GPU intensive games that don't use much CPU

[Davste]

I would like a list of games that are GPU intensive but would work great on a dual core @ 2.5 - 3 Ghz. A good example would be Metro2033. A very bad example would be Black OPS or bad company 2. Any ideas?

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Most games these days seem to use the CPU just as much as they use the GPU. Some exceptions would be Source games like Portal 2 which require very little CPU power. Crysis 2 is said to use quad cores very well. But it is also very GPU limited with the DX 11 patch. To be honest you can play most games with that dual core but they just won't run as smoothly.

 

[Puppies04]

What type of dual core are we talking about?

 

[Davste]

Athlon 64 x2 4800+
I just want a list of games tbh, I know I'll be able to play most recent games with the possible exception of bad ports and bad company 2.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I would also like a list, thank you

 

[AdamK47]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2177408

 

[RussianSensation]

Athlon 64 x2 4800+
I just want a list of games tbh, I know I'll be able to play most recent games with the possible exception of bad ports and bad company 2.

Every game with every modern GPU will be bottlenecked by that CPU. The "CPU doesn't really matter" scenario generally only applies to overclocked C2Q, Phenom II X4/X6 and Core i3/i5/i7 architecture. Anything with a name Pentium III, 4, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo, Athlon 64/Athlon FX and even Athlon II X3/X4 is bottlenecking almost all modern games.

 

[Grooveriding]

Crysis/Warhead

 

[MustangSVT]

BADLIST: starcraft 2

 

[edplayer]

I would like a list of games that are GPU intensive but would work great on a dual core @ 2.5 - 3 Ghz. A good example would be Metro2033. A very bad example would be Black OPS or bad company 2. Any ideas?

Have you tried Metro 2033 on your 4800+?

I would also like a list, thank you

I also would like a list. Please add my name to the list of people wanting a list.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

The Phenom II X4 955, a CPU that already bottlenecks enthusiast GPUs like the GTX 570 and Radeon HD 6970 in single card configuration, is already around 90% faster in gaming than the Athlon X2 4800+. I think we both know the answer to this: all new games will be CPU bottlenecked, even if paired with a mainstream GPU like the Radeon HD 6770.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Assault on Dark Athena. With vsync off it runs at a contstant 99% GPU usage. It's poor coding that causes this, but is quite stressful!

 

[Rifter]

Every game with every modern GPU will be bottlenecked by that CPU. The "CPU doesn't really matter" scenario generally only applies to overclocked C2Q, Phenom II X4/X6 and Core i3/i5/i7 architecture. Anything with a name Pentium III, 4, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo, Athlon 64/Athlon FX and even Athlon II X3/X4 is bottlenecking almost all modern games.

100% this.

 

[toyota]

I would like a list of games that are GPU intensive but would work great on a dual core @ 2.5 - 3 Ghz. A good example would be Metro2033. A very bad example would be Black OPS or bad company 2. Any ideas?

a 4800 X2 would be a tiny bit slower than an E6400 Core 2 duo. as you can see here even an E6400 cannot deliver 30 fps in the "gpu intensive" Metro 2033 on high settings. http://techreport.com/articles.x/20188/10

that is only 2 fps better than it can do in the more "cpu intensive" Bad Company 2. http://techreport.com/articles.x/20188/7

 

[-Slacker-]

Just cause 2.

 

[toyota]

BADLIST: starcraft 2

I do not get why that game looks so cpu intensive in some benchmarks. I actually got it to run just fine(30-40 fps) on the godawful slow E-350 using low settings. and on my E8500 is was basically pegged at 60 fps for the hour that I played the demo.

 

[RussianSensation]

Just cause 2.

There is a 10-11% performance difference for the HD5850/HD5970 and GTX480 when comparing Core i5-750 vs. Core i7-965 at 1920x1080 4AA. With an X2 4800+, the difference is probably massive.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Just Cause 2
Far Cry 2
Crysis/Warhead
Batman Arkham Asylum
Bioshock
The Force Unleashed
Portal 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Company of Heroes
Killing Floor


These should be playable, although some don't necessarily kill the GPU unless you turn up the AA.

Another one to the bad list:

Assassin's Creed 2 - in my experience it's just as CPU intensive as BC2 and GTA4. You can squeek by with the Athlon X2, but not at a great framerate.

There is a 10-11% performance difference for the HD5850/HD5970 and GTX480 when comparing Core i5-750 vs. Core i7-965 at 1920x1080 4AA. With an X2 4800+, the difference is probably massive.

Just Cause 2 will be more than playable so long as he has a halfway decent video card. It's not that CPU-intensive; it's certainly not like Bad Company 2 or GTA 4. And playable games is exactly what the OP is looking for, so you can't make those kinds of assumptions.

 

[toyota]

yeah I can also confirm that Just Cause 2 should be playable on a 4800 X2 level cpu. really that cpu can still handle a lot of games on lower and even medium settings but at settings a fast gpu can push that cpu will not always deliver a decent framerate. and of course even if it is playable it would still be a massive bottleneck for nearly any modern game.

 

[Borealis7]

wouldn't all console ports be more GPU intensive than CPU intensive?

 

[toyota]

wouldn't all console ports be more GPU intensive than CPU intensive?

if anything it would be the exact opposite.

 

[MustangSVT]

I do not get why that game looks so cpu intensive in some benchmarks. I actually got it to run just fine(30-40 fps) on the godawful slow E-350 using low settings. and on my E8500 is was basically pegged at 60 fps for the hour that I played the demo.

yeah, single player or even most of 1v1 is fine. the problem is in 2v2 or higher and when everyone starts to get bigger armies. with all the units, spells and effects, it slows down even the fastest CPU.

but casual player that does custom games won't care. and the lack of set demo run mode within game causes those casual players to think that this game runs on anything.

 

[toyota]

yeah, single player or even most of 1v1 is fine. the problem is in 2v2 or higher and when everyone starts to get bigger armies. with all the units, spells and effects, it slows down even the fastest CPU.

but casual player that does custom games won't care. and the lack of set demo run mode within game causes those casual players to think that this game runs on anything.

okay thanks for the info. I know basically very little about SC 2 and have just fooled around with the demo.

 

[-Slacker-]

There is a 10-11% performance difference for the HD5850/HD5970 and GTX480 when comparing Core i5-750 vs. Core i7-965 at 1920x1080 4AA. With an X2 4800+, the difference is probably massive.

Well of course there's going to be some difference, unless the cpu is bottlenecked by the video card.

Unless those cpus in the benchmark are overclocked, there is a 600mhz difference between them; Combine that with the higher ipc on the i7 and it becomes clearer as to the performance difference, even in a gpu limited game like jc2.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

There is a 10-11% performance difference for the HD5850/HD5970 and GTX480 when comparing Core i5-750 vs. Core i7-965 at 1920x1080 4AA. With an X2 4800+, the difference is probably massive.

Put them on equal grounds, and the story changes.

Core i5 750 (2.66GHz) vs Core i7 920 (2.66GHz): no performance increase.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/109?vs=47