Battlefield 4 CPU performance: Win 7 vs Win 8.1, up to 50% more fps

[itsmydamnation]

i generally agree with inf64 the BF4 beta on VLIW4 seems to be quite bottle-necked ( i haven't tried the new patch). I am running IVB@4.5 with a 6970 and largely the only way i can get better FPS is dropping rez. dropping quality doesn't make much difference. The problem for me is i game @ 3840x1024.

hope this patch helps me. I think a 290 will be purchased in short order and hopefully the consumer rift isn't far away .

 

[2is]

Different core-parking on Windows 8 esp. for HT and CMT. I thought it was documented somewhere.

Compare it on non-HT/CMT quads. I doubt the OS will make such a big difference. My comment isn't meant to disparage anyone/anything. It's just that MS had "fixed" (and broke a few others) the HT/CMT issues existed on Windows 7 on Windows 8, and that graphs reflect it.

Sounds about right. I noticed a huge improvement on my i7 machine, and not so much on i5 between Windows 7 and 8

 

[Madpacket]

Wow the new patch brought my minimums up from 30 to 55 in a 64 player game.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Wow the new patch brought my minimums up from 30 to 55 in a 64 player game.

Windows 7 or windows 8?Nice improvement.:thumbsup:

 

[pcslookout]

Wow the new patch brought my minimums up from 30 to 55 in a 64 player game.

Yeah same here.

 

[pcslookout]

Windows 7 or windows 8?Nice improvement.:thumbsup:

Windows 8.1 64 bit.

 

[Nintendesert]

Dangit. I'm going to have to upgrade to Windows 8.

 

[Ed1]

been testing the latest patch and it definitely improved the low fps dips I was getting before .
You could notice it in heavy battle with many players close by . I am able now to raise res up a notch with no real hit .
It still has high CPU usage bit tinny bit less than before (I am seeing spikes from 80-85% on all cores of 3570k and avg's about 80& now ) .

It is very playable and smooth after patch .

 

[dmoney1980]

If i go out and but 8.1 (OEM or digital download), will I need to buy it again next year if I upgrade my PC? Are these OEM licenses tied to the motherboard?

 

[ShintaiDK]

Seems latest patch and win7 and win8 performs the same again.

 

[Arkaign]

If i go out and but 8.1 (OEM or digital download), will I need to buy it again next year if I upgrade my PC? Are these OEM licenses tied to the motherboard?

Officially yes they are tied to the mobo, and reactivation can also be triggered by changing HDDs! Unofficially you can usually upgrade your PC to one 'rebuild' as it were, you just have to call in and tell them "yes, this is the same PC, just reloading". I look at it the same way as when a mobo fails, and you have to replace it, but the original is simply no longer available. All of this only applies if you are truly only using the OS on a single system, and aren't still running the original box (or sold it) when you load again with the new parts. YMMV. The strictest interpretation is that yes, the OS is tied exclusively to that mobo and that mobo only. If it dies from OC mistake or user error 1 hour into use after activation, well you're SOL and you need to buy a new copy of Windows, even if you replace with the exact same model.

PS - wait until BF4 release to see if Win 8 is still advisable for this game. This may not be what it seems.

 

[cbn]

If i go out and but 8.1 (OEM or digital download), will I need to buy it again next year if I upgrade my PC? Are these OEM licenses tied to the motherboard?

The strictest interpretation is that yes, the OS is tied exclusively to that mobo and that mobo only. If it dies from OC mistake or user error 1 hour into use after activation, well you're SOL and you need to buy a new copy of Windows, even if you replace with the exact same model.

Actually Windows 8 OEM (System Builder) is different than Windows 7 OEM (System builder) in that the OS is not tied to the original motherboard (for the original purchaser of the license). Windows 8 can be reused with another new motherboard (even if it is another type or brand) under the personal use license. The major stipulation is that the the OS can only run on 1 computer at a time.

Now the Windows 8 license found on pre-built desktops, laptops and Tablets is different. These licenses are tied to the motherboard.

 

[Ed1]

Actually Windows 8 OEM (System Builder) is different than Windows 7 OEM (System builder) in that the OS is not tied to the original motherboard (for the original purchaser of the license). Windows 8 can be reused with another new motherboard (even if it is another type or brand) under the personal use license. The major stipulation is that the the OS can only run on 1 computer at a time.

Now the Windows 8 license found on pre-built desktops, laptops and Tablets is different. These licenses are tied to the motherboard.

So there no hardware limitation on Win8/8.1 OEM (like ones sold at newegg) ,that would be very good news if so .

 

[bononos]

Seems latest patch and win7 and win8 performs the same again.

Whew, saved gamers from having to perform a useless upgrade.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Whew, saved gamers from having to perform a useless upgrade.

I haven't seen any reviews that state this, not that it isn't true, just no reviews have come out with the latest patches.

