16 replies to this topic

[Gunner Kisiel]

Hi Folks,

I am currently playing the game at Low spec and lower res in order to get appropriate frame rates in CW (>20 fps) It is my hope that I can upgrade my machine to get at least to Med settings and maintain an average of 30fps. However I want to do that with the minimum amount of dollar input. My current machine seems to do alright in the public cue, but struggles in CW.

My PC details (they are old)

64bit Win7
AMD Athlon II X2 250
4.0GB Ram (2 2gb sticks)
AMD Radeon HD 5670


My initial thoughts were to increase the RAM to 8GB and improve the Graphics card, but I wanted to ask if that would be a good route to go.

Suggestions to get me to my goal?

Edited by Gunner Kisiel, 17 April 2015 - 03:08 AM.

[Thorqemada]

Your CPU is a Dual-Core - a new GPU will not perform well until you get yourself a Quadcore bcs MWO is CPU heavy.
A better CPU will not perform until you get also a better GPU bcs your old one will slow it down significantly.
Your Ram needs also to be upped.

There is no other way.

[Gunner Kisiel]

I feared that might be the case. Would I be okay to get an Athlon CPU for this game or should I just wait, bite the bullet and change over to Intel? Changing over would take me away from being able to upgrade piece meal and take me into probably end of the year to Build new.

[Napoleon_Blownapart]

AMD cpus are performing better now with optimization (i use an fx8350) but you need to give more info.is your ram ddr2 or 3?what is your motherboard and what cpus and ram does it support?

[Goose]

You have no cheap options: 'Cause your current CPU uses an AM3 socket, I must assume your mobo is only AM3 also; PCPartPicker only lists two CPUs still available, and not for good prices.

Start from scratch: Do not pass "Go;" Do not collect $200 …

[Lord Letto]

Goose, on 17 April 2015 - 06:37 AM, said:

You have no cheap options: 'Cause your current CPU uses an AM3 socket, I must assume your mobo is only AM3 also; PCPartPicker only lists two CPUs still available, and not for good prices.

Start from scratch: Do not pass "Go;" Do not collect $200 …

if even $500 is too much though:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz Quad-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($95.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $220.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 18:54 EDT-0400

Should still be Decent at Medium with Those Upgrades. What RAM do you have and how many slots do your MOBO have for RAM, I'm Assuming 4? and is it DDR2 or DDR3?

Edited by Lord Letto, 17 April 2015 - 02:56 PM.

[Goose]

WHY would you pay $96 for an Athlon II X4 at this late date.

[Lord Letto]

Goose, on 17 April 2015 - 04:24 PM, said:

WHY would you pay $96 for an Athlon II X4 at this late date.

It's the Best for his Socket (AM3 Correct?) without spending a lot More. You Said you seen 2 AM3 CPUs on pcpartpicker correct? I seen 3 (With Price Info) and that was the Middle one:
Cheapest: AMD Athlon II X2 270 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor @ Amazon with 1 New Listed for $92.38 after Shipping & 9 Used from $48: http://www.amazon.co.../?tag=pcpapi-20

Middle: AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz Quad-Core OEM/Tray Processor @ Amazon with 1 New Listed for $95.94 after Shipping, 7 Used from $64.78: http://www.amazon.co.../?tag=pcpapi-20

Most Expensive: AMD Phenom II X6 1075T 3.0GHz 6-Core Processor @ Amazon with 1 Listed for $255.48 after Shipping, 3 Used from $140: http://www.amazon.co.../?tag=pcpapi-20

so to Revise Above Hardware Recommendations:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1075T 3.0GHz 6-Core Processor ($255.48 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $380.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 20:53 EDT-0400

If he had to get a New MOBO to get another Socket, I'd say go intel:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $261.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 20:55 EDT-0400

or a Quad Core instead of a Dual Core:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $396.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 20:56 EDT-0400

Or a Intel Hexa:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($349.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212X 82.9 CFM CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver Ceramique 2 Tri-Linear 2.7g Thermal Paste ($4.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI X99S SLI Plus ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($151.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($254.99 @ Directron)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $885.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 21:02 EDT-0400

Edited by Lord Letto, 17 April 2015 - 05:03 PM.

[bar10jim]

Lord Letto, on 17 April 2015 - 04:56 PM, said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $261.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 20:55 EDT-0400

or a Quad Core instead of a Dual Core:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $396.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 20:56 EDT-0400

Both of these builds asume that he can use his current RAM. If it's DDR3 he should be OK. If not, that would be another expense. They also assume he can re-use his power supply. Without more info, we don't know if this is an option.

With that being said, the first option is viable because even though it is a dual core, you overclock the s#!t out of it with proper cooling.

The second build is very similar to what I run (i5-4670, HD7850)-> Med settings with shadows, paricles, shaders set to low, AA off, Damage glow off. I usually run mid-50's FPS or better (sometimes even break 100). I say mid 50's because that is usaully the low end. Under very demanding conditions, I may dip (briefly) into the 40's, but that is not the norm.

