CPU Scaling: Intel Core i7-975 EE and Core i5-750 in Contemporary Games

[RussianSensation]

This is a good summary for those new to DIY system build who aren't sure if they should spend more $$ on a CPU or a GPU for gaming.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpus-and-games-2010_4.html#sect0

• With the same graphics card, the performance of the Intel Core i7-975 EE processor can be 10 to 30% higher than that of the Intel Core i5-750. The faster the graphics card, the faster the CPU you will want. The higher the resolution, the more dependent your system will be on the GPU.
• Radeon HD 5000 series is overall less CPU-dependent than the GeForce GTX 400 and 200 series from Nvidia. This trend does not hold true in every game, however.
• Get a top-class graphics card to a top-end and expensive CPU if you can’t afford to have both (i.e., Graphics card is still the determining factor for what resolution you can play a game at).
• Buying a Core i5-750 for $200 instead of a Core i7-975 EE for $650-800 will save you about $400 or more which you can spend for a Radeon HD 5870 or even GeForce GTX 480 (no brainer). However, don't assume that a stock Core i5-750 is not going to give up some performance with your GTX470/480 SLI or 5870/5970 CF setups.

Bottom line, an overclocked 3.9-4.0ghz i5-750 is probably going to be the best bang for the buck gaming CPU for the remainder of 2010.

 

[biostud]

The crysis warhead 2560x1600 with an AMD card seems "faulty".

 

[RussianSensation]

The crysis warhead 2560x1600 with an AMD card seems "faulty".

Good observation. The owner of the article commented: "The Core i5-750 platform suddenly slows down at 2560x1600 but this was due to the smaller amount of system memory: 4 gigabytes as opposed to 6 gigabytes on the LGA1366 platform."

But then NV cards don't exhibit the same situation on the i5 750 platform. So I am not sure his explanation is valid.

 

[A_Dying_Wren]

No surprises here. I can see a bottleneck forming at just 2.66GHz for any cpu architecture. I wouldn't be surprised if some overclocked or high-frequency C2Ds perform very favorably here for some games.

If both the i7 and the i5 were at the same clock speed though, say 3.6GHz, would there be any difference between the two?

 

[nyker96]

i7-975 is 3,33ghz, i5 750 is 2,66ghz stock. I bet if you oc both up to about 3,6 and retest, things will be much closer.

 

[manimal]

i7-975 is 3,33ghz, i5 750 is 2,66ghz stock. I bet if you oc both up to about 3,6 and retest, things will be much closer.

When I started reading this thread this is what I was hoping to see.

 

[biostud]

A 3.6Ghz shootout would be nice
i7-980X
i7
i5-750
i3
PII 6X
PII 4X
Athlon 2 4X

 

[RussianSensation]

When I started reading this thread this is what I was hoping to see.

I think it's fair to say that since the i7 965 and the 750 have the same amount of cache, once you overclock the 750, it should perform almost identically. HT doesn't really help in games (other than Resident Evil 5, Anno and GTA4 I imagine).