So I'm so far out of the loop as far as PC Technology goes its sickening. I've spent years now on my Macbook and work laptops and finally Star Wars Old Republic comes out and my Macbook just doesn't cut it for much above the starter planets and flash points.
I'm after building a PC preferably an i5/i7. I've got a budget of around 1k, but if I could build something for cheaper that will handle the game that would be great. Overall basics
20"+ Monitor
500Gb Hard Drive 7200rpm
Intel i5/i7
Nvidia Graphics Card
Case
DVD-R Drive
Any help would be appreciated I've done a lot of reading about the Sandybridge cores?
Cheers all.
(http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/959/poisonscan.png)
quick run down...
*i5 2500k is a no brainer, obvious choice
*gigabyte Z68 board... the only real choice is ASUS or gigabyte and the ASUS have real reliability problems lately - there's a bunch of different gigabyte boards to choose from but they're all pretty much the same, you can pay extra for onboard bluetooth etc.. etc.. but there's not much difference between them unless you really need something they have - I picked you a cheaper one (less optional extras) but one with SATA3 to future proof incase you add an SSd etc.. later on
*16gig of ram... total overkill.... but only twenty quid more than 8gig so might as well to future proof it.... with with corsair... it's not worth going with cheap ram imo... (and the cheap stuff isn;t much cheaper anyway)
*1tb hard drive, there's not a lot of difference between different drives tbh, and not much price difference between 500gig and 1tb
*case.... it's a cheap ass case... but I've built a few systems lately with these and they're actually rerally good cases as long as you fir your own psu and replace the case fans with your own - and I'm a case geek... having spent hundreds on a single case many times in the past... I was always happy with them until I used these cheap ones and realised how good they are !
*psu, corsair 650tx... corsair psu's are just other psu's rebranded... but the 650tx series are good psu's at a good price
*dvd drive... random choice, they're all pretty much the same, just pick a cheap one with a name you recognise
*GFX card.... don't buy one until some gfx geeks have been past to take a look... I'm a bit out of the loop on these tbh... I put that one up as an example of a decent one.... but there's so many different makes and models you're better off waiting for someone else to tell you which one to get (bacon will be along soon and knows gfx cards inside out)
*fans - to replace the case fan and add some extra ones
*monitor - acer are good, but it's down to what size you want etc... you'll have to have a look and decide... unless you're a screen geek you won't really notice the difference between different screens (they all look the same to me) just different sizes etc..
£835 all in... and it'll absolutely fly :-)
actually... I only just checked the requirements for Star Wars Old Republic and that will crap all over them.... twice...
you could cut back a lot and still play it with ease... if that's all you're upgrading for.... but personally I think the above system is best bang for buck by a long way....
but.... you could save £100 or so by going with a cheaper gfx card.... (which would still play the above with ease) and then upgrade that later on..... gfx card prices seam to come down twice as fast as other components :-)
You should be able to save a few quid by going for 8gb rather than 16 but as Knighty says it's £20 difference. If you do go for the 16GB it's probably worth switching off using Virtual memory.
For graphics a Nvidea GTX 560ti would be more than adequate for Knights of the Old Republic. Avoid the plain 560 and 560ti (448) versions. If you were short I'd be pointing you towards a 6970, if one was available. 6950 is nowhere near as fast as a '70 and not much cheaper.
A 24" monitor should cost under £150 and give you quite a bit more viewing angle although the same 1080p resolution. 'true 3d' isn't worth bothering with as yet, I quickly end up suffering from a headache just looking at some of the screens.
To be brutally honest it's not that difficult to run SW:Kotor, my E7400/550ti/4GB ram can do this very adequately. I had a look at it while it was still in beta, decided against. The actual minimum requirements are...
Quote
Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz or better
Operating System:
Windows XP Service Pack 3 or later
RAM:
Windows XP: 1.5GB RAM
Windows Vista and Windows 7: 2GB RAM
Note: PCs using a built-in graphical chipset are recommended to have 2GB of RAM.
