Advanced gaming with multiple cores and threads for better performance.
Advanced gaming with multiple cores and threads for better performance.
He’s saying that more modern games are leveraging many cores and threads now. He believes higher core counts matter a lot, but he hasn’t found a clear list showing which titles use them. He mentions only Battlefield seems to be the one with significant usage, while most games seem to stick around 4 or 8 cores. People might have different experiences depending on their hardware.
Games are improving with more cores, though single-core performance remains crucial.
Usually most triple A game engines (those refreshed in the past two years) aim to use at least eight threads. Older titles often won’t gain much from more threads, meaning single-thread efficiency remains crucial—especially for games with poor engine quality or very old releases (such as certain Assassin’s Creed titles). In short, single-thread performance still matters just as much as the number of threads.
The main idea that comes to mind is primarily large turn-based strategy games—those I like well. I appreciate complex systems, and as the game goes on, higher core counts become increasingly valuable because they add more challenges for the CPU to handle. Consider titles like Civilization 6 and similar ones.
Focus on the common opinion: most users still rely on 4-6 cores. Game developers will create titles optimized for those setups. Meanwhile, MHW is enjoying 50% CPU usage on his 3900x, fully utilizing all 24 threads.
Generally, games don’t distinguish between real cores and hyperthreads. They typically run with 6 to 8 threads, though some DX12 titles can utilize up to 16 threads. I don’t know if they go higher; that’s not something I’ve seen.
It varies by game; I mainly play MHW and it seems to benefit from many cores, which might explain why OBS CPU recording isn't working. I'm also hesitant about using recording tools that don't include an in-game overlay. I'm focusing on games that make good use of multi-core processing so I don't rely on older technology. On the other hand, I'll keep an eye out for MHW2 or Rise, though I'm not really into many current titles—especially since they aren't from MH:Kappa. Low core usage means outdated multi-threading, which could become more common in the future because it's less efficient.
I typically use two gaming PCs, often with varying core counts. In 2018 I had an i7 6700k (4 cores) and an i7 8700k (6 cores). Open world titles felt challenging on the 6700k, while the 8700k ran smoothly with a good frame rate. The 6700k eventually needed an upgrade to an i7 8086k (6 cores). Now I run an i7 8086k and an i9 10900k. All my games are shifting to the i9 10900k since they perform better. It’s not a drastic change compared to moving from 6700k to 8700k, but it’s sufficient. Next year the 8086k will be retired without another 6-core model.