18 replies to this topic

[Dragoon20005]

GUIDE WILL THIS PC PLAY MW:O? 2.0

For those who don't know who am I.
I was the person who created and posted the following guide below
http://mwomercs.com/...is-pc-play-mwo/
It's been two years since that topic was updated about PCs and running MW:O
When the game was in beta stage, it was only running on DX9 API which depends more on stronger CPU cores than GPU power.
Now with DX11 API, the graphics rendering workload falls more on the GPU (well sort of) :|

Most of you may or may not know, this game is powered by CryEngine 3 which is the same game engine as the FPS game Crysis 3 which requires a high end PC to run it at respectable framerate.

But not all gamers out there will have the best hardware at hand.

So this is where my guide comes in.


I have personally tested this game on a mid spec laptop and I can play it smoothly at 720P med res without AA on the laptop’s 15" HD screen.

Here is what listed as the minimum specs for your PC to play MWO on the game website.
MechWarrior Online Minimum Requirements:
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz / Athlon II X2 245e
GPU: GeForce 8800GT / Radeon HD 5600/5700
RAM: 4 GB
OS: Windows XP 32-bit SP3
DirectX: DX9
HDD Space: 8 GB


As you can see it shows the Core 2 Duo can support this game, but I can assure you, it will be a nightmare to even play a single match properly.
When the fight gets intense, your framerate will drop till it becomes a PowerPoint slideshow with single digit framerates.

Before you rebut that your spec of your PC is much similar or better to the above. Please try to perform the following steps on your computer.

Do a full anti-virus scan of your PC to rid of viruses and spy ware using a combination of MalwareBytes, SpyBots S&D and AVG Antivirus.

Always make sure to update all your GPU, sound drivers and network card drivers (this is optional) (AMD or nVidia and Realtek)

Empty/clean out your computers recycle bin

Make sure to have at least 20GB or more of free space on your hard drive

Install Ccleaner and do a registry cleanup

Do a disk cleanup as well with CCleaner to remove unwanted junk to free up disk space.

Followed by a Disk De-fragmentation to compact the files in C Drive (If you are running HDD)

SSD have disk defragmentation disable as they use TRIM, so do not defrag your SSD.

Disable programs or services which are not needed when running MWO eg: Adobe Reader,Java update, Office, etc

Make sure that your internet connections is stable with low ping count and if possible, use direct wired LAN connection to your router.

Ok my computer isn't up to the standards you stated what now?

If your system fails to meet the above system requirements, verify what generation of processor you are using before you begin upgrading.

Your computer must be at least Intel i Core 2nd Gen and above or AMD systems must be using AM3+/FM2+ based motherboards. Verify your PC's RAM type and the version of the PCI-E graphics slots for example Gen 2.0 x16.
The above can be check using CPU-Z ID and GPU-Z ID

Ok my computer is one of the following you have mentioned

Ok suggest to do the following upgrades for desktops only.
Set aside a budget of $100-$150 for a GPU upgrade to a mid-range card like the AMD Radeon R9 270/X or GTX 750Ti based cards. Avoid choosing GPUs which uses DDR3 as they won’t be able to allow the GPU to render the image fast enough. You can verify the GPU performance using charts from various tech review sites using Crysis 3 as a test benchmark. Series to avoid when shopping for GPUs will be the AMD R7 240/250 DDR3 and from the nVidia side, avoid the GT series of cards. The only gaming GPU to get from nVidia is the GTX 750Ti and above series. For the AMD side, the R7 260X or the R7 265 are the minimum GPU series to get.
If you are shopping for used GPUs, you can look at the AMD Radeon series GPUs like the HD7xxx series or the R7 and R9 series. Who know you may grab a good card for cheap. Most of the AMD GPUs may be used for coin mining but if the card are still covered by warranty. It will be a good buy, otherwise look elsewhere.

Ok I got a new GPU but my game is still running very slow.
If that didn't help, suggest getting a faster CPU that your motherboard can support. Example for Z67 or Z77 chipset based motherboard swapping from the i3 Core to the i5 Core or even the i7 will improve the overall CPU performance.
But if your system is hopelessly outdated running DDR2 RAMs, then you just have to get a new PC.

So I do need a new computer. Suggestions?
Desktops PC are by far the best option for gaming as the range of parts to choose and put together are almost limitless based on your budget. But I can assure you, you still need to invest in a certain amount of budget to make the investment worthwhile.

