How many CPU cores are optimal for games?

[Ocelote.12]

For example, I think the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with its 16 cores is a waste of money for gaming PC.

At what number should I aim?

[_I_]

depends on the game
at this time 6-8cores is a good number
but games depend more on a single thread for the main engine, other threads for extra ingame tasks

for a gaming rig (high fps), get the best performing cores you can afford

10600k and 5600x are very close
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-10600K-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5600X/4072vs4084
the intel costs less but takes tweaking to oc, needs a better cooler and board
to oc ryzen, just put a better cooler on it and let it boost higher for longer


5600x 280+tax
https://www.microcenter.com/product/630285/amd-ryzen-5-5600x-vermeer-37ghz-6-core-am4-boxed-processor-with-wraith-stealth-cooler

10600k $190+tax
https://www.microcenter.com/product/622907/intel-core-i5-10600k-comet-lake-41ghz-six-core-lga-1200-boxed-processor


the hard part to building a gaming rig is finding a good gpu <$400

[Autumn_]

6c6t at least, 6c12t/8c8t optimal, 8c16t/10c20t good, 12c24t/16c32t a bit overkill.

[Agent]

8 cores, anything lower will be obsolete.

[dOBER]

Depends on games you play. For example warzone which is cpu heavy at least 6c12t and for a little future proof 8c16t. Everything above will be too slow if you need it in few years.

[hawkeye]

Short answer - it's a balancing act. Faster cpus need less, slower cpus need more. So a cpu with fast cores like a 5950x might only need 4 cores, whereas a slow cpu like a 1700 couldn't match it with 8. The primary attribute is a fast single thread speed. Secondary is having enough threads given the speed of the cpu.

At the moment I would say an 8 core / 16 thread cpu is enough. 6 core / 12 thread if the cpu is latest generation.

(Anything else running on the pc needs to be considered as well e.g. discord, chrome, ....)

Long answer -

Why single thread speed?

Software doesn't actually know about cores. Software is written in threads of code, the operating system assigns the software threads to cpu threads (also known as a logical cpu).

Gaming software might run 50+ threads of code, when the game, directx, operating system etc are all added up. However only a small number of threads will be master threads, maybe 4, the number varies by game. All the other threads are slaves serving the masters.

It's the speed that the masters can run at that determines fps.

Will there will be games that will have large numbers of master threads? I would say no as syncing all the threads together can be a major technical problem in gaming, given the large number of different pc configurations in use. Fewer is better.

---------

Most gaming cpus are hyper-threaded at 2 threads per core. The second thread adds about 30% performance. So a 6 core / 12 thread would run about the same as an 8 core / 8 thread. In the business world many cpus have 8 threads per core, and all threads run at 100%. A single core of one of these cpus may be faster than an 8 core gaming cpu. So as cpu configurations vary and as software doesn't actually use cores, it;s best to use technically correct terms. Not cores, but threads and thread type. "Single core speed" is a term I have seen on several websites. It's inaccurate. It's "single thread speed"

[🍇🍉🍋‍🟩🍒🍟🍔]

Originally posted by Manul:

For example, I think the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with its 16 cores is a waste of money for gaming PC.

At what number should I aim?

depends on how good your gpu is if its 1080ti and below 6 cores should be fine if its above a 1080ti go 8-10

[nullable]

Originally posted by Manul:

For example, I think the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with its 16 cores is a waste of money for gaming PC.

At what number should I aim?

It might not be required for gaming, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Focusing solely on now is fine, but the future is always in motion.

And who knows you can always pick up other hobbies/work that has different requirements than PC gaming.

[AbedsBrother]

Based on my own experience, 6 cores / 12 threads.

Most games will be fine with 4 cores / 8 threads, or even 6 cores / 6 threads, and for older games 4 cores / 4 threads is enough. But if you want to play cpu-heavy games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey or Just Cause 3, you'll appreciate the extra cpu overhead.