Cpu limitation.

Jono8 · 19 Jun 2007 at 21:17

There seems to be a myth that the cpu isnt going to change much once you ramp up detail/resolution and AA/AF levels. Well i have just experienced for myself that this is not the case

Was using a x2 4400 with my 8800gtx and whilst playing oblivion as soon as lots of characters were on screen or started attacking the framrate would get very choppy. That was all maxed ,1280x1024 with 4xaa (any higher and it would be worse)

Just upgraded my system to an e6320 and overclocked to e6700 speeds (2.66mhz) and i just played oblivion without ANY noticeable slowdown in towns or fights, and realised i can play with 16xaa and 16af without any noticeable difference aswell.In fact the same scene(lots of characters) in which it was horrible(like 15fps) it is now about 40+

This has proved to me at least that a cpu can play a big factor in game performance whether it is at high res/high AA levels or not.

monkeyWRENCH · 19 Jun 2007 at 21:38

Did you O/C your 4400+?

just Scott · 19 Jun 2007 at 21:53

I heard that some games are very CPU dependant (Oblivion may be an example), were as other games are completely GPU dependent.

Not sure how true this is though.

Jono8 · 19 Jun 2007 at 22:22

monkeyWRENCH said:
Did you O/C your 4400+?

yeh but could only get it to 2.5ghz and even then it ran a bit too hot (had to be on 1.5v. These new core 2 duo's are amazing. Got my e6320 a few days ago, got it at 2870mhz just by pressing a few buttons

. Temps never go over about 48 under full load.

So pleased to have moved to intel.

Jono8 · 19 Jun 2007 at 22:23

H2F Scott said:
I heard that some games are very CPU dependant (Oblivion may be an example), were as other games are completely GPU dependent.

Not sure how true this is though.

This could be true. Probabaly something to do with the AI in oblivion and my old cpu that was hindering my gtx's full potential. Also 8200 in 3dmark06 with x24400, now up to 11198 :rolleyes:

Streeteh · 19 Jun 2007 at 22:53

On my old system i had to run Supreme commander on the lowest settings - on the highest it was unplayable, by the theory stated in the first line of your post the same would apply if i put in a new cpu.

However when i upgraded to an opteron 170 i can run the game on the highest graphical settings with a playable framerate. From my experiences i would say that that graphics settings affect CPU as well as GPU.

KNiVES · 19 Jun 2007 at 23:23

It varies from game to game. Some stresses both CPU and GPU equally, while others are very dependant on the CPU or GPU. Source for example is quite reliant on the CPU, while the Doom 3 engine uses quite a lot of GPU time.

Jono8 · 19 Jun 2007 at 23:30

KNiVES said:
It varies from game to game. Some stresses both CPU and GPU equally, while others are very dependant on the CPU or GPU. Source for example is quite reliant on the CPU, while the Doom 3 engine uses quite a lot of GPU time.

yeh it seems to be the case, I Havent really noticed much of an advantage in quake 4. A little bit but nothing compared to oblivion.

Cyber-Mav · 20 Jun 2007 at 00:32

one way or the other you can always end up with gpu limitation, just slap on 16xAA and stick it to an insane rez.

Jono8 · 20 Jun 2007 at 08:47

Cyber-Mav said:
one way or the other you can always end up with gpu limitation, just slap on 16xAA and stick it to an insane rez.

Yeh the res would probably end up doing it (like 2560x1600 or something). but at 1280x1024 i couldnt actually play smoothly in towns with 4xaa let alone 16xaa. Now with the core 2 duo it runs buttery smooth with 16xaa, walking through towns/fighting 4+ characters e.t.c.

Black Dog · 20 Jun 2007 at 13:17

Oblivion is very CPU intensive.

Upgraded from a 7900gtx to 8800gtx with hardly any difference in framerate. Especially in towns with lost of characters on screen which is taxing the cpu.