13 replies to this topic

[MaradrX]

It's about that time where I replace an older machine (8 years old) with something new & awesome enough to support MWO to the best extent possible.

Any suggestions? I've looked at Newegg and HP for some good setups, however I'm mostly stuck on which GPU to get and how much memory. I'd prefer Intel, NVidia, and I'll be using Windows (likely 10) to support other functions.

Thanks in advance.

[DarkSyphonex]

Try this build.

Skylake i3's are pretty beefy if you're not willing to shell out for an i5, and should handle MWO just fine regardless of how CPU intensive the game is. To put it into perspective, my Sandy Bridge 2500K from 2011 benches around 6500 in passmark, and the 6100 benches around 5400. Combined with my GTX 970, I'm pulling out around 80-100fps on high settings, so you should definitely be hitting 60 with the specs in the link above and the cheaper GTX 950.

MWO isn't exactly the most optimized game around, but with the specs in the link you should be able to comfortably play newer games like Battlefront and Battlefield 1 at a comfortable 60fps, and the whole build is only about $600 after rebates. You can choose to drop a few things to lower the cost, like the case, which you can get for around $30. But I personally love Antec's Sonata cases and they're very much worth it. Lian-Li as well. The SSD's included because imho having one is mandatory for your OS and a few games. Once you go solid state, you never go back.

If you're not feeling the 6100, you can bump it up to the 6600 which only goes for about $100 more and is an i5. Really no need to bump it up to an i7 if all you're going to do is game. The bare minimum of memory you should have is 16GB, which will get half or 3/4's of it chewed up pretty quickly when you have any decent amount of tabs/game/applications open.

Lastly, you could skimp out even more and grab a similarly performing AMD CPU and Radeon GPU for a lower price, but I honestly detest AMD and can honestly say that you'll have less problems running games on an Nvidia GPU.

Anyway, send me a message if you need anymore help, I'll be glad to reply to any questions you may have.

EDIT: If you're further skeptical about the performance of a 6100/950 combo for MWO, I have a GTX950/Core2Quad Q9300 combo that runs MWO at around 30fps, sometimes dropping to 20-25 when the action gets going. The Q9300 is obviously the bottleneck there with a score of only 3200, but as stated above the 6100 scores around 5400, so 60fps should be easily attainable.

Edited by DarkSyphonex, 14 October 2016 - 09:02 AM.

[xWiredx]

If you're not keen on building your own system, which these days is very easy btw, then the $1000-ish systems containing entry-level Skylake i5 CPUs and GTX 1060s are definitely good enough to run MWO with a fair amount of eye candy. Might have to turn particles and shadows down to medium, but everything else should be high/very high.

[Maksed]

I bought an engineering i7 6400t 2.2 GHz for $ 140 from China, OC 3.6 GHz
Arctic Freezer 7 Pro PWM Rev.2 = 18 euro
ASRock Z170 Extreme 4 ATX = 135 euro
Palit GeForce GTX1060 Dual 6 GB = 280 euro
Crucial Ballistix LT rot 16GB DDR4 K2 2400 C16 = 75 euro
Seasonic S12II-620 Bronze 620 Watt = 65 euro
200 euro HDD+SSD+ case
140$+775 euro (992$)

Performance test MWO
https://youtu.be/EbFaAbMrERw

[Ihasa]

While I can't give custom built units any comments, if you're looking for a box unit, I'd give MSI a try. They have some pretty good stock builds, people seem to like their MoBo's and they pack in as much performance as they can for the dollars. Look for Dragon Series units, those are their game-built boxes. I like mine much more than alienware even, and MSI gets a lot of good ratings.

Cheers and good luck.

[Lord Letto]

Here's 2 Options I Found on Newegg:
i7 6700 (3.4GHz) & GTX 1060 6GB on sale for $990: http://www.newegg.co...=9SIABFS4F68393
i5 6600 (3.3GHz) & EVGA GTX 1070 8GB on sale for $1000, Sale ends in 17 Hours, Regular price is $1200: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16883102237

to get the Parts to Build One of them, but slightly better:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($102.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB 6GT OC Video Card ($249.00 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 White ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Full 32/64-bit ($82.99 @ My Choice Software)
Total: $999.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-17 09:44 EDT-0400

Edited by Lord Letto, 17 October 2016 - 05:46 AM.

[MaradrX]

Awesome, thanks so far. I think I saw the same i7 as Lord Letto, and similar at HP.com. From what I've read I think I want to have the i7, and sink most of the rest of cost into the GPU.
The GTX 1060 seems likely to work just fine for MWO as well as other games & rendering. Any issues with it and would getting something better be worthwhile?

[LennStar]

I strongly suggest getting a Quadcore CPU (=i5), since some of the newest games dont even run on a dual like the i3, regardless of HT or not. i7 is not really needed though.
For the GPU min 4GB RAM is also an important point for the future.

[xWiredx]

The GTX 1060 is essentially a GTX 980, which is more than enough to max out the GPU-bound settings in MWO at 1080p (as long as its the 6GB GTX 1060, avoid the 3GB ones).

If you CAN get an i7 instead of an i5 within the budget, do it. Otherwise, it is not required since the i5 will game handily.

[MaradrX]

Alright, going with i7 (quad), GTX 1060 6GB, and 16 GB memory. Yes, it's a little over budget, however seems worth just getting it done now, put together by someone else, and not have to fiddle with building it either. I'm looking to run EVE as well, which this seems to be capable of doing without running into issues.

I'm considering springing another $70 for a 240GB SSD to compliment a 1TB HDD... worth it?

[xWiredx]

If that SSD is Samsung, Sandisk, or Intel, it will be an excellent addition. I'm not a fan of other brands, though at this point SSD technology has come to be pretty mature so as long as the reviews are positive I don't think you'll be sorry.

[Lord Letto]

so Sandisk SSDs are Good? I Thought Top 3 were Samsung, Crucial & Intel?

[xWiredx]

Lord Letto, on 20 October 2016 - 02:27 PM, said:

so Sandisk SSDs are Good? I Thought Top 3 were Samsung, Crucial & Intel?

Lately, Sandisk has gotten their ducks in a row. Crucial... meh. Sandisk makes a better performing drive and endurance testing has been going well with them. For strictly performance I don't think there's any argument that Samsung is king of the SATA3 SSDs, and for strictly endurance I don't think there's much argument that Intel Pro SSDs are the ones to trust. Newer Sandisk SSDs perform only slightly worse and have only slightly shorter lives (and I think they're coming with 3-5 year warranties now, too).

[TK Romero]

SSD is well worth the investment. I *think* the Sandisk SSD line was bought out by Western Digital earlier this year. Might give them a look as they are re-branded Sandisks. Samsung is my go to, but got nothing bad to say about the other options.

VRAM on the GPU helps with higher resolutions 2K, 4K, etc. If for the next 8 years, like before, there are no plans on using those resolutions 3-4GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080 gaming. Otherwise, spring for the 6GB GTX 1060 others have already recommended to future proof.

I suggest a fully modular PSU, not for trends or reduced clutter, but in the scenario where the PSU could malfunction many manufacturers typically only want the brick itself for an RMA. All the modular cables can stay in the chassis for when a replacement/repair comes back from the manufacturer and the system is ready within minutes. EVGA, Seasonic, and Corsair are good choices and again fully modular is a suggestion. A semi-modular or non-modular PSU is perfectly fine, just get a good one, it's the heart of the computer.