Gaming Benchmarks

As we saw the raw power, synthetic and multimedia benchmark results, the next logical step is to dive into the real gaming performance of the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad core processor. As reference we will use our Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 to see the performance differences. Each processor is going to run each game at 1600x1200 settings using a variety of AntiAliasing and Anisotropic Filtering 3D effects, using the Gainward BLISS 8800 GTS graphics card. On top of that we also try the HD gaming resolution of 2560x1600, also called Extreme HD by NVIDIA. So in effect we are stuffing both processors our system, using the same settings and spending some time playing games and performing tests on the following game titles, let's check what we got...

Far Cry

Who doesn't know the game Far Cry? You should at least have heard about it... It's the game that came out right before Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and so on and set some new standards in gaming experience. Without a doubt, Far Cry was the most advanced graphics seen in any PC game. Everything in this game looks amazing, and the level of verisimilitude is unprecedented. Far Cry isn't just a stunning technical accomplishment. It's quite possibly the best single-player first-person shooter experience for the PC since Half-Life. Since Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 came out Far Cry had to share the welt on de gaming market. And certainly we are looking forward to Crysis, which is coming this year!

Far Cry Results - Intel - 2GB RAM - Multi Core (1600x1200)
	Core 2 Duo E6300	Game Score
2x AA/4x AF	2.66GHz (380x7)	112.09
4x AA/8x AF	2.66GHz (380x7)	102.81
	Core 2 Extreme QX6700	Game Score
2x AA/4x AF	2.66GHz (266x10)	114.55
4x AA/8x AF	2.66GHz (266x10)	103.40
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Far Cry Results - Intel - 2GB RAM - Multi Core (2560x1600)
	Core 2 Duo E6300	Game Score
2x AA/4x AF	2.66GHz (380x7)	62.14
4x AA/8x AF	2.66GHz (380x7)	40.26
	Core 2 Extreme QX6700	Game Score
2x AA/4x AF	2.66GHz (266x10)	65.02
4x AA/8x AF	2.66GHz (266x10)	40.82
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Well yeah we still like the hang of it with Far Cry, it just keeps amazing us this game with very nice visual graphics and stunning game play. Besides that it is an excellent game to checkout the performance of a systems and graphics card. Looking at the gaming results it does disappoint us a bit. At standard gaming resolution some minor increase can be seen when using the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 processor. Although when we set the our system for the HD gaming experience with enabling the full AntiAliasing and Anisotropic Filtering capabilities the difference is reduced and almost non existing. Somehow our hunger for more and better was still there... And that will remain as such as Far Cry isn't at all optimized for multi-core game play.

F.E.A.R.

Continuing our gaming performance we couldn't just leave F.E.A.R. out of our real gaming experience results. F.E.A.R. is a shooter that captures the sensation of being in wild and desperate firefights like no other game before it, and it's an incredible, kinetic, almost exhausting experience from start to finish. More than that, though, is the fact that it's also one of the most atmospheric and creepy games ever made, as well as one of the most intense shooters that you'll play this year. It has been developed by Monolith, using their 3D gaming engine for rendering the scenery. To this end they created an entirely new physics system built upon technology from Havok and a renderer built around the concepts of materials, shaders and meshes.

F.E.A.R Results - Intel - 2GB RAM - Multi Core (1600x1200)
	Core 2 Duo E6300	Game Score
2x AA/4x AF	2.66GHz (380x7)	27 / 47 / 80
4x AA/8x AF	2.66GHz (380x7)	19 / 38 / 73
	Core 2 Extreme QX6700	Game Score
2x AA/4x AF	2.66GHz (266x10)	27 / 47 / 81
4x AA/8x AF	2.66GHz (266x10)	21 / 38 / 73
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

F.E.A.R Results - Intel - 2GB RAM - Multi Core (2560x1600)
	Core 2 Duo E6300	Game Score
2x AA/4x AF	2.66GHz (380x7)	25 / 42 / 75
4x AA/8x AF	2.66GHz (380x7)	9 / 17 / 42
	Core 2 Extreme QX6700	Game Score
2x AA/4x AF	2.66GHz (266x10)	26 / 42 / 79
4x AA/8x AF	2.66GHz (266x10)	9 / 17 / 43
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

There are two things which make F.E.A.R. stand out from the crowd, a gimmicky but genuinely fun twist and amazing graphics. But in the end that doesn't matter much when you are using a quad core processor. You can come to the exact same conclusion as with Far Cry, does multi-core really matter? Well for F.E.A.R. not at all! Although by using the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 we felt a bit better in terms of the smooth processing of images. It might just be us of course, because the figures really don't show any of that. Once again this game isn't optimized for the quad core technology, and as always there is more work to be done by the game developers to fully take advantage of the multi-core processing capabilities.