just how good is 1mb L2 for games?

[ocmyface]

would 1mb of L2 really benefit newer games like counterstrike source where physics calculations are intensive?

does the cache improve that or is the cache only good for stuff like encoding?

would raw mhz (AMD to AMD, not comparing 3ghz P4 to 2 ghz A64) outperform the extra 512 of cache?

im trying to upgrade CPUs but am stumped, 3700+ or winchester? hmm mhmhmhm

what would yall do? Think only in terms of game performance

[saaya]

check out the newcastle vs clawhammer review in the best of amd section

ananadtech also had articles and showed the difference between a newcastle and clawhammer chip at the same clockspeed i think.

[reject]

the ondie memory controller kinda nullifies the need for a large cache

[Nitrox]

That's not entirely complete, the Athlon 64 has such a high latency Lvl2 data cache, and the onboard memory controller means the normal ram doesn't have as much latency as a P4 rig (60-70 vs. 130-140ns), but the P4 has low latency Lvl2 data cache. Meaning the P4 benefits from large amounts of cache, and the A64 benefits from low Ram timings, pretty much making it a huge Lvl3 data cache

[ocmyface]

check out the newcastle vs clawhammer review in the best of amd section

ananadtech also had articles and showed the difference between a newcastle and clawhammer chip at the same clockspeed i think.

how could i forget the NC versus CH review here

and i checked Anand and nvr found it, probably overlooked it =\

[HKPolice]

Some say that a larger cache helps maintain a higher minimum FPS in games.

[WeStSiDePLaYa]

i wouldnt bother looking for a CH over a NC. the cache isnt worth it very much.

[Nitrox]

Some say that a larger cache helps maintain a higher minimum FPS in games.

Yeah, like 2-3Fps, think about it. What on earth is so important in a game that only takes 512kb more to make all fps go up in a blast? Nothing I know of can do that and no it doesn't really matter that much. I'd take the Newcastles/Winchesters Ghz advantage anytime...