X3TC Benchmark (the ultimate CPU-bound gaming benchmark) Last Change: 03/Jun/2013, 2206 hrs Whoami: Ian Mapleson http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/sgi.html http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/sgidepot/ Here I present collated results for a range of different systems for the X3 Terran Conflict benchmark, with the assistance of my friend John who's contributed further P55/X58/Z68-based results using some GPUs I don't have (eg. 4890). See after the tables for extended system details. Key (all GPU clocks are given as 'Core/Shader/RAM'; a single number refers to just the core clock, two numbers refer to core/RAM): Qu/FX = Quadro FX card 8800GT/G = Gigbyte 8800GT 512MB Zalman (Turboforce Edition), stock @ 700/1700/1900. oc'd to 775/1850/1900 on my i7 860. 8800GT/A = ASUS 8800GT 512MB Glaciator, stock @ 602/1512/1800, oc'd to 685/1725/1900 on my i7s, oc'd to 650/1608/1900 on the Athlon64 X2 6000+ 3.225GHz PC (ASUS M2N32 WS Pro, 4GB DDR2/800 RAM). 8800GT/P = John's Palit Xpert Vision 8800GT, running at 600/1500/900. 5850 = Sapphire 5850 Xtreme 1GB, default 725/1000 core/RAM, oc'd to 870/1200 RAM. 4870/A = ASUS 4870, default 750/900 core/RAM. 4870/P = Powercolor 4870, default 750/900 core/RAM. 4870/S = Sapphire 4870, default 750/900 core/RAM. GTX 460 = Original 460 with a 256bit memory interface. GTX 460 V2 = Later 460 with a 192bit memory interface (ironically, these overclock much better). GTX 280/Z = Zotac GTX 280 1GB, stock @ 700/1400/1150. GTX 580/Z = Zotac GTX 580 1.5GB, stock @ 772/1544/1002. GTX 580/E = EVGA GTX 580 1.5GB , stock @ 797//. Remember that the effective data rates of newer GPUs are much higher as they use newer RAM. Data are shown in order of AVG performance. I've included my i7 870 @ stock to show how the results change with the CPU oc to 4270. Note that all i7 870 tests were done with Win7 32bit and old drivers, which may have affected the results, so I'm going to redo these tests when I can (new benching 870 system under construction atm). ***************************************************************************************************************************************** ************************************** MEDIUM RES RESULTS ******************************************************************************* Testing at 1920 x 1080, 4X AA, 8X AF, NCP/CCC = Max Performance, Ship Colour Variations OFF, More Dynamic Lights OFF: OVERALL Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? AVG FPS Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX580/Z/772 NO 165.50 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX280/Z/700 NO 130.90 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 870 4270 2x GTX460/850 YES 123.60 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] John i7 930 4136 2x GTX460/800 YES 114.72 Ian i7 870 4270 GTX460/850 NO 114.50 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/685 YES 107.50 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/600 YES 102.70 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] John i7 860 3200 2x 4890 YES 92.91 Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 4870/A+P/750 YES 84.60 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/900 NO 84.10 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 5850/725 YES 84.00 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian i7 870 2930 GTX460/850 NO 81.50 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 80.40 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/725 NO 79.40 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/685 NO 76.40 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/600 NO 70.20 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/900 NO 68.20 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 2x 5850/725 YES 67.40 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/725 NO 66.80 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 4870/A/750 NO 65.90 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian 6000+ 3446 GTX460/850 NO 61.30 [ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe] Ian Opteron 2600 GTX460/850 NO 40.80 [SUN Ultra 40 M2, 2X dual-core Opteron 2218] ******* TRADE ******* Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? MIN AVG MAX Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX280/Z/700 NO 36.0 91.4 208.0 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX580/Z/770 NO 39.0 90.1 206.0 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/685 NO 25.0 66.3 160.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 GTX460/850 NO 25.0 66.3 156.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 2x GTX460/850 YES 25.0 65.8 158.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/600 YES 25.0 65.7 156.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/685 YES 26.0 64.9 158.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/600 NO 25.0 64.6 148.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] John i7 930 4136 2x GTX460/800 YES 22.0 61.8 144.0 John i7 860 3200 2x 4890 YES 19.0 50.8 117.0 Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/725 NO 18.0 45.5 95.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/900 NO 19.0 45.3 95.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 4870/A+P/750 YES 17.0 45.2 96.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 5850/725 YES 17.0 45.1 94.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 17.0 45.0 95.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian i7 870 2930 GTX460/850 NO 15.0 43.9 105.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/900 NO 13.0 36.7 78.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 2x 5850/725 YES 14.0 36.3 78.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/725 NO 12.0 36.0 77.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 4870/A/750 NO 13.0 35.7 76.