ATI HD 5870 Scaling Performance: X58 vs P55 Showdown
by Gary Key on September 29, 2009 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
We will start off our P55 coverage this week by answering a question that has been raised numerous times as of late, “Exactly how will the new DX11 cards perform on the Lynnfield/P55 platform compared to the Bloomfield/X58?”. The answer to that question depends on the game engine, settings, and processor choice for the most part. There has been much speculation that the Lynnfield/P55 platform would fail miserably with the next generation cards. That said, the difference in platform performance between the first DX11 capable cards available (ATI HD 5870/5850) is about the same as previous generation cards we tested in the Lynnfield launch article.
This means for single card performance both platforms trade blows for supremacy. However, for those running CF/SLI setups, the X58 continues to be the platform of choice for users wanting the best possible benchmark results. Does that mean the integrated dual x8 PCIe 2.0 logic on Lynnfield is a poor choice compared to the dual x16 PCIe 2.0 sporting X58? Absolutely not based on our initial tests. In fact, it should satisfy most users.
Now for those making an investment into an ultra high-end HD 5870 CrossFireX setup, the Core i7/X58 configuration will simply offer the best possible performance. Of course that performance comes at a cost, particularly power consumption. However, we have a feeling most owners sporting two HD 5870s are not that concerned about Al Gore knocking on their door in the middle of the night.
In the meantime, we have our first performance results comparing the Core i7/860 and P55 against the like priced Core i7/920 and X58 in a variety of games. We are going to state this upfront, this is not a GPU review of the HD 5870. Instead, we decided to pull this information out of the upcoming high-end P55 roundup so it did not get lost in the mix. Our resolution is limited to 1920x1080 that we use in the motherboard test suite. As such, the numbers speak for themselves. So let’s get right to the results today, but first, the test setup.
Test Setup-
For our test results we setup each board as closely as possible in regards to memory timings and sub-timings. The P55 motherboard utilized 8GB of DDR3, while the X58 platform contained 6GB. The P55 and X58 DDR3 timings were set to 7-7-7-20 1T at DDR3-1600 for the i7/920 and i7/860 processors at both stock and overclocked CPU settings. All power management features were enabled on each board and voltages were set at the lowest possible values when overclocking while still retaining 24/7 stability.
The image gallery below contains our Everest memory results with each processor overclocked at similar memory settings along with voltage/uncore/subtiming options. The 860/P55 offers slightly better throughput and overall latency numbers than the 920/X58 when overclocked. At stock, the latency numbers favor Lynnfield with assistance from the turbo mode.
Our game selection today is varied but is missing a couple of titles we wanted to show. We pulled Crysis Warhead as the CrossFireX scaling numbers were under 8% and Need For Speed: Shift does not have a CrossFire profile yet. AMD is currently working on updated CF profiles for the latest games. We also had some corruption problems when running Empire:Total War and Anno 1404 that is under investigation.
All of our gaming performance results are reported in average frame rates per second in the main bar graph with minimum frame rates reported in the text section. The results are sorted by the average frame rates. We are also reporting single card results with the HD 5870 running at PCIe 2.0 x8 speeds on the P55 platform to compare performance to the x16 single card setup. We installed an Intel CT Gigabit network card in the second physical x16 slot in order to force x8 operation.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
85 Comments
View All Comments
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
I was being sarcastic, but whatever.There's not really a point in putting the 5850 through this test. It's not as powerful as the 5870, so the difference between the X58 and P55 would be even less.
jordanclock - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
I think his point was that while it's great to see performance of an ultra-high end setup, we're more interested in seeing a review of the more affordable HD5850.goinginstyle - Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - link
I was being sarcastic. I know this had to take a lot of time and a lot of us asked for it. My statement did not go over the right way. I already sent an email to Gary stating as such and hoping they had banned the Toms guy by now but it appears they are letting him trash another article.szzcy - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
TOMS shoes are shoes with a noble cause associated with them. Buy one donate one. But the brand is far more than just a charity. Their unique designs and catchy colors make them a perfect choice for women who love to stand out of the crowd, the shoes from TOMS are more suitable for teenagers and youngsters because of their particular shape and looks. Let me explain you that why should you avail the offer of Toms shoes coupon code.The type of watch you wear says a lot about you as a person. Are you bold and courageous? Or do you love glitz and glamour? Express yourself by choosing a fashionable Tissot watch, in the world of fashion, where bling has become stylish, Tissot watches make an excellent choice for people who want to look their best.
From so many high-heel shoes kind, christian shoes trade is one of the best. They formed numerous shoes make a lady fanatical, they use their charisma to expand an independent shoe designer known, can be say that they are the most infamous contemporary masters of the shoes.
At here, you can locate out possibly probably the most luxury and most beneficial sellers inside the design field, along the lines of exquisite Gucci shoes, at ease and gentle Gucci clothing, cozy Gucci wool hats, etc. inside the exhibition in Gucci outlet online, you will locate available are three principal destinations available for you personally to choose.
The Converse shoes have been around since a long time and they are immediately recognized by their unique design and label, they were the first athletic shoes to be manufactured for the basketball players. Though they were originally designed for basketball players, soon its popularity grew and it became a regular shoe.
szzcy - Sunday, June 10, 2012 - link
TOMS shoes are shoes with a noble cause associated with them. Buy one donate one. But the brand is far more than just a charity. Their unique designs and catchy colors make them a perfect choice for women who love to stand out of the crowd, the shoes from TOMS are more suitable for teenagers and youngsters because of their particular shape and looks. Let me explain you that why should you avail the offer of Toms shoes coupon code.The type of watch you wear says a lot about you as a person. Are you bold and courageous? Or do you love glitz and glamour? Express yourself by choosing a fashionable Tissot watch, in the world of fashion, where bling has become stylish, Tissot watches make an excellent choice for people who want to look their best.
From so many high-heel shoes kind, christian shoes trade is one of the best. They formed numerous shoes make a lady fanatical, they use their charisma to expand an independent shoe designer known, can be say that they are the most infamous contemporary masters of the shoes.
At here, you can locate out possibly probably the most luxury and most beneficial sellers inside the design field, along the lines of exquisite Gucci shoes, at ease and gentle Gucci clothing, cozy Gucci wool hats, etc. inside the exhibition in Gucci outlet online, you will locate available are three principal destinations available for you personally to choose.
The Converse shoes have been around since a long time and they are immediately recognized by their unique design and label, they were the first athletic shoes to be manufactured for the basketball players. Though they were originally designed for basketball players, soon its popularity grew and it became a regular shoe.