Might be interesting for some players that (want to) use a slower processor [CPU] in combination with a lower-end graphic card [GPU]. The YouTube tech channel “Hardware Unboxed” re-tested the new, lower-end Intel B580 GPU due to findings showing that the Intel GPU has some overhead issue (basically the GPU sucks up CPU performance for its graphical calculations).
Relevant War Thunder (DX11) section from the “Hardware Unboxed” video (though recommending watching the full video):
Note: There is additional War Thunder testing later at 20:00 minutes with graphic settings slightly reduced to “High, TAA”, and even more interesting, some DX12 numbers (at 22:08), which does show some surprising performance uplifts compared to DX11 in general.
War Thunder (at least DX11, as that was the one tested) was one of the games tested that did show a much more drastic performance impact from GPU overhead. Even more interesting, the issue appeared not just for the Intel GPU, but also for the AMD 7600 ((standing in for a lower-end AMD GPU), and an, albeit very minor, though still recordable, impact for the 4060, standing in for a low-end Nvidia GPU).
The gist of this is that players should be aware that in War Thunder the combination of a slower CPU and a lower-end GPU can, due to overhead GPU issues, cause a substantial FPS reduction compared to the results of the same GPUs running on a faster CPU which can compensate for the overhead draining from its CPU calculation reserves.
Best regards,
Phil