Game Physics rendering and L2 Cache

[umakemebetter]

does L2 Cache affect game physics rendernig?

i'm thinking of using the E2160 and OC'ing it to 3.2ghz to play games.
the benchmarks show that htere is NO Difference in game performance when comparing to an E6750.

but games like Crysis and COD4 were not benchmarked; will their perf be any diff when using an E2160 instead of an E6750?

i know that Video Editing really sucks tremendously because of the super small L2, but benchmarks show that gaming doesnt get affected at all.

any suggestisons?

note: i really want to build a PC SPECIFICALLY for gaming. and i think if i get an E2160, OC it to 3.2 or higher, and get the cheapest 512MB version of the 8800GT, and 4GB of ram, i'll have the BEST bang for my buck- correct?

under that config, u think i can run Crysis on high at 1280x1024?
can i max COD4 at 1680x1050? 1920x1200?

i really want to build a specialized gaming system, but i'm afraid that newer games and future games WILL be affected; am i safe or not?

 

[worshipme]

RTS games are slightly more CPU bound and benefit a bit more from a larger L2 cache, but if you mostly play FPS games, then the extra money spent on a bigger L2 isn't worth it and spending the money on a better GPU will bring better gaming performance.

As we can see here: http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/12/pentium_dual_core/page8.html an overclocked E2160 is comparable to a stock E6750 in games.

You might also want to consider the 5000+ X2 Black Edition which features an unlocked multiplier and can be overclocked to 3.2GHz with a simple multiplier change, and 3.4Ghz with a bit more tweaking. It goes for around $89: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103194

Modern and future games are much more GPU dependant so it's not worth spending loads on a CPU if the PC will be used solely for gaming.

 

[umakemebetter]

so an 8800GT 512MB, E2160 @ 3.2Ghz, 4GB of DDR2-800, and 4GB of Readyboost. WINDOWS XP SP2/SP3 Performance edition (very few background processes)

COD4 at 1920x1200 maxed - will it maintain at least 30fps?
and if not, then how about 1680x1050?

i'm NOT using Anti-Aliasing btw (aa's dumb)

Company of Heroes should, right? even at 1920x1200 i assume (its a 2006 game)

oh and does anybody have a good estimate of what GTA4 will need (once its out for PC?)

 

[worshipme]

COD4 at 1920x1200 maxed - will it maintain at least 30fps?
and if not, then how about 1680x1050?

With no AA, yes it should. Don't expect to play Crysis at anything higher than medium with that resolution though.

Company of heroes becomes very demanding when you max it out, but it should cope fine.

GTA4 will not be very demanding I don't think compared to a lot of the games currently available.