Reccomended specs for CPUs

[steverserrano]

Just trying to expand my knowledge here. When a game developer puts our recommended specs for CPU's like:
intel core i7 3.4 GHz

Does that mean all cores must match that speed? Or can that recommendation be met by a CPUs single or double core performance?

For example:
Recommended: intel Core i7 3770 3.4GHz or intel Corei3 8350 4GHz
My CPU: intel Core i5 8400 2.8GHz

Does my CPU meet the recommendation here? And if so how well?

Thanks guys

 

[Eximo]

Relative performance not necessarily clock speed (which is only a useful measurement between CPUs of the same series. Yes, an i5-8400 is going to be faster in general than an i7-3770. The i5 does have a boost clock of 4Ghz and two additional physical cores.

Keep in mind that that majority of games sales are near the release date so it is somewhat reasonable for them to list contemporary CPUs. Some companies will directly compare wildly different performing CPUs both as recommendations, so they aren't always trustworthy.

Best to find reviews or actual examples of gameplay from a similar system to yours to be sure.

 

[steverserrano]

Relative performance not necessarily clock speed (which is only a useful measurement between CPUs of the same series. Yes, an i5-8400 is going to be faster in general than an i7-3770. The i5 does have a boost clock of 4Ghz and two additional physical cores.

Keep in mind that that majority of games sales are near the release date so it is somewhat reasonable for them to list contemporary CPUs. Some companies will directly compare wildly different performing CPUs both as recommendations, so they aren't always trustworthy.

Best to find reviews or actual examples of gameplay from a similar system to yours to be sure.

I see. So what if the recommendation was more apples to apples-ish? for example:
Recommended: intel Core i5 8600k 3.6GHz
My CPU: intel Core i5 8400 2.8GHz

What changes here (if anything)?

 

[Eximo]

Not much actually. Those CPUs are quite similar. The i5-8600k will have a little more frequency, but otherwise they have the same rough performance. Basically they are saying 'for best results' having it a be a little slower means you aren't experiencing it as they tested it.

i5-8400 2.8Ghz to 4.0Ghz
i5-8600k 3.6Ghz to 4.3Ghz

As long as cooling is adequate that i5-8400 is going to stay a lot closer to 4Ghz than 2.8Ghz. I5-8600k has a higher power rating, and they will let it run a little hotter, so that is why its base clock is so much higher. Setting Windows to Maximum Performance mode would force the CPU to stay at 4Ghz, again assuming cooling is good enough.

 

[steverserrano]

Not much actually. Those CPUs are quite similar. The i5-8600k will have a little more frequency, but otherwise they have the same rough performance. Basically they are saying 'for best results' having it a be a little slower means you aren't experiencing it as they tested it.

i5-8400 2.8Ghz to 4.0Ghz
i5-8600k 3.6Ghz to 4.3Ghz

As long as cooling is adequate that i5-8400 is going to stay a lot closer to 4Ghz than 2.8Ghz. I5-8600k has a higher power rating, and they will let it run a little hotter, so that is why its base clock is so much higher. Setting Windows to Maximum Performance mode would force the CPU to stay at 4Ghz, again assuming cooling is good enough.

Interesting. So as long as my 8400 is adequately cooled I can confidently run 'recommended' speeds within my CPUs range (2.8GHz - 4GHz)? Also as a side note, I'm using a Cryorig M9i as a cooler. Would that be adequate?

 

[Eximo]

That should be fine. M9i isn't a huge cooler, but it is certainly a step up from the stock cooler.

Those recommended speeds are all you have really. Boost profiles vary from model to model, but that might only be a single or two cores that will run at that speed. You may be able to go into the BIOS and sync all cores, so they all run at that speed. Technically overclocking, but not quite the same as with the K series chips where you can change the maximum multiplier to whatever you want.

 

[xravenxdota]

well i usually disagree with minimum/recommended specs.As before i upgrade to my 2600 2 weeks ago i had a FX 4170 4.2ghz and the minimum requirements for some of my games was fx 6300 or fx 8350 but i ran them fine on 1080p with medium settings to high on my 1050 ti and most of them run on 60fps+ only draw back would be that in dota for some reason when someone died i would have a small spike but other than that i still ran most of the newer games