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Corsair's Internal Benchmarks: Why 6GB is Better than 3GB

Paul Lilly — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:06:44 -0600

Intel's Core i7 release hasn't just changed the processor game, it's also ushered in a new era of memory choices. Up until Core i7, power users found themselves pondering whether to slap a 2GB or 4GB kit of RAM into their system, but that was before triple-channel memory. Now the choice (for upgraders and new builders) comes down to 3GB or 6GB, and Corsair looks to shed some light on the decision by performing some in-house benchmarking.

The tests, which were performed using an Asus P6T Deluxe motherboard, Core i7-965 Extreme Edition CPU, two Nvidia 280 GTX videocards in SLI, and two Seagate 320GB 7200.10 hard drives in a RAID 0 array, heavily favored the 6GB kit. Corsair's results were sometimes significant, with the minimum frame rate in World of Conflict jumping by 50 percent when upgrading from 3GB to 6GB, and netting over a 3-fold increase in Crysis Warhead. Even game loading times saw a boost.

"The analysis shows that 3GB of system memory is insufficient to run modern games, such as Warhammer Online and Crysis Warhead, resulting in poor performance," Corsair wrote (PDF). "The lack of memory when using 3GB of RAM results in increased hard disk drive access, sometimes called thrashing. This causes in-game stuttering, which reduces the minimum frame rate."

This isn't the first time Corsair has released internal benchmarks. Previously, the memory maker found that upgrading from 2GB to 4GB provided "significant performance benefits." This time around, Corsair says "the message to enthusiasts who are looking to build a Core i7 system for gaming is clear - installing 6GB of memory will provide significantly higher frame rates and a considerably smoother gaming experience."

Thoughts on Corsair's testing methodology or results? Hit the jump and let us know.

Core i7 Dissected and Benchmarked! Does Intel’s Next-Generation Chip Live Up to the Hype? Hell Yeah!

Gordon Mah Ung — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0600

Tick tock? More like ding-dong, mutha—shut your mouth. What baby? We’re talkin’ about Core i7.

Our apologies to Isaac Hayes, but if he were alive, we’re almost certain he would have been tapped to hammer out a theme song for Intel’s most significant CPU launch in, well, ever.

Why is this CPU more significant than the 8088, Pentium, or Pentium M? As the second new chip produced after a series of embarrassing losses to archrival AMD, the Core i7 will answer for the world whether Intel is prepared to ride the momentum of its Core 2 launch with another winning chip or if it’s content to rest on its laurels, as it did with the Pentium 4.

Core i7 also represents a major new direction for Intel, which has stubbornly clung to the ancient front-side-bus architecture and discrete memory controller for years. Indeed, with its triple-channel integrated DDR3 memory controller and chip-to-chip interconnect, the block map of a Core i7 looks more like an Athlon 64 than a Core 2 chip.

Intel actually has three quad-core Core i7 CPUs ready: the top-end 3.2GHz Core i7-965 Extreme Edition, the performance-oriented 2.93GHz Core i7-940, and the midrange 2.66GHz Core i7-920. For the most part, all three are exactly the same except for clock speeds, multiplier locking (only the Extreme is unlocked), and QuickPath Interconnect speed. See the chart on page 42 for details.

The bigger issue is how Core i7 performs. To find out, we ran the Extreme 965 against AMD’s fastest proc as well as Intel’s previous top gun in a gauntlet of benchmarks. Read on for the results.

Continue reading for our comprehensive review and benchmarks!

Crossing Velociraptors

David Murphy — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:31:36 -0500

Now that Western Digital's final Velociraptor drives are running wild, how much did they tweak the engineering samples everyone already went nuts about?

Daily New Brief: Crossing the Border? Leave the Laptop!

Paul Lilly — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:54:14 -0500

New ruling gives border agents the right to examine your digital data, 780G chipst not playing nice with some Phenoms, a new 3DMark, and more!

In the Lab: Gordon Mah Ung Introduces New System Benchmarks

Gordon Mah Ung — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 19:07:57 -0600

The yardstick we use to measure review systems just got updated - meet the new quad-core zero-point systems, and our Vista benchmarks!

ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT Benchmarks

Michael Brown — Mon, 14 May 2007 05:02:36 -0500

Is AMD raising the white flag? Or is the HD 2900 XT a red cape to wave in front of Nvidia?

Intel's Barcelona Killer?

Gordon Mah Ung — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 14:31:34 -0500

Gordon Mah Ung goes hands-on with Intel's next-gen CPU, codenamed Penryn. Will this CPU continue Intel's domination of AMD?