Things you should not restrict is the choice of GPU, followed by the CPU and the other parts of the computer. Any game for that matter need tons of graphics power from the GPU to render all the frames and objects.
For example, if your PC budget is around 1k, you should be spending at least minimum 1/3 of the total budget on a good GPU. Spending too much or too little is a bad idea. Take for example ready-made desktops using powerful CPU like the Intel i7 Core 4790 which is a 4 core 8 treads CPU, but the GPU that is paired with the CPU is the GTX745. That GPU is an instant face palm for me. Same goes with pairing a GTX980 with a Pentium G3258, which is downright stupid. You have got to balance the amount spend on GPU and CPU together to get the performance. Speed of RAM affects AMD and Intel system differently. It been mentioned before that Intel system don't really get a huge difference in performance when 1600MHz is used or 2400MHz, maybe a few frames in some application but hardly in games. How it affects AMD systems we do not know, but do not overkill yourself with the RAM since AMD APU supports up to 2133MHz RAM. The rest like HDD and OS, etc. are up to your choice.

What CPU should I use?

As it stands, the bare minimum CPU you should be using is the Intel Core 2 Quad or Quad Extreme and above CPUs.
If you can’t afford any Quad Core CPUs due to cost
the Dual Core with Hypertreading like the i3 will also do the trick

What is Hypertreading?
Creating more treads from the usual single tread to simulate multiple CPUs
Look here for the video



the Core i3 from the 4th generation Haswell will be a good CPU to use for most games except high demanding games like Fallout 4, Far Cry 4, Witcher 3 and Dragon Age Inquisition.

How much RAM should I have?
4GB is the lowest you should go in PC.
If you currently have 4GB of RAM, suggest adding up to 8GB of RAM and above but make sure your OS can support more than 4GB. 32Bit OS can only use up to 3GB RAM. The rest will be system reserved and will be wasted.
The recommended capacity for RAM is 8GB that is if you count Windows OS plus other background tasks running when you play MW:O.

Use task manager or Performance manager to gauge the amount of RAM used before playing MWO like when you boot up the PC and after playing MWO to see the difference.

16 GB will be plenty to run MWO along with streaming software but take note of the CPU load if you are using CPU only power applications like Fraps. Shadowplay and AMD Raptr uses the GPU to record videos.



The next upgrade for your PC should be the GPU
If possible try to upgrade the GPU for your system first, usually a faster GPU will drastically improve frame rate of the game.
But hold on a sec, before you drop in a new GPU. Check that your power supply unit is up to the job.
Most new GPU need at least a stable power rail direct from the PSU. Usually supplied by the 8 or 6+2 pin PCI-E plug.

If your PSU is really old, then you will have to invest on a good PSU. Go for at least 500 to 600 watt minimum certified Bronze and above as these GPU do draw a lot of current at full load.

What GPU should I use or get?

Good question but this needs to be covered into 2 sections, one for desktop and the other for laptops.
Desktop GPUs


Many have this misconception that a 4GB GPU will perform better in game than a GPU with 2GB VRAM

This is really WRONG!!!
You need to look at the model number of the GPU to determine which is faster
Geforce GT740 4GB vs GTX760 2GB

Using the above example is what you may see in PC spec when you are looking at pre-built PC.

It looks like the 4GB card is better but I can assure you the GT740 way slower than the GTX760 GPU on the right
nVidia usually uses a higher number to denote a better GPU, also the GTX term may also indicate a true gaming grade GPU over the GT which are considered to be entry level GPU. Note that I say may indicate as there are models like the GTX850M which is actually a GDDR3 GPU instead of the GDDR5 GPU.

Same goes for the AMD side
HD6450 2GB vs HD7750 1GB or R7 250 4GB vs R7 265 2GB
AMD naming scheme is easier to identify as the higher the model number, the more powerful the GPU is


Laptop GPUs
This is where it gets tricky
Like I mentioned in the GPU model number naming scheme in the previous section.

The mobile lineup of GPUs can be confusing due to the sheer number of models and type of video memory used.
You can find a list of all the GPUs here
http://www.notebookc...ds.13849.0.html
http://www.notebookc...ards.130.0.html
http://www.notebookc...List.844.0.html

First and for most,
There is no way Intel Integrated Graphics or even Iris Pro graphics can allow you to play Crysis 3 on med to high settings unless you pretty much want run everything at low detail which won't look pleasing to the eyes.

