How Important is CPU? (Fallout 3)

[vengeancehawk]

I recently bought FO3 on Steam and I meet all the requirements except the CPU. It says it needs a single-core with a clock speed of 2.4Ghz. My current processor is an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3250e (1.5Ghz). I get around 25fps on mostly low settings and 800x600/1024x768 resolution. I thought about upgrading to an AMD Athlon (Single core) with 2.5Ghz of clock speed. Before I buy it, I'd like to know if I should expect to see any real increase in FPS.

 

Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)

4GB Ram

CPU: AMD Athlon Dual core 3250e

GPU: ATI Radeon HD 3200

 

 

Note: I can't really upgrade this PC (it's an all-in-one with no slots for a GFX card or anything) or buy a new one because I don't really have a source of income.

[yoječ]

Going from a dual core CPU to a single core is a really bad idea.

[K^2]

You aren't CPU bound on that setup. Fiddling with CPU won't help. And don't look at clock speeds as the indicator of speed. It only helps compare CPUs within the same family with similar features and core counts.

[vengeancehawk]

Ok, thanks for the help guys. But I do have a question: Why is it bad to go from a dual core to a single core?

[yoječ]

Because it's been a while since games started to be optimised for (at leats) dual core CPUs, with a single core CPU the performance will be pitiful, the OS will run slower too. Dual core is definitely a better way to go - if you want to have better performance, find a faster dual core CPU.

[vengeancehawk]

Thanks for the quick reply. So if I do buy a dual core, should I also invest in an aftermarket cooler since I'm going from 1.5 to 2.4?

[SapphireCrystal]

Thanks for the quick reply. So if I do buy a dual core, should I also invest in an aftermarket cooler since I'm going from 1.5 to 2.4?

No, not really. I'm running a dual core (also Athlon 2.7) and it's mostly 45-48% idle.

Edited April 5, 2015 by SapphireCrystal