core2quad

[TonyD]

My two cents - yes, a Core2Quad is sufficient to run this game with decent performance. What is more important is your choice of graphics card since CloD seems to rely heavily on graphics memory (VRAM). Despite what it may say ‘on the box’, I would consider 1GB of VRAM to be a minimum for decent looking graphics. Have a look at this post by FS~Phat examining VRAM usage and you will get some idea.

Although I don’t currently have access to one of these cpu’s, I recently did some performance testing on my daughter’s pc using a Core i5 750, Radeon HD5850 and 8GB memory, and found that it would run fluidly as long as the graphic settings were not set too high. As soon as the settings required more than the available VRAM (1GB for this card), the stutters would start becoming apparent. Using a utility like Bandicam could allow higher settings than without, as with a bit of tuning you could get the frame rate to a point where it would be fast enough for viewing, but slow enough to mask the stutters resulting from excessive VRAM usage.

To dodger; I assume that you currently have a dual-core – a quad will give you a decent performance increase as CloD is multi-threaded (it uses all 8 on my pc), just don’t expect to be able to run very high graphic settings unless you have a graphics card with 1.5 to 2GB of VRAM. It will definitely improve the ‘fluidity’ of the game compared to a dual-core.

[Stublerone]

@gabuzomeu: ati cards just stick at 500 mhz, if you are watching replays. As replays in this game recommend the same power as gaming, you need to delete this ubi teaser, up to my limited knowledge in this case. People claimed bad fps while benchmarking with video tracks like black death. The card simplyswitches to its video moder and just do not give you the needed power. That is, why some benchmarks of people not knowing this were incorrect.

Recommended videocard should have at least 1.5 for low quality and more than 2 (best is 3gb) for high preset or custom full maxed out with a normal high def resolution.

Fs-phat created a good thread, where he cleared all misunderstandings and benched all preset graphic qualities and its recommended vram on the card. You should have a look at that to better understand it.

[Igo kyu]

If you are thinking of keeping your motherboard and upgrading the CPU to a Core2 Quad, what is the memory you have? There is someone else on here with a Core2 Quad using 800 MHz DDR2, and the memory seems to be a bottleneck for the game:

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthr...t=33167&page=2

The Core2 Quad can run DDR3 at 1300 MHz, but it needs a motherboard that can take that memory, and if you have to get a new motherboard and memory you might as well get an i5, the cost won't be much more.

<edit>

OTOH, if you're thinking of making changes to your computer as a new thing for you, then by all means go for it. It's not hugely difficult if you take your time and follow instructions. I'm seeing i5 compatible motherboards on Amazon UK from about £50, memory from about £25 for 4GB or £40 for 8GB, and four core i5s from about £150 (there is an old two core i5 for less, that probably won't be as good as the Core2 Quad, and needs a different socket and motherboard).

[Stublerone]

Nooooo, please not tell wrong things and read phat's technical thread. It is NOT the RAM memory!!!!! It is in first priority the VRAM memory (the memory on your videocard)!!!!!

If you run out of this memory, it swaps to normal RAM at second stage. But than it is already too late, because a normal RAM is generally slower and is far away from the videocard with a slow BUS. All RAM memory afterwards is simply to slow to do athis amount of work fast enough. It could help to gain some performance with faster RAM, but the main problem: "running out of VRAM" still remains unsolved.

Just concerning the memory bottleneck!

[Igo kyu]

Originally Posted by Stublerone

Nooooo, please not tell wrong things and read phat's technical thread. It is NOT the RAM memory!!!!! It is in first priority the VRAM memory (the memory on your videocard)!!!!!

If you run out of this memory, it swaps to normal RAM at second stage. But than it is already too late, because a normal RAM is generally slower and is far away from the videocard with a slow BUS. All RAM memory afterwards is simply to slow to do athis amount of work fast enough. It could help to gain some performance with faster RAM, but the main problem: "running out of VRAM" still remains unsolved.

Just concerning the memory bottleneck!

What are you talking about?

I am talking to/about someone who I presume has already got a nice video card.

If they have that, then the next possible bottlenecks are CPU and RAM. A Core2 Quad at 3.0 GHz (or faster if they overclock it) might well be fast enough. Old slow RAM is old and slow.

Certainly more RAM on the video card is good, and there again slow RAM may be a problem, most high end video cards since years ago have used DDR5, but some lower end graphics cards use DDR3. DDR3 is as fast as you can fit in a PC, but for graphics cards DDR5 is available, and apparently it's something like twice as fast.

[Stublerone]

So perhaps a little misunderstanding, but giving the initial poster advice about RAM as bottleneck is misleading, too!

Gain fps with videocard and its vram. Secind step, when still having problems: upgrade cpu and ram, but cpu should in this case have less influence, although another, faster clocked cpu with ddr3 ram is apprecuated , too. I do not exactly know, if the quad and its ddr2 in his case could also be a bottleneck afterwards.... As I have an old i7, I am currently not running in any priblems and the 2 fps more with a new generation is too expensive for me, because the watercooling also costs some money. First of all I will switch to eyefinity with 3 monitors. Later, the cpu will be substituted.

[Igo kyu]

Originally Posted by Stublerone

So perhaps a little misunderstanding, but giving the initial poster advice about RAM as bottleneck is misleading, too!

How is it misleading?

He or she is talking about buying a Core2 Quad as an upgrade.

That means he or she has a motherboard with a LGA 775 socket on it. A lot of those motherboards, not all but some (particularly old ones, and if he or she has had it for years already running e.g. a Core2 Duo it will be old), take only DDR2, and the fastest DDR2 you can get is 800MHz. If he or she already has a very fast new graphics card, and a Core2 Quad, DDR2 on the motherboard will be a potentially serious bottleneck.

Spending money on a computer is a balancing act, if you buy two fast items and leave a third slow, it will be the slow one that is the bottleneck. Better to spend a little less on the first two, and upgrade the third as well. Knowing what is relatively slow is difficult, but in this case, in my opinion, DDR2 is a very serious potential brake on the system.