Game Tests: 720p

On popular demand from comments over the past several CPU reviews, we are including game tests at 720p (1280x720 pixels) resolution. All games from our CPU test suite are put through 720p, a low resolution that serves to highlight theoretical CPU performance because games are extremely CPU-limited at this resolution. Of course, nobody buys a PC with a $200+ processor to game at 720p (something a cheap $60 Celeron will do just fine), but the results are of academic value because a CPU that can't do 144 frames per second at 720p will never reach that mark at higher resolutions either. So these numbers could interest high refresh-rate gaming PC builders with fast 120 Hz and 144 Hz monitors. Our 720p tests hence serve as synthetic tests in that they are not real-world (720p isn't a real-world PC-gaming resolution anymore) even though the game tests themselves are not synthetic (they're real games, not 3D benchmarks).