Interesting CPU post on INQ

[enz660hp]

Here They compare the perfromance of 3dmark benches as well as new games and it shows that if you have a midrange level gpu, the cpu wont make too much of a difference. On the other hand, of you have a top performing gpu such as the 7950gx2 they tested....ad every resolution, its faster with a better cpu. I thought that the cpu does not play a large role during high resolution gaming? Anyone care to explain?

 

[IdaGno]

For some time now, graphics performance has been GPU and not CPU limited. With the advent of the latest GPU's, graphics performance is once again becoming CPU limited.

Or put another way, high end GPU's can now keep up w/high end CPU's, while lesser CPU's cannot.

from the linked Inq article:

More CPU power you have the faster the card will be. This certainly applies to Geforce 7950 GX2 or faster cards.

 

[lopri]

Which charts are you looking at? Scroll down and the game tests begin with Doom 3. Note the FX-62 is on different platform (NF590) from the other two CPUs, which are on NF4. If anything, I see the single-core FX57 beating X2 4800+ by like 1FPS, due to its higher frequency.

 

[IdaGno]

Originally posted by: lopri
Which charts are you looking at? Scroll down and the game tests begin with Doom 3. Note the FX-62 is on different platform (NF590) from the other two CPUs, which are on NF4. If anything, I see the single-core FX57 beating X2 4800+ by like 1FPS, due to its higher frequency.

Only further reinforcing the point made here that:

The fact of the matter is that real-world gaming performance today greatly lies at the feet of your video card. Almost none of today?s games are performance limited by your CPU.

In the Inq tests, even the 7950GX2 GPU doesn't provide enough horsepower to enable these CPU's to significantly separate themselves one from another. Would be interesting to see what frame rate difference the NV8800 would reveal. My suspicion is little to none but I can hardly afford to run the benchmarks to be certain!

 

[harpoon84]

Originally posted by: enz660hp
I thought that the cpu does not play a large role during high resolution gaming? Anyone care to explain?

It depends on the game of course, some are more CPU dependant than others.

Anyway, the article still clearly points out that a high end GPU + mid range CPU is by far better than a mid range GPU + high end CPU.

Of course, in the ideal world you'd have a fast GPU *and* CPU.

 

[n7]

/n7 almost has a fit about the GPU/CPU bottleneck topic, but decides to not...

 

[harpoon84]

Originally posted by: n7
/n7 almost has a fit about the GPU/CPU bottleneck topic, but decides to not...

Aww, don't hold back!

I'd like your take on how an FX62 + 7950GX2, somehow, despite the supposed 'total' GPU dependancy in games according to yourself, ends up beating the X2 4800+/7950GX2 in games at 1600x1200 max AA/AF by a significant amount.

 

[n7]

It doesn't.

If you really trust numbers INQ puts out...

 

[harpoon84]

Originally posted by: n7
It doesn't.

If you really trust numbers INQ puts out...

So they pulled the numbers out of thin air then?