Left 4 Dead

High Resolution Results (1920 x 1200)

The Core i7-900 series of processors are so fast that when all cores are used, it made very little difference whether they were running at 2.66 GHz or 3.33 GHz. The Core i7-920 was virtually as fast as the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition.

However, in single-core mode, the Core i7 processor's clock speed made a big difference. The Core i7-965 Extreme Edition allowed the GeForce GTX 280 graphics card to deliver a 21.7% higher frame rate than when it was paired with the Core i7-920 instead.

Even a small difference in clock speed can make a difference. For example, the Core i7-975 Extreme Edition delivered a 5.5% higher frame rate than the Core i7-965 Extreme Edition, which is just 133 MHz slower.

Low Resolution Results (1280 x 1024)

At a lower resolution, the processor's performance became more of a factor (as the impact of the graphics card is reduced). Even when we enabled multi-core support, the clock speed of the processor had a significant effect on game's frame rate. The Core i7-975's frame rate was just over 2% higher than it was with the Core i7-965, and a full 17% higher than it was with the Core i7-920.

This was even more pronounced when multi-core processing was disabled. The Core i7-975 now delivered a frame rate that was almost 5% higher than the Core i7-965 and over 22% higher than the Core i7-920.

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support out work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!