Multi-core vs. Multi-thread and DX12 in 8.1.5

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I’m building out a new machine specifically for World of Warcraft and want to make sure I know what I’m getting. I’ve read about the new FPS improvements due to multi-threading. Everywhere I’ve seen it, it’s always referred to as “multi-thread,” but never “multi-core.” I haven’t seen anyone explain the distinction.

Some of the latest Coffee Lake CPUs are not multi-threaded CPUs. The i7-9700K, for example, is 8 Cores/8 Threads. By comparison, the (still strong) i7-8700K is 6 Cores/12 Threads (each core = 2 threads).

Even though the i7-9700K does not support multi-threading, would you still see the related performance improvements from the 8.1.5 patch because multiple cores would be used? Or is the CPU required to support true multi-threading to see the improvements?

Thanks in advance!

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Core - processing unit on a CPU that executes instructions.
Thread - A software process that can be executed.

All CPUs now are multi-threaded. You seem to be confusing hyper-threading with multi-threading.

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And to cut to the chase on a practical level, 9900k > 9700k > 8700k for wow are the best 3 cpus, with relatively small differences between each of them.

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Applications are never explicitly multi-core in most cases, mostly because they can’t enforce it even if they wanted to. Core in this case meaning a logical CPU core.

Don’t confuse threads with cores or so called “Symmetric Multi-threading” (AMD) or Hyper-Threading (Intel) where multiple instruction decoders are used to try to keep one physical core busy. This is an extremely complicated subject that may soon become irrelevant due to security reasons. Not surprisingly when you run two different tasks on the same physical core, if one of the tasks is malicious it can harm the other task.

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This is all super helpful. I hope my title was clear enough that someone else with this issue will find it. Thank you for taking the time!

Now to find a motherboard for my incoming 9700K…

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So a few things to note on motherboards: Avoid H or B series chipsets if you’re planning to overclock. You’ll need a more expensive Z series. If you are planning to overclock favor memory kits with two larger DIMMs vs four smaller DIMMS. This is because of the way the memory controllers work on dual channel memory.

For those really curious about why:

If you’re not planning to overclock I’d suggest stepping back from the K series chip and go with a B series motherboard… which should be fine. That said if you want fast RAM the same suggestion applies… go for twin DIMM so you can get better speed out of your RAM.

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I recommend the Asus brand of motherboards, they are feature rich for overclockers (Z390 chipsets) and my experience they are a better quality board than Gigabyte. Especially on the VRMs.

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Eh… if you take a look at the channel of the video I linked above, the presenter isn’t exactly thrilled with ASUS VRMs which tend to operate without doublers. Now while he’s more concerned with LN2 etc which is beyond the scope of the OPs request… I wouldn’t use ASUS as the gold standard for VRMs at the moment. That said will an ASUS board get them by… yes. But so would EVGA etc.

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I use to only use ASUS motherboard have for 20+ years . My resent experience with a board ASUS knew was faulty soured me on them. They have slipped with there high end boards. Replaced a 200 USD ASUS motherboard with a 150 dollar Gigabyte motherboard and all of the issues vanished. To get a refund for the ASUS motherboard that had been warrantied every 3 months like clockwork I had to call corporate HQ Taiwan.

You want to go by reviews not by brand name alone. For example In the AMD X370 boards Asus had zero in the top 10

For the i9 9900k Gigabyte boards are the top 3 best

#1 Gigabyte Aorus Master Z390 ATX
#2 Gigabyte Aorus Ultra Z390 ATX
#3 Gigabyte Aorus Pro WiFi Z390 ATX
#4 Asus Rog Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi) Z390 ATX
#5 Asus ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING Z390 ATX
#6 MSI MEG Z390 GODLIKE Z390 E-ATX
#7 MSI MEG Z390 ACE Z390 ATX
#8 MSI MPG Z390 Gaming PRO Carbon AC Z390 ATX
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I guess it’s safe to say that everyone has their own experiences :slight_smile: mine just happen to be really good with ASUS , and bad with Gigabyte.

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Again, this is super helpful. It got off-topic, but I’m glad it did.

I’ve been doing some reading and I suspect that a quiet computer is going to be more valuable to me than overclocking and having the very latest machine. So I’m going to back off and do a i7-8700 with the 65w TPM with an aftermarket Noctua cooler and strix gpu.

You all are great. Appreciate it.