CPU Ghz question as it relates to GPU performance

T

Tanatz

Limp Gawd
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Jan 13, 2006
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Wasn't sure which subforum to stick this in, pardon if this is in the wrong place.


I have an Opteron 180 OC'd to ~2.8ghz. I've read on this article that an 8800GT should be working with a CPU at a speed of at least 2.4ghz, and that an upgrade from a 7950GT (which is what I currently have) to a CPU operating at that speed would yield a performance increase of roughly 180%. My question is, is 2.8ghz in Opteron terms the same as 2.8ghz in CD2 terms, or is this comparing apples to oranges?
 
2.8Ghz K8 opteron is about a 2.3Ghz core 2 duo, being a little optimistic and judging from benches.
 
A 2.8ghz opteron isn't as fast as a 2.8ghz C2D, but it's probably about the same as a 2.4ghz C2D so you should be good. You may be a bit bottle necked by the CPU but not too bad.

I'm running a slightly slower card on a slightly slower CPU and it seems to work well
 
As you read in the article, they found that most new games benefit greatly from a DX10-class GPU.. Nowadays, the GPU does almost all the work except AI and physics..and they're working on moving physics to the GPU now.. The CPU is becoming less and less important for gaming.

For example, looking at the Prey, 1600x1050 benchmark, a 3.2 GHz CPU with a 7950GT scores 60 FPS, while a 1.8 GHz CPU with 8800GT scores almost 80 FPS.. That's without any AA or AF, too - as you enable those, the videocard starts playing an even bigger role in determining overall performance.

Some time ago, I went from a X800XT to an 8800GT while going from a 2.2 GHz CPU to 2.5 GHz (later overclocked to 2.9 GHz) - despite the small increase of CPU power, the framerate in the game Oblivion more than trippled.. going from around the 10 FPS mark to well over 30 with the same or higher quality settings. That's MINIMUM framerate, too.

You'll probably see dimishing returns with high-end cards like the 4870, GTX260 etc. Something between a 9600GT and 4850/9800GTX is probably the sweet spot.
 
I play mainly Everquest 2 which is touted as a CPU intenstive game. Part of me just wants to buy a 4850 or an 8800GT just to see, and return it if I'm not satisfied :cool:
 
when you are CPU limited all a newer grapics card does is:

1. play at the same frames but a higher resolution
2. crank up the eye candy
3. both 1 and 2 above

for example if you got 100 FPS at 1024*768 and 60 at 1280*1024 a newer card would maintain the 100fps at 1280*1024 and 1600*1200 and mabe even 1900*1200 and 2560*1600 depending upon how taxing the game is
 
EQ2 is extremely CPU limited. The coding in that game is atroucious and does far too much on the CPU.

On my Q6600 @ 3.0GHZ it runs 100% of one core at all times and 0% on any other core. If EQ2 is your game, CPU speed is really the biggest factor. It doesn't seem to matter if I run at high, max, or anything it still caps my CPU while my 8800GT doesn't even heat up more then 1-2 degrees. I've had three windows opened up at the same time and get the exact same FPS in each, with each maxing out a single core.

Graphics power seems to do absolutely nothing in EQ2 once you get past a certain point. Keep in mind this engine was designed to run on the top end FX cards.
 
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