How much does CPU speed affect game performance?

[eLiu]

Hey all,
I'm running a 1.2ghz Thunderbird (remember those?) on a Biostar M7NCD with 512mb PC2100 RAM. The video card is a Sapphire Radeon 9600pro, 128mb.

I ran 3dmark 2003 the other day and scored 2900. I checked online and otehr people with 9600pros (un-oc'ed) were getting like 3400-3500, but those benches were done on much faster CPUs--like P4 2.8s and higher.

Is my point deficit due to my sucky CPU? Even if it is, I don't plan on upgrading yet b/c the games I play still run good enough (for me) 🙂 But still, I'm curious.

-Eric

 

[JBT]

even with 3dmark03 which is GPU driven a slow CPU like a 1.2 Thunderbird will limit a faster video card like the 9600 pro. A GPU can only go as fast as a CPU will take it.

 

[eLiu]

Ah, I see. That kind of sucks...I'll probably get a newer Athlon XP before AMD starts phasing in the [more expensive] socket A semprons with new Celeron based PR ratings.

 

[Excelsior]

Every GPU has a cpu limit, for the most party. The faster/better the graphics card, the higher the limit. AnandTech did a test on this a while ago, using UT. I haven't seen a modern day test yet, though.

 

[GZFant]

yea, im waiting another 6 months before I upgrade and I am running a P3 933 with 512 PC700RDRAM and an FX5200 Ultra.

Some might call that setup crazy but everything runs just fine on it.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: GZFant
yea, im waiting another 6 months before I upgrade and I am running a P3 933 with 512 PC700RDRAM and an FX5200 Ultra.

Some might call that setup crazy but everything runs just fine on it.

depends on the games you play.
i can tell you right now Far Cry would not run fine on it... heh

 

[eLiu]

Originally posted by: CraigRT

Originally posted by: GZFant
yea, im waiting another 6 months before I upgrade and I am running a P3 933 with 512 PC700RDRAM and an FX5200 Ultra.

Some might call that setup crazy but everything runs just fine on it.

depends on the games you play.
i can tell you right now Far Cry would not run fine on it... heh

Sure it would. I was running Farcry on my system with a 32mb Geforce2 Pro for a while. Granted I ran in 800x600 mode with options on Low/Medium, but still the game was very playable...to me at least.

-Eric

 

[Johnbear007]

Let me give you a real world example.

My 2500+ is clocked at 2.3ghz. I just sold my 9800pro, while I am waiting for a reasonable price on a 6800GT I have to use an old 64MB Radeon DDR AIW. This card runs everything I play fine at 10x7 with low to medium detail. Pretty impressive for a card that old.

The same card struggles like heck to run neverwinter nights on my athlon XP 1700+

So basically, a better CPU can make up for a crappy card, as well as a better card helping along a slower processor.


Dont worry about 3dmark. Worry about the games you play.

 

[nitromullet]

Sure it would. I was running Farcry on my system with a 32mb Geforce2 Pro for a while. Granted I ran in 800x600 mode with options on Low/Medium, but still the game was very playable...to me at least.

-Eric

I guess that "fine" is a relative term. To most of us 800x600 with low-med IQ is not what we would call "fine". Honestly, if you are going to upgrade soonish, you might want to hold off on playing games like FarCry. I finished FarCry on an FX5900 and now have a 6800GT, I wish I had waited to play the game until I had hardware that could do it right - it looks and plays that much better. I still play it, but no game is as good the second time around IMO.

 

[eLiu]

Originally posted by: Johnbear007
Let me give you a real world example.

My 2500+ is clocked at 2.3ghz. I just sold my 9800pro, while I am waiting for a reasonable price on a 6800GT I have to use an old 64MB Radeon DDR AIW. This card runs everything I play fine at 10x7 with low to medium detail. Pretty impressive for a card that old.

The same card struggles like heck to run neverwinter nights on my athlon XP 1700+

So basically, a better CPU can make up for a crappy card, as well as a better card helping along a slower processor.


Dont worry about 3dmark. Worry about the games you play.

well yeah, I'm very satisfied with gaming performance (heck, upgrading from a geforce2 pro, who wouldn't be?). But I was just curious as to how much better it could be 🙂 Though your data does seem to give me a good picture. That 1700+ is already plenty faster than my Tbird too, lol.

-Eric