The CPU gaming con

[Bert]

So AMD and intel insist that their chips boost gaming performance........
Intel even say with
....... their Core i7-980X Extreme Edition as a component capable of boosting video game performance, and goes so far as to claim it is the "Ultimate Gaming Weapon" that will help you "Experience smoother and more realistic gaming made possible by distributing AI, physics, and rendering across six cores and 12 threads, bringing 3D gaming to life for the ultimate desktop experience"

while looking at benchmarking for the new phenom II x6 processors I found this little benchmark using bad company 2.
what interesting here is that BC2 is one of the few games that utilises 'multi-threaded ~ multiple cores'
testing rig utilised a ATI HD5780 at 1920-1200/high quality/8x AA/16x AF/HBAO

http://benchmarkreviews.com/images/reviews/processor/HDT90ZFBK6DGR/Battlefield-Bad-Company-2_Benchmark.jpg

all the processors are within a few FPS of each other and the winner.... was the phenom II x4 965......... :shock:

this was backed up with a directX 11 Uniengine Heaven 2.0 Dx11 benchmark

http://benchmarkreviews.com/images/reviews/processor/HDT90ZFBK6DGR/Unigine_Heaven-2_DX11_Benchmark.jpg

why.. because of clock speed and nothing else...
so for those of you like myself who are little cash strapped atm but need to update their PC's...
..just bear in mind that a £150 processor can outperform a £800 processor at gaming!!!!
provided you have a decent graphics card


>Phenom II X4 965 specs and price > Specs (http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDetail.aspx?id=591&f1=&f2=&f3=&f4=&f5=&f6=&f7=&f8=&f9=&f10=&f11=&f12=) Price1 (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-253-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1328) Price2 (http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=CPA-AP2965)
>Intel i7 980X Extreme Edition specs and price > Specs (http://www.intel.com/cd/products/services/emea/eng/processors/corei7ee/overview/405905.htm) Price1 (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-323-IN) Price2 (http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=CPI-I7980X)


Test Rigs

Intel X58 Test Platform

* Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 (Intel X58/ICH10R/Marvell SE9128) with F7 BIOS
* Processor: 2.66GHz Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield/Nehalem BX80601920 ($280)
* Processor: 3.33GHz Intel Core i7-980X Gulftown/Westmere BX80613I7980X ($1150)
* System Memory: Kingston HyperX DDR3 KHX2000C8D3T1K3/6GX (6GB 1333MHz CL7-7-7-20)
* Primary Drive: OCZ Agility-EX SLC SSD OCZSSD2-1AGTEX60G firmware 1.50
* Graphics Adapter: ATI Radeon HD 5870 (Catalyst 10.3)
* Power Supply Unit: OCZ Z-Series Gold 850W (OCZZ850)

AMD 890FX Test Platform

* Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair-IV Formula ROG (AMD 890FX/SB850/JMB363) with 0505 BIOS
* Processor: 3.4GHz AMD Phenom-II X4-965 HDZ965FBK4DGM ($186)
* Processor: 3.2GHz AMD Phenom-II X6-1090T HDT90ZFBK6DGR ($300 MSRP)
* Processor: 4.0GHz/4.3TC AMD Phenom-II X6-1090T HDT90ZFBK6DGR
* System Memory: Kingston HyperX DDR3 KHX2000C8D3T1K3/6GX (4GB 1333MHz CL7-7-7-20)
* Primary Drive: OCZ Agility-EX SLC SSD OCZSSD2-1AGTEX60G firmware 1.50
* Graphics Adapter: ATI Radeon HD 5870 (Catalyst 10.3)
* Power Supply Unit: OCZ Z-Series Gold 850W (OCZZ850)

[Kharak]

I´d like to point out, that in that benchmark they use Core i7 920, the AMD would be completely ruined by a 980 Extreme and if over clocked.. God have mercy on AMD :P

edit: Just noticed the 980 in the middle there :P still I stand by my statement regarding the OC of the i7´s

[Chriss-FIN-]

Why that little difference ? Could it be that OS and other things does not support those...
Also not long a go 2 core's were quite equal about gaming speeds with quad cores... but whaaaam quad cores became noticeably faster with recent games... but when this happens that x6 come faster, i bet i can be counted as year's...

[Kharak]

i7 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Speedstar1776]

me too, i prefer Intel CPUs and chipsets

[GUEST]

I prefer Intel nowadays but AMD are always gonna be very competitive, these two frog jump each other every few years, a bit like ATI/Nvidia always have.

I do see this as a benchmark comparison for CPU's but in real gaming terms the CPU means little from top to bottom of the current ranges/platforms when paired with a decent GPU.

