CPU Benchmarks: Clock Speeds And Multiple Cores
The previous performance benchmarks have shown the earmarks of a high graphics-system dependency mixed with a low CPU dependency with extremely high frame rates at low resolutions. Let's see just how powerful the CPU needs to be to handle Dead Space by comparing stock Core i7-920 performance to Core 2 Quad Q6600 performance as the clock speed is lowered:
Even at 1.6 GHz, we're not seeing an appreciable impact on performance. Clearly, Dead Space is very easy on the CPU. Now, let's see if disabling CPU cores has an appreciable effect on performance:
Even with only two CPU cores running at a mere 1.6 GHz, Dead Space easily musters an average FPS of over 70 FPS–and that's at 2560x1600 with High Details enabled. Only when the CPU is reduced to using a single core at 1.6 GHz is there a noticeable impact on performance.
This is great news for folks with older CPUs who want to play Dead Space.