how many cores does clod use

[Heliocon]

Originally Posted by janpitor

Dont overestimate hyperthreading...you have 8 threads, but it isnt like having 8 cores...it is a little bit faster...but the real purpose of hyperthreading is more programs can run at the same time...there is no point in optimising a game for 8 threads...no gain

Generally the only advantage is tripple channel Ram...THATS IT. Buy i5...best bucks for power in flight simulators especially because of better or same overclock.

Yes because you have plenty of experience with this stuff to base your opinion on? 8 threads = alot better than 4 threads/cores. Your cpu has to sit and wait for your ram, in the meantime if you have an i7 it will be far more active/productive.

[patrat1]

considering that the op only plays il2 1946, rof, lockon and now cod i hardly think he has to worry about getting a cpu with six or eight cores or fancy threading capability, for now or in the forseeable future.

in view of his limited game selection i think he cant go wrong with a I5 2500K.

[janpitor]

Originally Posted by Heliocon

Yes because you have plenty of experience with this stuff to base your opinion on? 8 threads = alot better than 4 threads/cores. Your cpu has to sit and wait for your ram, in the meantime if you have an i7 it will be far more active/productive.

8 threads isnt the same as 8 cores...with or without hyperthreading, the total processing power available is approximately the same (if the frequency and number of cores is the same)...you can just run more applications at the same time...8 threads could be usefull only if the game could use more threads but couldn´t use them to their full capacity (less than 50%load on every thread)

Just try to switch off hyperthreading on your CPU and see the minimal difference in FPS

[TonyD]

Jayrc; if you want an unbiased opinion from a long-time AMD fan, the current best gaming cpu for the money is a Core i5 2500, which took the crown from the previous best – the Core i5 750. (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...or,2895-4.html) Get the ‘k’ model if you want to overclock and the price difference isn’t too high, remembering that overclocking your cpu will not provide a huge gain in frame rate anyway.

My favourite for reading up on comparisons is Tom’s Hardware, although there are plenty of others (type ‘pc hardware review’ into Google and follow your nose), but you will find that this is the general consensus.

If you use your pc for work as well as gaming, you might want to look at a (hyper-threaded) Core i7 2600 (k or vanilla model), as this could be beneficial.

Good luck!

[Rattlehead]

Originally Posted by TonyD

Jayrc; if you want an unbiased opinion from a long-time AMD fan

AMD fan here as well. To me they have always been 'cooler' than Intel, and also one has to root for the underdog.

Sadly, I can't justify buying AMD over Intel right now.
Anyways, let me scoot before I start a flamewar or something.

[TonyD]

Originally Posted by Rattlehead

...
Sadly, I can't justify buying AMD over Intel right now.
...

Oh, I could, but then I’m of the opinion that you require an adequate cpu for a gaming rig, rather than the best. A budget allocation should prioritise a graphics card rather than a cpu, but if it stretches to a SandyBridge quad-core, why not?

Your choice of phrasing is also pertinent – who knows how this may change next month?

[TommiVH]

well in Arma 2 that was not to get more fbs but getting the game work in the first place. That HT was causing fatal error to game...

[Heliocon]

Originally Posted by TommiVH

well in Arma 2 that was not to get more fbs but getting the game work in the first place. That HT was causing fatal error to game...

Really? Because i5s dont have HT, your one must be a unique and special case... nice one!

[TonyD]

Originally Posted by Heliocon

Really? Because i5s dont have HT, your one must be a unique and special case... nice one!

If I may, and before this starts another argument, I’m sure that you meant the quad-core Core i5's don’t have HT – as far as I am aware, all other i5’s (sockets 1156 & 1155) do.

To be honest, few games that I have come across benefit from HT; but in your case, using your pc for processor-intensive tasks other than gaming, I’m sure there is a performance related justification. I would never suggest using a 6-core i7 solely for the basis of a gaming rig, as the new SB chips easily match them in terms of performance, and the cost difference is huge. To quote THG from their recent test on the new i7-990X, ‘Frankly, enthusiasts and gamers need not apply.’

There may be a case for the possible longevity of such a system, but most would want to upgrade in a year or two to a more modern platform any way (PCI-ex 3.0, USB 4.0, SATA-4, and who knows what else.). And typically, in Intel’s case, this would require a new cpu and RAM, which incurs additional expense.

