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numberwang on 22 December 2023
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JEMC said:
numberwang said:

That's what I don't like about this chart. Any old CPU can win the efficiency crown if you down clock it enough (in the case of the i3-1200F with factory down clock). That is not a meaningful method for game efficiency analysis as we will dip way below 60fps with a 12100F. The 7800X3D/7950X3D using only 61W/65W is a second strange point. You will get better efficiency at these lower watts but why aren't they running at 120W as designed? There is a specific bug with Cyberpunk that prevents it from using AMD multi-threading. It could be that AMD CPUs are less utilized and thus run at lower wattage which increases efficiency.

A couple of things:

1) You're not taking into account any IPC improvements that each new architecture brings to the table. That should be enough to put your "downclocka CPU enough to make it win the efficiency crown" statement. No it wont because it will use less power, but the other CPUs will still be able to do more at the same power thanks to the improvements they have.

2) This is not about downclocking or limiting CPUs until they look good. GamersNexus tested those processors out of the box, at its regular power and frequency settings, and AMD was more efficient out of the box. Then, they limited both CPUs to the same power to see how they would behave with both of them using the same amount of power, to see if Intel appears to be less efficient because they push those chips the most, and the result was still the same.

Simply put, AMD has a more efficient architecture than Intel.

If a 12100F is wining a chart about efficiency (compared to all other non X3D CPUs), that chart is poorly constructed (intentionally?). GamersNexus are turning towards the same snarky clickbait with skewed tests. Main issue here is that you have to equalize free parameters, i.e. set the same wattage across all tested CPUs. AMD does indeed lead in gaming efficiency with X3D chips, however Intel is leading in single thread performance and the high number of E-cores are very efficient in non-gaming applications. More meaningful watt-per-watt comparisons put AMD and Intel in the same efficiency class, depending on specific apps. Intel's unlocked CPUs are a double-edged sword, unlocking was once considered an expensive enthusiast feature and now you get it "for free" but the efficiency curve does drop drastically above 120W. GamersNexus know that trade-off but they constructed some bad charts to get internet points.