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Quick question about Games requiring 3 or 4 cores

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T

Tea_J

Member
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Joined
Jul 23, 2004
Hi guys

I've a Quick question about Games requiring 3 or 4 cores

More and more games are requiring multicore processor, such as GTA and BattleField Bad Company 2


I was wondering.. if a core i5-650 has dual core only, but can run 4 threads using hyper threading, and using software you can see that it seems to be really quadcore (separate processing etc)... will it then be accepted by the games as QUADCORE? I mean will the 4 thread processing be same to the multicore requirement of 4 cores , in Game requirement terms so to speak..

Coz im trying to recommend a gaming PC for a client w/ a limitted budget and the core i5-650 is the primary choice w/ only 2 physical cores, but 4 threads via HT..


http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=42915,43546,



regards

TJ
 
I don't think any game requires quad core, but recommend it.

I have my E8400 @ 4GHz and it still runs everything like a champ.

I don't know of late, but even recently with Crysis, high speed dual cores > middle speed quads for gaming.
 
It will be seen as 4 cores, however as far as performance goes, it wont be equal as the HT tech isnt 1:1 for performance. Get him an i5 750.
 
WonderingSoul said:
I don't think any game requires quad core, but recommend it.

I have my E8400 @ 4GHz and it still runs everything like a champ.

I don't know of late, but even recently with Crysis, high speed dual cores > middle speed quads for gaming.
Click to expand...

tell that to GTA IV and BC2.

i think BC2 is just not coded well cause it east my Q8200. although i am only at 2.4Ghz, my friend has a E8400 stock and he has lag issues with BC2, same vid card.
 
Having just finished my upgrade from a oc'd C2D e6420 @ 3.2GHz, to a stock i7 930 (with its built in oc'ing), I have seen a HUGE improvement in my games so far, most of which can use at least 2 cores. While the C2D was nearly or fully maxed in most of my games, and the 285GTX only getting at most 60% util (games were being CPU limited), now my games are running great, with the GPU being utilized much more, and the i7 barely breaking a sweat.

Example; The StarTalesBenchmark went from being 100% util on both e6430 cores, and only around 60% util on the 285, avg around 30fps, to being around 10% util on the i7 cores, and nearly 100% util on the 285, and getting about a straight flat and smooth 60fps.
 
EarthDog said:
It will be seen as 4 cores, however as far as performance goes, it wont be equal as the HT tech isnt 1:1 for performance. Get him an i5 750.
Click to expand...

hmm.. but the i5 750 will mean he gets a lower videocard coz he'll be over budget haha. but as w/ our experience in GTA 4 and BC2, even w/ a Radeon 5870 , if using dualcore the game lags like crazy.. but atleast w/ i5 650, the game can throw its processing to the 3rd required thread.. maybe it'll be able to handle it .. maybe.. tough decision.. going w/ lowever 5770 videocard and i5 750 or 5850 w/ i5 650. we'll sleep on it. lol
 
What is his budget?
What resolution will he be gaming at?

Also note in some games, HT actually hurts game performance....take a read HERE, HERE, and HERE.
 
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Hyperthreading at least on a Quad Core with gaming is bad and can reduce frame rates as much as 30-50% if not more.

I've played around with this quiet a bit and the reasing behind its slower as mentioned above HT isn't a full processor core, it fills in gaps that the processor its tied to to more fully utilize its abilities. Some things get huge boosts others don't. I have some threads on the boards and even an article on the front page about this. http://www.overclockers.com/intel-i7-920-finding-the-sweet-spot/

I think its because the OS doesn't reconize that a HT core as what it is, not a full processor core. Which it might task objects to it but there will be a drastic performance hit because of it.

With more things coming out these days that utilize quad cores in games, and graphic card drivers helping out with having quads also.

What does he plan on using it for, as mentioned above. What res, what does he do with it, etc. Give us the info ;)

Truely though I'd go for the quad core, forget the dual... save a bit more money and go bigger. Or if he has a system currently, try selling parts or the whole thing to raise the funds for the larger processor. It will be worth it.
 
Mr.Guvernment said:
tell that to GTA IV and BC2.

i think BC2 is just not coded well cause it east my Q8200. although i am only at 2.4Ghz, my friend has a E8400 stock and he has lag issues with BC2, same vid card.
Click to expand...

BC2 scales very well with OC'd quads. You'll have to go higher on that Q8200, I'd wager that even with a moderate OC you'll notice a significant fps increase.
 
I'd probably go with a Phenom X4 over a dual core i5. If you can afford an i5 750 or higher then Intel is the obvious choice, but below that I would recommend AMD all the way.
 
don'tknow said:
BC2 scales very well with OC'd quads. You'll have to go higher on that Q8200, I'd wager that even with a moderate OC you'll notice a significant fps increase.
Click to expand...

i couldn't get it much higher for some reason, so i swapped it with a Q9400 and put it to 3Ghz for now :D big difference!
 
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