No, dual-core games are still popular and widely played today.
No, dual-core games are still popular and widely played today.
We won't reach an IPC limit where single-core gains are impossible or too slow to satisfy rising demands. Dual cores aren't likely to become obsolete soon. The specs you referenced were more about constraints than real barriers. Far from it—quad-core AMD works, and dual-core Intel should suffice if quad-core AMD is viable.
Improvements in single-threaded speed remain possible, but enhancing multi-threaded performance is significantly simpler when games support multiple cores. I truly wish dual and quad-core processors would become obsolete... Four cores handle gaming well, but often I juggle other tasks too. Ideally, I’d see more games built for four cores and six-core CPUs becoming the norm, freeing up the remaining two for things like Skype or a game DVR. GDVR uses about 25% of my quad-core when active, which is frustrating. After switching to it, Battlefield 4 stuttered dramatically—from a solid 65 FPS to as low as 20 FPS at times. To fix this, I boosted my CPU to 4.8 GHz, but now temperatures and voltage readings are getting concerning.
Consider a Core i7 quad that outperforms the 8350, offering eight threads. It may be pricier, but it’s more affordable than the 5820k with six cores.
Have you actually looked at it? It mentions needing a quad-core Intel processor.