Put your money into a CPU you can afford, dont worry about the OC'ing and put a little extra money into a GFX card when you decide to jump.

There were times when an upgrade to a better CPU would decide if a game would run or not. The 386 would hardly give you a frame rate in DOOM yet the 486DX2 would run it perfectly, yet the difference was only 50mhz in those days.

[Kharak]

Yup! GPU´s are one of the biggest factors when deciding how a game will run.

I got i7 920, but with a Radeon 4800 I don´t think I am utilizing the possibilities :)

[Dax]

Do you know how much I can OC my phenom at? while still being 100% stable, and using a stock fan?

It's alot :P

[UNR3AL V1P3R]

hi guys did a few benchmarks with the unigine dx11 heres the results clocked and default.
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1493/uniginedx1133ghzpngram1.png

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7461/uniginedx1134ghzpngram1.png

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3676/uniginedx11375ghzpngram.png

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/4381/uniginedx1140ghz.png

as you can see guys theres only a few frames in it and the fact that your eyes will only see up to 35 fps anything above you cant see
in a sence its a fruitless goal.

the other thing to note is most games have a fps limit build in for the when online as it helps control the pings of players.
in most games you can change the max fps and it will help drop your ping go to far and it will push ur ping high.
also another way of droping ur online ping is to use a sound card and not onboard.

[Kharak]

I´m interested in anything that can decrease my lag. Cause I got **** loads of it.

[Bert]

I actually disagree about intel having better chips
Yes the I7's kick amd's asses in all the benchmarks... but benchmarking is not real PC use..
in the real world you only need mid range intel or high range amd performace maximum... unless you are doing a lot of video encoding.

and the real difference is price.. AMD are simply better value for money you get far more 'bang for your buck' and with GPU being far more important that CPU performance in gaming you are far better getting a mid range chip from intel or a high AMD and speding the difference on a decent GPU.

[UNR3AL V1P3R]

hi guys did a few benchmarks with the unigine dx11 heres the results clocked and default.
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1493/uniginedx1133ghzpngram1.png

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7461/uniginedx1134ghzpngram1.png

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3676/uniginedx11375ghzpngram.png

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/4381/uniginedx1140ghz.png

as you can see guys theres only a few frames in it and the fact that your eyes will only see up to 35 fps anything above you cant see
in a sence its a fruitless goal.

the other thing to note is most games have a fps limit build in for the when online as it helps control the pings of players.
in most games you can change the max fps and it will help drop your ping go to far and it will push ur ping high.
also another way of droping ur online ping is to use a sound card and not onboard.

update bench with gpu clocked an extra 125mhz and mem by 150 mhz

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/3518/gpu825mem1325.png

as you can see there was quite a different when overclocking gpu & mem on the video card.
just remeber buying the all sing and dancing cpu wont mean you have the best for gaming! unless your unsure about overclocking!
then it could be a safe bet for some of you.
for gaming most of it lies with the video card but you dont ave to pay silly money!
two ati 5770hd will out bench and ati 5870 with and saving of between 30 - 50 quid depend of brand you buy.
then you still ave the overclocker headroom aswell on the cards!
another thing to look when look for a video card is bandwidth via pci e slot higher the better
same can be said of ram any with an amd cpu you dont need 1800mhz+ ram as you wont see any benfit from it look @ the timings low the better! as i hear it the intels dont care for timings bandwidth matters to them.

when looking at pc's you will find that its never one thing that makes a fast pc
but a good combo of everything.

and for anyone look for new parts ive always found this to be a good place to start reviewing.
http://www.bit-tech.net/

[Kharak]

I am very depended on raw power from my CPU, especially in case of Rendering.

When rendering, the cores will be on 100%. I need an awesome i7 for that ;)

[UNR3AL V1P3R]

hi all just another bench but in crossfire with 2 hd5700

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/9683/uniginedx1140ghzxfire.png

[GUEST]

Hi UNR3AL V1P3R, max out the settings (max res/AA/AF etc) and then run the bench, create a new thread and post your results there m8y.

[Bert]

yeah maybe those of us with a bit more high end gear should show some benchmarking for their GPU's
would make it a valuable resource for those wishing to upgrade

[UNR3AL V1P3R]

Hi UNR3AL V1P3R, max out the settings (max res/AA/AF etc) and then run the bench, create a new thread and post your results there m8y.

Sure thing do it the next few days!

[Kharak]

show us what to buy ;) GTX or 5970 :P

[GUEST]

show us what to buy ;) GTX or 5970 :P

I aint wasted £540 to get 2nd best card... neither did faceman and ashoof ;)

And all runs on 620 watt psu :)

Face beats me on a few frames but he has a better setup. I'll drop my bench in for 2.1 heaven thingi asap.