For laptop variants of the GPU you will need to look at least the graphics series and above to get decent frame rates. Best avoid the graphics series like the GT series for nVidia and for Mobility Radeon avoid anything below HD7670 or HD8730. Why you may ask is because the GPU clocks speed of all the GPU are way below the desktop variant and another reason is that the VRAM they used are only DDR3 and in some cases, the GPU actually make use of the system RAM for rendering the graphics and frames. Only the GTX series GPU uses GDDR5 for graphics memory. You will see some laptop comes with 1, 2, 3 and even 4 GB of graphics RAM but do check out what kind of graphics RAM it uses.
If possible look for GPU which uses GDDR5 but it will cost a lot more compared to mainstream laptops. Another reason for companies to use lower end GT series GPU is that the GPU is soldered to the main board which reduces cost since they are able to buy the main board included with GPU in bulk. And they are able to fit into the small chassis of the Ultrabook without the extra thickness to house the separate GPU board.

Part List for Desktops
I will make a part list of builds based on the budget of 500 all the way to 1000 dollars
But the link below have builds which are better and depend on sale items to get the best deals for the week or months
http://mwomercs.com/...s-500-1000-100/

This is my take of the 500+ dollar budget build with OS but minus the monitor, keyboard and mouse.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($68.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X+ BTC ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($66.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 370 2GB Video Card ($119.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($82.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $545.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-16 02:24 EST-0500

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($111.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($66.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0 Video Card ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($82.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $577.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-17 21:26 EST-0500




PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($125.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H170M-E D3 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($66.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($82.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $721.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-16 02:40 EST-0500



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($273.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($106.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($66.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB PCS+ Video Card ($283.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($82.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1015.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-16 02:43 EST-0500



Laptop buying guide
Hey I need a PC that can play MWO but I need a laptop which doubles up as my school computer


Well if you need a computer to carry around and still want to game on it. Be at least prepared to pay much higher price compare to the desktop to get the same results.

For Laptops, I would pretty much say you will need something like the below

Mobile Dual Core CPU with HT at 2.4GHz and above
Windows 7 64 Bit with Service Pack 1
8GB System RAM
nVidia Geforce GTX480M/GTX560M/GT650M/GT750M/GT850M/GT940M and above with at least 2GB to 4GB Video RAM
AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7670M/8730M and above with at least 2GB Video RAM
Direct X 9.0c or DX11
8GB++ HDD space including patches

It does look similar to the desktop but do note that laptops are pretty much lower clocked variants of the usual CPU. Intel mainstream Laptop CPU are clocked from 1.7GHz up to 3GHz with Dual Core and Quad Core variants. But for MWO, the suggested CPU to use is a quad core CPU with at least 2.4GHz to be sure you get enough power to run any high demanding games. But I was able to play Mechwarrior Online using an Intel i5 Core 3337U processor which is a Dual core with HT.

key points to look out for mobile CPUs

Not all CPUs are the same

generally mobile CPUs labled Ultra low voltage are generally downclocked to reduce power draw especially when running on battery mode.

and CPU which carriesthe M,U and Y sufix are generally dual cores

and CPU which carries the EQ,HQ,MQ, and X are Quad Cores

Another thing to point out is that you may be limited to smaller capacity RAM compare to desktops.

Also be wary of laptops that does not have a dedicated GPU, avoid them if you are looking for a gaming laptop. Also avoid laptops which feature pretty low power GPU as well like GT820M,GT920M.

some laptop may be using AMD GPUs

look at the model of the GPU and compare it using the tier list below

http://www.notebookc...List.844.0.html

Chosing the right is the tricky part because of the sheer number of laptops brand as well as models of laptop with different specifications. So chose carefully and not regret later.


Guide for buying Laptops

All my talk about laptops, the most important thing that you need to consider about is your budget and the detail use of the laptop. Without it, you are pretty much led by the salespersons who will sweet talk you into buying the wrong laptop that you will regret buying the moment you want to run any games until you noticed it only has integrated Intel Graphics.

