What is the factor in game speed? processor or graphics card?

[Battousai1]

I would like to ask, what is the factor for game speeds? Like what if you have a very fast processor but you have a "not-so-good" graphics card compared to that you have a fairly fast processor but you have a highly powered graphics card?

[MadPistol]

ok. 3 factors on game speed:

1. Processor
2. Graphics card
3. ram

1. Processor: does all the necessary calculations for the computer to run different programs. Higher end games are dependent on a very powerful processor because it can run calculations based on the game parameters quicker and more efficiently. The processor is the driving force behind all computer games.

2. Grapics Card: Does all geometrical calculations and produces the picture as seen on the screen. This piece of hardware is dependant on the processor to feed it information so that it can plot the points in a 3d plane and produce the image as seen on screen.

3. RAM: Random access memory holds all information for the computer to run the programs from. This shouldn't be confused with the hard disk drive (HDD) though because it gets all of it's information from the HDD. depending on the task, it can function as a data cache for information waiting to be calculated, or it can hold information that has already be processed and now needs to be used by other components on the computer. The More ram you have, the less "lag" you're going to have in 3d games, as the information needed to run the games is readily available and easy for the processor or video card to access if need be.


All 3 components are dependent on each other. RAM must be available to store information on in game actions and visuals (the video card also has memory on it, but that functions as a cache for textures in a game), but if the processor and video card are not powerful enough to use the ram, it is wasted. every component in the computer is dependant on other components to run efficiently.

here are some senarios


Powerful video card + Powerful processor + insufficent RAM = laggy game performance (the computer has to access the HDD a lot in this case, and it causes the computer to perform poorly on very RAM intensive games)

Powerful video card + Weak processor + Lots of RAM = Low overall performance. In this senario, a way to tell if your processor isn't powerful enough is that you can set your game to very high settings and the over all performance is almost exactly the same at every resolution and detail level. You need a more powerful processor in this case.

Weak video card + Powerful Processor + lots of ram = Bad visual performance. In this case, the game play will be smooth on virtual all levels, but because you don't have enough video processing power, your computer may not be able to set the games up to highest details and run at very high framerates. As well as this, you should see a consistant drop in performance in the game as resolution and detail levels increase.


If you need more information, try www.howstuffworks.com this should help you more. :t

[Ankerson]

Well with Todays games the Graphics card is the most important thing.

Second being Ram

Third being the CPU.

It best to have a good balance of all 3 for best performance.

So with that in mind say these generic specs:


ATI X800, X850 or X1800 series

Nvidia GF 6800, 7800 or 7900 series

Min 1 GB of Ram

CPU around a P4 3.0 GHz or AMD 3400+ would make a nice gaming machine.

[Rabbitrunner51]

That is a subject I myself have been wanting to ask... so i 'm glad Batt. brought that up.

I too have a previous generation video card, and high end CPU..plus about a gig of highest ram latency ( better than most ) , and i can play most eveything still just fine,, but speed is missing on some very high end games.. ( noticeable ) and obviously, I am overdue in getting a later edition video card.. ( just cannot afford it )

Good answer and link...

[Battousai1]

thanks for the replies...

I just wondered before, I tried one game long ago, soul reaver 2, I tried using an old graphics card (ati rage) the game's graphical detail is fair but the game runs slow when there are lots of objects, when I tried replacing the graphics with a geforce 4 things are a lot faster though.

anyways thanks again for the reply specially MadPistol :)

[RamonGTP]

Rage, haha... That brings back some memories alright. They had their limelight for about a week and I almost bought one, then TNT2 came out and just destroyed it.

[MadPistol]

All of this talk about older video cards is a novelty to me. I didn't even get into computers and video cards until after the geforce 4 came out. In fact, My first video card was a Geforce 2 MX 400 64MB AGP4X. When I first saw the performance difference on 3D games compared to the onboard intel chipset, I swear I almost wet myself. Thus, I've been a gaming freak ever since. :t

[RockNRoll]

My first video card was a Geforce 2 MX 400 64MB AGP4X.

Mine too :D.

[SantiClaws]

Mine too :D.

Mine 3! I still have my benchmarking scores on Futuremark's web site with that card! I remember how excited I was to replace that card with the Geforce 2 GTS. :D

[Rabbitrunner51]

Intersting discussion it is.... My very first computer was a EMachine setup I got from Circuit City. Originally, It came with a P3 and right after i hooked it up something was either amiss or broken.. so under warranty.. I called them and they replaced it with a P 4 ( 1.3 GHZ ) instead and i was soo thrilled . It came with the TNT 32MB card... and less than foour months went by and the industy demands prompted me to get a GForce 4 420 64MB card..which at the time was a vast improvement.
Just before i got my current system I sold my whole computer ( 630MB RDram ) along with the video card ...ect... for dirt cheap. Gave it awy at $300.00 to a friend.

Just a reality that in this industry which moves along at such a rapid pace... old good VC's and other hardware goes out of date quickly... , even when components may still have value.

I had that GForce 4 card for about less than a year.... but at the time it was a real good card for me....
One intersting story to relay is that my friend comes to me and says that it would not play Splinter Cell due to the sahders or some card specs... and made me feel better for buying my new machine..because the first S.C. was out and I loved that game.

Like i said.. when the time comes when i no longer can play ANY new games that come out with my current card then that will be that i suppose.

Five years of very hard gaming and environment changes...and my card still has zero issues.
For objective analysis.... I'd say that the card has lived up to what it claims... and the company EGVA has since gotten to be a household name..with some due respect. LOL

[RamonGTP]

If it came with a TNT2 and 4 months later you were getting a GF4, then it came with a very weak video card to begin with cuz there were several years between the intro of the TNT2 and the GF4 series.

[Rabbitrunner51]

That is not true. I believe it was like six months or so... I remember it well...as my friend down the hall aws playing WC 3 and that is about the time i ordered it. He had a ATI 7700 or some such.

At the time people were just upgrading to the 64MB cards... I had to get more memory i remember first..,which i did then i got the VC.

The year was 2000 or close to 2001. Anyways... not to quibble about time periods lol

[RamonGTP]

Are you trying to say that in a mere 4-6 months, they already went through the product cycle of the original Geforce 256, the GeForce2, the Geforce3 and started the GeForce4? I don't think so.

TNT2
GeForce 256
GeForce 2
GeForce 3
GeForce 4
GeForce FX
GeForce 6xxx
GeForce 7xxx

That is the order of the product cycle. If you went from TNT2 to GF4 in 4-6 months you were either already outdated with the TNT2 when you had it, or it was a lot longer than 6 months between your upgrades.

[MadPistol]

Does anyone know where we can get a history of video cards, when they were released, and how long their production cycle was?

[KraZy_SkitZy]

I remember my first gaming PC
AMD 233mhz
64mb sdram
20gb 5400rpm drive primary
20gb 7200rpm drive secondary
ATI Rage Pro All-In-Wonder 8mb
3D Blaster Voodoo2 12mb
Crystal Fusion ISA sound card
56k modem

I remember when that system was the Cats' Meow. Brings back memories of playin Half-Life and Star Craft online for hours on end on dial-up :P

[MadPistol]

That system played Half-Life??? Not bad. I didn't think a system of those specs would play a game like the original Half-Life. I really am behind on what technology could do back then.

[Rugor]

Right now the balance seems to be favoring GPU a little more than CPU; with the caveat that you need at least a certain minimum CPU. Beyond an Athlon64 3400+ or so you will see a lot more performance increase by going to a stronger graphics card than a faster processor. However, if you don't have a reasonably recent processor there's no point going for a good graphics card as it will be starved.