Quad vs Dual in UT3?

[gurusan]

Ok wtf....I have just downgraded to an E6300 because I thought I didn't really use my quad to its full potential and also I needed to recoup some money from a monitor I have just purchased.

Anyway...Quad clocked at 3.3ghz...UT3 multiplayer runs without a hitch. Solid 62fps line in the fraps graph...NEVER does it dip below 61-63 fps even with 16 players all on the screen firing away.

Now I install my e6300 and clock it to 3.3ghz...during heavy firefights I dip down into the 40s..occasionally hitting mid-high 30s according to fraps.

As soon as this game dips below 60fps I notice it instantly and become extremely annoyed to the point where I don't even want to play...its one of those games where steady fps really matters.

My question is....how many other people are running duals clocked around the same as me and are not experiencing any issues like mine? This crap performance doesn't seem right...but I have tried reinstalling the game....not sure what else to do.

 

[gurusan]

hmm....well it's definitely not a GPU issue because it played fine when I had my quad....and also GPU usage never even goes above about 75%. This game seems to barely even stress the GPU unlike other games (Crysis has it at 99-100% the whole time of course)

 

[gurusan]

Yeah..well even 50fps is not playable for me I suppose I'll just have to manage until I can afford a quad again then

 

[gurusan]

how are you measuring GPU usage

rivatuner/everest

 

[gurusan]

thanks, that review was helpful and I guess that explains it.

 

[gurusan]

Yeah I still get 62fps much of the time...but when it dips to 50fps it drives me so crazy that I just leave the game. It's unplayable imo when the framerate dips like that

 

[gurusan]

k well I just tried playing again...

This game sucks on dual core Guess I'll just not play it until I can afford a quad again.

 

[gurusan]

Yeah well I need to recoup the money to pay off my card first, then I'll look into possibly picking up a 45nm quad.

And I use fraps because it graphs it out on my logitech board.

 

[gurusan]

But 50fps is still fast! Might not be 60+ fps that you are used to but certainly nothing to be upset about surely? It very well might be the 2mb cache as well vs. 8mb on the quad.

I can live with 50fps...but it's the fact that the FPS jumps all over the place....1 minute its smooth as silk and the next it's down into the 40s. That's what annoys me.

In other games framerate decreases aren't as noticeable but in UT3 they are...not sure why.

 

[gurusan]

I'm not having any problems playing UT3 on my dualcore?

no framerate dips at all?

 

[gurusan]

And of course you can try turning some settings down? I get playable fps on a 3700 running at 2.4ghz with lower detail. A stable 40 or so. As quite a competative player I also would prefer a higher rate, something that syncs nicely with my monitor would be fine

I don't think turning the detail down will help as my graphics card is not the problem.

Anyway **UPDATE**

I have switched back to XP x64 and now my framerate stays around 60...sometimes high 50s! So it seems that the CPU power gets robbed a bit by Vista! Its not just 3dmark cpu scores that get hit!

So if you are CPU limited in a game I suggest trying the game on XP.

 

[gurusan]

Tearing is too bad with it switched off....I don't mind being capped at 60fps. Its the dips that kill me.

 

[gurusan]

E6600 @ 3 GHz here. My framerates never dip the way you describe.

Quad Cores are useful in Unreal 3 though, as other posters have already said. Have you tweaked the inis at all? Changed any settings?

I resolved the issue by running UT3 in XP. Vista seems to rob CPU power.