Something I wondered about is if all 4 cores on a CCX package ever become L3 limited. I mean we are talking 8MB of L3 per CCX, which is very generous. But does the 3+3 setup for the 6c/12t parts like the 1600x afford those 3 cores any benefit from only having 3 cores instead of 4 to share that 8MB with per CCX? Could we see benefits in for instance in games that take real advantage of L3 cache if it isnt saturated. I guess the argument could become,
3 Cores (8MB L3) < 4 Cores (8MB L3)
Is there ever a point where having 1 less core and more L3 would be a benefit? Perhaps if the coders were lazy and left certain game assets to be cached that aren't called on in a predictive way but randomly need to be called on very quickly?
Any insight on programs that are L3 heavy?