How much do old CPU's bottleneck new games?

[soloman02]

I went from a 3700+ to an X2 4200+ only because it was dual core. All I changed was that (before I got my 8800gt). At the time My 7900gs and single core cpu could not keep up with COD4. even on medium settings it would stutter frequently. I dropped in the X2, and the stuttering was gone. I even gained 1-2fps. The main benefit was the game was actually playable since the stuttering ended.

 

[hixbot]

Lowering the graphics settings will not improve your CPU bottleneck. If your CPU is bounding you to unplayable rates, even the lowest settings will not help. The graphics settings only effect your GPU performance.

If you are getting unplayable frame rates and are curious to know if its your CPU or GPU thats effecting you. First drop the resolution to as low as it will go, and turn all settings on low. You may even be able to tweak the game to stop rendering some objects, and really drop the graphics quality. If your frame rates don't improve whatsoever, then your CPU/platfrom is limiting your performance. So you would then know, that upgrading your GPU will not bring that game to playable levels.
However, if you find that by lowering your settings to such a disgusting degree, actually brings the game to a playable level. Then an upgrade of the GPU will let you turn the settings up, and your CPU should remain up to the task.

 

[spotless]

hmm, iam waiting the 3850 agp version, iam using p4 D.

 

[shinku_sai]

It's funny that guys on this forum claim the topic hasn't been covered when in fact it has - by THG itself! Here is the article: http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/10/agp-platform-analysis/index.html - TOM'S HARDWARE GUIDE > Error 404
Sorry!

The page you requested couldn't be found

The conclusion? An Athlon XP 2500+ will definitely bottleneck an AGP 1950 Pro. If you have a CPU of this vintage, forget about running one with an AGP 3850 (which itself is about 2x the performance of a 1950 Pro), it's just not worth it. It's time to save up for a new PCI-E system. 😉

So sad the article is no longer available!!!

 

[Markon101]

🙁 Mirrors Edge. The CPU is the bottleneck 😱 I have CPU: Intel 1.86 Ghz dual core processor GPU: 8600 GTS

 

[C00lIT]

The minimum requirement for some sort respectable gaming on a single core would be a Pentium4 3.0Ghz HT or an Athlon64 3200+ Skt754
Any older wont stand a chance.

I have a spare Athlon 3400 skt754 with a Radeon850XT and that is able to play Company of Heroes, L4D and some other games just fine with reduced graphics.

So single cores arent totally dead yet...

I still think the a Pentium4 2.0Ghz / AthlonXP2200+ with minimum 768MB Ram is still fair for none gamers who only use Firefox and outlook and perhaps some occasional flash games.

Anything slower then a northwood our AthlonXP would only be good for a Linux practice server or a custom router.

 

[warmon6]

We need a mod to lock the tread.......