I will give you a low down on things to note before letting the salesperson take your cash for the laptop.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/
http://www.notebookc...ds.13849.0.html
http://www.notebookc...ards.130.0.html
http://www.notebookc...nics.123.0.html

Above are the links are for the guide for laptops CPU and GPU models and their technical specifications sheet. They even include the test of each laptop system on many games and applications. They do give a detail review for each of the GPU performance against similar classed GPU and the games it can support and in addition which notebook carries that GPU model. Give a check on the first link to check out the details of the laptop you are going to buy.

Give a rough estimate of the amount you want to spend and the features you need on this laptop, do you need touch screen or a really big screen laptop? Do you need an anti-glare screen? Do you really need those back-lit keyboards?
Drop by the computer store and touch the laptops they you are intending to buy to see if it feels good to the touch like the keyboard especially the frequently used keys, the placement of the touch pad, the location of the USB, DVD-writer.
Test to see if the screen is clear under the strong room light. Also feel the weight of the laptop to see if you are able to carry it around. And measure the size of the laptop and see if the laptop is able to fit into your current bag or you might need to buy a bigger laptop bag.
Another point to note is the placement of the heat vents, I have seen designs where the heat is vented out to the right side where you place your mouse.
Again at the computer store place you hand on the palm rest area below the keyboard and feel if the area is very warm or not. My old Acer laptop have the HDD situated below the touch pad and that area is really hot thanks to by 7200rpm HDD there. As the computer is switch on for long periods of time you will be able to feel if the overall temperature of the laptop will be any issue in certain environments.


Once you have purchased the laptop, please do remember to fully charge the laptop's battery before even switching it on. If possible, uninstall any unnecessary bloat-ware that came with the new laptop like trial software, etc. and install you own anti-virus if it does not come with it and some PC maintenance software to keep the computer in shape.

Install MW:O and Happy Gaming
See you in the battlefield
Regards
Dragoon20005

Edited by Dragoon20005, 17 November 2015 - 06:51 PM.

[Flapdrol]

I'd probably go for 2x4GB kits, so you have dualchannel.

[Dragoon20005]

Flapdrol, on 16 November 2015 - 02:51 AM, said:

I'd probably go for 2x4GB kits, so you have dualchannel.

while it suggested to get dual kits

but most of the time

dual channel only affects applications like video rendering or video conversion

it dont really affect gaming i any way

also when you want to add more RAM

you have more open slot to add RAM

and if you were to add like one stick of 8GB to a 8GB kit

you will drop to single channel since there is an odd number of RAM

and also they are not of the same capacity as Dual channel need similar capacity, speed and voltages

[xWiredx]

So... since you've been gone we've done a lot of thinking, tinkering, and testing... Here's what we know, and what has now been parroted over 9000 times:

If you've got a Core2Quad or any stock AMD CPU, you're gonna have a bad time. MWO loves IPC over all other things. The newer the architecture and the faster the clockspeed, the better the CPU. A Haswell-based Pentium anniversary edition unlocked CPU at 4.5GhZ will perform as good if not a little bit better than an FX6300. That's 2 cores vs. 6 "cores". Thus, for CPU evaluation, you should first ask yourself "is this an Intel Nehalem or newer chip, or something else?" If the answer is "something else" be prepared to drop your CPU-bound settings down to low or medium. Those settings are particles, shadows, and environment.

If you've got something slower than a GTX 750/Radeon HD R260X, you're gonna have a bad time. MWO loves raw GPU horsepower as well as VRAM bandwidth and amount. When playing in Community Warfare, at 1080p with Very High settings MWO will take a hair over 3GB of VRAM. Obviously, this being a game, the rest is self-explanatory. If you've got something slower than the above, or you're sitting below 2GB of VRAM, you're going to need to start lowering the graphics-bound settings (which is basically everything that isn't CPU-bound a la mentioned above).

If you've got 4GB of system RAM or your system RAM is slower than DDR3-1600 (or DDR3-1866 for AMD users), then you're gonna have a bad time. While games are generally not RAM-bound (RAM-bound is a pretty specific and rare condition these days), you're losing a few FPS for sure if you've got slower RAM and your system will hate you if you've got 4GB when MWO can easily take over 1.2GB itself or more during extended play periods. The recommendation here is to get 8GB of the fastest RAM you can afford (and DDR3 is super cheap so you can afford the extra $5 to go with DDR3-2133 instead of DDR3-1866). If you're on a DDR4 platform, DDR4-2666 or better and triple-channel or better will do just fine.

