Fallout 3 is based on the same engine used by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and it is a DirectX 9.0c (Shader 3.0) game. We configured the game with “ultra” image quality settings, maxing out all image quality settings, at 2560x1600. To measure performance, we used the FRAPS utility running an outdoor scene at God mode, running through enemy fire, triggering post processing effects, and ending with a big explosion in front of Dupont Circle.

On Fallout 3 Core i5-750 achieved the same performance level as Core i7-870 and Core 2 Extreme QX 9770, being 7.71% faster than Core 2 Duo E8400 and 22.65% faster than Core 2 Quad Q6600.

Core i7-965 was 3.40% faster than Core i7-870 and 5.61% faster than Core i5-750. Core i7-920 achieved the same performance level as Core i7-870, being 3.25% faster than Core i5-750.

Core i7-870 was 3.44% faster than Core 2 Extreme QX 9770, 10.01% faster than Core 2 Duo E8400 and 25.27% faster than Core 2 Quad Q6600.

Core i7-920 and Core i5-750, which run at the same clock rate, achieved a practically similar performance level (Core i7-920 was 3.25% faster).