Processor requirement in games

samwyse

Distinguished
Feb 9, 2002
166
0
18,680
I'm thinking about replacing my Celeron 667 MHz with a P III 933 MHz. Will it be enough with a proper gfx-card?



(actually I just need a better processor for GP4, which hasn't even been released yet :)
 
Yes, definitely! Most games released over the next year or so were developed using processors available at the time - there would be no point releasing games which wouldn't play on the average computer. Also the graphics card nowadays takes a lot of the load and offers effects that are optional and can be utilised if you have an appropriate graphics card . P3 chip is used in the X-box remember , I think a 750Mhz, but coupled with a rocking graphics card from nVidia it seems OK! I'm not sure if 933Mhz is the most you can go on your mobo but I seem to remember someone using P3 1133Mhz or more and saying it was faster playing some game than his P4 , I guess it depends on price as well. One more point is that I've noticed that of all the tests on the the new cards sporting the highest mode of anti-aliasing even running with the latest chips struggle to keep the frame rate up to playable levels when it is switched on, and when it is switched off , Quake ,Unreal run at like 200 fps(maybe exaggerate)which isn't really necessary! .With most games anything above 60fps is easily smooth enough.Unless of course you want the fastest computer/card combo just so you have best out there! which is cool as well.
 
GP4= (Geoff Crammond's) Grand Prix 4

Last time I updated my processor was for Grand Prix 3 (from Cel 333MHz to Cel 667) :)

I'm thinking about getting the Pentium III 933MHz, because it's almost reasonably priced and about the best I can get on my motherboard (I don't want to get a new mobo).

My other choice would be Celeron 1100 MHz, but I guess it's not worth getting it.
 
Very few games take advantage of the CPU ... best bet for gaming is a mid range processor with a blazing GPU

<b>1.4 Ghz AMD T-Bird underclocked to 1 Ghz...just to be safe!</b>
 
Hmm, I can get nearly 200fps in Quake III at 1024*768*32 MAX and the latest Ti4600 and an Athlon XP or P4 can get nearly 300fps! Unless you can see the difference between 200fps and 300fps, you don't need a fast processor for Q3.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor
 
Yes for todays cpus Q3 is irrelevant.
But when Q3 came out, that`s what now close to 3 years, well back then between a K6-2 500 and a Athlon 700 there would be a good FPS difference and GPU was rather irrelevant.
So Q3 is still processor dependant but today it is irrelevant to talk about it.
I`m not a total idiot u know !!
j/k hi hi
Cheers Master AMD_Man

<pre><b><font color=red>Good-bye Kyoto, but this is just an "Au revoir"!</font color=red></b></pre><p>
 
Yeah, Quake III came out before even the GeForce256 and the Athlon, I believe. At the time, the best graphics card and CPU, a P3 500MHz and a TNT2, would barely be able to handle Q3 a 1024*768*32 at maybe 40fps.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor
 
yep... for older title such as Q3, but newer release would be slow on your system on high res and full detail.
mayb be equip it with a GF4, u'll supercharge it
 
yep... for older title such as Q3, but newer release would be slow on your system on high res and full detail.
I would hope not. My Radeon 8500 seems to be able to handle all modern games at, at least 1024*768*32 MAX or even 1280*1024*32 MAX.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor
 
Change of plans.. I can't get the P III. So I'll get the Celeron 1100 MHz. It's not the best cpu out there, but I'll live with it.