HDD vs SSD - the only thing the SSD helps is loading times. It doesn't give any FPS improvement, but since they're getting cheaper there's little reason not to get one for a new build (and salvage any existing HDD you might have while you save a few more pennies to get a new storage drive).

[Windscape]

i can run mwo AT 20FPS average with a

1st gen intel I7 m640 2.8 GHZ
nividia nvs 3100m (has only 16 cuda cores lol)
25fps on testing grounds
15fps in intense battles
and these were on my laptop for $250. not a bad deal

our desktop
intel I7 2600k
radeon 7950boost (compare this with a newer R9 280 or 380)

mid to high graphics i run a smooth 60fps (may lag a bit in a super intense battle

we do plan to upgrade (and if your wondering who "we" is, thats my father
our vid card to a
nvidia gtx 970
or maybe try and run 2 gtx 950's!
anything better is just overkill

and also, i has another PC
with a
intel i5 2500
nvida gt 430
gt 430 is a decent enough video card to allow me to get 50 fps by lowering my monitor resolution to 720p and set all the game graphics low

Edited by Windscape, 27 January 2016 - 11:26 PM.

[xWiredx]

Windscape, on 16 November 2015 - 07:09 PM, said:

i can run mwo AT 20FPS average with a

1st gen intel I7 2.8 GHz
nividia nvs 3100m (has only 16 cuda cores lol)
25fps on testing grounds
15fps in intense battles
and these were on my laptop for $250. not a bad deal

our desktop
intel I7 sandybridge (don't know the GHz didn't build it )
radeon 7950 (compare this with a newer R9 280 or 380)

mid to high graphics i run a smooth 60fps (may lag a bit in a super intense battle

we do plan to upgrade (and if your wondering who "we" is, thats my father
our vid card to a
nvidia gtx 970
or maybe try and run 2 gtx 950's!
anything better is just overkill

That's something I forgot to mention. Though SLI is supported, it has some issues and I would highly recommend getting a single powerful card over 2 less powerful cards in SLI. Thank you for the reminder.

[Windscape]

really tho, id only run 2 graphics cards if there was a deal on em and the motherboard supports it

oh and your welcome
although its just an idea

[Dragoon20005]

xWiredx, on 16 November 2015 - 06:52 PM, said:

So... since you've been gone we've done a lot of thinking, tinkering, and testing... Here's what we know, and what has now been parroted over 9000 times:

If you've got a Core2Quad or any stock AMD CPU, you're gonna have a bad time. MWO loves IPC over all other things. The newer the architecture and the faster the clockspeed, the better the CPU. A Haswell-based Pentium anniversary edition unlocked CPU at 4.5GhZ will perform as good if not a little bit better than an FX6300. That's 2 cores vs. 6 "cores". Thus, for CPU evaluation, you should first ask yourself "is this an Intel Nehalem or newer chip, or something else?" If the answer is "something else" be prepared to drop your CPU-bound settings down to low or medium. Those settings are particles, shadows, and environment.

If you've got something slower than a GTX 750/Radeon HD R260X, you're gonna have a bad time. MWO loves raw GPU horsepower as well as VRAM bandwidth and amount. When playing in Community Warfare, at 1080p with Very High settings MWO will take a hair over 3GB of VRAM. Obviously, this being a game, the rest is self-explanatory. If you've got something slower than the above, or you're sitting below 2GB of VRAM, you're going to need to start lowering the graphics-bound settings (which is basically everything that isn't CPU-bound a la mentioned above).

If you've got 4GB of system RAM or your system RAM is slower than DDR3-1600 (or DDR3-1866 for AMD users), then you're gonna have a bad time. While games are generally not RAM-bound (RAM-bound is a pretty specific and rare condition these days), you're losing a few FPS for sure if you've got slower RAM and your system will hate you if you've got 4GB when MWO can easily take over 1.2GB itself or more during extended play periods. The recommendation here is to get 8GB of the fastest RAM you can afford (and DDR3 is super cheap so you can afford the extra $5 to go with DDR3-2133 instead of DDR3-1866). If you're on a DDR4 platform, DDR4-2666 or better and triple-channel or better will do just fine.

