Intel Core i3 benchmarks appear

The Chinese website IT168 has released a detailed preview of Intel's upcoming Core i3 processor. This new 32nm dualcore chip will feature an integrated dual-channel DDR3 memory controller. The tested Core i3 chip was clocked at 3,06 GHz and compared to the 45nm Core 2 Duo E8400 processor, which had a 3 GHz frequency. Both test systems were equipped with 4 GB of DDR3-1333 memory and a Radeon HD4870 1 GB graphics card, making it possible to create a direct comparison between the two platforms.

The extensive benchmarkset included SiSoft Sandra, Cinebench, 3DMark, Everest and a numer of modern games. In SiSoft Sandra, an application which measures bandwidth, the effect of the integrated memorycontroller immediately shows. The Core i3 achies scores of about 33% higher than its 45nm Core 2 Duo counterpart, which uses a chipset to adress the memory.

Several processor-intensive benchmarks have also been run, including Cinebench R10 and the CPU test in 3DMark 06 and 3DMark Vantage. Again, the Core i3 seems to be a worthy successor to the older 'Wolfdale' dualcore, partially thanks to its HyperThreading technology. In Cinebench, the Core i3 scores almost 25% better than the C2D E8400 and in 3DMark Vantage, the 32nm Core i3 chip gets an advantage of 33%.

Lastly, IT168 has tested a numeber of games on both platforms: Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2 and ET: Quake Wars. Despite several improvements in the Core i3 design, these results can't be called as impressive. The two dualcores perform about equally and in two of the tested games, it's the E8400 that wins the round.

Regardless of its smaller 32nm transistors, the Core i3 processor isn't the most efficient CPU; its 73 Watt TDP clearly exceeds the specified 65 Watt that is set for the Core 2 Duo series. The new Core i3 line-up will be affordable: the 2,93 GHz model will set you back $123 USD and the 3,06 is to cost $143. Image courtesy of IT168.

Tags: ddr3 hd4870 radeon 3dmark cinebench core2

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