New Mobo, RAM, and CPU

[MindoverMaster]

Patonb, I thought games don't utilize all 4 cores. Not fully at least. Is this true?

The Ripjaws being worse timings, does that really matter only when you overclock? AFAIK, a slow timing wouldnt jeopardize your chance of running games at max. Right?

 

[patonb]

Many new games are now using 4 cores.. I don't game alot, but they are starting to go 4 core.. but yes historically games were/are dual core.

Its hARD to find an exact list, but i think even Civ 5 is doing it.

Slower ram timings mean that when you oc you'll have to slow them even more to keep them stable.

 

[iPROTechman]

I said worse, not worst lol. The ripjaws ontop of being only 4GB had worse timings than OPs OCZ 6GB kit.

Depends on the GPU in question honestly, what res you can play at (or want), and the eye candy you desire. If i played at 1680x1050 with a 5770 id want a cheaper 955 and OC it because i know there wont be any CPU limitations due to the 5770 not being all that powerful. If he wants SLI 470s than he wants to limit bottlenecking to a minimum with a faster CPU by Intel. At 4.2 in synthetics my 465 is still being bottlenecked. I can only imagine how bad it would be if i still had a 4ghz 955. (Granted the same situation with his 470 ect)

When gaming you dont exactly want to skimp out on CPU and you definitely dont want to skimp out if you plan on having alot of graphics horsepower. A lesson i learned a long time ago.

So Theoretically, When I get my new system, I shouldn't go for a 955, As when I Crossfire my 5770 It will bottleneck me? I didn't even know games use four Cores...

 

[MindoverMaster]

Many new games are now using 4 cores.. I don't game alot, but they are starting to go 4 core.. but yes historically games were/are dual core.

Its hARD to find an exact list, but i think even Civ 5 is doing it.

Slower ram timings mean that when you oc you'll have to slow them even more to keep them stable.

So, if he isn't overclocking, not that he said either way, RAM timings do not matter. Correct?

I expected newer games use 4 cores, I'm just unsure which of those he plays. So maybe he doesn't need an Intel?

 

[PP Mguire]

RAM timings do matter on AMD systems due to the fact that they are slower speeds. Platforms like P55 (1156) take more advantage of speed over timings. The gist of it though is you want the fastest speed with the tightest timings that fits your budget on any platform.

There are only a handful of games that utilize all 4 cores but people tend to rule out the fact that Core i is a faster architecture than Phenom 2 and so even a faster Core i dual would be better than say a Phenom 2 quad depending on the game in question. But having a quad helps in other areas even if a game doesnt utilize all 4 cores. For instance your game can max out 2 threads and the other 2 threads are there for all of your background tasks for Windows, or something like that. With games id say you need a healthy balance between OC and cores to get the max potential out of ones system.

Faster architecture also helps to process more information faster for faster graphics cards like his 470, or if he was to SLI to limit a bottleneck as much as possible in any game or benchmark that utilizes all that power. So in other words, if he can afford an i7 he should go with an i7. Im actually pondering myself if i should upgrade to a faster i7 for when i go SLI 465.

@ iPro theoretically yes but with scaling and utilization factors there wouldnt be much of a noticeable difference between say an i7 and a 955 thats OCed with Crossfire 5770s. Only difference youd see with that setup would be in synthetics.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Isn't Intel and AMD well matched? I know friends that play many games and are on Intel and AMD.

I agree, AMDs aren't as powerful as Intels are. The benchmarks say so. In reality though, are we playing Crysis on full?

Edit: I have those Ripjaws, and I am having no problems playing SC2 on ultimate or otherwise. No, I am not OCing.

 

[PP Mguire]

Well considering i went from a 955 to an i5, i speak from experience about bottlenecking and whatnot. I did the move to give my 280s some breathing room and it in fact made a difference. To a normal gamer that doesnt pay attention to such things one wouldnt notice the difference between the 2. I do though, and if the budget allows a 1366 i7 then there really isnt an AMD that can hang with that in games.

I never once said that the timings on the ripjaws would cause slowness or problems, just that having faster speeds and tighter timings never hurt if you can get it cheaper

And for the record, i played Crysis in full with an AMD =D

 

[MindoverMaster]

What do you mean by bottlenecking? Not the term, but how? iPRO and I scratch our heads, thinking, how is that possible?

 

[PP Mguire]

Best way to explain it is, drop your CPU to stock. Run 3dmark06 (yes, i know thats a synthetic) and record the GPU scores. Then, OC it slowly and watch those GPU scores rise. Thats your CPU basically giving your GPU breathing room for lack of explination. I know thats just a benchmark but it works the same in games for higher powered GPUs. Its like people dont believe me when i say even at 4.2ghz i bottleneck an OCed 465. Well ****, a 6ghz 980x also bottlenecks 4 480s.

 

[Abstract Hero]

Ya to explain myself on the ripjaws I was tired I posted the wrong link at first and than when i edited and put the 2nd on there i didn't think to fix my mistake. lol

Check my first post again. I fixed it

That kit has better timings than the OP