HDD vs SSD - the only thing the SSD helps is loading times. It doesn't give any FPS improvement, but since they're getting cheaper there's little reason not to get one for a new build (and salvage any existing HDD you might have while you save a few more pennies to get a new storage drive).

that good that you guy have done the research as well

sorry for the long wait for the updated guide as i have been away with studies and work

generally the guide is to cater to mechwarriors with med range hardware

as it stands the Q6600 is the minimum CPU to play this game at 720P med with a decent GPU like the GTX750Ti

this combo should still be able to hold its own till they have the budget to overhaul the system.


So far i have yet to see actual gameplay footage of mechwarrior using the Pentium G3258

but video comparision shows the Pentium at 4.5GHz that is paired with a GTX760 is still doable in Crysis 3

but when compared to the quad core brothers, you will noticed the frame rates dropping during those intense fights

lowering the particles, shadows, and environment from high to med or low will help

while the GTX750 is classed as a GTX gaming GPU, it still falls short of awsome in terms of price to power performance

which is why i pointed out that the minimum Geforce GPU to grab is the 750Ti

now with the recent release of the GTX950 with prices coming close to $120+

the GTX950 trades blows with the R9 270/X in most games

making the gamer choice of budget GPU to get if you are after low power draw and low heat output GPUs over higher power draw of the Radeons

as for VRAM usage

generally since most gamer uses 1080P monitors, I will always use the VRAM usage at the resolution

1080P Med to High is doable with 2GB VRAM in which both the GTX750Ti and R9 270/X are the suggested GPUs

very high and Ultra will need at least 3GB or 4GB of VRAM and the suggested GPU to get is the GTX780/GTX960/GTX970 and R9 280/X/380

if you are going for higher resolution like 1440P and higher, then you are looking at the GTX980/Ti and the R9 390/X and the Fury/X class GPUs.

unlike Crysis 3 which is optimized for SLi

this game either love or hate your multi GPU setups unless you are able to tinker with config files

also SLi mid power GPU is not advise due to the VRAM bottleneck like in the case of the 2GB VRAM limit of the GTX950s.



as for RAM speed

I always link the video from Linustechtips about RAM speed and if they matter



I will add more info as members like Goose can come in to suggest builds

[Flapdrol]

Dragoon20005, on 16 November 2015 - 10:39 PM, said:

So far i have yet to see actual gameplay footage of mechwarrior using the Pentium G3258

Recorded some over a year ago.


Can't record anymore, since I swapped out the pentium for a 4670K (at 4.4), performs noticably better at higher settings, but similar at lower settings. (I guess graphics is better multithreaded than gameplay, or just a different thread).

I've not seen i3's tested but I suspect on lower settings they could outperfom non K i5's (slightly) because of the higher stock clocks.

Edited by Flapdrol, 17 November 2015 - 02:57 AM.

[Dragoon20005]

Flapdrol, on 17 November 2015 - 02:51 AM, said:

Recorded some over a year ago.


Can't record anymore, since I swapped out the pentium for a 4670K (at 4.4), performs noticably better at higher settings, but similar at lower settings. (I guess graphics is better multithreaded than gameplay, or just a different thread).

I've not seen i3's tested but I suspect on lower settings they could outperfom non K i5's (slightly) because of the higher stock clocks.

what were the rest of the spec of the system other than the CPU

[xWiredx]

Dragoon20005, on 16 November 2015 - 10:39 PM, said:

as for RAM speed

I always link the video from Linustechtips about RAM speed and if they matter

I agree on everything you said, but I disagree with Linus. For MWO, it seems like the sweet spot is DDR3-1866 with a CL9 or lower. DDR3-1600 will lose you 1-2fps on average, and DDR3-1333 will lose you another 1-3fps on average. For DDR4 (I tested with tripled and quadruple channel) DDR4-2666 CL15 is about the same as DDR3-1866 CL9. I currently run my kit at DDR4-2806 CL16 and while it benchmarks better I'm pretty certain it doesn't actually matter to MWO because quadruple channel already offers ridiculous bandwidth. Again, for AMD users, whose chips have worse memory controllers, I wouldn't get less than DDR3-1866 and I would definitely consider paying the extra $5 to bump it up to DDR3-2133.

