IGP Gaming Benchmarks
IGP Gaming Benchmarks
In order to get an idea of how the new Radeon HD 6530D graphics solution in the A6-3650 APU compares to the competition, we decided to test it against the Intel GMA HD IGP (both 733Mhz & 900Mhz variants) found in the Clarkdale chips, the Intel HD Graphics 2000/3000 IGPs in the various Sandy Bridge chips (6 EUs @ 850-1100Mhz/ 12 EUs @ 850-1100Mhz/ 12 EUs @ 850-1350Mhz), and AMD's fastest AM3 platform IGP, the Radeon HD 4290 (40 shaders/700Mhz core clock/UMA+SidePort DDR3-1333) found in the 890GX chipset. We also threw in two low-priced discrete GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA, the Radeon HD 5550 GDDR5 (320 shaders/550Mhz core clock) and the GeForce GT 430 DDR3 (96 shaders/700Mhz core clock).
As we demonstrated earlier, both overall memory bandwidth and the amount of memory allocated to the IGP greatly affects gaming performance, so for these tests with allocated a 1GB UMA frame buffer size, and also tried three difference memory frequency/timing settings.
Futuremark 3DMark06
3DMark06 v1.1.0
Graphic Settings: Default
Resolution: 1280X1024
Test: Specific CPU Score and Full Run 3Dmarks
Comparison: Generated Score
The Futuremark 3DMark series has been a part of the backbone in computer and hardware reviews since its conception. The trend continues today as 3DMark06 provides consumers with a solid synthetic benchmark geared for performance and comparison in the 3D gaming realm. This remains one of the most sought after statistics, as well as an excellent tool for accurate CPU comparison, and it will undoubtedly be used for years to come.
Futuremark 3DMark Vantage
3DMark Vantage v1.0.1
Graphic Settings: Entry Preset
Resolution: 1024X768
Test: Specific CPU Score and Full Run 3Dmarks
Comparison: Generated Score
3DMark Vantage is the follow-up to the highly successful 3DMark06. It uses DirectX 10 exclusively so if you are running Windows XP, you can forget about this benchmark. Along with being a very capable graphics card testing application, it also has very heavily multi-threaded CPU tests, such Physics Simulation and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which makes it a good all-around gaming benchmark.
Far Cry 2
Far Cry 2 1.02
Resolution: 1280x1024
Anti Aliasing: 0
Quality Settings: Medium
Global Settings: DX9 Enabled
Test 1: Ranch Long Demo
Comparison: FPS (Frames per Second)
Far Cry 2 is the hot new new first-person shooter from Ubisoft's Montreal studio, and the first game to utilize the new visually stunning Dunia Engine, which will undoubtedly be used by numerous future games. Using the included Benchmarking Tool, we ran the Long Ranch demo in DX9 mode at 1280x1024 with all settings set to low.
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead (Latest Update)
Resolution: 1680x1050
Filtering: 0X AA / 0X AF
Graphic Settings: Medium
Shader Detail: Medium
Test 1: HWC Custom Timedemo
Comparison: FPS (Frames per Second)
Left 4 Dead is the latest disorienting, fast-paced zombie apocalypse mega-hit from Valve. L4D uses the latest version of the Source engine with enhancements such as multi-core processor support and physics-based animation. We tested at 1680x1050 with in-game details set to low. For benching, we used a pre-recorded 20 minute timedemo taken on the No Mercy campaign during The Apartments mission.
World in Conflict
World in Conflict v1.010
Resolution: 1680x1050
Anti-Aliasing: 0X
Anisotropic Filtering: 0X
Graphic Settings: Medium (DX10)
Test 1: Built-in Benchmark
Comparison: FPS (Frames per Second)
One of the detailed and most visually stunning real-time tactical games in recent history, World in Conflict remains a staple in our gaming lineup . For this test we used the in-game benchmarking tool.
X3: Terran Conflict
X3: Terran Conflict 1.2.0.0
Resolution: 1680x1050
Anti-Aliasing: 0X
Anisotropic Filtering: 0X
Graphic Settings: Medium
Test 1: Built-in Benchmark
Comparison: FPS (Frames per Second)
When compared to the A8-3850, the A6-3650 proved to be between 10 to 25% slower in the games that we tested. This is not too bad when you consider that the Radeon HD 6530D features 25% less Radeon cores (320 vs. 400) and a 35% lower GPU clock frequency (443MHz vs. 600MHz) compared to the higher-end Radeon HD 6550D variant.
Naturally, the A6-3650 left the Core i3-2120 in the dust, achieving frame rates that were on average 60% higher. Although the Radeon HD 6530D is distinctly superior to all the Intel HD IGP variants, the much higher CPU performance of the Sandy Bridge K-series chips does occassionally allow them to achieve similar if not occassionally higher average frame rates than the A6-3650.