CPU cap

[NExUS1g]

I would love to have the ability to determine the CPU cap on various configurations and frame rates. Is there any way to predict such a cap without having to test various hardware and configurations on that hardware at various frame rates?

 

[The Mac]

what exactly do you mean "CPU CAP"?

 

[Armenius]

I think he means what the theoretical maximum frame rate would be if you took the GPU out of the equation for various configurations and settings.

 

[NExUS1g]

The cap at which either GPU power is wasted or CPU power is wasted. While I include the inverse, I'm more interested in ensuring that builds do not have more CPU than necessary for gaming purposes.

 

[Armenius]

That is going to be entirely dependent on the game, but you could log and observe CPU core usage and GPU usage while a game is running to determine that point. But there is no singular tool or process for which you could do this for a large number of settings. It is basically trial and error. There are too many variables involved for that data to be reliable on a global basis. You could make predictions at a game-engine level based on precedence, however.

 

[Nenu]

If there was a hard and fast method of determining this without individual testing, it would be being used.
It varies between games, CPUs, memory speed, gfx cards, driver updates, game updates, particular game optimisations and max expected framerate.

You can be sure the higher the framerate in any particular game, the more CPU is required.
This means that 120Hz screen owners that want to run at max fps may encounter CPU dependent framerates more often.

Multi gfx card setups are prone to the above and a CPU overhead running the gfx card driver with multiple cards.
Again this can vary between driver versions and it might not be a universal change, but just for particular games.
Game updates can have even more effect.

Too many variables.

 

[NExUS1g]

Fair 'nuff. I wasn't sure if there was a general rule of thumb or not.