The Intel Core i7-7700K (91W) Review: The New Out-of-the-box Performance Champion
by Ian Cutress on January 3, 2017 12:02 PM ESTShadow of Mordor
The final title in our testing is another battle of system performance with the open world action-adventure title, Shadow of Mordor. Produced by Monolith using the LithTech Jupiter EX engine and numerous detail add-ons, SoM goes for detail and complexity to a large extent, despite having to be cut down from the original plans. The main story itself was written by the same writer as Red Dead Redemption, and it received Zero Punctuation’s Game of The Year in 2014.
For testing purposes, SoM gives a dynamic screen resolution setting, allowing us to render at high resolutions that are then scaled down to the monitor. As a result, we get several tests using the in-game benchmark. For low-end graphics we examine at 720p with low settings, whereas mid and high-end graphics get 1080p Ultra. The top graphics test is also redone at 3840x2160, also with Ultra settings, and we also test two cards at 4K where possible.
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lopri - Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - link
+1. (minus AMD part. I will believe that one when I see it)Same performance, and even less overclocking (% wise) for bragging rights. Haha.
Michael Bay - Saturday, January 14, 2017 - link
I`m on Ivy Bridge/980 and have exactly zero incentive to upgrade performance-wise. Ten less seconds in winrar hardly matter.fanofanand - Thursday, January 26, 2017 - link
It's not processor performance that prompts today's upgrade, it's i/o.DigitalFreak - Tuesday, January 3, 2017 - link
If I could slap my i7-3770k in a Z270 motherboard I'd do it in a heartbeat. That proc is fine for what I need, but I need an upgrade to the rest of the subsystems. USB 3.1, more SATA III ports, M.2, etc.Lolimaster - Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - link
You can do that with pci expansion cards.Alexvrb - Tuesday, January 3, 2017 - link
So I was looking at the i3-7350K and wondering how well it would overclock without major voltage increases... but then I looked at the price. Cripes, that's no budget overclocker. If you're building a mid-range box and plunking down around $160 for the CPU alone, I figure what's another $60 for the i5-7600K. Or if cash is really tight, just spend a mere $20 more and get the i5-7500. Even at bone stock settings, the two extra physical cores are going to provide a LOT of extra performance in a modern application that can actually use 4 threads.dakishimesan - Tuesday, January 3, 2017 - link
Agree. Same thought process I went through. In fact, the i5 7400 is only 13 dollars more than the i3-k.Lolimaster - Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - link
With cpu's around 4Ghz, there's no point in OC. It's not the same when we had bottlenecked systems using single or dual cores with sub 2.6Ghz that could OC to 3.5Ghz, the extra % of oc vs heat/power consumption reached the diminishing point.2cores for gaming is pathetic.
hapkiman - Tuesday, January 3, 2017 - link
Looks like you better have some real good cooling with this proc. Going to get hot real fast once you start pushing it. Wonder what Intel used for thermal interface material. It's definitely not soldered.ruiner5000 - Tuesday, January 3, 2017 - link
No Battlefield, no Doom? What is this?