Crysis 2 is Horribly CPU Dependent

[perkam]

I was watching a Crysis 2 video of someone with a Phenom X6 1100T and a 5770. I wondered why someone would spend $200 on a CPU and and only ~$100 on a GPU, and yet, to my surprise, it makes quite a bit of sense:


(Remember, all of the above is with the exact same video card)

On the same CPU/GPU budget, had he gone for an Athlon and a 6870, he would actually have gotten lower performance.

I'm assuming this dependency will be reduced once the DX11 patch comes out.

[jeremyshaw]

console port, lol

[perkam]

Yup, the same is true of Black Ops as well.

[CryptiK]

Hows it scale with more cores?

[perkam]

Hows it scale with more cores?

On the lower end, it has linear scaling i.e. a Quad core will have double the performance of a Dual core, given the same GPU.

It loves hyperthreading (based on how the Core i5 performs) and L3 cache (as apparent from the difference between the Athlon Propus X4 and the Phenom X4).

[zanzabar]

On the lower end, it has linear scaling i.e. a Quad core will have double the performance of a Dual core, given the same GPU.

It loves hyperthreading (based on how the Core i5 performs) and L3 cache (as apparent from the difference between the Athlon Propus X4 and the Phenom X4).

it looks like it needs 4threads and dose not care about HT to me, with the intel 2500 v 2600 and the 1100 v 975 amd

[Carfax]

Crysis 2 is perhaps the only game I've ever played where I see activity in all 8 windows of the CPU usage history in the task manager. Thats a good thing though, seeing as CPUs are becoming more and more parallel in nature..

[RejZoR]

Ppl were cheering that it's finally using all cores on ther quad up to 80% each. What i'm having hard time understanding is on what the hell they use so much CPU. Ai is retarded, world is completely static and physics, well they don't exist. Then what is using so much of the CPU!?

[Falkentyne]

I'm sorry, but giving an example with a DUAL GPU highest end card on the planet is *NOT* showing that the game is CPU limited!!

EVERY single freaking game on the PLANET is CPU limited with a GTX 590.

I need to give the Falkentyne award to that graph:


Ok now,
If you want to show that the game is massively cpu limited, then run it on a hd 5870, 4890 or 6950.
(or a GTX570, 460, etc..you get the point).

Running a game on a high end dual GPU card is the WORST way to show that a game is massively CPU limited. You made it CPU limited by running on that card in the first place :P

[TJ TRICHEESE]

Ppl were cheering that it's finally using all cores on ther quad up to 80% each. What i'm having hard time understanding is on what the hell they use so much CPU. Ai is retarded, world is completely static and physics, well they don't exist. Then what is using so much of the CPU!?

Yea i was hoping that it had physx but my physx card has 0% usage all through it

[perkam]

@ Zanzabar, true, I guess I meant it likes Intel's architecture a lot better than AMD's, if a dual core with HT (i3 540) can outperform the Athlon X4 by a mile.

@ Falkentyne, the idea that "OMG It's a 590, OFCOURSE it's going to look like that" is oversimplifying the issue here, which is a difference between GPU and CPU dependent games. Crysis 2 is a very CPU dependent game, and that is what the graph shows. It is true to a lesser extent with less powerful GPUs, but it doesn't change the fact that it is CPU dependent. In GPU dependent games, with a GPU like the 590, it wouldn't make much of a difference at all which CPU you used, AMD or Intel, Dual or Quad or Sexta because the GPU power would overwhelm anything the CPU would contribute.

[DeltZ]

Ppl were cheering that it's finally using all cores on ther quad up to 80% each. What i'm having hard time understanding is on what the hell they use so much CPU. Ai is retarded, world is completely static and physics, well they don't exist. Then what is using so much of the CPU!?

Lighting calculations? And of course there is physics, just cause it doesn't have the blatantly obvious pre programmed destructible environments. There's lots of calculations which occur.
Also-broken AI doesn't mean it's not complicated. Maybe they over complicated it from crysis 1 such that it just doesn't work so much, and infact they get stuck in a horribly inefficient state of constant calculation while standing still and going in circles. As I say, broken AI /= no AI

[Frag Maniac]

I was shocked to find that a made for console, lazily ported to PC game actually supports octo core CPUs. Kind of like throwing the PC community a low priority bone with no meat on it isn't it? I'd have rather had quad limited support and advanced graphics options.

