Memory Timings | 9-9-9-24-2T @ 1,600MHz |
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| Integrated Graphics | HD 4000 |
HD 3000 |
HD 3000 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
HD 6550D |
| Discrete Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB (ForceWare 301.10) |
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| Disk Drive | Corsair V128 SSD |
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| Optical Drive | Sony AD-7263S |
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| Chassis | Corsair Graphite 600T |
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| Power Supply | Corsair AX750 |
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| Operating System | Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit |
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CPU and Memory Benchmarks |
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| HEXUS.PiFast |
Our number-crunching benchmark stresses a single core by calculating Pi to 10m places | ||||||
| CineBench | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses all cores | ||||||
| wPrime | Another number-crunching benchmark that stresses all available CPU cores/threads | ||||||
| AIDA64 |
Benchmark that analyses memory bandwidth and latency | ||||||
| MediaEspresso |
Encodes 720p episode (55m) into BlackBerry Bold-friendly 480x360 version in mp4 | ||||||
| PCMark 7 |
An all-encompassing test to evaluate system performance | ||||||
GPU Benchmarks |
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| 3DMark Vantage | DX10, run at the default performance preset | ||||||
| 3DMark 11 | DX11, run with the performance preset | ||||||
| Just Cause 2 | DX10, 1,280x720 low/medium and 1,920x1,080 high settings | ||||||
| Batman: Arkham City | DX11, 1,920x1,080 with very high quality settings | ||||||
Miscellaneous Benchmarks |
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| Power Consumption | While idling and when running wPrime and 3DMark Vantage | ||||||
Notes
We're comparing the Core i7-3770K against some of today's best-available alternatives. In our line-up we have the best Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor (2700K), the best Core i5 Sandy Bridge processor (2500K), two options from the enthusiast-class Sandy Bridge Extreme range (3960X and 3820), AMD's best FX Series processor (8150) and AMD's best A-Series processor (3870K).
It'll be interesting to see how the i7-3770K compares to i7-2700K in terms of CPU performance, and we'll be keeping a close eye on i7-3770K vs. A8-3870K to see if Intel's HD 4000 IGP is able to live up to the standards set by AMD's HD 6550D.