The second build also utilzes the intel socket 1150, which means you can later upgrade to a i7-4xxxx in the future.


Edit - Russ mentioned in the Town Hall last night that PGI is probably going to up the minimum specs for the game in the near future.

Edited by bar10jim, 17 April 2015 - 05:39 PM.

[Catamount]

He's running an old socket, and the problem with the recommendations I'm seeing is buying new CPUs for it. An Athlon II X4 640 is not worth $96, plain and simple. Now for $60-$70, he could get a Phenom II X4 955 or 965 used, and to go from effectively unplayable to at least playable, I think maybe that's at least worth looking at if the budget is absolutely, positively not there to work from scratch.

If the money is there, sorry OP but getting a modern Intel system is simply the way to go if in any way possible. Your existing setup is just too old to easily salvage into anything good.

[Gunner Kisiel]

My current setup is as follows:
ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
Thermaltake Purepower 500W ATX Power Supply
Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C7
and my HD 5670

After playing around on Newegg last night I picked some components that I think would get my PC to do well for a few years yet:
ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
MSI GTX 960 2GD5T OC GeForce GTX 960 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready SLI Support ATX Video Card
AMD FX-8320E Vishera 8-Core 3.2GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W FD832EWMHKBOX Desktop Processor

My plan is to use my existing components, format the HDD with a clean install of Win7 and use these new components. It will cost me about $406 and I think it would bring me beyond just medium graphics.

Would this be a sound plan? Should I go a different route?

[Lord Letto]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GT 740 1GB Video Card ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $397.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-18 12:30 EDT-0400

or:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $405.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-18 12:31 EDT-0400

​if there's a Microcenter Nearby, you can get the CPU for like $27 Less in store then you can use that $27 for a Better GPU:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $405.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-18 12:40 EDT-0400

or this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 1GB Superclocked Video Card ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $400.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-18 12:42 EDT-0400

Edited by Lord Letto, 18 April 2015 - 08:45 AM.

[Goose]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320E 3.2GHz 8-Core Processor ($128.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($68.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($181.79 @ Amazon)
Total: $379.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-18 14:04 EDT-0400

Base Total: $389.46
Mail-in Rebates: -$10.00
Total: $379.46

Right.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8370E 3.3GHz 8-Core Processor ($164.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright TRUE Spirit 90M Rev.A 39.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270X 2GB PCS+ Video Card ($143.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $400.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-18 14:15 EDT-0400

Base Total: $414.96
Mail-in Rebates: -$20.00
Shipping: $5.98
Total: $400.94

This assumes your PSU is brand new, and you don't overclock at all, and even then, you are officially 1A over the line.

Shrinking the video card to a R7 270 (sans "X") shaves ~15 off the price, and brings a little referee to the PSU, but lets try something else:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($207.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A (NFC Express Edition) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270X 2GB PCS+ Video Card ($143.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $406.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-18 14:32 EDT-0400

Base Total: $457.93
Mail-in Rebates: -$55.00
Shipping: $3.99
Total: $406.92

OK: You could pull $29 out'a the CPU, but why? They all would have you in the fudge-factor for your current PSU (you can't go to a R9 280 at all,) but I guess $30 for a new PSU has it's merits, too …

Nice case, BTW.

Edited by Goose, 18 April 2015 - 10:39 AM.

[Summon3r]

OP i would seriously take into consideration the intel I5 recommendations, the rig Goose posted above (i5-4670) will get your experience into the high setting ranges or higher with some user.config lines added.... for $457 its an absolute no brainer.

[Lord Letto]

And don't Forget if you do go for the i5's, 4690K is $200 if you can walk into a Micro Center Store and get it in Person, That's 8 Bucks Less than the 4670, will give you a extra 0.1GHz and is unlocked so it can be Overclocked if the MOBO & PSU can handle it.

Sidenote: Goose, Why do you go for the Asus Z87-A (NFC Express Edition? Yes it's the Cheapest but Cheapest isn't always good. I Looked on Newegg and of the 24 Reviews it had on there, I'd say there are some problems, though some of them could be called Bad QA Checks. Also, it's Z87, why not go for a Good but Cheap Z97?

Edited by Lord Letto, 18 April 2015 - 03:33 PM.

[Goose]

"Dirt cheap," mostly: I looked it up, the first time it was marked down like that, and there seemed no reason not to …

Now: Have I pointed out how Gunner's PSU is nether 80 Plus, nor reviewed by anyone with moar ethics then "Teh Fluff Pieces must Flo?"

[Catamount]

Hardware Secrets reviewed it.

TLDR: It's a pretty shoddily designed unit without much to be said for it (though it has a freakishly overbuilt transient filtering stage), and it's not even a shoddy 500W PSU, but rather a re-branded shoddy 400W PSU that shuts down upon trying to deliver more than 350W for any length of time and falls dangerously out of ATX standards when you pull more than 285W.

Edited by Catamount, 18 April 2015 - 06:25 PM.