Intel's Core i7 870 & i5 750, Lynnfield: Harder, Better, Faster Stronger
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 8, 2009 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
3dsmax 9 - SPECapc 3dsmax CPU Rendering Test
Today's desktop processors are more than fast enough to do professional level 3D rendering at home. To look at performance under 3dsmax we ran the SPECapc 3dsmax 8 benchmark (only the CPU rendering tests) under 3dsmax 9 SP1. The results reported are the rendering composite scores:
And we're back down to utter dominance yet again. The i5 750 is 12.6% faster than the Phenom II X4 965 BE and 18.8% cheaper. Harder, better, faster stronger.
Blender 2.48a
Blender is an open source 3D modeling application. Our benchmark here simply times how long it takes to render a character that comes with the application.
To get Blender to perform right on Lynnfield we actually had to update our graphics drivers. It looks like the on-die PCIe does require the latest NVIDIA/ATI drivers to work properly. The results aren't unusual; Intel has done very well in these tests and Lynnfield continues to dominate. The i5 750 is a bit slower than the 920 (and Q9650) thanks to its missing HT support.
Cinebench R10
Created by the Cinema 4D folks we have Cinebench, a popular 3D rendering benchmark that gives us both single and multi-threaded 3D rendering results.
The single threaded benchmark tells us everything we need to know. The Core i5 750 and i7 870 are two of the fastest processors we've ever tested at single-threaded applications. Very few microprocessors will be able to retire instructions from a single thread as quickly as Lynnfield. This is actually very noticeable in simply using the OS. Many tasks still aren't multithreaded but they execute very, very fast on Lynnfield.
Crank up the threads and Lynnfield is still competitive. Because it's missing Hyper Threading, the i5 750 is barely faster than the Phenom II X4 965 BE. Although I understand Intel wanting to segment its product line, it seems that the i5's missing HT goes a bit too far.
POV-Ray 3.73 beta 23 Ray Tracing Performance
POV-Ray is a popular, open-source raytracing application that also doubles as a great tool to measure CPU floating point performance.
I ran the SMP benchmark in beta 23 of POV-Ray 3.73. The numbers reported are the final score in pixels per second.
We see the same results under POV-Ray. Regardless of thread count, Lynnfield delivers the best performance possible short of a $1000 CPU.
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JonnyDough - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link
Anyone who buys a $1000 CPU has more money than brains. If you wait six months you can buy a newer budget processor for about 1/15 of the cost, overclock it and obtain the same result. I would think that $925 would be more valuable to someone with sense than bragging rights for six months. I was taught that when people brag they are vain morons. A person's value should not be estimated by the stuff they have, but by the choices they make. We all get a lot in life, it's what you do with it that sets you apart. Unfortunately our society is ruled by greed and capitalism. I choose to speak against that. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it up with the greedy capitalist complaint department. They don't care either.max347 - Wednesday, September 9, 2009 - link
Hmm, it would seem to me that someone who has $1k to spend on a cpu probably has "alot of brains", hence the better-than-average financial position, enabling the purchase in the first place.Also, you equate greed to capitalism. This is clearly false. People get what they work for in a capitalist society. I am not saying it is perfect, though what would be a better alternative? People are not going to be financially equal, as some work harder than others. To dispute this would demonstrate a lack of experience...to say the least.
Someone chooses to get the best. It's their money, their choice. But you're right, you should probably call them a greedy capitalist.
fullcooler - Wednesday, September 9, 2009 - link
wow, you said that way calmer than I would have. very classy reply to a young leftist. perhaps when obama passes the "free $1000 cpu's for lazy punk leftists" plan, you and I can pay for his cpu,and he wont be a sellout to the man by working for it.imaheadcase - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link
I hate people who used that phrase "Has more money than brains". Doesn't it stand to reason, they have brains..if they have more money than you to buy the CPU... lolJNo - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link
Not necessarily - they might have inherited the money for example.Maybe you have more money than brains too...
JonnyDough - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link
Yep. These people sound like they have no idea how to be frugal with money. It's ok though, a fool and his money are soon parted.lyeoh - Thursday, September 10, 2009 - link
Stop doing that ok?If you discourage too many rich/stupid people from buying the bleeding edge stuff it just makes it harder for the rest of us.
Poor folks like me need those rich guys to rush out and buy the expensive CPUs (and GPUs etc) and work all the bugs out, get the production line ramped up etc.
Then 6-12 months later we have good and cheap stuff to buy.
The best CPU costs way less than an expensive house anyway, so it's not like he's going to cause some sort of nation wide or global financial crisis.
VaultDweller - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link
Maybe they don't know how to be frugal with money.Maybe they don't NEED to be frugal with money.
Sure, a fool and his money are soon parted - but so is a brilliant rich man who has more money than he needs.
niva - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link
I disagree with your first statement. There are people who simply want the best/fastest and will pay the money for it. Only in the last 3 or 4 years has top of the line performance become relevant only for gaming. A few years ago all sorts of pros needed the fastest they can get their hands on and purchases like $1k per CPU were actually justified.Now just because you can't afford a 1k CPU and never have been, doesn't mean people who buy such things are morons. Same goes for buying a Ferrari by the way. Quit being a jealous putz, thanks!
JonnyDough - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - link
When you compare value ratios, yes. A $1000 CPU is soon worth about $75. A Ferrari sold as parts is worth about 1/15 of the price also. I didn't think I'd have to spell it out for you.