HD 7970: Bulldozer vs. Sandy Bridge vs. Nehalem

W1zzard · Dec 29, 2011

In our CPU scaling article we investigate gaming performance of AMD's latest Radeon HD 7970 flagship. The processors in our test group have been selected to match popular CPUs used by gamers and enthusiasts: AMD FX-8150 Bulldozer, Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge and Intel Core i7-920 Nehalem.

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qubit · Dec 29, 2011

Excellent review. :toast:

Unfortunately, Bulldozer is what it is and it doesn't matter what system you put it in, you get about the same results.

I look forward to an updated version of this review once the Windows threading patch comes out.

Wrigleyvillain · Dec 29, 2011

Thanks

Andrei23 · Dec 29, 2011

Nice review. but bulldozer is still a fail for gaming.

dj-electric · Dec 29, 2011

2500K, Chuck norris use this CPU.
thanks for the megabench w1zz, i know how long and frustrating are all those tests

Frick · Dec 29, 2011

Andrei23 said:
Nice review. but bulldozer is still a fail for gaming.

Naah. It's slower than SB but holds up good against .. that older Intel chip. But yeah, if you're a hardcore gamer intel is the way to go.

BTW, it would be awesome if Battlefield 3 was to be included there.

TotalChaos · Dec 29, 2011

nice comparison looks like AMD still has work to do !

W1zzard · Dec 29, 2011

Frick said:
BTW, it would be awesome if Battlefield 3 was to be included there.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_CPU_Scaling/5.html

how could you not find it in the alphabetically sorted list of games ?

Frick · Dec 30, 2011

W1zzard said:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_CPU_Scaling/5.html

how could you not find it in the alphabetically sorted list of games ?

Beats me. I don't really know what I was thinking there. :eek:

mastrdrver · Dec 30, 2011

Very nice, thanks!

A request? How about the same with with crossfire comparing FX and Thuban?

Damn_Smooth · Dec 30, 2011

mastrdrver said:
Very nice, thanks!

A request? How about the same with with crossfire comparing FX and Thuban?

The results would be a minimal difference. It sounds like a waste of time.

JustaTinkerer · Dec 30, 2011

While we are on the subject of requests, any chance of doctoring the results so bulldozer wins something...anything, put in a category like "comes in a nice looking box" bulldozer might win something....make me feel better about my choice, and I only have the 8120!
Cant believe the 920 beat it more times than not, only thing I want to play now is 3d mark 11 and that's not even a game...
Could have saved my self some cash and just picked up a 920 for £80-90.
This patch better be some kind of magic, Merlin himself better be writing it.

newtekie1 · Dec 30, 2011

I'd like to see this again, but this time with "modest" overclocks on the CPUs. Say the SandyBridge at 4.0GHz, the Nehalem at 3.6-3.8GHz, and the Bulldozer at 4.0GHz+.

None the less, a very nice review, and really goes to show that upgrading CPUs isn't really a priority right now.

mediasorcerer · Dec 30, 2011

Good bit of info,thanx.

FreedomEclipse · Dec 30, 2011

newtekie1 said:
I'd like to see this again, but this time with "modest" overclocks on the CPUs. Say the SandyBridge at 4.0GHz, the Nehalem at 3.6-3.8GHz, and the Bulldozer at 4.0GHz+.

None the less, a very nice review, and really goes to show that upgrading CPUs isn't really a priority right now.

I think there was a review of this not long before or after BDs release. It showed that clock for clock. SB still beat the hell out of BD.

you can overclock it but the performance gains wouldnt be anywhere near as big as Intels.

fullinfusion · Dec 30, 2011

newtekie1 said:
I'd like to see this again, but this time with "modest" overclocks on the CPUs. Say the SandyBridge at 4.0GHz, the Nehalem at 3.6-3.8GHz, and the Bulldozer at 4.0GHz+.

None the less, a very nice review, and really goes to show that upgrading CPUs isn't really a priority right now.

The BD wouldnt show anything different then the review shows... There junk till about 4.8GHz and by that time your looking for a way to cool the bitch.
And shows not to bother upgrading cpu's now.... only if you own a Bulldozer its time to upgrade :laugh:

qubit said:
Excellent review.

Unfortunately, Bulldozer is what it is and it doesn't matter what system you put it in, you get about the same results.

