Is 4 cores and 8 threads enough for todays computer,gaming in 2023

[pressing on]

I went from an i7 6700K @ all-core 4.5Ghz to a i7 12700K @ all-P-core 5Ghz in some games/situations I got sometimes double the fps now vs before, still with the same GPU.

Yes, because singe core performance matters when it comes to gaming. That's the point of the Intel 12th gen 4 cores they are cheap but they do have the Alder Lake P-core. According to TechPowerUp in Cinebench R23 the 6700K is at 1131, the 12100F gets 1679 and the 12700K scores 1939. The 12700K single core performance is boosted by the additional L2 and L3 cache, so to sometimes see a 100% increase in fps over the 6700K is not surprising.

 

[Lew Zealand]

HZD is not a Dx12 game either. DX12 benefits massively from sufficient core count. 11 mainly benefits from IPC and Ghz, the primary thread is still vital for the base performance increase, not so much the core count.

HZD is DX12 and balances a lot of cores (at least as Afterburner detects them) when running the game. It'll use 6c12t above 90% usage if you have a GPU that can push that but under lower loads doesn't use any one core obviously preferably, unlike what Rocket League does.

 

[A Computer Guy]

It's fine.

You have to have a good quad core with HT like i3 12/13100 though.

Still faster than hexa core 8700K/3600X etc.

Everytime someone says hexacore it brings back a particular youtube memory.

 

[N/A]

All you need is just one game to stutter to be able to declare it's not enough. so just get an (i3-) 14100 6/12 but it could be a 6/6 who knows. HT should always be disabled Imho
That's the bare minimum as Intel is redefining the PC landscape in 2023Q4

Personally Im stuck with xeons, 14/28 Xeon 2690V4 35MB 3.2Ghz all core and it costs $33 lol.

 

[Assimilator]

HT should always be disabled Imho

NO
NO
NO

STOP DOING STUPID SHIT

 

[Ripcord]

Its really a dumb question when you think about it

 

[aaa社保了啊]

Running the newer 4-core, 8-thread triple-A gaming experience is definitely not great, nor is it absolutely FPS competitive. At least in BFV, this is simply not enough, unless you only need to meet 3fps. ：D

 

[Sithaer]

All you need is just one game to stutter to be able to declare it's not enough. so just get an (i3-) 14100 6/12 but it could be a 6/6 who knows. HT should always be disabled Imho
That's the bare minimum as Intel is redefining the PC landscape in 2023Q4

Personally Im stuck with xeons, 14/28 Xeon 2690V4 35MB 3.2Ghz all core and it costs $33 lol.

Personally I would rather have a strong 4/8 CPU than a older Xeon but thats just me, for purely gaming only at least.
For example if you tried to play a single core/IPC heavy game on that it wouldn't be pretty.

I've went from a 1600x to my current 12100 and in games like those my minimum fps nearly doubled thanks to the much stronger single core/thread performance.
I was playing Lost Ark at the time and the difference was significant, same in Diablo 3 where my 1600x had some noticeable drops in higher Greater Rift runs with lots of mob density but with the 12100 its all smooth.

Also for something more modern, Unreal Engine 5.2 and it has CPU/Thread scaling issues in its current form and it needs to be fixed:

And no, disabling HT on a modern CPU is a nope. 'Look at the Cyberpunk part of the video how it scales with HT on and more threads'
Sure you could find some edge cases/games that doesn't play nice with it but in general its always best to leave it on, at most it won't help but won't make it worse either.

 

[sLowEnd]

Can you game with 4C/8T? Yeah, you can.

Would you get better performance with something that has more cores? In many cases, yes, significantly so.

 

[dgianstefani]

Personally I would rather have a strong 4/8 CPU than a older Xeon but thats just me, for purely gaming only at least.
For example if you tried to play a single core/IPC heavy game on that it wouldn't be pretty.

I've went from a 1600x to my current 12100 and in games like those my minimum fps nearly doubled thanks to the much stronger single core/thread performance.
I was playing Lost Ark ark the time and the difference was significant, same in Diablo 3 where my 1600x had some noticeable drops in higher Greater Rift runs with lots of mob density but with the 12100 its all smooth.