As far as that bench goes though, another area it's deceptive is their choice of CPUs and CPU speeds. It gives the illusion the game does much better with a "faster" CPU, when in fact it's mainly that the default clock speed and Turbo Boost of the new SB chips that makes them "look" way faster. It's absurd to put a stock clocked 2.66 GHz 920 up against a 2600k with more efficient architecture AND much higher clock speed, not to mention way higher Turbo Boost.

[Manicdan]

im still lost as to how the athlon x4 3.0ghz is so much slower than the phenom x4 3.5ghz

18% faster and L3 should not equal nearly double the framerate.

[Lafas1987]

Omg...
CPU Limited to the bone!

[Falkentyne]

Well comparing it to the first Crysis, when it was released in, what was it, 2007? And the fastest card out was a HD 3870 or 9800 GTX (aka 8800 GTX), then yes, it's definitely CPU limited. The first Crysis was all GPU (but now it's CPU limited on the highest end cards, and STILL GPU limited to this day on lower cards). But I want someone to find me one game out right now that isn't CPU limited on a GTX 590 at 1920x1200.

I'm not arguing the point, though, which is Crytek sold out to the underpowered console cpu crowd. Just that you shouldn't need a dual fermi to show it. If this were done with a 580 or 6970, then I can't say anything

[p3gaz_001]

this days i was trying this game, cpu @ 4.4ghz ht on with overclocked video card does an average of 5 fps more than 4ghz cpu speed ht on with stock speed gpu 80/85 --> 75/80 ... dx9 are nice in this game. .. i'm really dissapointed about the rest of the game.

[zanzabar]

Well comparing it to the first Crysis, when it was released in, what was it, 2007? And the fastest card out was a HD 3870 or 9800 GTX (aka 8800 GTX), then yes, it's definitely CPU limited. The first Crysis was all GPU (but now it's CPU limited on the highest end cards, and STILL GPU limited to this day on lower cards). But I want someone to find me one game out right now that isn't CPU limited on a GTX 590 at 1920x1200.

I'm not arguing the point, though, which is Crytek sold out to the underpowered console cpu crowd. Just that you shouldn't need a dual fermi to show it. If this were done with a 580 or 6970, then I can't say anything

the 9800gtx was a 8800gts 512MB, and crysis was made for what 3x8800ultra sli was theoretically going to do. and it was optimized for low shader count.

[chinobino]

the 9800gtx was a 8800gts 512MB, and crysis was made for what 3x8800ultra sli was theoretically going to do. and it was poorly optimized for low shader count.

Fixed .

[zanzabar]

Fixed .

no, it was optimized for low shader count, so it dose not scale with newer cards as shaders have not gotten faster just more abundant.

[Kingcarcas]

Ppl were cheering that it's finally using all cores on ther quad up to 80% each. What i'm having hard time understanding is on what the hell they use so much CPU. Ai is retarded, world is completely static and physics, well they don't exist. Then what is using so much of the CPU!?

No idea, game is a flop, call it news if BF3 is the same way.

[InCredible]

Well comparing it to the first Crysis, when it was released in, what was it, 2007? And the fastest card out was a HD 3870 or 9800 GTX (aka 8800 GTX), then yes, it's definitely CPU limited. )

06 and 8800gtx was the card to have unfortunately i bought one thinking it would run on it and i couldnt enjoy the game til the 4870x2 came out and even then had lag here n there

[ColonelCain]

The better question perk is IF it will come out.

[tet5uo]

Wow they're lucky it doesn't look like this with their Multi GPU setup..

Here's my crysis 2 experience :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjpN5HoX8xA

[DTU_XaVier]

06 and 8800gtx was the card to have unfortunately i bought one thinking it would run on it and i couldnt enjoy the game til the 4870x2 came out and even then had lag here n there

November 17th 2007, Crysis 1 ...
But yes, 8800GTX was still the fastest card around, and IIRC, I got decent FPS with a mix of high, med and a couple of low settings at 1400x900... Still looked amazing, but running it with all very high on a HD5800 at 1900x1200... No comparison :P