I look forward to an updated version of this review once the Windows threading patch comes out.

I wouldnt waste the man's time... It's more then a patch thats going to make this cpu shine. Toss it on the train tracks and after its rolled over and over is about the best it'll shine. :rolleyes:

Damn_Smooth said:
The results would be a minimal difference. It sounds like a waste of time.

I 2nd that

DrunkenMafia · Dec 30, 2011

Andrei23 said:
Nice review. but bulldozer is still a fail for gaming.

:shadedshu

I have a FX for gaming and its the best gaming machine I have ever owned.

fullinfusion · Dec 30, 2011

^ sorry to hear that JJ

FreedomEclipse said:
I think there was a review of this not long before or after BDs release. It showed that clock for clock. SB still beat the hell out of BD.

you can overclock it but the performance gains wouldnt be anywhere near as big as Intels.

you got that right...
Look at the same clocks vs clocks...
Bulldozer 8150 @ 5ghz

Same clocks but on a SB 2700K
Both systems had the memory speeds and timings as well as the gpu was 1000/1500MHz for both runs... SB Is a huge winner

qubit · Dec 30, 2011

Frick said:
Beats me. I don't really know what I was thinking there.

You muppet! :toast:

Don't worry, you're not alone in this...

fullinfusion said:
I wouldnt waste the man's time... It's more then a patch thats going to make this cpu shine. Toss it on the train tracks and after its rolled over and over is about the best it'll shine.

Sure, it won't change dramatically, but I think it would be nice to perhaps have a quick version of it with just a couple of games out of interest, though.

Toss it on the tracks, oh so cruel... lol

fullinfusion · Dec 30, 2011

qubit said:
Sure, it won't change dramatically, but I think it would be nice to perhaps have a quick version of it with just a couple of games out of interest, though.

Toss it on the tracks, oh so cruel... lol

lol but its true hahahahahaha :roll:

karnak · Dec 30, 2011

Great article, but I would like to see a redux with eyefinity on all games. That would be interesting.

Jstn7477 · Dec 30, 2011

It's interesting that in some games Bulldozer only seems to do good at 2560*1600 while being slowest on the rest of the resolutions. My only guess is that the card is taxed at that resolution, negating any CPU differences.

Glad I went 2600K + Z68, as it looks like I shouldn't need an upgrade for a while. AMD and I had some good years, but the performance has been "meh" for quite some time. I know my 4GHz 955BE wouldn't be able to hold 120FPS in Team Fortress 2 on my ASUS VG236H, but my Intel does 98% of the time (if a poorly optimized map comes up or my system has been on for too long it does drop). I'd be interested to see how BD does in that game, as it is still very CPU intensive and doesn't like AMD CPUs too much it seems.

Thanks for the review, W1zzard! Good to know I made a good investment.

GSquadron · Dec 30, 2011

So if if you still have a first-generation Core i7, there's no need for you to upgrade

Remove an if please

Nice idea of making a review like this one
I don't understand why sandy bridge with the core i5 is so powerful
when it has less parameters showed in the table?

eidairaman1 · Dec 30, 2011

qubit said:
Excellent review.

Unfortunately, Bulldozer is what it is and it doesn't matter what system you put it in, you get about the same results.

I look forward to an updated version of this review once the Windows threading patch comes out.

That and the Revised CPU arch (Stepping) or Piledriver Arch)

Bulldozer is far from a fail or horrible just many people blow it out of proportion (all fanboys which are blind anyway). (I do build AMD or Intel machines for clients, all depends on their budget)

Tell you truth I really want to see Skulltrail 2 or FX dual Machines again

1Kurgan1 · Dec 30, 2011

Nice review, though would have been interesting to see a 100t in there just for comparison sake to the 8150, as I hear everyone saying that the PII's are faster.