[Kshat]

xWiredx, on 16 November 2015 - 06:52 PM, said:

While games are generally not RAM-bound (RAM-bound is a pretty specific and rare condition these days)

Every software which heavily utilizes the CPU tends to need fast RAM - and "plenty enough of it".
And, since we're talking about PC-parts, we're mostly talking about bottlenecks.
In MW:O, there are several bottlenecks. Like, VRAM. You always need 2GB, even if your GPU would be fast enough processor-wise, less than 2GB VRAM will result in periodic framedrops. Like, your PC freezes every ten seconds and will stutter "back to life".
MW:O is, like most MMOs, rather demanding on the CPU-side. Usually whilst playing MW:O, my RAM-usage jumps up about five to six gigs, and my pagefile usage increases by six gigs.
So, 8GB RAM is recommended. Not using Dualchannel will result in ~5% less performance. Sounds not much, but to get 5% more FPS, usually you would have to invest a not negligible amount of money. Using Dualchannel is a cheap and easy way to avoid this. It costs nothing.
And, regarding RAM... there are two rules of thumb which one should now:
- if you got not enough RAM, the repercussions will be hefty. Regardless the speed/quality of every other component in your PC.
- the amount of RAM which you definitely need is not the same size of RAM by which you can't notice an improvement. If you need 8GB RAM, you're always better of with 16GB. And there can be still a few percent gained by using 32GB. That is due to the very nature of RAM: it's a cache. And if your system (theoretically) could cache every single bit needed in your fastest data storage (=RAM),, you've hit the sweetspot. That's what a RAMdisk is for. And that's why Optane looks so sweet.
Henceforth there is a saying: there is no such thing as "enough RAM".

If you build a cheap system, use almost the minimum amount of RAM. But if you invest a large amount fo money for your CPU alone, it is hilarious to reduce their potential power by a large margin because you're cheap on RAM.

P.S.: I still got one of my old rigs with a Q6600 running for office work and stuff - and this rig "inherited" the old GPU of my gaming rig. Therefore I could easily see how MW:O performs on an old CPU, because I knew that the GPU does well.
I tried MW:O on the Q6600, out of interest. But I wouldn't play it on that machine. On the Q6600, MW:O is heavily CPU-bound. Even with everything reduced to the minimum, every single movement feels somewhat sloppy. As if you're drunk. And the slightest particle kills performance. Or action. Entering a firefight feels like rubberbanding heaven.
I think I had tried it during cloesd beta on the Q6600 and it performed more or less decently. But today: don't do it. It spoils the fun.
Get a used Sandy Bridge Quad for cheap money and you're good to go.

Edited by Kshat, 17 November 2015 - 08:04 AM.

[xWiredx]

Kshat, on 17 November 2015 - 07:55 AM, said:

snip

We covered the VRAM pretty well already. 2GB is fine until you're at 1080p AND high settings. Once you're there, you need at least 3GB but ideally should go with a card that has 4GB.

System RAM is definitely cheap and there's really no reason to only have 4GB anymore. 8GB is only a few dollars more, and 8GB of the really fast stuff is only a few more dollars yet.

I think your RAM and pagefile usage is kind of high. I definitely don't see that much usage on my system with MWO, Firefox, and TeamSpeak going.

Single channel vs dual channel I tested myself once upon a time (about a year ago now). There is zero difference in MWO. Performance was within a 1% margin between 8GB single-channel and 16GB dual-channel. The only time I finally saw a difference was when I changed the BIOS settings from DDR3-1600 CL11 to DDR3-1866 CL9 (the DDR3-1600 CL11 was from the old bargain bin RAM stick that came stock with my laptop).

Also, you're basically completely wrong about "there is no such thing as enough RAM". There certainly is. That limit is where motherboard, chipset, or OS limitations set in. Even if a motherboard has capacity for 64GB, if there is a tested limitation at 32GB, do not put 64GB in. Why? You start seeing strange things happen. In that scenario, 32GB is enough. That is the limit of your platform.

Sandy Bridge CPUs are awesome. I had a golden 2600K that could do 5050MhZ on water and was very happy with it. Unfortunately, it is also a pretty decent amount behind Skylake in IPC. A 4.4GhZ SB chip is the equivalent of like... a 3.9GhZ SL chip. I'm not sure what used prices for 2600K and 2700K chips are, but a used Haswell or new Skylake chip might still be a better bet for some people.

[Flapdrol]

Dragoon20005, on 17 November 2015 - 03:19 AM, said:

what were the rest of the spec of the system other than the CPU

Is that relevant?

pentium on 4.6 I think, 4.2 uncore?
2x4GB ddr3-1333 cl 7
gtx670, used shadowplay for the recording
H81 board
ssd

[Sparkymarkyp]

I haven't got a clue about what most of what you guys are saying but the effort you have put in to help the community and their builds is awesome.
+1
o7

[MavRCK]

This is a great guide.

