CPU Scaling
Not all of us are fortunate enough to own the very latest processors. Whilst the Crucial Radeon 9700 absolutely flies when paired with a 2.8GHz P4, I also wanted to see how it would fare with a mid-range processor. To that end, I replaced the 2.8GHz CPU for a more common 2.26GHz P4 processor. I'll re-conduct 3 benchmarks at 1024x768x32, for it is at this resolution that the subsystem provides the greatest bottleneck.
Here we see just what a great influence the CPU has on 3DMark 2001SE when run at its default resolution of 1024x768x32, We gain around 1900 marks by increasing our CPU speed by around 540MHz. If you want a high 3DMark score, look at your CPU as well as your GPU.
How about the bot matches in UT2003. They're noted for being reasonably CPU limited. Once again, 1024x768x32.
I'm being a little unfair in choosing this particular demo, but I feel it shows just what an important part the CPU / memory play in current games, especially at lower resolutions.
Lastly, Serious Sam 2. The same Sierra De Chiappas Demo as before.
Not such a big difference this time around. Let's wrap it up now.