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian 6000+ 3446 GTX460/850 NO 12.0 33.2 72.0 [ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe] Ian Opteron 2600 GTX460/850 NO 5.0 22.3 50.0 [SUN Ultra 40 M2, 2X dual-core Opteron 2218] ******* FIGHT ******* Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? MIN AVG MAX Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX580/Z/770 NO 74.0 194.4 433.0 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX280/Z/700 NO 73.0 187.2 443.0 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 870 4270 2x GTX460/850 YES 53.0 146.1 334.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 GTX460/850 NO 53.0 139.7 299.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] John i7 930 4136 2x GTX460/800 YES 51.0 136.6 306.0 Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/685 YES 54.0 134.2 293.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/600 YES 52.0 129.4 255.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] John i7 860 3200 2x 4890 YES 41.0 110.4 244.0 Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/685 NO 30.0 103.4 156.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 2930 GTX460/850 NO 35.0 97.0 230.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 4870/A+P/750 YES 37.0 95.8 201.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/900 NO 37.0 95.5 201.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/725 NO 36.0 95.1 200.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 5850/725 YES 36.0 94.9 199.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/600 NO 52.0 94.5 127.0 Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 36.0 91.7 181.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/900 NO 29.0 77.2 164.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/725 NO 29.0 76.4 163.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 2x 5850/725 YES 29.0 76.3 161.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 4870/A/750 NO 28.0 74.9 160.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian 6000+ 3446 GTX460/850 NO 27.0 69.9 152.0 [ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe] Ian Opteron 2600 GTX460/850 NO 2.0 42.1 107.0 [SUN Ultra 40 M2, 2X dual-core Opteron 2218] ******* BUILD ******* Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? MIN AVG MAX Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX580/Z/770 NO 155.0 260.6 460.0 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 870 4270 2x GTX460/850 YES 112.0 196.4 426.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] John i7 930 4136 2x GTX460/800 YES 103.0 181.9 385.0 Ian i7 870 4270 GTX460/850 NO 113.0 170.8 240.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX280/Z/700 NO 105.0 170.2 239.0 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/685 YES 107.0 156.4 212.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] John i7 860 3200 2x 4890 YES 85.0 144.4 259.0 Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/600 YES 97.0 143.2 201.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 4870/A+P/750 YES 81.0 133.6 276.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/900 NO 82.0 133.4 229.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 5850/725 YES 80.0 132.3 265.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian i7 870 2930 GTX460/850 NO 73.0 127.8 216.0 Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 81.0 125.8 170.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/725 NO 22.0 118.2 196.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/900 NO 65.0 108.0 225.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 2x 5850/725 YES 64.0 106.3 216.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/725 NO 64.0 105.8 189.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 4870/A/750 NO 63.0 104.1 172.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian 6000+ 3446 GTX460/850 NO 57.0 96.8 199.0 [ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/685 NO 56.0 88.7 124.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/600 NO 52.0 79.0 109.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian Opteron 2600 GTX460/850 NO 39.0 67.1 143.0 [SUN Ultra 40 M2, 2X dual-core Opteron 2218] ******* THINK ******* Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? MIN AVG MAX Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX580/Z/770 NO 64.0 117.1 218.0 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 870 4270 2x GTX460/850 YES 45.0 86.0 166.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 GTX460/850 NO 45.0 81.3 159.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] John i7 930 4136 2x GTX460/800 YES 42.0 78.5 145.0 Ian i7 2700K 5000 GTX280/Z/700 NO 52.0 74.7 137.0 [ASUS Maximus IV Extreme] Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/685 YES 42.0 74.5 132.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 2x 8800GT/A/600 YES 45.0 72.7 131.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] John i7 860 3200 2x 4890 YES 35.0 66.1 126.0 Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 4870/A+P/750 YES 35.0 63.7 112.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 2x 5850/725 YES 35.0 63.6 113.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/900 NO 36.0 62.3 114.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 36.0 59.0 103.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 4110 5850/725 NO 36.0 58.8 97.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian i7 870 2930 GTX460/850 NO 29.0 57.2 114.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/900 NO 28.0 50.9 92.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 2x 5850/725 YES 28.0 50.6 91.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 5850/725 NO 28.0 49.0 92.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian Ath2 250 3014 4870/A/750 NO 27.0 49.0 90.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/685 NO 32.0 47.2 80.