Launching the #CPUOverload Project: Testing Every x86 Desktop Processor since 2010
by Dr. Ian Cutress on July 20, 2020 1:30 PM ESTGaming Tests: Red Dead Redemption 2
It’s great to have another Rockstar benchmark in the mix, and the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) on the PC gives us a chance to do that. Building on the success of the original RDR, the second incarnation came to Steam in December 2019 having been released on consoles first. The PC version takes the open-world cowboy genre into the start of the modern age, with a wide array of impressive graphics and features that are eerily close to reality.
For RDR2, Rockstar kept the same benchmark philosophy as with Grand Theft Auto V, with the benchmark consisting of several cut scenes with different weather and lighting effects, with a final scene focusing on an on-rails environment, only this time with mugging a shop leading to a shootout on horseback before riding over a bridge into the great unknown. Luckily most of the command line options from GTA V are present here, and the game also supports resolution scaling. We have the following tests:
- 384p Minimum
- 1440p Minimum
- 8K Minimum
- 1080p Max
For that 8K setting, I originally thought I had the settings file at 4K and 1.0x scaling, but it was actually set at 2.0x giving that 8K. For the sake of it, I decided to keep the 8K settings.
For automation, despite RDR2 taking a lot of inspiration from GTA V in its command line options and benchmark, the only feature it didn’t take was the actual flag that runs the benchmark. As a result, we have to use key presses on loading into the game in order to run the benchmark and get the data. It’s also worth noting that the benchmark results file is only dumped after the game has quit, which can cause issues in scripting when dealing with pauses (slow CPUs take a long time to load the test). The settings file accepts our pre-prepared versions along with the command line for ignoring new hardware, and the output files when you get them have all the frame times as required.
| AnandTech | IGP | Low | Medium | High |
| Average FPS |  |
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| 95th Percentile |  |
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All of our benchmark results can also be found in our benchmark engine, Bench.
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Sootie - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
Any chance of a crowd sourced version of the bench? People with unusual CPU's could run a cut down version of the bench with only software that does not require a license and heavily disclaimed that it was not an official run just to add a few more data points of rare devices. I have a whole museum of old servers I can run some tests on but it's not practical to send them elsewhere.I'm a big fan of all the work you have done and are doing on the bench though I use it constantly for work and home.
Tilmitt - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
Phenom II X6 and X4 would be cool to see if the "more cores make future proof" narrative actually holds up.lmcd - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
X6 outperformed early Bulldozer 8 cores by a notable bit if that's of any interest.loads2compute - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
Dear Ian,Wow! What a nice idea to test all these legacy processors on modern benchmarks. I think it is a great idea!
But als wow, what an enormous effort you are taking on automating all that stuff, starting from scratch and using autohotkey as your main tool. It seems like going to an uninhabited island, starting civilization from scratch and taking a tin opener as your main tool.
In my line of work (bioinformatics) we have to automate a load of consecutive tasks. Luckily there are frameworks for this, which make the work a lot easier.
Luckily there is already a framework for automated testing and benchmarking which happens to work on Linux, Mac and Windows (and even BSD). It is called the phoronix test suite http://phoronix-test-suite.com/. It can be extended with modules, so you could integrate all your desired tests in there. There is even paid support available, but since they guy who runs this (Michael Larabel) is working on a fellow tech outlet (phoronix.com) I am sure you can work something out to your mutual benefit. No doubt he is interested in all these old processor benchmarks too!
The phoronix test suite also comes with phoromatic, which according to the website : "allows the automatic scheduling of tests, remote installation of new tests, and the management of multiple test systems all through an intuitive, easy-to-use web interface."
So please do not start from scratch and do this yourself! Use this great open-source tool that is already available and consequently you will be able to get a lot more work done on the stuff that actually interests you! (I take it AHK scripting is not your hobby).
Ian Cutress - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
Scripts are already done :)The issue is that a lot of tests have a lot of different entry points; with AHK I can customizer for each. I've been using it for 5 years now, so coding isn't an issue any more.
Fwiw, I speak with Michael on occasion. We go to the same industry events etc
eek2121 - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
Was procuring a new GPU really that hard? I am going to blame your owner on this one. If you were an independent website I honestly would have purchased a 2080ti and donated it to you. It honestly seems like not being independent is hurting you more than it is helping. Without going into specifics, I know of websites smaller than AT that can afford at least 3 good full time writers and a bunch of awesome hardware.I have toyed with the idea of starting an alternative site where all hardware is procured in the retail channel. I know what advertising rates are like and I know that using affiliates, sponsorships, and advertising more than cover the cost of a few models per generation. Maybe it’s time AT staff strike out on their own. Just a thought.
Outside of that, I look forward to future endeavors.
Ian Cutress - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
Procuring a GPU is always difficult, as we don't have the bandwidth to test AIB cards any more.Fwiw AT only has 2/3 FT writers.
If we were to spin back out, we'd need investors and a strategy.
Igor_Kavinski - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
Request: Core i7-7700K DDR3 benchmarks (There are Asus and Gigabyte mobos that allow DDR3 to be used) to compare with Core i7-7700K DDR4 benchmarks. Thanks!Xex360 - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
Very fascinating.dad_at - Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - link
Pls include HEDT Sandy Bridge E: one of Core i7 3960X, 3970X, 3930K, etc. Once it was present in the CPU bench, but you removed it since 2017...