SimHQ.com - Technology Zone - Feature: Dueling Dual Cores: AMD vs. Intel

SimHQ also decided to test these processors with a non-threaded game or two to see how well the dual-core CPUs perform against the P4 670 and FX-55 without the benefit of their additional cores. Pacific Fighters, patched to version 3.04, was tested in OpenGL with all video options set to medium (normal for Objects detail) using the in-game F4F vs. G4M track.

The two Athlon 64s and the P4 3.8Ghz all outperformed the Intel dual cores by a considerable margin across the tested resolutions, with the 820 trailing behind the EE 840 by a smaller degree. Unsurprisingly, the FX-55 led the pack, though it only outperformed the 4800+ by slightly over 5% across the tested resolutions. Interestingly enough, the dual core 4800+ outscored Intel's 670, the company's fastest clocked single-core processor, though only by a small percentage. From a price perspective, however, while the Intel D Model 820 falls behind the other tested processors the fact that it costs a fraction of the other CPUs yet still demonstrated good comparative performance with the tested settings in Pacific Fighters is noteworthy.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory version 1.03 was tested using the included Lighthouse demo with sound disabled. Hardware shadow mapping was also disabled to increase the CPU workload. The Radeon X800 XT installed in the test system only allowed for the Shader Model 1.1 profile option, so by default the more advanced graphics features supported by the game (HDR, HQ soft shadows, tone mapping, etc.) were disabled. The benchmarking script used for testing Chaos Theory can be found here at the bottom of the page.

The two Athlon processors again led in performance, and this time the 4800+ outperformed the Pentium 4 3.8GHz by 10% in the lowest resolution, suggesting that home builders interested in a dual-core system won't have to forego strong performance in today's applications while waiting for more threaded games to saturate the PC market if opting for the Athlon 64 X2s. The two Intel dual cores again fell behind the rest of the tested processors, with Chaos Theory becoming noticeably fill rate limited in its higher resolutions as the scores plateau across the range of tested parts. The 820, however, again demonstrated a good price-performance ratio in comparison to the other processors.

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