Confusion about the Gaming CPU Benchmarks

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Outbreaker

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 22, 2012
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472
HI,

I'm planning to build a new PC but what confuses me are the CPU Gaming benchmarks beween Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7.
I expected that a Core i7 would have around 20% more FPS then a Core i5 but they have mostly the same FPS in the Game benchmarks even better i expected that the Core i3 would have a lot less FPS like around 40% but it only has around 15% less FPS despite that it only has 2 out of 4 cores.
Can anyone here enlighten me as why this is? I don't want to waste my money on useless stuff. :)
 
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Basically, you want enough CPU power so that your graphics card is not held back. For gaming get the i5, since it has more than enough processing power to handle a beefy graphics card. If you want your computer to excel at more than gaming, for example, video editing, get the i7.

tldr Get the i5.
 
Not all games scale that well across multiple cores and threads. Hence why you're not seeing your expected large difference between the Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7.

In addition, you're forgetting that the Core i3 has HT, just like the Core i7. That HT feature, in the most basic terms I can think of, acts like part-cores. So they appear to the PC as a core but has severely limited function/performance compared to a full core. That's what allows the Core i3 to remain closer to the Core i5 in games that do scale decently with multiple threads/cores.

For most gaming PCs out there, go Core i5. For a budget gaming PC, go Core i3. If you have extra money to spend on a gaming PC (after getting a good SSD, PSU, mobo, a lot of RAM, GPU, etc), then go Core i7.
 
I didn't forget the Hyper Trading in the Core i3 it's only not worth mentioning if you take a look at the Gaming CPU Benchmarks between the Core i5 (without Hyper Trading) and the Core i7 (with Hyper Trading).

Could it be that i would have more CPU ideal power with a Core i7 then with a Core i5 if i'm paying Games?
 
Outbreaker said:
I didn't forget the Hyper Trading in the Core i3 it's only not worth mentioning if you take a look at the Gaming CPU Benchmarks between the Core i5 (without Hyper Trading) and the Core i7 (with Hyper Trading).
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Actually it is worth mentioning because you're also forgetting that the Core i7 has four cores as well. Which means that with HT, the Core i7 actually has 8 threads/cores. Not many games scale that well with 4 threads/cores let alone 8 threads/cores. In addition, among the games that do scale acorss multiple threads, tend to scale better with four threads than with any number of threads that's higher than four like the 8 you see with a Core i7. So yes HT is worth mentioning in the case of the Core i3.
Outbreaker said:
I
Could it be that i would have more CPU ideal power with a Core i7 then with a Core i5 if i'm paying Games?
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Only if the game (or games) you're playing has been shown to take full advantage of the Core i7's HT feature. Even then, you'd have to be playing that game or games a lot to justify that cost. While yes the Core i7 4790 and Core i7 4790K are clocked higher than a Core i5, that higher clock does not justify the extra $100 or so unless you just want to waste money.

What games are you planning to play?
 
This Hyper Trading something new? Or was he meaning Hyper threading?
 
Would love to see an i3 i5 i7 all at same clock benched. This actually should be quite easy with the K's.

I'd pick the highest clocked i3 as the baseline, think currently 3.6
 
What i would like to know is when in the Gaming Benchmarks a CPU is always at around 100% or if for example a i5 is around 90% and a i7 around 70% in the same game?
 
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Outbreaker said:
What i would like to know is when in the Gaming Benchmarks a CPU is always at around 100% or if for example a i5 is around 90% and a i7 around 70% in the same game?
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This will be different in every game depending on depending on several factors for example: how many threads game uses effectively versus how many threads the CPU has.
 
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Outbreaker said:
What i would like to know is when in the Gaming Benchmarks a CPU is always at around 100% or if for example a i5 is around 90% and a i7 around 70% in the same game?
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most games aren't coded well enough to peg quad-core CPUs at 100%... much less 6 core or 8 cores

and if you turn up the graphics quality, the GPU starts to be the limiting factor

this is why console games have more opportunity to be fully optimized
 
Outbreaker said:
What i would like to know is when in the Gaming Benchmarks a CPU is always at around 100% or if for example a i5 is around 90% and a i7 around 70% in the same game?
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You won't see this in any game that I'm aware of.

Supreme Commander may get you to load up all 4 cores at max if you manage to have a few hundred units but that game is fairly old now and back then it wasn't really taxing my Q9450 so I doubt it will tax even an i3.
 
Would be nice to see some CPU Gaming Benchmarks that show not only the FPS but also the CPU load. :(
 
Outbreaker said:
Would be nice to see some CPU Gaming Benchmarks that show not only the FPS but also the CPU load. :(
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bingo

the reviews showing the G3258 and i7-4790K neck in neck ought to check out CPU load

it's quite obvious that the i7-4790K has cores sitting idle in those situations
 
Yes it matters if you have some thinks running in the background. A PC is not a console where you can only play games. ;)
 
Outbreaker said:
Yes it matters if you have some thinks running in the background. A PC is not a console where you can only play games. ;)
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Unless you're streaming while gaming, CPU usage isn't really a concern. RAM is when having multiple background applications.

Background high CPU usage programs generally don't need to be done as fast as possible, and can be set on low priority to not interfere with the gaming performance.
 
If you look at the CPU Benchmarks which only show the FPS's then you have the feeling that it doesn't matter if you buy a i3 or i5, or i7. But if you see that a i7 has a lot more idea power in games that means that investing a litte bit more in a CPU would not be so wrong if you like to keep your mainboard and CPU for a long time.
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again: buying extra-powerful hardware for the sake of future-proofing is generally a waste of money. Especially for a gamer.
 
I depends always on the user the gain i get from a i7 will save me a second mine PC (server). I was worried that if i was Gaming that i wouldn't have enough CPU reserves for the other stuff that i'm running in the background. The only time i restart my PC is for the Windows Updates. ;)
 
No, it does not depend on the user. You buy what you need/want right now. You don't buy for the sake of future proofing. If you need/want an i7 now, get an i7 now. If you only need an i5 now, get an i5 now. Do not get an i7 when you only need an i5 because you think you might need an i7 in the future.
 
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