• A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Depends on what you are doing.

    Gaming you want speed.

    rendering, you want cores.

    as a typical rule of thumb, since games will always be limited to the number of threads they use, and rendering/compiling/etc typically uses everything it can get.

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      8 months ago

      Games are optimized for multiple cores to a much higher degree than they used to. Single core games are uncommon, even on the indie scene.

      They were held back for a long time by console hardware, but that’s not a problem anymore.

    • Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      And CPUs with higher core counts tend to have lower clock speeds per core, leading to games sometimes running much better on mid-range hardware than on the latest and greatest.

      • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Yeah i forgot to mention that. thanks for picking up my slack.

        More cores > more heat > less speed per core to manage the heat.

        Less cores > less overall heat > more speed per core.

        Which is why, generally, a 5600 is better for gaming than a 5950.

        the 3d cache chips throw a minor wrench into things though, as the extra and faster cache can help compensate for lower speeds, which makes the 5800x3d generally a better gaming chip than the 5600, despite lower speeds.