Understanding Socket and How Speed Relates to More Cores

[Juniper Mucius]

Hi everyone! I am a little embarrassed to not understand this, given that I've had my own custom built PC since early 2011.

Basically, I am looking to upgrade my CPU again. Currently I have an i5 3.5 quad-core processor with 4 threads. LGA 1155, i5 3570K.

I understand that 2011 socket is better than 1150 socket. But I'm trying to figure out what I should go with now for the purpose of gaming.

The only six-core processors I see that I can afford at the moment go up to 3.5Ghz. There is a quad-core processor that is an i7 4.0Ghz with 8 threads.

For the purpose of gaming, should I buy this instead? Or would getting the six-core 3.5Ghz last me longer?

The reason I'm wondering this is because, if a game calls for "3.6Ghz quad-core," will my 3.5Ghz six-core be better than that? Or would I suffer because, while I have more cores than needed, they are .1Ghz slower than what is needed to play the game?

 

[mlga91]

For gaming, your i5 3570k is more than enough. You'll not see any notable difference if you get a 6 core CPU right now.

 

[Slavegamer]

Alot of games do not take full advantage of more than 4 cores on a intel cpu , so if you installeded a 6 core, you would not see much difference and if you did it would be very slim , so for the cost . it is not really worth it . The only time a 6 core comes in handy is if you are doing video rendering , it will get the video files done faster. In the end it all depends on what you do , in your case having a quad core @3.6ghz is just fine. multi threading dose not effect game performance. You might say "well wait a min, how come amd cpu have 8 cores " The fact is , amd dose not have 8 cores, its a 4 core that splits each into to , thay can not call it "hyperthreading" because that is an intel patent technology. So they market it as a 8 core . So if a game calls for a quad 3.6 and you have a 3.5 , its not much difference . In your case if you want better performance , I would not worry about the cpu, focus on your gpu instead. If you look at my specs , you will see I have an older quadcore over clocked , with the gpu I have I get great frame rates on most games. for example I can play BF4 on high settings and high resolution and I get between 80 to 140 fps . If I wanted to shoot for better fps rates, I would get a better gpu .

 

[Juniper Mucius]

Thanks. I will focus more on upgrading from my HD 7850 right now then.

I guess I'm looking at games like Unity and Watch_Dogs, where the recommended was 3.4/3.5 i7 that has 8 threads. Though I look at other games like Far Cry 4 and Inquisition that I want to play more, and my computer, even with my current HD 7850, are more than enough.

I read somewhere though that since games are requiring more cores now...would moving to AMD be a good idea in the future? Especially with a smaller budget? I don't need a super computer, I just would like to play most games on high or max.

 

[Slavegamer]

Look at the benchmarks for a intel 4 core vs a amd 8 core . In some games amd dose better , but not by much. Amd is a good choice if you dont want to spend the extra on a intel

 

[Juniper Mucius]

Sorry Slavegamer, I didn't see your reply until after I posted.

Thank you for that information! I'll save the money I was going to use on upgrading my CPU and Motherboard, and spend it instead on buying a far better GPU than I had intended (or possibly two and run Crossfire/SLI).

 

[Slavegamer]

Glad to help , sli is a good choice

 

[mlga91]

Thanks. I will focus more on upgrading from my HD 7850 right now then.

I guess I'm looking at games like Unity and Watch_Dogs, where the recommended was 3.4/3.5 i7 that has 8 threads. Though I look at other games like Far Cry 4 and Inquisition that I want to play more, and my computer, even with my current HD 7850, are more than enough.

I read somewhere though that since games are requiring more cores now...would moving to AMD be a good idea in the future? Especially with a smaller budget? I don't need a super computer, I just would like to play most games on high or max.

Yeah, a GPU upgrade will give you better results, modern games dont even use 4 threads efficiently, let alone 8.

 

[Juniper Mucius]

Thanks for all the help guys.

I am looking at getting the Geforce 970. I'll probably get it Wednesday since the ASUS one runs for 329, plus I can get Unity or Far Cry 4 with it. So that's a good deal (in fact, that's how I got Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider, and BioShock Infinite, was buying two Radeon HD 7850's).

Then next paycheck I might buy a second 970, which will give me 8GB of GDDR5, which will make my computer fairly more powerful than a PS4, which will be useful for this next generation and I won't have to hopefully upgrade for a couple of years (my GPU's at least).

 

[k1114]

multi threading dose not effect game performance. You might say "well wait a min, how come amd cpu have 8 cores " The fact is , amd dose not have 8 cores, its a 4 core that splits each into to , thay can not call it "hyperthreading" because that is an intel patent technology. So they market it as a 8 core .

Ht does affect performance but this depends on how many threads the cpu has and how many the game uses. Let's say a game uses 3 then a dual core with ht will benefit over one without. Amd does have 8 cores. It's more of an in between of ht and doubling all resources but it's separate enough to be called their own core. It's a lot different than ht.