Intel Unveils Sandy Bridge: Core i7 2600K, i5 2500K, i5 2400, i3 2100 CPUs

Left 4 Dead 2

The Sequel to Valve Corporation’s award-winning Left 4 Dead, Left
4 Dead 2 involves the aftermath of an apocalyptic pandemic. There has
been an outbreak of a pathogen that causes infected humans to behave
like zombies. The four survivors have to fight their way through the
hordes of infected, using safehouses along the way to rest and recover
in order to reach extraction points. This takes place in the southern
United States, featuring Savannah, GA and New Orleans, LA.

We tested Left 4 Dead 2 at its highest settings but with no Anti-Aliasing at three resolutions, 1024×768, 1680×1050, and 1920×1080.

In the first of our game tests we have Left 4 Dead 2. Please note that FPS are reported by FRAPS and can have a 2-5% variance. The first thing we notice is that the extra clock speed of Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge processors provides a consistently better gaming experience than Core i7 875K Lynnfield, as well as all AMD Phenom II processors. Core i3 2100 again shows off its superior memory controller compared to Core i5 661. Core i5 750 has been the darling of gamers and overclockers on a budget, but is consistently outperformed. Let’s take a look at Starcraft II performance to see what trends may exist.