Benchmark Results: Synthetics

Beginning with PCMark Vantage, we can already see the strength of Intel’s Core i7-870 processor. Remember, though, that just because it’s a Lynnfield part and purportedly mainstream doesn’t make it an affordable option. At $555, we actually think the Core i7-870 is overpriced, just like the Core i7-950. More notable is the triumph of the Core i5-750 against Intel’s Core 2 Extreme QX9770, a $1,000 CPU, and even more so versus the Core 2 Quad Q9550. As of the launch, the Core 2 Quad is priced $10 higher than the i5.

Synthetic benchmarks are especially prone to favoring Intel’s Hyper-Threading technology given an emphasis on parallelism in most future-looking tests. This would seem to be the case here judging from the CPU Suite and Overall benchmark scores that show Intel’s Core i7-870 and -920 as victorious.

The GPU Score reflects a more even playing field, though Bloomfield is still at a slight advantage. In the overall suite score, i5-750 again bests Core 2 Quad Q9550, pulling even to the 3.2 GHz Core 2 Extreme.

While the X48-based memory controller feeding Intel’s Core 2 Quad family pales in comparison to AMD’s integrated DDR3 memory controller, Lynnfield’s dual-channel arrangement armed with the very same DDR3-1333 modules running the very same timings realizes significantly more throughput. To that end, the Core i7-920 is even faster still.