Star Wars: The Old Republic requires a video card that has a minimum of 256MB of on-board RAM as well as support for Shader 3.0 or better. Examples include:
ATI X1800 or better
nVidia 7800 or better
Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better
DVD-ROM drive – 8x speed or better (required for installation from physical editions only) Internet connection required to play.
Don't go for a cheap Asus case, they really are shocking :P spend a bit extra and get something decent.
I wouldn't bother with a 560ti, if you want to go cheaper then get a single 6870, and also the 6950 might not perform anywhere near a 70 but most of the 50s can be unlocked to 70 speeds, there are various guides and info on google.
Quote from: Bacon on February 04, 2012, 03:19:08 AM
Don't go for a cheap Asus case, they really are shocking :P spend a bit extra and get something decent.
I wouldn't bother with a 560ti, if you want to go cheaper then get a single 6870, and also the 6950 might not perform anywhere near a 70 but most of the 50s can be unlocked to 70 speeds, there are various guides and info on google.
jamie.... you know that spare computer in the corner ? (my nephews old internals).... that's one of thos cheap cases... and I've built 3 more systems with them.... and they're fricking awesome for the money!
they're not quite as rigid as an expensive case... but they're not flimsy... but... they're well organises inside....
ok.. it's not as food as my main case.... but at £20 instead of £180 there's no competition !
Quote from: knighty on February 04, 2012, 10:18:20 AM
Quote from: Bacon on February 04, 2012, 03:19:08 AM
Don't go for a cheap Asus case, they really are shocking :P spend a bit extra and get something decent.
I wouldn't bother with a 560ti, if you want to go cheaper then get a single 6870, and also the 6950 might not perform anywhere near a 70 but most of the 50s can be unlocked to 70 speeds, there are various guides and info on google.
jamie.... you know that spare computer in the corner ? (my nephews old internals).... that's one of thos cheap cases... and I've built 3 more systems with them.... and they're fricking awesome for the money!
they're not quite as rigid as an expensive case... but they're not flimsy... but... they're well organises inside....
ok.. it's not as food as my main case.... but at £20 instead of £180 there's no competition !
Come on m8 there is a mid range between £20 and £180 :P I paid £30 for mine and its vented all over with a SATA dock, the docks alone are £20+
yours was only £30 ?
well I've got to agree then..... IF you can find it for £30 again :-p
Quote from: knighty on February 04, 2012, 15:22:48 PM
yours was only £30 ?
well I've got to agree then..... IF you can find it for £30 again :-p
Scan special and free delivery!
Cheers for the input all I was looking at the 560ti the other day and they seem awesome for bang per buck.
I was gob-smacked how cheap RAM is now I was thinking if I keep it under 850 for the main section I'd stretch to a 64GB SSD for the hell of it.
MSI Frozr III 6950 2GB unlocked to 6970 and overclocked beyond for £215 from Scan, if I remember right.
As has been said, get a 6950 or a 6970 over a nVidia 560ti.
If you want to stretch out your budget a little, why not a Blu-Ray writer over a DVD-Writer?
I'd go with amd over intel for gfx....
check a few reviews / comparisons and amd come out ontop over time now !
(for gfx anyway)
Been playing SWTOR since beta here is a few things I have noticed:
The game is very CPU dependant but not truly multithreaded, so an OC'ed i5 2500k with a high GHz would be a very good choice (don't cut corners get a good cooler)
8 gigs of fast Ram, 4gig isn't enough on a 64bit OS (64bit OS is a good increase in performance)
6950 is a good solid card and they all unlock to 6970's with the ones I have experience off (I have 2 in crossfire and 3 more from family and mates)
There are quite a few load screens in SWTOR a SSD helps a lot! (64gig is enough for Windows 7 and the game)
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/159
scroll down to get an idea of which manufacturers will unlock.
And ps. don't buy a 560ti, if needs be you can go the cheaper route with a 6870 and you should get a better deal, i think me and clocked paid £110/120 with Deus Ex