Dual core or single for games?

THC_SsSsSnake · 11 Apr 2006 at 00:02

which would be better for games alone? and can you recommend a cpu for the Asus premium board but i wont be using sli but like the idea of no fan chipset
thanks

Messiah Khan · 11 Apr 2006 at 00:20

Single core is proabably better value for money, when it comes to a games pc. Something like the opteron 144, 146 or 148 would be ideal, Especially if your overclock it a bit. One think to remember with that motherboard is that it needs to be the regular way up, otherwise the heatpipes wont work, so that rules out cases such as the LianLi V1000 series etc.

THC_SsSsSnake · 11 Apr 2006 at 00:31

thanks Khan Ive got a eclipse 62 case so no probs there,I was thinking cpu athlon 64 4000 ,saving about a £100 on the dual 4400 and can always upgrade later when cheaper,My main concrn is stuttering perfomance in games not coded for dual cores?

w3bbo · 11 Apr 2006 at 08:10

Games are starting to filter through that are starting to utilise dual cores and imo will continue to do so. Single cores will run the current crop of games without a hitch although a year down the line they may start to see a performance hit. As for stuttering in games there is a driver and MS hotfix that solves this issue, you can alos simply set the game to run on one core if needed. Personally I have never had a problem with the 'stutter' on BF2/Oblivion/RTCW/Cod2 without the fix but it has helped some people.

lee87 · 11 Apr 2006 at 09:50

As w3bbo said more games are starting to work better with dual core. Some games might work slightly faster with a single core but if it works with dual core then there is a big increase in performance.
Quake 4 has a 60% improvement using a dual core over a single core.

fatty1 · 11 Apr 2006 at 10:18

Besides can't you set your affinity so your games will run on one core and windows on the other core so then no matter what windows is doing it wont effect the game at all??

Defcon5 · 11 Apr 2006 at 10:20

fatty1 said:
Besides can't you set your affinity so your games will run on one core and windows on the other core so then no matter what windows is doing it wont effect the game at all??

Pretty much yeah. Plus if the game is configured for using two threads then it will use both cores

THC_SsSsSnake · 12 Apr 2006 at 07:02

dual core it is then
thanks

doobs · 12 Apr 2006 at 17:40

fatty1 said:
Besides can't you set your affinity so your games will run on one core and windows on the other core so then no matter what windows is doing it wont effect the game at all??

sorry for soundin a div, but how do you do that ?

Gamer99 · 12 Apr 2006 at 18:04

i would also like to know..

The Asgard · 12 Apr 2006 at 18:43

Gamer99 said:
i would also like to know..

Task Manager/Processes then right click on the process/program. Alt Tab out of the game while your in the game. SS2 and Battlefront 2 have/had issues with dual cores and doing this got around that issue.

The Asgard · 12 Apr 2006 at 18:44

Oblivion is far smoother with a dual core.

trojan698 · 12 Apr 2006 at 19:10

I disagree, I went from a 4400+ to the opty in my sig and find gaming much smoother and enjoyable without the hassle of disabling/enabling hotfixes, setting affinity and suchlike. Most of the time, regardless of my efforts, I'd just have to live with the stutterring and framerate drops.
Saying that, I do play Q3 engine games, but even cod2 and NFSMW have issues. Oblivion wasn't smooth either, but then I havent tried it on the opty and suspect it's my gfx card.
Hope this helps.

Traducer · 12 Apr 2006 at 19:35

I am stuck in a rut myself now, I have been planning to get the X2 3800 but I just don't know now, so I have been looking at the X2 4400 insted, but then again also been thinking about saving money and sticking with a single core for now and going with a 3700+ or a 4000+, I don't know hehe.
If I got with the single core I could afford an X1900XT-X easy, if I go with the dual core X2 3800 then I could aswell, however would the 4000+ not be better then that? or even the 3700 clocked?
All I use my PC for is gaming and surfing the web these days, and listening to music. :confused:

The Asgard · 12 Apr 2006 at 19:39

trojan698 said:
I disagree, I went from a 4400+ to the opty in my sig and find gaming much smoother and enjoyable without the hassle of disabling/enabling hotfixes, setting affinity and suchlike. Most of the time, regardless of my efforts, I'd just have to live with the stutterring and framerate drops.
Saying that, I do play Q3 engine games, but even cod2 and NFSMW have issues. Oblivion wasn't smooth either, but then I havent tried it on the opty and suspect it's my gfx card.
Hope this helps.

Well I can confirm Oblivion is smoother. I was playing on a Opty [email protected] last night for 3 hours and then swapped the processor for a [email protected] and straight away you could tell a big difference. Smoother , no pauses. I would agree it does depend on the game.

The Asgard · 12 Apr 2006 at 19:41

Traducer said:
I am stuck in a rut myself now, I have been planning to get the X2 3800 but I just don't know now, so I have been looking at the X2 4400 insted, but then again also been thinking about saving money and sticking with a single core for now and going with a 3700+ or a 4000+, I don't know hehe.
If I got with the single core I could afford an X1900XT-X easy, if I go with the dual core X2 3800 then I could aswell, however would the 4000+ not be better then that? or even the 3700 clocked?
All I use my PC for is gaming and surfing the web these days, and listening to music.

Get a X2 3800 and X1900XT overclock and your Sorted!

Traducer · 12 Apr 2006 at 19:43

I keep seeing people whining about slow down in games with dual core cpus and whatever else people can think of to whine about, and to be honest it puts me off.
I also think a lot of people tend to whine just for the sake of whining so thats something I got to keep in mind.

trojan698 · 12 Apr 2006 at 23:03

Traducer said:
I keep seeing people whining about slow down in games with dual core cpus and whatever else people can think of to whine about, and to be honest it puts me off.
I also think a lot of people tend to whine just for the sake of whining so thats something I got to keep in mind.

Go dual core then, I have one for sale in the mm.

Cyanide · 12 Apr 2006 at 23:18

The x2 4200+ I have at the moment walks all over my laptops 3400+ even though they have the same clock and cache. Plus the Manchester core clocks really well!

Traducer · 12 Apr 2006 at 23:23

trojan698 said:
Go dual core then, I have one for sale in the mm.

I can't access that yet

and I think it will be along time untill I do, otherwise I'd buy a few things from there I expect.
I'll have bought my PC well before then.