What is more important to play latest game GPU or CPU?

[Pawelk198604]

I have intel Core 2 Quad Q8400, 6 GB Ram and NVIDIA MSI 640 GT 4 GB DDR3. I can not afford to buy a new computer, but I wonder about buying some thing better graphics card Nvidia GTX Series.

I wonder if I bought a better graphics card my computer could run, let's take for example "Watch Dogs" or if I could play Rome Total War 2 in full detail:) ?

[Kryten]

Your computer will not run watch dogs smoothly. No computer will run watch dogs smoothly. It's a horrible, horrible port that should be avoided.

[Pawelk198604]

Your computer will not run watch dogs smoothly. No computer will run watch dogs smoothly. It's a horrible, horrible port that should be avoided.

I read that it's great game.

Does good GPU is enough to run it?

[Kryten]

It's an alright game, just not on PC. It's coded in such a way that it'll stutter no matter how much power you have.

[Pawelk198604]

It's an alright game, just not on PC. It's coded in such a way that it'll stutter no matter how much power you have.

It's a console game?

I just wonder why consoles have more power, desktop is bigger,

[Kryten]

It works better on (next-gen) console because it was built for the unified memory system they both have. It could have performed very well on PC, had they put in the effort to recode the port properly, but they didn't.

[Pawelk198604]

It works better on (next-gen) console because it was built for the unified memory system they both have. It could have performed very well on PC, had they put in the effort to recode the port properly, but they didn't.

Does this technology can be utilized for normal computer?,

So the PC regain it's place as king of computing technology

[andrewas]

It's a console game?

I just wonder why consoles have more power, desktop is bigger,

They don't. Both XBone and PS4 were inferior to any modern gaming PC even before they launched. The situation was, IIRC, slightly different with X360 and PS3 when they first launched, but since then the PC has had more raw power than any console.

On the other hand, every console is identical, which makes development easier. You don't need to worry about whether it has an Nvidia or AMD GPU, you don't need to worry about what features that GPU provides, you don't need to worry about how many cores it has or what instruction sets those cores have. The software load is more predictable as well, the console is running its OS and the game, nothing else. A PC will be running some version of windows or other OS, and potentially dozens of applications which will compete for the same resources the game needs. All that makes it easier to code a game that makes best use of the consoles capabilities. Of course, PC games can overcome all those problems, but if the publisher sees the PC as an easy bonus platform for a few more sales, rather than a valid platform in its own right, then they won't pay for the port to be done properly.

[Nuke]

consoles are pretty much optimized to run games. while their cpus are somewhat dated, their memory is top notch, better than what pcs have. then throw on top of that low latency design. there are no sockets to go through, and the memory is located as close to the cpu/gpu as the board layout allows. the other major difference is software, consoles act more like old dos computers, simple os which can run only one application at a time. a pc has a compex os that can do many things at once, and its really hard to talk directly to hardware, so you go through apis and that tends to slow things down a lot.

pc memory doesnt seem to be evolving at all anymore. my last 3 builds used the same ddr3 1600, and my new one as well. the only way left to lower latency is to physically locate the ram closer to the cpu die. i figure its only a matter of time before start seeing memory moved onto the cpu package to get better latency.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Nuke

[Elthy]

PC Memory not evolving? Intel launched the first CPU Generation that uses DDR4 just some weeks ago...

[dharak1]

Yeah, DDR4 boards, Cpus and RAM came out less than two months ago or something.

[cantab]

All games require both the GPU and CPU performance, just some relatively-speaking stress one more than the other, and indeed might stress either in different ways.

From an upgrading perspective, GPU's tend to have more potential, because the same slot's been used for ages. CPU sockets change regularly, especially Intel ones. So a CPU upgrade often implies a motherboard upgrade too. That's a big task and in some cases means you'll have to buy a new copy of Windows further spiking the cost.

What you probably want to avoid is spending too much on a GPU that your games can't fully use because they're all CPU limited. Unless you plan on upgrading the CPU later that would be a waste of money.

[weeble]

Well tbh, your best bet would be to start saving and just upgrade everything at the same time. Seeing your specs leads me to believe that you're running a prebuilt pc. If that's the then it's likely you'll have to upgrade your motherboard if you want to upgrade your cpu. And you'll also need to upgrade your psu. So yeah, the easiest option that won't give you a headache is just upgrading and building a system from the ground up.

In short upgrading either will just bottleneck your setup. To play that game with any decent success you're looking to spend about $500 - $1000. My system is at the higher end of that budget and runs the game fairly well so long as I keep the explosions during fast car chases to a minimum.

[Nuke]

i think its better to build a new rig every 2-3 years than it is to build and upgrade later. the upgrades end up being somewhat obsolete because you cant use new stuff without doing something rather drastic.

PC Memory not evolving? Intel launched the first CPU Generation that uses DDR4 just some weeks ago...

its evolving, just really slowly. few years ago every build was uncharted territory because everything was different than the previous build. one build used ddr1 the next ddr2, then when ddr3 came out, it stuck around for awhile. then it struck me as rather unusual that i ended up using the same memory type and speed 3 builds in a row. we are long overdue for a new standard. im probibly going to miss out here, unless i can find a great deal on a ddr4 mobo.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Nuke

[Pawelk198604]

All games require both the GPU and CPU performance, just some relatively-speaking stress one more than the other, and indeed might stress either in different ways.

From an upgrading perspective, GPU's tend to have more potential, because the same slot's been used for ages. CPU sockets change regularly, especially Intel ones. So a CPU upgrade often implies a motherboard upgrade too. That's a big task and in some cases means you'll have to buy a new copy of Windows further spiking the cost.

What you probably want to avoid is spending too much on a GPU that your games can't fully use because they're all CPU limited. Unless you plan on upgrading the CPU later that would be a waste of money.

I just wonder why computer manufacturers not create univeral CPU slot, that would be standard for at least for several years?

[cantab]

It can be technical necessity - newer processors need more pins to support more components on the chip. They may also need more advanced supporting chips to go with them, so changing the socket stops people putting in a processor that fits but couldn't actually work.

But I think a big part of it is planned obsolescence. IIRC Intel make motherboard chips as well as CPUs, so forcing people to upgrade them together benefits them.

[ZedNova]

To Run watch dogs at decent settings with 60+ Fps you need one thing, The watch dogs Config tool: http://www.reddit.com/r/watch_dogs/comments/277v4h/tool_watch_dogs_setting_configuration_tool/

Download this, and turn all the options to "PC". I went from 25 Fps to 40-60; Which isn't the BEST but it's more than playable, and quite enjoyable.

Here are my settings:

My specs are A10 6800k 4.1Ghz, R9 270 OC 2Gb, 8Gb 1600mhz ram, so obviously not a killer rig. Although it would be just fine for this if this game used more of the GPU. This game is very CPU intensive, and pretty unoptimized.

The general rule for most "Made for PC games" is that the Graphics card is most important. Ported games are another story.

Edited September 23, 2014 by ZedNova