Processor	Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory	48 GB
Video Card(s)	RTX 4080
Storage	2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s)	30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software	Windows 10 64-bit

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Storage	Samsung 850 Pro 256GB \| WD Black 4TB \| WD Blue 6TB
Display(s)	ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) \| Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case	Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply	Corsair AX1600i
Mouse	Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard	Yes
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

System Name	DarkStar
Processor	i5 3570K 4.4Ghz
Motherboard	Asrock Z77 Extreme 3
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Memory	8GB Samsung Green 1600
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Case	Enthoo Pro
Power Supply	Seasonic Platinum 760
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Keyboard	Ducky Pro MX Black
Software	Windows 8.1 x64

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 7600
Motherboard	MSI X670E Gaming Plus Wifi
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Corsair Vengeance @ 6000Mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
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Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
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Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Dell SK3205
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	Main Rig
Processor	AMD FX-6100
Motherboard	Asus SABERTOOTH 990FX
Cooling	Fans:1x120mm, 2x140mm
Memory	16GB Hyper-X DDR III 1866 9-11-9-27-1T
Video Card(s)	Sapphire 6950 2GB x 2
Storage	Kingston V200+ 128GB SSD + OCZ Petrol 64GB SSD + WDB 500GB + WDB 640GB + WDB 750GB
Display(s)	Asus PA238QR IPS @ 1920x1080
Case	Lancool
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek HD Audio
Power Supply	Corsair HX850
Software	Windows 8 Pro X64

System Name	Money Hole
Processor	Core i7 970
Motherboard	Asus P6T6 WS Revolution
Cooling	Noctua UH-D14
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Video Card(s)	Sapphire Tri-X OC R9 290X
Storage	Samsung 1TB 850 Evo
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Audio Device(s)	ADI (onboard)
Power Supply	Enermax Revolution 85+ 1050w
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Logitech G710+
Software	Windows 10 Professional x64

System Name	Runs Smooth
Processor	FX 8350
Motherboard	Crosshair V Formula Z
Cooling	Corsair H110 with AeroCool Shark 140mm fans
Memory	16GB G-skill Trident X 1866 Cl. 8
Video Card(s)	HIS 7970 IceQ X² GHZ Edition
Storage	OCZ Vector 256GB SSD & 1Tb piece of crap
Display(s)	acer H243H
Case	NZXT Phantom 820 matte black
Audio Device(s)	Nada
Power Supply	NZXT Hale90 V2 850 watt
Software	Windows 7 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Lesbians are hot!!!

System Name	Just need to tidy it up now
Processor	FX-8120
Motherboard	Asus M5A99X EVO 990X
Cooling	Custom Water
Memory	Corsair Vengeance 8GB
Video Card(s)	BFG GTX 280 H2OC
Storage	OCZ ocz vertex plus(60GB), 2TB hdd
Display(s)	1x ACER x19ws ( need new one)
Case	Custom
Power Supply	(GOT) OCZ GameXStream 1010 Watt
Software	LOL
Benchmark Scores	Soon, very very soon, just need to tidy it up.

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
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Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
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Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	THE MEDIAMACHINE
Processor	i5-3570k
Motherboard	Asus gene v z-77 matx.
Cooling	Antec h20 620
Memory	2x4gb g.skill ripjaws z 2400
Video Card(s)	h.i.s radeon 7950 reference 3 gb- hooray!!!
Storage	samsung 128gb~830 ssd. samsung 500gb hdrive.
Display(s)	22 inch tele.
Case	circa 1996 grey rat box with no sides front.until my own is finished
Audio Device(s)	inbuilt creative.supreme effects 3
Power Supply	thermaltake tt-500w
Software	win 7 x64-
Benchmark Scores	Coming soon

System Name	WorkInProgress
Processor	AMD 7800X3D
Motherboard	MSI X670E GAMING PLUS
Cooling	Thermalright AM5 Contact Frame + Phantom Spirit 120SE
Memory	2x32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO DDR5 6000 CL32
Video Card(s)	Asus Dual Radeon™ RX 6700 XT OC Edition
Storage	WD SN770 1TB (Boot)\|1x WD SN850X 8TB (Gaming)\| 2x2TB WD SN770\| 2x2TB+2x4TB Crucial BX500
Display(s)	LG GP850-B
Case	Corsair 760T (White) {1xCorsair ML120 Pro\|5xML140 Pro}
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V573\|Speakers: JBL Control One\|Auna 300-CN\|Wharfedale Diamond SW150
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-850 80+ GOLD
Mouse	Logitech G502 X
Keyboard	Duckyshine Dead LED(s) III
Software	Windows 11 Home
Benchmark Scores	ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ

