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Low end gaming - how do dual core (with HT) CPUs do today?

soulburner

Cipher
Joined
Sep 21, 2013
Messages
809
I recently moved and I no longer have access to my desktop PC, which I left to my brother and I am building a cheap eGPU setup for my Thinkpad X230. Initial tests show that a dual core, four threaded i5 3320m does pretty well in many games when paired with an externally connected Radeon R9 270 2 GB. I might change the GPU to something more powerful within the next few months.

Things tested so far:
- The Witcher 3: the first hour or so runs pretty well on mixed medium-high settings with SBAO. Limited the fps to 30 and it seems like it drops to 27 sometimes. It might be due to PCI-Express 2.0 1x throughput limit or CPU limit. Changing detail settings to lowest doesn't improve anything
- ELEX: the first hour or so runs at 30fps limited without drops
- Morrowind: flawless ;)
- TESV: Enderal - might need further tweaking, seems to run between 50 and 60fps on mixed settings
- Pillars of Eternity, Torment ToN -- both run at 18 fps and nothing seems to help. They are not running on integrated Intel graphics (Intel HD4000 can go above 30fps in 720p), but refuse to perform nicely anyway. Forcing d3d11 on PoE1 does the trick and I get 50-60fps, but it doesn't work for Torment. Any ideas? I googled and found many similar problems, even on desktop PCs and it seems they remain unsolved...

So... please post links or your own experiences with dual core gaming in 2019 - performance, details settings, graphs.... Or link to a thread I missed that might exist already ;)
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2013
Messages
2,430
I have been using Core2Duo since 2008 until I bought new PC like 3 months ago.

Everything released up to 2012 is perfectly playable except for Crysis 1, which runs fluently only on low-mid setting.
 

Zer0wing

Cipher
Joined
Mar 22, 2017
Messages
2,607
Your last jump on a bus, really. This current generation is the last time 2C/4T CPU will be enough, Vulkan and DX12 loves some multiple threads and getting more popular. T:ToN lagging is a T:ToNs issue, IIRC you can't do anything about it.
 

Gerrard

Arcane
Joined
Nov 5, 2007
Messages
11,927
I played W3 on an i3-3220, the CPU is not the limiter until way above 60.
You can download MSI Afterburner or something like that and use the OSD stats to see what games get bottle-necked by the CPU.
 

taxalot

I'm a spicy fellow.
Patron
Joined
Oct 28, 2010
Messages
9,613
Location
Your wallet.
Codex 2013 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015
People would be shocked if you showed them that cheap as fuck CPUs and video cards can now run everything, despite the hardcore PC master race bullshit telling you that a game is unplayable if it's not at least 1080P, 60 FPS, and all the sliders to the right.
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
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Developer
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
16,947
Location
Pannonia
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
People would be shocked if you showed them that cheap as fuck CPUs and video cards can now run everything, despite the hardcore PC master race bullshit telling you that a game is unplayable if it's not at least 1080P, 60 FPS, and all the sliders to the right.
Umm, yeah, but most most people don't like to play at low/720p/20fps.
 

soulburner

Cipher
Joined
Sep 21, 2013
Messages
809
My eGPU config is just temporary. I will be building a desktop PC soon to be able to play at a "normal" level, which is 1080p @ 60fps. I don't need ultra-high detail settings, so the sliders don't have to be all to the right.
Anyhow, gaming on my eGPU configuration shall be tested more thoroughly within the next days when my display and desk finally arrive ^_^

I played W3 on an i3-3220, the CPU is not the limiter until way above 60.
You can download MSI Afterburner or something like that and use the OSD stats to see what games get bottle-necked by the CPU.
Yes, I use Afterburner all the time, both to check the CPU and GPU usage and to control the fans on the card, which - for whatever reason - stopped accelerating under stress by themselves.
It seems the R9 270 is simply not powerful enough, its GPU usage is at 99% whenever the framerate drops below the limited 30. I might get a faster card before jumping to the Ryzen desktop I plan to build.
 

taxalot

I'm a spicy fellow.
Patron
Joined
Oct 28, 2010
Messages
9,613
Location
Your wallet.
Codex 2013 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015
People would be shocked if you showed them that cheap as fuck CPUs and video cards can now run everything, despite the hardcore PC master race bullshit telling you that a game is unplayable if it's not at least 1080P, 60 FPS, and all the sliders to the right.
Umm, yeah, but most most people don't like to play at low/720p/20fps.

Most people are fucking idiots who are too easily parted with their money.
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
7,308
People would be shocked if you showed them that cheap as fuck CPUs and video cards can now run everything, despite the hardcore PC master race bullshit telling you that a game is unplayable if it's not at least 1080P, 60 FPS, and all the sliders to the right.

Truly hardcore PC master racers will tell you that 60 FPS is way too low. 1080p/60 FPS at max or close to max settings is perfectly achievable with affordable mid end.

Most people are fucking idiots who are too easily parted with their money.

Yes, it's totally better to save some money and then waste your mental health playing games on shittiest conditions possible.
 

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