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Is an 8 thread CPU enough for gaming for the next few years?

Boomstick777

Boomstick777

Boomstick777

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So the consoles are based on an '8 core' CPU with very low IPC design. Would it not make sense that a quad core '8 threaded' Intel chip with very high IPC would be enough for any upcoming games..

With new DirectX 11 optimization from Nvidia, Mantle from AMD and upcoming DirectX 12 all looking to tackle the CPU overhead problem along with most PC games being direct ports of console games, based to take advantage of 4 cores '8 threads'.. Could we assume that anyone on a recent Intel quad would be set for the foreseeable future?

Reason I ask is I would like to be able to hold of an CPU/Mobo/Memory upgrade for a few years, and jump in when things are much cheaper. My current CPU is very low power use and runs at about 35c max lol. I'm happy with it tbh. In the meantime could just update my GPU's. It would save me a lot of money..

Haswell -E may be very tempting, in an e-peen kind of way lol but is it needed?
 
For console port games, you are probably right that such a system would see you through for many years. I think the same was broadly true last generation for console ports and a good quad core like a Q6600 (launched at the start of 2007).

However, that assumes well made ports and doesn't take into account of PC-focused games - both of which often leverage a PC's CPU power a lot more than a well-made console port.
 
No-one really knows exactly how things are going to go, While consoles are built with 8 cores and more games will get optimised for that with dx12 / mantle taking more and more load off the cpu it might not really be needed. In your position id be tempted to ditch the xeon and try to get hold of a cheap 3770k and clock to around 4.5ghz it will use more power but will be more future proof than a cpu that your stuck at stock with
 
Some good points, I suppose another way to look at it is if I did take the plunge with X99 and Haswell -E. That setup would likely see me through this entire console gen 5-6 years without the need for another upgrade lol. So either way the value isn't that bad. Keep current or buy new and gets lot's of years of use out of it..

I guess the big decider will be the cost of X99 mobo's and DDR4 launch prices..
 
Martini1991 said:
I think the 4K move will negate people worrying about CPU's a little.
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Yeah I have read that with higher resolutions the GPU takes bulk of demand, but also people claim higher res needs faster CPU to enable more than 1 GPU etc. Not sure what is right tbh, Intel seem to be pitching Haswell -E alongside things like 4K, as a leap in PC tech. Others are saying CPU is less important @ 1440P let alone 4K. Very confusing..
 
The consoles can only use 6 cores for games, and each of those cores only has about 60% of the IPC performance of a regular desktop CPU.

A fast Intel Quad core, or a 63xx/83xx AMD FX will be fine for running PC ports of those games...just make sure your GPU has at least 3GB though.
 
Boomstick777 said:
Yeah I have read that with higher resolutions the GPU takes bulk of demand, but also people claim higher res needs faster CPU to enable more than 1 GPU etc. Not sure what is right tbh, Intel seem to be pitching Haswell -E alongside things like 4K, as a leap in PC tech. Others are saying CPU is less important @ 1440P let alone 4K. Very confusing..
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4k is great and all, but with Intel's new x99 chipset...I see prices shooting through the roof. ddr4 isn't going to be a big jump. It wont be much better then ddr3. After my 4790k upgrade I'm staying where I am for a while. 4k isn't worth it as I see it. At least not yet?
 
Consoles have 8 cores at 1.6Ghz

So if you have a Quad Core CPU with the same as or greater IPC but double the clock speed ( 3.2Ghz ) you'll have the same amount of IPS.

Any Quad Core CPU over 3.2Ghz will offer superior IPS and thus superior performance.
 
Boomstick777 said:
Yeah I have read that with higher resolutions the GPU takes bulk of demand, but also people claim higher res needs faster CPU to enable more than 1 GPU etc. Not sure what is right tbh, Intel seem to be pitching Haswell -E alongside things like 4K, as a leap in PC tech. Others are saying CPU is less important @ 1440P let alone 4K. Very confusing..
Click to expand...

A CPU's job is to generate frame information for the GPU to render.

The total amount of frame information a CPU can process does not change with resolution.

If your CPU can process 100fps worth of frame information at 480p then it will still be able to do 100fps at 4k ( Providing the GPU is up to it of course ;) )
 
I think your i7 Xeon will be good for many years to come the way gaming is going the cpu and the ability to overclock is only vital for those chasing benchmark titles. Six or seven year old cpu's at 4ghz are still holding there own in gaming. :)
 
RetrogamerX said:
4k is great and all, but with Intel's new x99 chipset...I see prices shooting through the roof. ddr4 isn't going to be a big jump. It wont be much better then ddr3. After my 4790k upgrade I'm staying where I am for a while. 4k isn't worth it as I see it. At least not yet?
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I think it will be worth it but when the prices are more reasonable and when we can max out the games on one £500 card.
 
console CPUs are so slow I doubt any game will need more than 4 cores for awhile, some might use 8 cores but not very well.

Everyone always goes on about the OS and running programs in the background...

yea so why does your cpu sit on 0% load? maybe because that's BS
 
I'd be surprised if 4 cores wasn't enough in several years time, given the most common number as gathered by steams hardware survey remains at two. We might find some of the slower 4-core options struggling a bit I guess.
 
almighty15 said:
You could not be more wrong, the CPU in the new consoles has such a weak IPC coupled with such a low clock speed that any Quad core clocked at 3.2Ghz will stomp all over the console CPU's.
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This is what I'm thinking. Couple that with new API's trying to alleviate the CPU bottleneck. Wondering if I'll need to upgrade for a few years at all..

Be lovely to just sit on my current system and only change the GPU's until Something like Skylake -E and get a mahoosive jump in technology rather than several small incremental jumps over the years..

Guess it'll come down whether I can resist Haswell -E :p
 
It's all bout Instruction Per Second and a quad core that runs a higher IPC and clock speed would offer a much higher IPS then the consoles.

You also have to remember that The consoles don't have access to all 8 of them, 2 cores are reserved for the OS on Xbox One. not sure how many PS4's OS takes up.
 
almighty15 said:
It's all bout Instruction Per Second and a quad core that runs a higher IPC and clock speed would offer a much higher IPS then the consoles.

You also have to remember that The consoles don't have access to all 8 of them, 2 cores are reserved for the OS on Xbox One. not sure how many PS4's OS takes up.
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I think the PS4 is similar..

So you think it'll be possible to stick with the CPU/Mobo/Memory I have now for next 3-4 years and still play the latest games?
 
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