For laptops the key issues are:

1) CPU - even some i7s and most i5 or i3 cpus are dual-core! Make sure to check that the cpu is a quad core!
2) GPU - the minimum mobile gpu that plays at 60 fps / 1080p is the nvidia gtx 860m (the gtx 960m is a rebrand)
3) Thermal throttling - mobile cpus throttle down further than desktop cpus ie. from 2.5ghx from 3.5 ghz which is 1/3rd your fps! Using a throttling control program such as Throttlestop is a must! A consistent 3.2 ghz is more important than a fluctuating cpu between 2.5 - 3.5 ghz.

The best price/performance laptop I have researched over the past year is (still) the Lenovo Y50 with the 860m or 960m. About $1000 Canadian Dollars / $800 - 900 USD.

Feel free to copy and paste whatever information you would like from my guide: http://mwomercs.com/...710hq-gtx-860m/

Great guide. Well done.

MavRCK

Edited by MavRCK, 17 November 2015 - 01:42 PM.

[Dragoon20005]

MavRCK, on 17 November 2015 - 01:36 PM, said:

This is a great guide.

For laptops the key issues are:

1) CPU - even some i7s and most i5 or i3 cpus are dual-core! Make sure to check that the cpu is a quad core!
2) GPU - the minimum mobile gpu that plays at 60 fps / 1080p is the nvidia gtx 860m (the gtx 960m is a rebrand)
3) Thermal throttling - mobile cpus throttle down further than desktop cpus ie. from 2.5ghx from 3.5 ghz which is 1/3rd your fps! Using a throttling control program such as Throttlestop is a must! A consistent 3.2 ghz is more important than a fluctuating cpu between 2.5 - 3.5 ghz.

The best price/performance laptop I have researched over the past year is (still) the Lenovo Y50 with the 860m or 960m. About $1000 Canadian Dollars / $800 - 900 USD.

Feel free to copy and paste whatever information you would like from my guide: http://mwomercs.com/...710hq-gtx-860m/

Great guide. Well done.

MavRCK

welp

yea those U series or ULV are dual cores with HT

those ending with HQ are pure quad cores with 8 treads. Zomg!!!

about the minimum GPU

the GTX850M is still doable because some models of laptop like my Dell 15R is just a HD screen so I only game at 720P res

there were instances a weak GPU is paired with a full HD screen, user who think the GPU could handle 1080P are sorely disappointed.

strange my i5-3337U didnt show signs of throttling

maybe because of my huge ass laptop cooler from CoolerMaster aka CMStrom SF-17

does that app work on Windows 8,8.1 and 10?

Thanks i will add more info for the laptops

[Dragoon20005]

xWiredx, on 17 November 2015 - 06:47 AM, said:

snip

http://techbuyersgur...00-games?page=2

http://www.overclock...rhead-scenarios

Ok looking at the graphs for Crysis 3 since it the same engine

now i see a difference between 1333MHz, 1600Mhz up to 2400MHz

minimum fps difference of 7 fps?!

going from single channel to dual channel only affects like 1% increase in performance.

but seems like it only affects Crysis 3 more than other games

Kshat, on 17 November 2015 - 07:55 AM, said:

snip

unless you like Linus who need to render tons of 4K videos

16GB is more than enough for the general consumer

64GB will not be enough for me

no serious, because i am diving into Photoshop and video editing as well

[MavRCK]

yea those U series or ULV are dual cores with HT

those ending with HQ are pure quad cores with 8 treads. Zomg!!!

about the minimum GPU

the GTX850M is still doable because some models of laptop like my Dell 15R is just a HD screen so I only game at 720P res

exactly 720p

there were instances a weak GPU is paired with a full HD screen, user who think the GPU could handle 1080P are sorely disappointed.

yes min gpu for 1080p laptop gaming is 860m

strange my i5-3337U didnt show signs of throttling

maybe because of my huge ass laptop cooler from CoolerMaster aka CMStrom SF-17

exactly

does that app work on Windows 8,8.1 and 10?


--- yes -- http://forum.noteboo...p-guide.531329/

Thanks i will add more info for the laptops