System Name	GaMEr / HTPC
Processor	FX8320 4.5ghz so far NB- 2815mhz / X2 255 @ 3.2ghz (Temp till BD)
Motherboard	990FX-UD5 / GA-MA785GPMT-US2H
Cooling	XSPC - 240rad 480rad 5 x 120mm out, 6 x 80mm in / H220-edge 1/2" & 2 x 120mm Magma
Memory	4gb PI 6,8,6,18 1T 1706mhz / 4gb Crucial D9's 1400 @ 6,6,6,18,1T
Video Card(s)	3gb HD7950 / Onboard
Storage	2 x 120gb Sandisk ultra plus 2tb WD / 60gb vertex 2 + 2 x 2tb WD Greens
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Case	LL PC71A Full tower / Antec fusion black with Imon remote Modded for WC
Audio Device(s)	OB / Auzentech cinema 7.1
Power Supply	TT 700w TR2 / TT 600w Litepower modded with Noctua S12 fan.
Software	7 Ult / 7 premium x64

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Cooling	Scythe Ninja
Memory	OCZ DDR2-800 2x2GB
Video Card(s)	ASUS 5850 DirectCu Top
Storage	500GB x3
Display(s)	Samsung 2253BW
Case	CoolerMaster 330
Power Supply	Corsair TX750W

System Name	Awesomesauce 4.3 \| Laptop (MSI GE72VR 6RF Apache Pro-023)
Processor	Intel Core i7-5820K 4.16GHz 1.28v/3GHz 1.05v uncore \| Intel Core i7-6700HQ @ 3.1GHz
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-X99-UD5 WiFi LGA2011-v3\| Stock
Cooling	Corsair H100i v2 w/ 2x EK Vardar F4-120ER + various 120/140mm case fans \| Stock
Memory	G.Skill RJ-4 16GB DDR4-2666 CL15 quad channel \| 12GB DDR4-2133
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 1080 Ti Hybrid SC2 11GB @ 2012/5151 boost \| NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB +200/+500 + Intel 530
Storage	Samsung 840 EVO 500GB + Seagate 3TB 7200RPM + others \| Kingston 256GB M.2 SATA + 1TB 7200RPM
Display(s)	Acer G257HU 1440p 60Hz AH-IPS 4ms \| 17.3" 1920*1080 60Hz wide angle TN notebook panel
Case	Fractal Design Define XL R2 \| MSI
Audio Device(s)	Creative Sound Blaster Z \| Realtek with quad stereo speakers and subwoofer
Power Supply	Corsair HX850i Platinum \| 19.5v 180w Delta brick
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64 \| Windows 10 Home x64

System Name	Dark Stealth
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600x
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450M Gaming rev 1.0
Cooling	Snowman, arctic p12 x2 fans
Memory	16x2 DDR4 Corsair Dominator Pro
Video Card(s)	3080 10gb
Storage	2TB NVME PCIE 4.0 Crucial P3 Plus, 1TB Crucial MX500 SSD, 4TB WD RED HDD
Display(s)	HP Omen 34c (34" monitor 3440x1440 165Hz VA panel)
Case	Zalman S2
Power Supply	Corsair 750TX
Mouse	Logitech pro superlight, mx mouse s3, Razer Basiliskx with battery
Keyboard	Custom mechanical keyboard tm680
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	70-80 fps 3440x1440 on cyberpunk 2077 max settings

System Name	PCGOD
Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling	Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory	16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64

System Name	My Comp \| Fiancees Comp
Processor	i7 5820k @ 4.6Ghz 1.285v\| i5 2500k
Motherboard	MSI x99 SLI Plus \| AsRock Z77 Pro 3
Cooling	Watercooled
Memory	16GB DDR4 2400 @ 2666 \| 12GB DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)	AMD R9 290x \| MSI 5850 OC
Storage	128gb SSD + 2x 2TB \| 2TB
Display(s)	Asus 27" LCD \| 25" Hanns G
Case	CM Storm \| CM Elite 430
Audio Device(s)	Creative Recon 3D PCIe
Power Supply	Enermax Galaxy 1250W \| Rosewill 630w
Mouse	Logitech G700s \| Logitech G100s
Keyboard	Logitech G901 \| Logitech G105
Software	Win 8.1 Ultimate x64 \| Win 8.1 Ultimate x64
Benchmark Scores	3D Mark - Fire Strike Extreme - 4403

HD 7970: Bulldozer vs. Sandy Bridge vs. Nehalem

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