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How much longer will Core 2 Quads be powerful enough for games?

TurtleCrusher

TurtleCrusher

Lifer
I know this is purely speculation, but how long will it be until i have to upgrade for specific games? With overclocking i've reached a performance leap of quite a few processors up, but i'm worried its not going to be enough for the next couple years.

My s939 4200+ lasted me over a year. I bought it right before they became unavailable everywhere and at the very end of s939. I bought my current system in January-February of this year and s775 is being phased out soon. Did i hop on the bandwagon too late? I cant find a game at the moment that my CPU cant run well, but i said the same thing with my x2 4200+.

I am currently amazed by how fast my current CPU is (CS 1.6 plays at 300-500fps with developer 1 on, and its single threaded) but then i look at i7 and just get envious. Its multithreaded numbers trounce Core2 Quads.

So the point is, will it last a few years and be adequate for gaming?

 
dont worry atleast you can game still till i7 gets like 'dirt cheap' then do your next upgrade... and most games are now getting more and more vcard dependent afaik with physix and those techs come out.
 
One to two years probably. Processors aren't increasing in power too quickly. Core 2 Quads overclocked to 3Ghz and beyond are still significantly more powerful than anything any game requires right now.
 
Originally posted by: Scholzpdx
So the point is, will it last a few years and be adequate for gaming?
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Your current CPU will be fine for gaming for a few years especially with that GPU, but that doesn't mean current games and faster GPUs won't take advantage of the additional processing power of a faster CPU like the i7. Particularly with high-end single and multi-GPU solutions, you'll see an i7 is absolutely needed to extract the most performance. The jump from Core 2 or Phenom 2 to Core i7 typically yields a 15-25% gain on the high-end across the board from what I've seen and can also have a huge gain in minimum FPS.

There are games today that see a tangible gain from faster CPUs and more cores. GTA4 certainly headlines that list, but you can throw any UE3.0 game into the mix as well. Console to PC ports are also heavily threaded and make excellent use of Quad cores to extract additional performance. I expect this trend to continue as more PC titles rely on console ports. There's also been a fairly well publicized effort by both AMD and Nvidia to optimize and increase driver performance through improved multi-threading and scheduling. DX11 also promises multi-threaded enhancements and performance gains.

With regard to upgrade strategy, i7 prices have dropped a ton recently. I finally pulled the trigger a few days ago and it cost me about half of what it would've if I upgraded at launch. i5/P55 is coming later this year for mainstream Nehalem platforms, so things are only going to get cheaper. In the meantime, if you don't see the need for the additional performance, don't worry about it, better performance is only going to come cheaper in the future.

 
2-3 years with semi-regular GPU upgrades. Look at a S939 X2 with a 8800GT-class or higher GPU. Still games great.
 
I'm still rocking a AM2 dualcore at 3ghz + 8800GTS 320mb and games well enough for me, hell I would upgrade the GPU before I would upgrade the proc for more gaming performance.
 
They will actually probably age pretty well as more multi-threaded games are released. Most modern console port titles seem to use 2-3 cores now due to the 360 and PS3 being multi-core.
 
With proper GPU, the quad core is doing just fine for games for at least 3 years (2012). Keep in mind that I was playing games just fine on my AthlonXP just a couple years ago when paired with good GPU.
 
until next tuesday.apparently theres a new game coming out that wont work on any of the current cpu's out today.intel and amd are working on it.JK.but seriously you should be good for a few years.
 
So few games really utilize quads well today that i'm pretty sure anyone with a decently clocked quad will be good for a pretty decent while.

It takes the software side of things a while to catch up, so while i'd hope that in a few years every game out there is putting every core to good use, i highly doubt that's going to be the case anytime soon.
 
I'm guessing quad cores are going to remain viable until the next gen consoles are out and then you'll probably need a 16 core CPU to run GTA 5 while it runs buttery smooth on Xbox 720's 4 CPUs
 
Originally posted by: n7
So few games really utilize quads well today that i'm pretty sure anyone with a decently clocked quad will be good for a pretty decent while.

It takes the software side of things a while to catch up, so while i'd hope that in a few years every game out there is putting every core to good use, i highly doubt that's going to be the case anytime soon.
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I love your specificity. :laugh: Are you a politician, by chance? 😉

 
Originally posted by: angry hampster
People still game with S939 Athlon boards and chips.
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QFT. quads will last a long time to come, especially since i7 isnt that big of a leap in gaming. u're fine.
 
Originally posted by: dguy6789
One to two years probably. Processors aren't increasing in power too quickly. Core 2 Quads overclocked to 3Ghz and beyond are still significantly more powerful than anything any game requires right now.
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You gotta be kidding right?

1 or 2 more years? For the Quads?

lol

That's how long I expect my dual (E8400) to last. I expect it to last even a bit longer. I'd say 2 to 3 years before it's completely useless for games.

So people with quads should be set for another 3-4 years.

People just seem to underestimate the power of a good Dual. I expect my E8400 to still be pumping by 2011. OF COURSE IT WONT BE THE FASTEST THING ON EARTH, but it will still run games.

Some said that people still game with S939 CPUs. That's true. Plus, you can STILL play most games (GTA IV excluded) with a good Pentium 4.

I have a backup machine with a 3ghz Prescott in there and a 7900GS, and there wasn't a single game that didn't run there so far. Some run better, some run worse, but most of them are still quite playable on my backup machine. And that machine is almost 5 years old.

I'm not worried about my current setup (E8400, P5Q Pro, 8800GT), and you're worried about how quads will last? Rest man! They will last a long time.

Like I said, if I keep upgrading the GPU, even my E8400 will last a LONG time. Mark my words man.
 
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