you can set the game to use cores from the task manager in windows (though i dont know if the game will actually use them.). if you have nvidia gfx card(s) you can force "thread optimization" which works great for me. i think sins is supposed to use multiple cores in the first place but some ppl dont see this happening.

it should be noted that im running 2 9800 gtx gfx cards in sli with a q6600 that is overclocked to 3.2 ghz so your performance will very depending on your setup. following are some pics from the nvidia control panel.

it should also be noted that the in game AA and AF are inefficient, and by over riding them through the control panel you can gain some performance in some games. hope that helped

The game is already using more that one core... a second core is used for speed up the loading of the game... if i good remember, the loading of texture are made via the second core...

With standart OS and configuration, a dual core is recommended...

By standart OS, i mean Microsoft OS ( XP and/or Vista )... by config, i mean standart kernel and other little think who can be tweak in Microsoft OS...

About your quad core being used... change the scale of your graph... you will see that the game jump from one core to the next... but is not running on the 4 core in the same time... it is simply a method implement by OS for "heating" reason... by moving from one core to the next, rise of temperature in the core is slower...

Your 35% is a enough realistic number... one core almost fully used for the game, other core used by system, antivirus, firewall and other background application...

RAM use is the weak side of sins... huge map, a lot of AI, and huge mod ask a lot of ram... a 64 bit core engine will resolve the problem... some will say that they run heavy game like "crysis" without problem but they are short in ram with "sins"... the reason is simple... game like crysis work in "episode" mode... one scene is load after the other... in sins, all the "universe" is created at the begining of the game... it is like you load all the level of crysis in one time !!!

Sins was released begin last year... sure that the project was started one or two year before... when 64 bits and multicore was not common like now... but same so, sins run enough good on a lot of machine... some people are limited to medium map due to ram limit... but with 4gb ram for application ( max of 32 bits application with Windows x64 using WOW64 mode ) all the standart map ( these created by Stardock ) are runing enough smooth...

At the processor level, for sins, it is better to have a dual core at 4ghz that a quad core at 2ghz...

By the way, Entrenchment bring a lot of memory optimisation and speed optimisation... Entrenchment add a lot of content but run smoothly that the original sins... so, in some way, they are working on the problem...

i dont know then, i dont seem to have a problem with it. sry

swfan654 and Mooster ... both of your processor are given the same power... something a little over the 50%... the only difference is that the Mooster processor is better tuned for share the load between the core...

My graph is similar to these of Mooster... sins using my 8 core... in the sample below, not yet all the core have reach the 100% at one moment but if i have continue monitoring, it will have happen... it is simply a thermal regulation thing...

My global is around 12.5% who is 1/8 of my total power, meaning one core... sins use a second core but for very short periode and only specific loading process, mainly at the begin of one game...

If the total memory show is only 8gb , it is because i use now the memory in raid mode ( similar to the hard drive system but apply to memory )... i have become parano when related to my data integrity... use ECC 8 bit and memory mirror mode... bios function who don't exist on usual desktop board and work only with FB ddr ram ( serial link )... in some way, my server board is similar to a top power MAC but my system is around 10000$ cheaper that the Apple one... It is a 3D modeler render station ( poser pro 7 can use 8 64 bits render engine and the computer was build for these piece of software ) and was not planned to game with it... but sins run so go at it !!! and i like so much sins !!! In fact, almost all the game fly on it, specially when i have switch off the onboard ATI 100 and install at NV 8800 Ultra 768 mb ( suck 350 watt of power !!! )...

Swfan654, don't worry too much... it is the PC world... where you have hundred of hardware configuration, with several possible OS, each of them having multiple possible configuration... fine tuning a PC is really a hard work... it is why i use Linux... not because Linux is better but because i can have the source... and compile a top kernel who will reach to speed only on my computer ( and crash on other )...

A lot of people complain about game... but game are only the last layer... material is the first one, the second is the bios, the next is the OS... too much parameter for game creator... you can have a top computer for Crysis but a bad computer for Pack-man !!! Since computer are cheap but application are expensive, i first choose my application and create the perfect computer for it... can seem crazy but at professional level, some application can reach a tag price who is over the several thousand dollar, so the difference between a system at 1k$ and 1.5k$ are very little on the general budget... my computer being go at game was simply a unplanned good surprise...

By the way, if one day, Stardock/Ironclad release the source of sins, i am sure that a new compilation with diferent option will speed up the game for around 30% and this without changing the source code... simply because recent compilator are able to detect some part of the code who can use a independant thread ( and enjoy the multicore effect )...

Again, wait and see... i am almost sure that in the future, once expension pack are fully release, a sins II will appear... with 64 bits support ( no more memory problem ) and multicore support ( no more slowdown )... almost nobody in the gaming business have think that sins will generate so much money for their creator... but due to the planetory success of sins, it is almost sure that a sequel will come... patience is a key word... Ironclad/Stardock have made sins in a delay of one year... who is really a short time in the game business... give them a few year delay and i think that you will be happily surprised...