[Adam] The Pentium G3258 Cheap Overclocking Experiment

[Guest]

Do higher resolutions play a role in stuttering caused by low CPU performance or lack of cores/threads? If so and the laptop were lower resolution, I can see why a laptop I5 could perform better than a desktop I3.

 

[Traciatim]

Do higher resolutions play a role in stuttering caused by low CPU performance or lack of cores/threads? If so and the laptop were lower resolution, I can see why a laptop I5 could perform better than a desktop I3.

Not very much. Resolution is pretty much exclusively the domain of the GPU since the CPU mostly sets up the scene and sends it over to the GPU and the GPU does all the 'turn this scene in to a frame for the monitor to display' work . . . it's more complicated than that on what the CPU and GPU do, but for the purpose of the question the answer is pretty much no.

This is the reason you see many benchmarking sites will simply lower the resolution when testing CPU comparisons in games because it will help remove the GPU as a limiting factor in the test since the GPU has less work to do but the CPU still tries to play the game as fast as it can.

 

[Guest]

Do higher resolutions play a role in stuttering caused by low CPU performance or lack of cores/threads? If so and the laptop were lower resolution, I can see why a laptop I5 could perform better than a desktop I3.

Not very much. Resolution is pretty much exclusively the domain of the GPU since the CPU mostly sets up the scene and sends it over to the GPU and the GPU does all the 'turn this scene in to a frame for the monitor to display' work . . . it's more complicated than that on what the CPU and GPU do, but for the purpose of the question the answer is pretty much no.

This is the reason you see many benchmarking sites will simply lower the resolution when testing CPU comparisons in games because it will help remove the GPU as a limiting factor in the test since the GPU has less work to do but the CPU still tries to play the game as fast as it can.

Hmmm, then that really doesn't add up, unless said I5 is newer and the I3 is old and a low end one. Maybe new instruction sets increase performance in some cases that can be noticeable, too. Aside from physics calculations draw calls, and audio, I really don't know too much about CPU loading in a gaming environment, especially when it comes to instruction sets.

 

[Alpha3031]

His i5 is even older (Sandy Bridge) than the i3 (Ivy Bridge), maybe he was just experiencing the placebo effect (goes with the sticker that has a higher number), or maybe he had a bad GPU.

 

[Casecutter]

U guys should throw in Core 2 quad 9550/9650 and bench together or even the Nehelem quad core to compare.

Hey am I missing something because under the test-up it's showing the MSI-Z97 Gaming 7 motherboard was used for the OC system, is that what was used to hit 4.4Ghz?

 

[wolverine96]

Which motherboard was actually used for each setup?
Please answer! Everybody is asking and wants to know!

These kinds of articles almost make me take a step back and question the integrity of the other articles.

 

[Aikei]

If you are going to buy a G3258 meaning to overclock it, note that some batches are extremely voltage hungry and you won't be able to overclock it higher than 3.8 GHz (sometimes even less), unless you buy an expensive cooler. I was unlucky to get such, the batch of my G3258 is L332C000. Don't buy it.

 

[Casecutter]

Which motherboard was actually used for each setup?
Please answer! Everybody is asking and wants to know!

These kinds of articles almost make me take a step back and question the integrity of the other articles.

Didn't notice you've already inquired.
Well we know that the Technical Editors have seen these posts and have no merit to respond.

I think it speak volumes as to what’s up on this site, check my inquiry for the R9 285 review… same deplorable sleight of hand.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2284030/amd-radeon-285-review-tonga-gcn-update/page-2.html

 

[Aikei]

If you are going to buy a G3258 meaning to overclock it, note that some batches are extremely voltage hungry and you won't be able to overclock it higher than 3.8 GHz (sometimes even less), unless you buy an expensive cooler. I was unlucky to get such, the batch of my G3258 starts with L332. Don't buy it.

Good info, can you speak to any stuttering issues?

Concerning stuttering, I haven't tried any newer games yet, but with older ones (I mainly play Injustice: Gods Among Us, Civilization V and Total War: Shogun 2 recently) I don't see any. But I think this might be an issue, because many people report it.
Btw, to be more precise, my full batch number is L332C000.
Actually, in my opinion, you'd be better off buying Core i3-4130, at least it has 4 threads (which should eliminate any stuttering issues for now), and no luck is involved - you don't need to overclock it, but it's a bit more expensive, though.

 

[Slorg]

The G3258 did incredible at stock, oh my goodness.