3DMark06, PCMark05 and Valve Source Engine Tests
3DMark06 v1.10
This benchmark is used by many in the enthusiast crowd to compare their systems so we decided it would be good for our readers if we included numbers from our test system here as well.
** Obviously, the NV8800 GTX score here is ACTUALLY the Intel X6800 – apologies for the typo!
PCMark05
PCMark, from the makers of the 3DMark series, tests various aspects of the system and reports the results back in a normalized score.
Valve Particle Simulation and VRAD Level Compile Tests
Last year Valve released some new benchmarks for the media to use in testing multi-core processors. These tests are based on upcoming work and additions to the Source Engine. The particle simulation code is used for effects like smoke and fire as well as interactions between these items and the end user. The VRAD level compilation test is for developers in building levels with precompiled lighting.
As you might expect, the X6800 processor, with its higher 2.93 GHz clock speed was able to beat out the new E6750 processor in our gaming tests and in the PCMark05 test suite. The memory results in PCMark05 do show the E6750 outperforming the E6700 processor.
Our Valve benchmarks are pretty interesting; the map compilation test shows the performance between the 1066 MHz and 1333 MHz processors are about the same. However, the E6750 is actually noticeably slower in the physics particle benchmark, and a result for which I have no direct answer yet.