 

[inf64]

Small update from me. I installed Win 8.1 Professional (upgrade over Win8) and I gained around 4-6fps on the minimum side. Nothing changed in the settings, just started the game after OS upgrade. Even the score screen (which shows ~115fps now ) is seeing ~10% higher fps. Previously I has 103fps in score screen after the match is finished.

I can say that 8.1 fps boost is def. not a myth. My GPU/CPU usage % is still the same as before the OS upgrade.

 

[chimaxi83]

Small update from me. I installed Win 8.1 Professional (upgrade over Win8) and I gained around 4-6fps on the minimum side. Nothing changed in the settings, just started the game after OS upgrade. Even the score screen (which shows ~115fps now ) is seeing ~10% higher fps. Previously I has 103fps in score screen after the match is finished.

I can say that 8.1 fps boost is def. not a myth. My GPU/CPU usage % is still the same as before the OS upgrade.

4-6 fps means literally nothing outside of margin of error.

 

[bononos]

I haven't seen any reviews that state this, not that it isn't true, just no reviews have come out with the latest patches.

No idea what you are talking about. I was referring to the (pre-patch) huge difference in win7/win8 bf4 fps. Instead of being skeptical that something is obviously broken, some posters are acting like win8/8.1 is something special.

 

[inf64]

4-6 fps means literally nothing outside of margin of error.

Well my min fps range was 40-46 (hovering between these two values most of the time) before 8.1 upgrade. Now it's 44-51fps which is 10%. 10% is not "margin of error", sorry.

 

[BSim500]

Different core-parking on Windows 8 esp. for HT and CMT. I thought it was documented somewhere.

Compare it on non-HT/CMT quads. I doubt the OS will make such a big difference. My comment isn't meant to disparage anyone/anything. It's just that MS had "fixed" (and broke a few others) the HT/CMT issues existed on Windows 7 on Windows 8, and that graphs reflect it.

If Core Parking is the issue for poor Windows 7 performance, then for those of you with Windows 7 and an i3 or i7 CPU, try disabling CP with the following then benchmark it again:-
http://bitsum.com/about_cpu_core_parking.php

Or try it manually via registry:-
http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/1963569

I haven't tried BF4, but I did notice a huge +20% boost in performance on an old i3 530 in WinRAR with CP disabled as above (2,988 CP ON / 3,609 CP OFF). The problem was, Windows 7 "parks" Hyper-threaded cores, then doesn't "unpark" them on some apps games (because they're not "real" cores). Try benchmarking before/after WinRAR as well. That was one app that repeatedly showed up the issue on my old Clarkdale rig.

NB: The "CP doesn't unpark some cores" issue only affect CPU's with Hyper-Threading (i3 & i7) and only then in certain apps / games. It doesn't affect i5's, and can be easily remedied by disabling CP with no noticeable loss in power consumption if you have SpeedStep enabled. I don't know if this will solve the issue with BF4, but it's worth doing anyway just to rule it out. I can't test it myself as I have an i5-3570 (no HT).

 

[BallaTheFeared]

No idea what you are talking about. I was referring to the (pre-patch) huge difference in win7/win8 bf4 fps. Instead of being skeptical that something is obviously broken, some posters are acting like win8/8.1 is something special.

Clearly, I'm stating there is no proof on the net that dispels the performance difference between the two operating systems as of yet. Is the gap smaller? Probably, is it gone though? Probably not.

I think most people thought Windows 7 was having issues, it's the Windows 7 users who can't seem to accept that BF4 was designed to take advantage of Windows 8.

 

[imaheadcase]

Clearly, I'm stating there is no proof on the net that dispels the performance difference between the two operating systems as of yet. Is the gap smaller? Probably, is it gone though? Probably not.

I think most people thought Windows 7 was having issues, it's the Windows 7 users who can't seem to accept that BF4 was designed to take advantage of Windows 8.

Sigh, again no its not. People keep referring to one tweet which he meant that DX 11.1 is easier to use. Its not faster itself.

The last patch made win 7 systems up to par again.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Right, easier to use with no other benefit.

Makes perfect sense considering they'd have to code for DX11 still either way.

Yeah, I see that in the graph you posted.

 

[rancherlee]

Was going to install 8.1 preview last night but the patch also gave my PIIx4 win7 system a healthy 10+ FPS bump. Went from high 20s to high 30/ low 40fps range on 64man servers.

 

[imaheadcase]

Right, easier to use with no other benefit.

Makes perfect sense considering they'd have to code for DX11 still either way.

Yeah, I see that in the graph you posted.

No use talking to a rock if you don't get it now you never will.
But I will put it in all caps since you don't understand maybe this will work.
THE PARTIAL DX11.1 FEATURES PUT INTO WIN 7 ARE THE MINOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS ALREADY IN WIN 8 DX 11.1.

That is what DICE was talking about. Maybe you never ran windows update in the last year.