10 replies to this topic

[Docta Pain]

My computer is waaaaaay out of date and I will be replacing it ASAP (before Aug 7th, of course). I'm not even close to being a hard core gamer, returning to it after a 10 year break, just like MW and because of MW, so I don't need the best, just whatever is recommended.

I see the recommended Graphics card is a Radeon HD 5380, but when I look it up online it shows it has 1MB dedicated RAM. I've found a deal ($450 @ OfficeMax) on an HP AMD Trinity Quad Core A8-5500 3.2GHz with a Radeon HD7560D, 8GB RAM with 4GB sharable with the GPU... nothing dedicated to the GPU.

1) Do the recommended specs assume dedicated RAM? Am I interpreting this wrong?

2) Would shared RAM be detrimental to the gameplay experience?

3) does the system I just described meet, exceed, or fall below the recommended?

[Aznpersuasion89]

A dedicated you will pretty much be useless for this game. I have a pretty cheap card that should be able to run decently if budget is concerned. I would recommend building a computer. Generally cheaper then off the shelf models and are much better performers with games. Just built a rig for around $600 that runs circles around my last rig that died and also cost me $600

[Greyrook]

"dedicated RAM" or vRAM (short for Video RAM) does not have too much effect on actual performance. Generally, higher vRAM is only necessary for larger display systems, since vRAM is essentially where the "image" of a frame is stored. Performance comes more from the rendering cores in the video card and it's clock speed. Dedicated ram is solely on the video card itself, you can't explicitly share the RAM on your board to my knowledge, and even if you could it wouldn't improve speed anyway.

Now, that HP you're looking at sounds a little too good for the money (without researching the components). I would HIGHLY, recommend building your own as it is very easy (I'm saying this from experience) and you don't have to worry about manufacturers skimping on components. For instance, in those prebuilt models, the PSU and motherboard are usually the first things they will cut cost with so they can tote better sounding CPUs and video cards. Believe you me, you want a very good certified PSU running your system. If nothing else, go over to newegg.com and look at some of the "build it yourself" packages they have and use that as a starting point.

PS: there is pretty much no reason to buy a prebuilt computer. Seriously, the only thing you have to do to build one is operate a screwdriver, and follow instructions from an online tutorial, which is basically just to show you which plug goes where. All of the separate components are self-contained, you just have to put the right plug into the right socket on the motherboard. Then, it's just a matter of loading up you operating system like you would have to do with a cheap prebuilt computer anyway and PRESTO.

Edited by Greyrook, 20 July 2012 - 03:29 PM.

[Hellgardia]

If you can keep the case (although if it is too old maybe it's not such a good idea) then you can go for something along the lines of this:

PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200 - 59.99$
Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280 - 79.99$
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 - 109.99$
RAM - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231548 - 44.99$
GFX - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814125415 - 109.99$
HDD - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136770 - 64.99$

Total - 469.94$

Went with the AMD X4 965BE on this one because MWO is quad-core friendly. If you can spend some more, get a HD7850 or something around that performance level.

Cheers

[Breach]

Essentially the "shared" RAM means that your part of your main system memory is allocated to the onboard graphics hardware, which is generally somewhere between 1-16mb.

For MWO you will need something pretty beefy in the graphics department. A dedicated video card takes the strain of rendering off of the main system, essentially being a self contained computer of it's own with its own memory and GPU. If you want a good play experience you will need to upgrade to something like this, luckily these days there are lots of good choices that don't cost a lot.

I would also recommend building your own for cost reduction, education, and the pleasure of the DIY experience, there are tons of guides out there if you ask Google nicely on PC building basics, of if you have a computer geek friend who can help you select components. It might seem daunting at first with the many variables to account for, but worth it.

You should give this a read, it outlines several budgets and lists out all the parts you should need-

http://www.bit-tech....uide-may-2012/1

[Greyrook]

Aniquilator6, on 20 July 2012 - 03:32 PM, said:

If you can keep the case (although if it is too old maybe it's not such a good idea) then you can go for something along the lines of this:

PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200 - 59.99$

Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280 - 79.99$

CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 - 109.99$

RAM - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231548 - 44.99$
GFX - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814125415 - 109.99$
HDD - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136770 - 64.99$

Total - 469.94$

Went with the AMD X4 965BE on this one because MWO is quad-core friendly. If you can spend some more, get a HD7850 or something around that performance level.

Cheers

Boom, that's your sh*t right there. Also check for good deals on amazon, sometimes they have sweet bargains that newegg doesn't always have. Also, I had a bad experience with newegg delivery so I tend to go there to look for parts rather than buy.

EDIT: I might suggest opting for a larger HDD, 320GB is pretty low if you're really into gaming. BUT, I'm a Western Digital fan, and I haven't had any problems with my 1TB Caviar Black, so i'd say anything by them that's branded blue or black is going to give you great performance. Don't worry too much about 3Gb vs 6Gb, no mechanical drive can saturate a 3Gb connection to my knowledge so if you find something that looks good but is only 3Gb/second, go for it.

Something like this would be great http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136921, you run some risk with "refurbished" but if it fails you'll get free replacements.

Edited by Greyrook, 20 July 2012 - 04:13 PM.

[Hellgardia]

I only posted newegg prices as a reference
Cheers

Edited by Aniquilator6, 21 July 2012 - 12:38 AM.

[Vulpesveritas]

Hopefully this;
http://mwomercs.com/...ds-of-the-week/
might be able to help a bit.
As far as things go, you'll want a dedicated card for best performance. Building your own will be the best way to go if you want reliability and performance at any given price.

[DonPadre]

Hey all.

I used to be a hardcore builder and overclocker of PC's a number of years ago. In the last few years, I've lost touch with new technology standards for all important gaming components.

What I've still retained:
-Antec PSU = good
-I prefer intel systems
-I prefer nVidia
-I've had good experiences with Seagate HDD

Now, Antec preference notwithstanding, can someone help with baseline mobo/cpu/videocard generation recco's? Not exact models, but models from a good generation of technology. I've always gone with "see what top of the line is, and go one generation down". I'm building on the cheap, and less than CAD $1000 is best.

Many thanks in advance.

[Vulpesveritas]

DonPadre, on 25 July 2012 - 02:44 PM, said:

Hey all.

I used to be a hardcore builder and overclocker of PC's a number of years ago.  In the last few years, I've lost touch with new technology standards for all important gaming components.

What I've still retained:
-Antec PSU = good
-I prefer intel systems
-I prefer nVidia
-I've had good experiences with Seagate HDD

Now, Antec preference notwithstanding, can someone help with baseline mobo/cpu/videocard generation recco's? Not exact models, but models from a good generation of technology.  I've always gone with "see what top of the line is, and go one generation down". I'm building on the cheap, and less than CAD $1000 is best.

Many thanks in advance.

$1000?
For best gaming performance in FPS, Flight sim, and other graphically demanding games/engines (CryENGINE 3 falls under this - MWO);
AMD Phenom II X4 965 (or above), FX-4170/6200, or Intel i3-2120 (Or, if your budget allows after the graphics card, an i5) CPU
AMD Radeon HD 7870, 7950, or Nvidia Geforce GTX 670

Motherboard;
Asus, Gigabyte, Asrock  (AsRock is now it's own company and is reliable as Asus),
$100-150, at least 8+2 phase power,
AMD 990FX chipset, or Intel Z77 chipset

Edited by Vulpesveritas, 25 July 2012 - 04:07 PM.

[DonPadre]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^exactly the answer I was looking for. Thank you, kind sir.