Also for something more modern, Unreal Engine 5.2 and it has CPU/Thread scaling issues in its current form and its needs to be fixed:

And no, disabling HT on a modern CPU is a nope. 'Look at the Cyberpunk part of the video how it scales with HT on and more threads'
Sure you could find some edge cases/games that doesn't play nice with it but in general its always best to leave it on, at most it won't help but won't make it worse either.

Benefits to disabling HT/SMT are lower core latency, which can make system latency better.

Downsides are lower average FPS if you don't have enough threads. I wouldn't do it on a quad core or a hexacore.

You can also sometimes overclock a little further with HT/SMT disabled.

 

[AusWolf]

It's not only about the number of cores, but how fast those cores are. I'd much rather game on a 12100 than on an old Athlon X6, for example.

 

[gasolin]

As good as an i7 8700k

Is an i7 8700k is that cpu not good enbough in 2023 ? (in some games a 12100f is faster and use close to 50% less power)

wouldn't have any problems getting a 4 core 12 or 13 gen 8 therad cpu over a ryzen 6 and 8 core cpu

Look at the 1% lows in the witcher 3

 

[P4-630]

Racing games are not so CPU demanding.

 

[Bomby569]

depends on the games and depends on the desired fps, but a modern 4/8c cpu can certainly can game, in fact look at the steam survey, it's still the most used configuration behind the 6c

 

[tugrul_SIMD]

Most cpu demanding game is beam-ng. It needs more threads with more cars. Absolutely cpu bottlenecked.

 

[gasolin]

14/28 Xeon 2690V4 35MB 3.2Ghz all core

But it's not even faster than a ryzen 5600

I was surprised that god of war maxed out the 12100f, in 1920x1080

I expected the ryzen 3700x with double the cores,threads and same ghz that it would be use around 50% but it doesn't

 

[Vayra86]

HZD is DX12 and balances a lot of cores (at least as Afterburner detects them) when running the game. It'll use 6c12t above 90% usage if you have a GPU that can push that but under lower loads doesn't use any one core obviously preferably, unlike what Rocket League does.

You might be right and I was mistaken. Thx

 

[Macro Device]

You might be right and I was mistaken. Thx

He's 100% right. DLSS is impossible to implement on DX11.

 

[HD64G]

Depends on the games, the GPU in the system, the monitor resolution and refresh rate.

 

[chrcoluk]

Zestiria completely stutter free now on 13th gen, finally after several years of hardware progression its tamed. Only a 2 threaded game. Was never a thread count issue just raw performance per core grunt. Potentially cache starved as these new chips have much larger cache as well.

As good as an i7 8700k

Is an i7 8700k is that cpu not good enbough in 2023 ? (in some games a 12100f is faster and use close to 50% less power)

wouldn't have any problems getting a 4 core 12 or 13 gen 8 therad cpu over a ryzen 6 and 8 core cpu

Look at the 1% lows in the witcher 3

Those are worst case scenarios as well, they were mostly testing modern AAA titles DX11/12 no DX9, which is the best case for high core chips. Low budget titles, DX9 games etc. are usually 2 threaded max.

 

[Lost_Troll]

It's not only about the number of cores, but how fast those cores are. I'd much rather game on a 12100 than on an old Athlon X6, for example.

It's also on how much more cash memory the new processor has as well. Newer CPU's have a large L3 cash, like 12MB in the i3-12100 or 30Mb in the i9-12900.

 

[gasolin]

Depends on the games, the GPU in the system, the monitor resolution and refresh rate.

racing games in 2560x1440 180hz

I don't play to many fps games at my end ubisoft connect is a little f.... up

 

[Macro Device]

racing games in 2560x1440 180hz

You need something better than just better than your i5-11600K's single core speed. Take your time, save money, buy a Ryzen 7800X3D. Don't waste your effort on sidegrades.

 

[HD64G]

racing games in 2560x1440 180hz

I don't play to many fps games at my end ubisoft connect is a little f.... up

Then you need at least 6 high frequency cores with as much cache as possible,

 

[AusWolf]

It's also on how much more cash memory the new processor has as well. Newer CPU's have a large L3 cash, like 12MB in the i3-12100 or 30Mb in the i9-12900.

And that's why AMD's X3D processors are killing it even in low threaded games.