OK, so game 1 - Dirt 3:
Date Min FPS Average FPS Quality Resolution AA Mode DX Version GPU GPU RAM GPU Driver CPU
07/10/2014 21:26:15 40.68745 51.36375 Ultra 1600x900@60Hz 8xmsaa 11 AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series 2048 MB 14.301.1001.0 AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6400+
07/10/2014 21:21:28 39.06722 50.83886 Ultra 1920x1080@60Hz 8xmsaa 11 AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series 2048 MB 14.301.1001.0 AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6400+
07/10/2014 21:16:47 39.58699 51.44499 Ultra 1920x1080@60Hz 4xmsaa 11 AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series 2048 MB 14.301.1001.0 AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6400+
07/10/2014 21:11:22 35.31805 50.58019 Ultra 1920x1080@60Hz off 11 AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series 2048 MB 14.301.1001.0 AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6400+
07/10/2014 21:06:22 38.59094 49.42814 Ultra 1600x900@60Hz off 11 AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series 2048 MB 14.301.1001.0 AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6400+
Game 2 - Dirt Showdown:
<resolution width="1600" height="900" aspect="auto" fullscreen="true" vsync="0" multisampling="off">
<results samples="1855" min_fps="23.124611" av_fps="32.330303" min_fps_ms="43.243969" av_fps_ms="30.930735" />
<resolution width="1600" height="900" aspect="auto" fullscreen="true" vsync="0" multisampling="8xmsaa">
<results samples="1821" min_fps="23.215502" av_fps="32.427235" min_fps_ms="43.074665" av_fps_ms="30.838276" />
<resolution width="1920" height="1080" aspect="auto" fullscreen="true" vsync="0" multisampling="off">
<results samples="1789" min_fps="22.705389" av_fps="32.308670" min_fps_ms="44.042408" av_fps_ms="30.951445" />
<resolution width="1920" height="1080" aspect="auto" fullscreen="true" vsync="0" multisampling="8xmsaa">
<results samples="1803" min_fps="22.494267" av_fps="32.181297" min_fps_ms="44.455772" av_fps_ms="31.073950" />
Game 3 - Civ 5 late game benchmark used:
1600x900 no AA
[84595.765] LateGame Full Render Score , 1559, NumDrawCallsPerFrame ,0
[84595.765] LateGame NoShadow Render Score , 1868, NumDrawCallsPerFrame ,0
[84595.765] LateGame No Render Score , 3058, NumDrawCallsPerFrame ,0
1920x1080 no AA
[85067.031] LateGame Full Render Score , 1561, NumDrawCallsPerFrame ,0
[85067.031] LateGame NoShadow Render Score , 1861, NumDrawCallsPerFrame ,0
[85067.031] LateGame No Render Score , 2178, NumDrawCallsPerFrame ,0
1920x1080 8xMSAA
[85521.468] LateGame Full Render Score , 1539, NumDrawCallsPerFrame ,0
[85521.468] LateGame NoShadow Render Score , 1828, NumDrawCallsPerFrame ,0
[85521.468] LateGame No Render Score , 2255, NumDrawCallsPerFrame ,0
OK, so GTA IV won't complete a benchmark on windows 10 so these will have to do until Liberty City Stories downloads and I try that benchmark.
The difference appears negligible and could be explained by the benchmarks not being identical in Dirt and Dirt showdown as the benchmark runs with the AI enabled, so no race is the same.
I tried Batman Arkham Origins, but it seems even old faithful is enough CPU for that game.
My conclusion, seems in CPU limited games you can indeed ramp up the resolution and AA without much trouble if your GPU is powerful enough.