3DMark06 measures Shader 3.0 (i.e. DirectX 9.0c) performance. We run this software on its default configuration (1280x1024 resolution with no image quality settings enabled) and besides the 3D score given by this program we also compared the results from its internal CPU benchmark.

All CPUs achieved the same 3DMark06 performance, because the video card was the component limiting 3D performance. This indicates that for the savvy user it may be more interesting to have a more expensive video card than a more expensive CPU. We will talk more about this later.

On the internal CPU benchmark conducted by 3DMark06, Athlon X2 4600+ was the fastest CPU among the ones we included in our comparison, being 3.48% faster than Pentium Dual Core E2180, 3.72% faster than Core 2 Duo E4400, 8.44% faster than Celeron E1400 and 17.28% faster than Pentium Dual Core E2160.

Pentium Dual Core E2180 achieved the same performance level as Core 2 Duo E4400 and was 4.80% faster than Celeron E1400 and 13.34% faster than Pentium Dual Core E2160.

It is important to notice that a higher CPU score in this program didn’t translate into a higher 3DMark score, since the video card is nowadays the component that most affect gaming performance.