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian 6000+ 3446 GTX460/850 NO 24.0 45.2 83.0 [ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe] Ian i7 870 4270 8800GT/A/600 NO 29.0 42.7 72.0 [Asrock P55 Deluxe] Ian Opteron 2600 GTX460/850 NO 17.0 31.9 59.0 [SUN Ultra 40 M2, 2X dual-core Opteron 2218] ***************************************************************************************************************************************** **************************************** HIGH RES RESULTS ******************************************************************************* Testing at 2560 x 1440, 8X AA, 16X AF, NCP/CCC = Max Quality, Ship Colour Variations ON, More Dynamic Lights ON: OVERALL Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? AVG FPS Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 60.50 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] ******* TRADE ******* Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? MIN AVG MAX Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 18.0 42.9 89.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] ******* FIGHT ******* Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? MIN AVG MAX Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 36.0 73.0 111.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] ******* BUILD ******* Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? MIN AVG MAX Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 57.0 83.4 118.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] ******* THINK ******* Tester CPU MHz GFX CF/SLI? MIN AVG MAX Ian Ath2 250 4110 4870/A/750 NO 26.0 42.5 77.0 [Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DQ6] ***************************************************************************************************************************************** Conclusions ^^^^^^^^^^^ SLI/CF definitely doesn't help for this test (if anything it harms performance); BUILD and THINK do go up a little with SLI/CF, but only if the CPU is fast - otherwise performance can drop, suggesting any increase is purely accidental. Indeed, reading forum posts on the subject, it seems clear X3TC is heavily CPU-bound, and also does not make that much use of multiple cores. Thus, it will be interesting to see how well my i3 550 system performs which is running at a significantly higher clock than the 870 (atm the 550 is at 4.7GHz), though in absolute terms it probably won't beat the i7 2700K. I also have an i5 670 which with luck should run at 5.0 or more. Already though it's obvious that a good CPU is critical for X3TC, eg. this is why an oc'd i7 870 with a generic 8800GT can beat a stock i7 870 with a normally much quicker GTX 460, and of course it's why the GTX 280 with a 5GHz 2700K is so high up the tables (infact with the same 2700K it manages to just beat a GTX 580 for the TRADE test). A better gfx card does help, but not if the CPU is poor, eg. for an oc'd i7 870, performance doubles when moving from an 8800GT to a GTX 460. At 2560x1440, even a single 4870 with a moderately old CPU runs ok, suggesting X3TC doesn't use much VRAM. Thus, it wouldn't surprise me if 512MB cards can run it ok at this resolution aswell. I will test with 3870 cards once the CPU is changed to a Ph2 965 on the relevant board. ******************************************************************************** John has two Radeon 4890s, two Palit GTX 460 1GB Sonic Platinums (800MHz core), a GTX 550 Ti and a couple of 5850s. I have a wide range of different GPUs: four 8800GTs (2 x 512MB, 2 x 1GB; where I say I have four of a type of card, it's because I have the same 512MB/1GB split so I can compare RAM usage issues), four 9800GTs, three EVGA GTX 460 FTWs (850MHz core), two EVGA GTX 460 SSC V2s (867MHz, these oc to 1GHz+), two Sonic Platinums (not yet tested these), a Palit GTX 460 768MB (overclocks to 868MHz), two 3870s, five 4870s (three 1GB, two 512MB), two Sapphire 5850 1GB Xtremes, three X1950Pro (one AGP & two PCIe for CF), a 3850 AGP, 4670 1GB PCIe and various Quadro professional cards from old entry up to Quadro 4000. Note that I did earlier tests using an i7 860 system, but that's now been replaced with an i7 870 setup at a higher clock. I'll remove the 860 results at some point. John's i7 2700K is running on an ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 with 16GB DDR3/1333. CPU-Z of John's i7 930 system: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1319930 CPU-Z of John's i7 860 system: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1517889 CPU-Z of my old i7 860 system: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1295195 CPU-Z of my new i7 870 system: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1507189 CPU-Z of John's i7 2700K system: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2414426 CPU-Z of my i7 2700K system: http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2334534 CPU-Z of my new 6000+ system: http://valid.canardpc.com/2774696 CPU-Z of my Athlon II X2 250: http://valid.canardpc.com/2798885 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Benchmark Info: http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/pctests.html http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/tests-jj.txt http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/uniginebench.txt http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/uniginebench2.txt http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/uniginebench3.txt http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/uniginebench4.txt http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/aebench.html http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/viewperf.txt http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/cinebench.html http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/ptboats.txt http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/callofjuarez.txt http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/misc/farcry2.txt