gaming pc - best fps for the money

[Yukon Trooper]

Modern games don't care what kind of CPU you have.

Depends on the game. The Source engine relies heavily on the CPU for its physics processing. AI in games, especially strategy games, also prefer a beefy CPU. Even though an overclocked AMD core will suffice 90% of the time, there are times that it can be bogged down. When there is ALOT going on when I play DOD:S or CS:S I can drop down to 40FPS or so. These instances are rare but because I spend a lot of time on DOD and I am a competitive player I'd like to have a consistent 60fps for my widescreen LCD. BTW I upgraded from a x1900xt to a 8800GTS and saw no performance gain in Source games. Other games however I noticed a 30% or more increase and these were the GPU intensive games. I have also recently started playing Supreme Commander which is another CPU intensive game. Although I can handle the FPS drop in this game which is about 25FPS at worst, I'd still like to keep that ultra smooth gameplay but only because I am a demanding gamer. This 25FPS only comes about when each player has 300+ units wasting eacother all over the battlefield.

 

Simply, if your a demanding gamer and you play CPU intensive games then go for a Core2Duo. If your a serious folder or burning DVD's while doing Photoshop, ripping, compiling and watching porno all at the same time (but who does right?) then go for Core2 as well. If your playing games that aren't as CPU intensive or your just a mainstream gamer then go for an AMD system thats nice and cheap.

 

Remember even a rare drop down to 40FPS in Source games or a 25FPS drop in Supreme Commander is better than what 80% of gamers are experiencing. Base your purchase on your requirements and not because its the flippin' fastest thing out there. Why bring a Ferarri to the go kart track? Godamn.