ATI HD 5870 Scaling Performance: X58 vs P55 Showdown
by Gary Key on September 29, 2009 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
One of our favorite new games is Batman - Arkham Asylum. We set all options as high as they will go and utilize the games built-in benchmark for our results. Both platforms are just stupid fast when running this game.
The single card results at x8 trails the x16 results by about 1% at stock and 3% when overclocked. Minimum frame rates for the x16 single card results are around 5% better on the P55 platform at stock and 3% when overclocked.
Batman – Arkham Asylum CrossFire Scaling – Average Frame Rates
| ATI HD 5870 CF Scaling | Batman – Arkham Asylum | Batman – Arkham Asylum 4.2GHz |
| Intel Core i7 920 (X58) | 37.7% | 62.6% |
| Intel Core i7 860 (P55) | 37.3% | 61.7% |
At stock and overclocked speeds, both platforms are practically tied when it comes to scaling in average frame rates.
Batman – Arkham Asylum CrossFire Scaling – Minimum Frame Rates
| ATI HD 5870 CF Scaling | Batman – Arkham Asylum | Batman – Arkham Asylum 4.2GHz |
| Intel Core i7 920 (X58) | 2.1% | 34.9% |
| Intel Core i7 860 (P55) | 7.1% | 33.9% |
Minimum frame rates favor the P55 by 6% and scaling favors the P55 by 5% in our stock results, while the X58 is slightly ahead in the overclocking test.
Power Consumption
Both systems have all power management features enabled and we utilize the Balanced Power option in Windows 7. Our 4.2GHz overclock setting has the Core i7 860 VCore offset option enabled with an ending voltage of 1.3875V. VTT is set to 1.310V, CPU PLL at 1.80V, and VDimm at 1.62V. The Core i7 920 offset is enabled for a final VCore reading of 1.335V. VTT is set to 1.375V, CPU PLL at 1.86V, and VDimm at 1.65V.
Idle power is Lynnfield's biggest ally and the Radeon HD 5870 plays well here. Even overclocked to 4.2GHz with a pair of 5870s, Lynnfield uses less power than a single 5870 on an i7 920. Bloomfield runs at a 12x multiplier at idle while Lynnfield runs at 9x. Bloomfield also likes to ramp up VTT voltage in a hurry compared to Lynnfield, the result is nearly zero impact at idle power consumption but when Bloomfield is overclocked, the platform just consumes more power thanks to additional circuitry.
Under load, once again, there's virtually no impact from CPU overclocking on Lynnfield compared to Bloomfield. At stock frequencies however, the GPU power dominates and thus there's less than a 10% power difference between X58 and P55.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
85 Comments
View All Comments
yacoub - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
well considering Intel's offering no other quad-core 45nm or 32nm solution for the gamer-enthusiast who isn't interested in spending hundreds of dollars more, Lynnfield is the only option available for the foreseeable future from Intel.AMD has a chance to take back some marketshare IF they can come up with a low-TDP, high-performing, quad-core CPU at the right price. Do they have something like that coming out?
the zorro - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
Amd's dragon platform is the only way for directx 11lynnfield is crippled and expensive.
this means phenom 2.
iamezza - Friday, October 2, 2009 - link
You are crippled .. in the brain!MadMan007 - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
Would you PLEASE just go DIAF with your crippled lynnfield bs?trabpukcip - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
On the second Far Cry 2 Graph, the resolution should be "1920 x 1080" and not "1920 x 1200"?goinginstyle - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
Where are the results for the HD5850 cards?elivebuy - Tuesday, December 8, 2009 - link
http://www.elivebuy.com">http://www.elivebuy.comAir jordan(1-24)shoes $33
UGG BOOT $50
Jewerly $20
Nike shox(R4,NZ,OZ,TL1,TL2,TL3) $35
Handbags(Coach lv fendi d&g) $35
Tshirts (Polo ,ed hardy,lacoste) $16
Jean(True Religion,ed hardy,coogi) $30
Sunglasses(Oakey,coach,gucci,Armaini) $16
New era cap $15
Bikini (Ed hardy,polo) $25
FREE sHIPPING
http://www.elivebuy.com">http://www.elivebuy.com
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
Where are the results for the 2900HD?ValiumMm - Monday, January 18, 2010 - link
"What about the 2900HD"lol
GokieKS - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
Because the Radeon HD2900 is obviously as relevant a card in the current marketplace as the HD5850.