BF3 multicore support...suspicion of only up to 3cores..

[GenTarkin]

Lately after looking around at BF3 cpu scaling reviews, and this one points it out best(but the same pattern remains in all cpu BF3 tests from what Ive found):
http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page7.html

If you remember, windows bounces around threads on cores, thats why even when running a dual threaded task on a quad core system...task manager will show cpu utilization yet all cores in system will be right around 50% .. whereas we all know its really running like 2 cores @ 100%
This same exact pattern exists in the link provided above. Youll notice that the dual core CPU's are pegged at 100%, then quads are right around 70%(have to chop that in half for intel HT enabled cpu's so...that leaves about 30-35%). The hex cpu's are right around 50% and the final 8 core cpu is right around 45%...
The only oddball that doesnt add up is the FX8150, which should be at 30-35%...Im thinkin perhaps it was doing something else in background at time this SS was taken.
Now call me crazy but.......
These values all point to 3 threads at 100%
...these same patterns have shown in other reviews as well.

The only real way I can think to confirm this is take a quad core cpu and clock it really low, with a nice video card...MAKE SURE its being bottlenecked by the cpu by confirming the vidcard is not at 95-100% utilization.
When the above is sustained, open task manager and if CPU is still aroun 70-75%...then it DEFINITELY does NOT scale beyond 3 threads.

Now, this may be different in multiplayer, because most reviews dont do the cpu scaling test in multiplayer. But either way...I find it VERY odd....

 

[stevedave]

any testing done in BF3 single player is completely useless to me.

Single player I get 70 to 85 fps Multiplayer I get 45 - 60.

no matter what I do I can't get solid Multiplayer FPS.
2650x1600 all low settings gets me 45-60.
1920x1200 all low settings gets me 50-65.
1440x900 all low settings gets me 55-65.

Single player at these resolutions see's Major jumps where at 1440x900 I'm in the 140 range.

Not a huge issue just strange and makes people doing testing in single player pointless. Low settings at 2650x1600 looks very good and 45-60 is very playable.

also my CPU rarely goes above 50%

 

[z3r0-]

Agreed. Single player is worthless. I see 80-85% CPU use often in multiplayer, sometimes in the 90s on Caspian Border.

 

[Rattle]

Usually when I look at my task manager when I alt-tab out of bf3 my 4 cpus on 2500k are around 85- 100 %.
People actually play and bench from sp in bf3 ?

 

[Krieger91]

Can't run with HT on, BF3 jitters like crazy.

 

[SHiZNiLTi]

Usually when I look at my task manager when I alt-tab out of bf3 my 4 cpus on 2500k are around 85- 100 %.
People actually play and bench from sp in bf3 ?

Yep that sounds correct^ and LOL @ sp benchmarks.

Here's my CPU usage with a [email protected] HT off in a full 64 person Caspian Border server...