Benchmarks: Gaming
No real surprises in 3DMark Vantage. Intel's Core i7 990X has a slight edge, but the modest gap between the range-topping hexa-core part and the quad-core Core i7 2600K doesn't warrant an additional £540 outlay.
Call of Duty: Black Ops confirms 3DMark's analysis. A high-end, modern-day CPU is unlikely to become a bottleneck when it comes to 3D gaming. If it's high frame rates and eye-candy you're after, the £780 asking price of the Core i7 990X would be better spent on a sub-£200 processor and a doubling- or tripling-up of GPUs.
StarCraft II is one of the most CPU dependant games available, but once again there's little to separate a £780 Core i7 990X and a £165 Core i5 2500K.
