Recommend some games you think this CPU can't handle so I can try them.

I should be getting my NP8662, XP SP3, with the GTX260M, 3GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB 5400 RPM HDD, and a 2.0 Ghz Q9000 Quad Core CPU in the next week or so.

I have noticed that some resellers, no matter what games you plan to play, (including GTA IV), simply refuse to recommend the Q9000 over a higher clocked T9800 or a P9600 saying ''a 2.0 Ghz is just too slow and hardly any games take advantage of Quads anyway''.

Of course I completely disagree with this and look very forward to testing out the Q9000. (I will most likely pick up a higher clocked Quad from Ebay at some point in the future though).

I would like you guys to recommend me some games I can test on this 2.0 Ghz Quad Core CPU that you think it will not be able to handle since this is pretty much what some resellers are implying. (Even though most games are GPU dependent).

 

GTA 4 would be a good test. Other games to try would be F.E.A.R. 2, or Burnout Paradise. I'm not sure if Burnout fully utilizes quad core, but it sure seems like it does.

 

More and more games will have quad-qore support in the future, but till then it will only use 2 cores (in games) and a 2.0ghz will be the bottleneck, I think.

 

Crysis
GTA4(Like you said)
Lost Planet/ Devil May Cry 4
All Unreal3 engine games
MS Flight Sim X
Supreme Commander
Company of Heroes
BloodRayne2
World in Conflict
Call of Duty 4
Half Life 2
Oblivion
Medal of Honor
Dirt
Civilization: Beyond the Sword

 

GTA IV
DMC4
Alan Wake
Bioshock
Company of Heroes
Crysis
Far Cry 2
Half-life 2: Episode 2
Hellgate: London
Lost Planet
Microsft Flight Sim X
Portal
Rainbow Six Vegas
Source Engine
Splinter Cell Double Agent
STALKER
Stranglehold
Supreme Commander
Unreal Engine 3
Unreal Tournament 3

all of those games should utilize quad core for sure.

 

FSX killed my rig, even I OC'ed at 2.9Ghz.

 

Thanks for the comprehensive lists everyone. I just hear quite a few resellers and others saying that the 2.0 Ghz will be a bottle neck in some games so I was really looking for examples of such a game so I could try it.

Still, the lists of possible games that may utilise the quads are bigger than I thought so that is great.

So for the common statement ''the 2.0 Ghz will be a bottle neck'' do any of you suggest a game that you think this may be the case in?

I just wonder if there is real justification why so many will never recommend a 2.0 Ghz Quad over a 2.6 Ghz Core2Duo. I guess if you will never be playing GTA IV or other quad optimised games then perhaps.

 

Most games are not optimized for quad-core. At best, they run semi-decently for dual-core. It is sometimes difficult to design a game to run efficiently in parallel on a quad-core.

With a faster dual-core, it will be faster than a slower quad-core because most applications and games do not efficiently take advantage of the extra 2 cores. There is only so much running in parallel can do.

 

Well, I think GTA IV would be the ultimate test for any quad core really...it's optimized for multiple cores, so why not. Even more and more games will come with multithreaded support, and eventually dual-core will die out. So your Q9000 is for sure more futureproof than any T9800 or whatever, even though it has a lower clock.

So the conclusion is, in the long run it will serve you well. Go for it.

 

You can add Dawn Of War II and Empire Total War to the list of games that support Core 2 Quads.

The list is only going to get longer as we head into 2010, so there's no reason to not go quad core now. Even the 2.0Ghz quad will outdo any Core 2 Duo clocked lower than 4Ghz in these games.

I'm currently devising a plan to score myself an M860TU with a GTX 260M and the 2.26Ghz Q9100.

 

When I first placed my order, I almost went for a Core2Duo but after reading so many debates, researching about games and considering what usually bottlenecks in gaming systems I did order the Q9000 in the end. I have been waiting for almost a month for the order because the GTX260M arrive last in the UK

 

GTA4 is less optimized for 4 cores than it is pure speed. An E8600 @4Ghz can keep up with a Q6600...

 

...So you are planning to brick it! Or sell it off to someone. I've considered doing the same. I didn't think the arrival of Quad-core would make to much of an impression on it's frist series, but with it being cheap and all.

 

Dirt??? Really???

 

Yeah Dirt was built from the ground up to support up to eight cores.

 

I had never even heard of that game until I saw this list and I noticed many people who had really good Core2Duo's were complaining about lowish frame rates considering what they were used to getting with such a setup. I think it will be very interesting to see how this one performs on the 2.0 Ghz Quad.

 

I played Dirt @ 3.3 Ghz in a X7900 and it went well...

 

One game to try out is Burnout Ultimate Paradise. My comp had troubles @ Ultra high. It was fine at every thing max but this one 3d gfx setting set to off. On that it had a thing saying that only comp with reallly good specs can have it on. IDK how many cores the game uses though, is there a way to check that?

 

More than likely SSAO, which is very demanding for the GPU.

 

I'm pretty sure Burnout Paradise utilizes quad core properly, i have the game, and every time i close it, all 4 cores were in use in the previous 30 seconds.

That could be just a windows thing though, I'll check it properly as soon as i play the game again.