[SOLVED] Can a quad core cpu ever be better than a 16 core cpu for games that use few cores?

[devilfox]

For games that only utilise 2 cores.

For example,

if CPU A was a dual core cpu running at 5.0ghz

and,

if CPU B was eight-core cpu running at 2.3ghz

Will CPU A always be better at running the games in terms of FPS?

 

[j121]

a strong quadcore would be better than the 8 core clocked that low. when it comes to dual core not sure but probably if the game only use 2 cores.

the amd fx cpus was beaten by 2 core 4 threads intel i 3 in many cases when it comes to single core and dual core performance .

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i3-3240-vs-AMD-FX-8320/m2133vs1983

 

[devilfox]

a strong quadcore would be better than the 8 core clocked that low. when it comes to dual core not sure but probably if the game only use 2 cores.

Cool. Is there anything beside clock speed that can affect performance?

 

[j121]

cache, supported ram speed and things like that. im sure alot of people know more about that here.

 

[RodroX]

Cool. Is there anything beside clock speed that can affect performance?

A lot of stuff can affect performance, not only speed (well working frecuency), as j121 wrote, the amount of cache, the supported RAM speed and configuration (dual channel can provide a lot of performance in FPS compared to single channel), special instructions, internal cpu design (small changes in the internal layout of cpu can affect its performance by a lot), heat and temperature (in the case of 3rd gen AMD Ryzen for example, the cooler the CPU runs the more chances you have it will boost higher and thus perform better), the GPU (if you have a weak GPU, you can have the best CPU in the world for gaming - right now the Core i9 9900K - and it wont matter much).

So yeah building a PC is all about balancing the important parts for the "task" you want to master. In the case of gaming, GPU, CPU and RAM configuration are the 3 key parts that matter. On a second place it will be the motherboard and the power supply (PSU), you want a decent motherboard with a decent VRM, and a decent PSU to give the right-stable power to all those 3 main components. Finally a clean Windows installation (not clean in the way of instaling Windows every time but on the way of keeping it clean from useless software) and updated drivers.

Cheers

 

[sizzling]

It a similar principle to why the 3900x can be beaten by the 3700x in games. Ok a tiny %

 

[13thmonkey]

However bear in mind that whilst the game might only 'use' 2 cores the rest of windows will need CPU time as well, that will interrupt that 5.0 dual core, and cause a stutter.
All of this is ignoring the fact that 5.0 on one architecture will usually give a very different result to 5.0 on another architecture.

 

[TerryLaze]

However bear in mind that whilst the game might only 'use' 2 cores the rest of windows will need CPU time as well, that will interrupt that 5.0 dual core, and cause a stutter.
All of this is ignoring the fact that 5.0 on one architecture will usually give a very different result to 5.0 on another architecture.

This has nothing to do with core count,if a windows task runs at a higher priority than the game it will interrupt the game no matter how many cores you have.
Unless it's running at a lower priority it will lower FPS on a dual core CPU but that's the great part you can influence the priority with task manager if anything lowers your FPS you can stop it from doing so.

 

[13thmonkey]

Unless you have spare cores, realistically a dual core will need a lot of fiddling to get a stable output.