Cores or processor?

[pelador]

This is more a confirmation detail than a problem as I was just wondering if X3TC has been configured to make use of Quad/Dual core processors effectively or is it down to pure processor speed?

[andrewas]

No, its a single threaded application and gains no direct benefit from multiple cores.

The engine would have to be rewritten from the ground up to make multithreading possible.

[dimstog]

Makes you wonder though, when are software companies going to actually make that leap ? Multi-core processors have been around for a number of years and now are the standard, what's holding them back ?

[Cycrow]

Makes you wonder though, when are software companies going to actually make that leap ? Multi-core processors have been around for a number of years and now are the standard, what's holding them back ?

lots of things, for a long time, games engines have been designed around single cores, so it means changing the whole philosopy of game design to so engines work for multiple.

also, even thou they have been around for a number of years, first released in 2005.

they havn't really been mainstream until this year.

as games take years to develop, alot of the games coming out recently will have been in development before multi-cores were standard.

it will take awhile for alot of games companies, especially smaller ones to start recreating thier engines for multi core.

also remember that TC, is using Reunions engine, which was release not long after dual cores were released. So its game engine, the same thats in TC, would have be developed before dual core even existed

[smbh]

There are a few new games out or coming our with multi-core support. Mass Effect and GTA IV use up to 75% on my quad for example, though not consistently.

[pants_marshall]

Makes you wonder though, when are software companies going to actually make that leap ? Multi-core processors have been around for a number of years and now are the standard, what's holding them back ?

You are perhaps thinking of intels old P4 running hyperthreading tech.

They are a single core chip and enabling hyperthreading in the bios of your motherboard would give you a Virtual core, hence why P4's in windows taskmanager showed as 2 cores.

You'll all have proberly noticed that intel have brought hyperthreading tech back and have incorporated it in their new i7 chips, if you run a i7 chip then you'll more than likely to see 8 cores even though its really a quad chip the other 4 cores come from hyperthreading(Virtual).

Incidentally Crycrow, even though the old intel single core chips didnt do well in 3d apps (games) hyperthreading did give you a boost when gaming (i know i used to run a few of them chips even when AMD ruled the world back then), also both camps made the right noise's way back then, that dual cores were the way they where heading, also hyperthreading has been around for a age in PC terms 10 years plus if i remember right

[some1]

I used Abit BP6 motherboard with 2 processor over 8 years ago.. Multi Core/Processor is a really old thing.

[eladan]

I used Abit BP6 motherboard with 2 processor over 8 years ago.. Multi Core/Processor is a really old thing.

Sure, and I've been working with servers which have been multi processor for even longer than that. However, the point is that multicore/multi processor/hyperthreading has been neither common nor popular amongst regular PC owners until relatively recently. And the trend towards increasing cores as a replacement for improving clock speed was only started in the last couple of years. I clearly remember a number of 'panic' articles about the problems associated with clock speed and die heat that caused the shift. Prior to that, it was always assumed that, while multicore was available, it would remain a high end option.

:EDIT: meant multi processor.

[Cycrow]

I used Abit BP6 motherboard with 2 processor over 8 years ago.. Multi Core/Processor is a really old thing.

it is for servers yes, but not for general desktop pcs and games.

it would have be pretty stupid to spend time to develop them for systems only barely a handful of ppl would use.

how many ppl back then used server pcs as thier desktops to play games on ?

the first proper desktop dual cores were from AMD, the X2, which came out in 2005

[Sutore]

I remember Intel trying to push motherboards that could run two Pentium Pro's way back in the late 90's - never took off though!

This was for home-based PC's too . . .

[nitromethane]

its the same story as 16/32/64 bit OS everything should already be 64 but why change just cause something might work better

[frymaster]

No, its a single threaded application and gains no direct benefit from multiple cores.

The engine would have to be rewritten from the ground up to make multithreading possible.

not quite true, while the main application runs on a single thread, all the sound and streaming video are in separate threads and, crucially, so are the graphics driver and the direct3d driver. The main game thread still dominates, but all the other stuff put together (mainly the d3d thread) comes to about 1/3rd of the main thread - add in normal OS processes on top of that and a dual core at least is a good idea.

I worked this out by having process explorer from microsoft open in another monitor, with the "threads" tab open for the game process

[OOZ662]

it would have be pretty stupid to spend time to develop them for systems only barely a handful of ppl would use.

how many ppl back then used server pcs as thier desktops to play games on ?

the first proper desktop dual cores were from AMD, the X2, which came out in 2005

The game Aces High by HiTech Creations is multithreaded and its engine dates back to the late 90s, I think. Some of it even farther back.
Being a flight simulator, it's similar to X3. Not much I bet, but the same basic concept.

Not sure if there's any significance to it, but I figure it's worth something.

[eladan]

I think this thread's gone beyond any relevance now for tech support, so prepare for teleport...