34 replies to this topic

[1 TS 1]

Hello there,

I'm building a new midrange gaming PC. I pretty much only play MWO. From reading around it sounds like both CPU and GPU are important for this game. With that in mind, I found two systems that I'm considering (both packages on Newegg). what do you guys think?

http://www.newegg.co...t=Combo.1413489
i5 Haswell 4430 3.0 Ghz
B85 mobo
GTX 650Ti 1 GB
4 GB mem
$589 - 10

http://www.newegg.co...t=Combo.1455203
i5 Haswell 4670 3.4GHz (this combo is overclockable right?) -- answered below. it is not! needs k suffix
Z87 mobo
GTX 660 2 GB
8GB mem
$779 - 20


I've also found this page
http://gamegpu.ru/mm...e-test-gpu.html
use google translate. Looks like the second system is well worth the extra $180

where would I run into limits in the future with DX11 and whatnot?

If I had to mix and match for this game would it be better to take the higher end processor or higher end graphics card?

Thanks for your help.

Edited by 1 TS 1, 21 December 2013 - 08:52 PM.

[Loc Nar]

My input is use pcpartpicker's online building tool (think smurfys for computer parts) for everyone that wants to help. Otherwise it's such a drag to sift through all the separate links and try to make sense of people's builds they suggest.

[Goose]

The later package makes a much better starting point.

I've seen signs that HyperThreading is a boon to this game.

No one can guess what video card is enough or too much, now, under DX9, or three months when we have DX11 to play on.

There's a far amount of evidence the game doesn't like any non-overclocked CPU, so you might want to think some more about CPU cooler, case, and power supply.

Good Luck!

[BP Raven]

Remember with intel CPUs that the ones without the K suffix are locked into their clock speed, so not overclock-able

[Catamount]

Good points all around by the above posters.

I can't say it's normal to buy an entire PC just to play MWO (that's dedication!), but there's no reason one can't do it, so here are the considerations in that case: MWO is GPU-intensive, but not GPU-dependent. It'll make anything it's run on sweat like crazy, but doesn't actually require that powerful a GPU. An HD 5870/GTX 480 is sufficient to play the game on High or Very High settings at good framerates. It is, however, very CPU-dependent. I don't know if anything's changed lately, but the requirement for a long time for staying at or near 60fps, regardless of settings, has been a Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge/Haswell quad core chip running at ~4ghz.

Can you get there? Well, OP, the first thing we need is a budget. What would you consider ideal to spend? What might you be willing to stretch that to if the idea budget wasn't quite enough?

Edited by Catamount, 21 December 2013 - 08:33 PM.

[Smitti]

I bought my pc just for MWO:P

Originally had an i5 3470 and GTX660 2gb, and got reasonable performance out of it (40-75 fps, with dips to 30 under heavy combat, that was 12 v 12 too). Never mind that now nothing of the original build remains except for the case...

[1 TS 1]

Smittiferous, on 21 December 2013 - 08:47 PM, said:

I bought my pc just for MWO:P

Originally had an i5 3470 and GTX660 2gb, and got reasonable performance out of it (40-75 fps, with dips to 30 under heavy combat, that was 12 v 12 too). Never mind that now nothing of the original build remains except for the case...

Ohh, that's good info. looks like you started with almost exactly what I'm looking at in the higher spec option.

Do you think an overclocked i5 4670K is better than the stock i7 4770? The difference is the hyperthreading on the i7 which isn't on the i5 correct (and the extra 0.1 Ghz)?

I could downgrade the graphics and level up the cpu. It'd probably be easier to replace the GPU in the future also.

Well my original budget was to try to get it less than $600. Now I'm not so sure. Certainly not more than $799. I'll have to see what other options I can find with the $799 price range, looking into better CPU with lower GPU.

Target is to run max settings with at least 720P and get stable 50 fps or so. maybe that second option i posted can do it.

I'll get the pcpartpicker links going sometime soon.

thanks for all the advice so far

[Catamount]

1 TS 1, on 21 December 2013 - 09:05 PM, said:

Ohh, that's good info. looks like you started with almost exactly what I'm looking at in the higher spec option.

Do you think an overclocked i5 4670K is better than the stock i7 4770? The difference is the hyperthreading on the i7 which isn't on the i5 correct (and the extra 0.1 Ghz)?

Yes, an OCed i5 is better. MWO will not use the extra threads, but it will gobble up clock speed. It's rather quizzical. It hates anything below a quad core (haven't tried triple core CPUs since they're uncommon), but doesn't care for anything more. It's very highly specific in that regard.

So yeah, the i7 is only really different because of HT, and MWO doesn't care about HT.

Quote

I could downgrade the graphics and level up the cpu. It'd probably be easier to replace the GPU in the future also.

Well my original budget was to try to get it less than $600. Now I'm not so sure. Certainly not more than $799. I'll have to see what other options I can find with the $799 price range, looking into better CPU with lower GPU.

So ideal budget is $600 and stretch budget is $800, got it.

I'll post up a build tomorrow. It's past midnight here and I'm too tired for now

Quote

Target is to run max settings with at least 720P and get stable 50 fps or so. maybe that second option i posted can do it.

That second build is okay. With the discount it's a decent deal. We could give better parts though, and probably not go above that price. I'd personally start by not getting a RAIDMAX PSU (only a of theirs are decent).

Like I said, I'll throw something together early tomorrow.

Edited by Catamount, 21 December 2013 - 09:18 PM.

