Intel 32nm Clarkdale Core i5 661 Dual Core CPU + GPU Evaluation

Real World Benchmarks

LightWave 3D
Our first real world test is LightWave 3D. This is an industry standard 3D Animation and rendering software from Newtek. For our testing runs we chose a sample scene from the Lightwave 8 content file that is installed with the new 9.6 version. Out tests were of the Moonbase scene frame 32. Settings were 1080p resolution, 7-Pass PLD, Gaussian Sharp reconstruction filter, and 512MB segment memory.

LightWave 3D -x64 Rendering in the Real World
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In our real-world rendering tests we do see the Core i5 661 struggle but again this little dual core hangs in there and gives a good showing.

AutoGK 2.55
AutoGK is a compilation of transcoding applications wrapped up into a very nice installer and front end application. It is a great "one-stop" for transcoding or even re-encoding files. For our testing we transcode a 2-hour movie at 100% quality and record the time it takes to complete.

Video Transcoding with AutoGK 2.55
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Unfortunately the Core i5 661 fails at transcoding video formats. I am not saying that it cannot transcode video; the Core i5 661 can, it is just much slower than the other CPUs used in our group. Still, this task is very important to the mainstream user these days. It is a common thing to hear about people "ripping" DVDs and movies to play on their computer, iPhone/iPod or Zune. Sadly the Core i5 661 does not do this very well. It took almost an hour to transcode a 2 hour movie from DVD to a 100% quality AVI file. This was almost 15 minutes slower than the next closest CPU even overclocked it is still up to 5 minutes slower. This is undoubtedly due to it being a Dual Core Vs. a Quad. Truth to be told, native GPU transcoding would beat both Dual and Quad architectures.

Gaming
Gaming is a very real-world test. We do not use benchmarking scripts but actually play the games though a pre-planned level and record the frame rates using FRAPS. This allows up to see exactly how the CPU benefits [or hinders] performance.

Cryostatis: Sleep of Reason
Cryostasis is an interesting game. It combines heavy physics into a horror/survival game into a sub-zero environment.  You also have to take “sprit journeys” to alter the past. If you change the past it affects your present. Settings used are shown below.

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UGH, that is the only word I can come up with to describe the gaming performance of the Core i5 661 and its IGP. Even at lower resolution [with all eye candy shut down] you can barely attain playable frame rates with this game.

FacCry 2
FarcCry 2 is a large "sandbox" style game that does not have any real levels. It is all mission based but allows for a great deal of free movement in the environment. You take the role of a mercenary sent to kill "The Jackal" - a dangerous gun runner. Unfortunately you are overcome by your malaria and end up serving as an errand boy for a local thug. Settings are show below.

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Although the Core i5 661 does a better job with FarCry 2 [and can achieve playable frame rates with a much higher frame rate] it still lags far behind the rest of the crowd.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Modern Warfare 2 has received a lot of press this year. First for Infinity Ward’s decision to drop dedicated servers and then later for some of the numbers that were thrown around. Still no matter what the press; the game is a good game for testing DX9 gaming performance on the DX10 capable IGP built into the Core i5 661.

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Again we find the Core i5 661 is just not a gaming GPU; you simply have to reduce the resolution down too far and remove too much from the game to get playable frame rates.

Gaming recap
The Core i5 661 is just not good enough to bill as a gaming GPU. Even when you reduce the resolution it struggles to achieve playable frame rates. Of course I would say the same thing for 90% of the chipset based IGPs also. They just do not have the raw power to rendering today’s first person shooters, or even many of the real time strategy games. Still when you drop in an add-in card there is not noticeable affect from the IGP on the CPU. It seems to disappear, as does the poor performance. We also have to say that Intel is not pushing the Clarkdale as a hardcore gaming GPU. They do say that it covers mainstream and casual titles right out of the box though. I think what this means is that the GMA HD is capable of handling entry level gaming, but it is not meant for more demanding titles and certainly not the ones we typically use for testing.