Just How Many Cores, for gaming?

pparks1 · 02 Mar 2017

In this months Maximum PC magazine they ran an article which calls into question whether the old adage that a gaming PC needs a Core i5 minimum. The theory has been that you need at least 4 cores and anything less powerful and you will be in a world of hurt as far as frame rates are concerned.

So, they built a box with a lowly Intel Pentium G4600 which can be had for under $90. They coupled it with 16GB of Crucial Tactical RAM, and a 6GB GeForce 1060. They compared that CPU, with an i3-7300, an i5-7600k and an i7-7700k.

What they discovered was that from the $80 Intel chip to the $350 chip there was absolutely no difference in the games at all. Frame rates were all identical across the board in all benchmarks they ran.

So there you have it. If you insist on a Core i7 for superior gaming performance on your rig you might be throwing away good money.

RoasterMen · 03 Mar 2017

There are many more factors to why people reccommend quad-cores over dual-cores with HT.

In Editing, more cores matter so comparing a mere Pentium to an i5 makes a huge difference but makes a small difference when comparing the Pentium to an i3.

CountMike · 04 Mar 2017

Do they mention BF1 ???? and other multi threaded games ??? How about quality of gaming on smaller number of cores ?

TairikuOkami · 04 Mar 2017

That is the same like Intel vs AMD, you will not gain more framerate running more powerful processor.
It all comes down to, what GPU you have and of course, how the game take advantage of the processor.

I have recently got a new PC and FX4100, people say, that it is obsolete and can not handle anything. I have played Hitman and Deus Ex on Ultra without a problem. It is all about what you need, what games and what resolution is being used. If you plan to play games on 6 UHD monitors, then you definitely need Intel i7. :)

Gaming PCs and CPUs - Do you need a high end processor?? - YouTube

CountMike · 04 Mar 2017

TairikuOkami said:

That is the same like Intel vs AMD, you will not gain more framerate running more powerful processor.
It all comes down to, what GPU you have and of course, how the game take advantage of the processor.

I have recently got a new PC and FX4100, people say, that it is obsolete and can not handle anything. I have played Hitman and Deus Ex on Ultra without a problem. It is all about what you need, what games and what resolution is being used. If you plan to play games on 6 UHD monitors, then you definitely need Intel i7. :)

Gaming PCs and CPUs - Do you need a high end processor?? - YouTube

There still has to be some balance, even best and most powerful GPU can't reach it's potential on a lousy CPU. If it could, all game machines would still be running single core processors. Processors also have instructions used by games.

TairikuOkami · 04 Mar 2017

Yes, but not everyone needs 200 FPS, so paying money just to feel good seems like a waste to me.
The money could be used elsewhere, buy more RAM, better GPU, it is all about choices of course.

BugMeister · 04 Mar 2017

- there a many programs out there that benefit from multi-core CPU's
- Corel's art suites, for example, and Reason for music composition
- these programs will not only make use of multi-core tech, but also off-load into GFX ram, which runs at greatly accelerated speeds..

- if you're talking gaming only, a balanced system is the aim..
- make sure that all the various components run well together..
- get a quality mobo and build from there..

RoasterMen · 06 Mar 2017

If someone's playing games on Intel HD or APU Radeon, they should consider buying quad-cores and make sure they buy a minimum of 8GB of RAM in Dual-Channel mode (Integrated Graphics benefit from Dual-Channel RAM).

I've noticed this when I'm playing CS:GO on 1280x720 and put everything on low, the processor is heavily taxed (on single thread). But when I start putting graphical settings up a bit, Frames seem to increase and the game seems to be more stable.

SmartEyeball · 06 Mar 2017

This old chestnut.

Real cores will always be beneficial over of HT .

It all depends on the enginge. Older engines still maximise single core use. Newer engines are better at spreading the load. Odd balls take advantage of HT but long story short - native quad core over dual core-HT any day.

Quads with HT for gaming are only a benefit from a minor amount of engines. quad+ with HT see more benefit from 'all rounder' tasking.

If on budget go for quad-no HT. Spend a bit more for quad+ HT and forget about it.

Certain Engines are only slowly properly utilizing more than 4 native cores.