[1 TS 1]

Catamount, on 21 December 2013 - 09:18 PM, said:

Yes, an OCed i5 is better. MWO will not use the extra threads, but it will gobble up clock speed. It's rather quizzical. It hates anything below a quad core (haven't tried triple core CPUs since they're uncommon), but doesn't care for anything more. It's very highly specific in that regard.

So yeah, the i7 is only really different because of HT, and MWO doesn't care about HT.



So ideal budget is $600 and stretch budget is $800, got it.

I'll post up a build tomorrow. It's past midnight here and I'm too tired for now


That second build is okay. With the discount it's a decent deal. We could give better parts though, and probably not go above that price. I'd personally start by not getting a RAIDMAX PSU (only a of theirs are decent).

Like I said, I'll throw something together early tomorrow.

Oh awesome! I'll be waiting. I started a build with a i5-4670K on pcpartpicker.com, but left off the CPU cooler, case and power supply, these I know very little about. Of course I'd consider substitutions in any other area, just trying to do my part. No need for an optical drive.

After the mobo is finalized i need to find a wireless network card also.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2o5EJ

I also stumbled across this deal with a I5 - 3570K which I read somewhere really isn't that much different from the 4670K. http://www.newegg.co...t=Combo.1291151.

The newegg link with a gtx 650ti leaves me with $156 for the case and cooling. The pcpart picker link is $113 left for both case and cooling. (I'm also ignoring OS because I can get it cheap through work I think).

I should add that my wife will hate it if it's really noisy, not a good requirement if I'll be overclocking I know but quiet would be worth a little extra money. Also I'd like to have room with the power supply to upgrade the graphics card in the future (unless I end up with something better than a 650ti now).

Edited by 1 TS 1, 21 December 2013 - 10:21 PM.

[Goose]

http://www.tomshardw...ock,3106-4.html

http://www.tomshardw...icleType=review

http://www.silentpcr.../section12.html

Pacifying Significant Others over new comps typically involves impressing them with the boot performance of an SSD, but you've got budget issues, so I see a $50 case in your future. http://www.tomshardw...hmark,3269.html

[VikingN1nja]

2nd one for sure a 3.4 intel is fast enough and the 660 is way better than 650.

[Sen]

Quote

I should add that my wife will hate it if it's really noisy

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835181042

These with a closed loop watercooling system like the Corsair H80i/100i or Kraken equivilant. Nearly silent, yet amazingly effecient.

Granted, it'll take a chunk out of your budget, but that's a small price to pay for avoiding wife aggro

Good luck finding a quiet GPU tho. . . .

Edited by Sen, 22 December 2013 - 07:41 AM.

[Barbaric Soul]

My suggestion- http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2odAK

[1 TS 1]

You guys are great. thanks for all the good reading and suggestions.

My current selection
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2oe1S

I have a microcenter within driving distance where I can get the i7 and mobo for 371 instead of 440. (so subtract 69, brings me to almost exactly $800).

I could drop back down to the i5 for 297 instead of 371. What to do with the extra $74 if I did?

Like always, I'll consider any substitutions
(I'm still thinking about that radeon card, videocardbenchmark.net has it (R9 - 270x?) being quite a bit more powerful than the 650ti, for only $40 more).

[Barbaric Soul]

The 270 and 270X are both considerably more powerful than the 650ti, here's a review showing the difference between the cards - http://www.techpower...u_II_OC/26.html

It would be to your advantage gaming wise to go with a i5 CPU and a more powerful video card. BTW, you can save another $20 with my build by getting the 4670k for $199 at Microcenter.

Edited by Barbaric Soul, 22 December 2013 - 08:30 AM.

[Catamount]

I completely concur with Barbaric's build. That's the kind of thing I was going to throw together; he just beat me to it.

OP, his GPU is not only more powerful than what you had picked out, but you'll get nothing out of that 3770k in MWO. All that hyper threading will do is produce more heat for you to contend with in overclocking, oh and cost you $50-100 . He's got a really low-priced but decent PSU picked out, he's managed to drop your case expense to almost zilch, honestly, I think he hit it. Just build what he linked, do a modest CPU overclock (4-4.2? Whatever you can get without increasing voltage), and things will be good.

Edited by Catamount, 22 December 2013 - 08:54 AM.

[Summon3r]

i am currently running an i5-4670 with 12g RAM and a gtx-660ti ..... the cpu has absolutely no issue at all running and mwo and "660ti" is a must over the normal 660. i am running the game on MAX settings in every respect no issue at all. go with the i5 and put your savings into a good gpu.

[Goose]

http://www.tomshardw...iew,3107-4.html

I still recommend i7s, but your budget is kind'a tight …

[Barbaric Soul]

Quote

I still recommend i7s, but your budget is kind'a tight …

Why? i7 generally offers no performance gain over i5 in gaming- http://www.techpower...mparison/8.html

Edited by Barbaric Soul, 22 December 2013 - 09:26 AM.

[1 TS 1]

Barbaric Soul, on 22 December 2013 - 09:25 AM, said:

Why? i7 generally offers no performance gain over i5 in gaming- http://www.techpower...mparison/8.html

Also,
http://gamegpu.ru/mm...e-test-gpu.html
i5 and i7 are pretty much the same.

the data is a little old (2nd and 3rd gen CPU), but probably still relevant.

I'm almost done with the build. I'll post the final outcome when I'm finished. Thanks again everyone

Edited by 1 TS 1, 22 December 2013 - 09:53 AM.