[W0ef]

Originally Posted by Heliocon

Before you attack me stop being an idiot and read my post. I never suggested the 2600k, or any SB i7. I specifically said using many names since you seem to be completely ignorrant, that i was refering to the Nehalem/40nm/Gen 1 quad= Intel i7 920->960 range of cpus. So stop being a moron and actually read my post, and I wont insult you aslong as you know what you are talking about.

I spent $1000 on a processor because I will be using this computer and mobo for a long time, and I do graphics design with Maya on it which is computationally intensive.

Also just because you find one thread supporting your argument that HT isnt good does not make it true. Atleast we have moved on from the stage of you bsing facts our of thin air to the stage where you try to cover up your misinformed comment with a single forum link. Because that provides hard evidence! fail.

Dont post unless you have a clue, once you do I will be polite, and if you can make a solid and cogent argument all the better.

First of all, I sincerely hope that OP listens to people like TonyD and Zoom instead of you Heliocon, maybe you should read the link Tony posted which pretty much sums it all up:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...or,2895-4.html

Or will you say Toms hardware pulls fact out of their arse too?

The way you win an argument seems to be by calling anyone who doesn´t agree with you an ignorant idiot amongst other things, which is all fine but not the most convincing way to prove your point.

Now I would have just bailed out of this useless discussion where it not for the fact you seem persistent in pushing through a choice of CPU that would not benefit OP at all for his purposes and his budget, and this pisses me off.

I have posted several links, one directly related to your claim that BF:BC2 makes effective use of 8 virtual cores (which it doesnt imo) to try and prove HT is supposedly worth it for a pure gaming rig (since that is what we ARE talking about, OP states clearly he uses his rig solely for gaming purposes). The link I posted about BF:BC2 has a guy who obviously took the time to run a more extensive test then you have done (as a matter of fact I have yet to see you post any link to an unbiased source to prove any of your claims).


If you read reviews on the best CPU to get for gaming one thing at least is for certain, you'd be a fool going with a non Sandy Bridge CPU for your build right now.

Here is one more, they even run HT tests (for our gaming rig purposes note the fps dif on Left for Dead with HT on and off):



http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...rs-review.html

For our purposes you can skip on to the gaming test section of that review.







The guys over @ bit-tech.net said it best:

Quote:
The Sandy Bridge lineup gives us some of the easiest conclusions to write that we've ever come across: the new range of Intel CPUs renders almost every other processor redundant and pointless. Only if you need incredible performance in multi-threaded applications should you look beyond the Core i5-2500K for your next CPU.


Take in mind the 2500k is actually not more expensive than the by now almost 3 year old i7-920 (even more cheap if judging by the prices I could find).

Lets for the sake of argument see how the top of the line CPU in the line you promote fairs against much more affordable Sandy Bridge CPU.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpu...ition-review/6

Conclusion:

The i5-2500K is roughly as quick as, and sometimes quicker than, the i7-990X in all but the most heavily multi-threaded tasks. It's also very overclockable, and considerably cheaper. As a result, only those running professional-grade multi-thread-optimised applications should consider the i7-990X, and even then, you'd be better off buying in an i7-980X, which is nearly as fast but £50 cheaper.

I´m not here to diss anyone for having a 980X or whatever, if you need it for programs like Maya or heavy video transcoding fair enough. It is people recommending them for gaming rigs I cannot possibly understand, not to mention recommending to buy the i7 920 or 960 Nehalem now instead of a 2500k or 2600k Sandy Bridge, that is just mindboggling to be honest, even more so because of the fact both are basically end of life and he will probably have a hard time even getting his hands on one if for some reason he wanted to. Even more annoying is when all they do to prove their own point is pull some facts out of their own arse, talk about how it will own in 2 years time (in two years time I can probably buy your 980X in the budget bin tbh) and personally attack people who don´t agree with them.

If you want to go for a HT processor I would do like others here said and go for the 2600k personally. A lot more affordable and actually performs great with games as well.

Let me pull on last review out of my bum: http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i...600k-review/23

Now one more thing, the next time you personally insult me without proving ANYTHING yourself I will report you. If you can´t have a proper discussion without resorting to lame tactics like that it only proves how you are unable to prove your point using facts instead of blabbering on. Maybe the misses believed you when you tried to explain to her why you splashed out $1000 on a single processor but I sure as hell won´t be intimidated just because you resort to calling anyone who doesn´t agree with you a moron.

Peace out.