111 replies to this topic

[Flawless]

I'm looking at building a new Pc for MWO. My current one is old and obsolete but I am having a hard time deciding between going with an AMD CPU based system or an Intel CPU based system. Can anyone give me some input or system specs that you think would work?

[Ghost]

Couldn't go wrong with one of the faster Intel i5s, and a nVidia 560 Ti (they just released a new version of the 560 Ti that's even better than the one I'm using). The rest is just, as they say, "fiddly bits" -- an understated but efficient case, 5.1 surround in a discrete card, deciding between four to eight gigs of RAM, a power supply that won't explode in a year, maybe an aftermarket cooler on your CPU (I'm a Zalman fanboy), and some hard drives.

Not that you'd need that power for a while -- most PC games these days are console ports, and can be run at maximum settings almost without heed to what hardware you've got.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

Budget info will help people help you.

[Cattra Kell]

I would say go with something like the i5's (or if you wan't the extra overkill push, the i7's) and the new 560 Ti or if you want something special get the 2GB ATI 6950 (I think they are now under 300$ and about the price of the 560)

Edit: Just noticed Ghost posted almost the same thing haha!

Edited by Cattra Kell, 06 January 2012 - 11:11 AM.

[Soturi05]

My PC has an AMD Athalon II x4 quad core processor at 2.9Ghz and 4GB of DDR3 RAM, the only thing holding my pc back from performing reasonably is the integrated graphics so i just need to slap a reasonably good video card in it and it should run most modern games on high graphics if not more, if i were to build a pc now i would go with a AMD phenom II x4 with 8GB of RAM and probably an AMD Radeon HD 6950.

If you are on a budget maybe something with stats similar to http://www.tomshardw...-card,3032.html however if you use that as a guide the prices may be different right now and i would recommend going with a higher quality case and going with a 6950 video card instead.

[Tynam]

Seconded on the i5 processor; I don't like Intel (and they keep messing around with the motherboard specs) but the performance is incredible. That and a good graphics card will cope with anything. It pays to wait till the last minute on that; new graphics cards are constantly coming out, and every new generation suddenly halves the cost of the previous top-gen capability, usually in the form of a new mid-range card.

4Gb memory is cheap and efficient these days; more might help with general computing but is unlikely to matter to MWO (I would guess).

(You definitely don't need an i7; the practical advantage for a gamer is none whatsoever.)

[m0nk33]

I agree with Ghost on the graphics card and processor though I am an AMD fan (I know, I know). Definitely get at least 4 GB of RAM minimum (nearly necessary to run most OS's anyway these days) but I would personally lean toward 8 GB of RAM. And since your upgrading I might also look into a newer power supply, thinking a 700W might work for the time being but more can't hurt if you have the funds.

[Egomane]

I also agree on the i5. On the graphics I wouldn't worry about AMD (6850 or higher) or nVidia (560 or higher). Both companies cards perform very well. AMD will release it's new generation of cards next week, so the old ones will probably drop in price. But it it is absolutly possible that nVidia will have its new cards in the market before MWO launches, as there are rumors that they wil present them in the next days.

As stated before, your budget would help very much.

[Joe Davion 86]

Meh @ Tynam, if you're running an X64 system you need that extra RAM trust me.
That being said, I have an Intel Q6600 Quad core for a CPU, runs reasonably well no odd quirks plenty of oomf
an older 512MB Nvidia card (Geforce 6600 or 6800 i think i may have to come back to edit this) 6 Gigs of off the shelf RAM (2 GB Corsair ddr2 and 4 gigs of generic stuff i got from school, they were just gonna throw it away...i tell you people these days) no 5.1 surround sound just some Soundlabs speakers running on my hi def onboard audio. and this is my case its effing mammoth and heavy and i love it http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811129021. other than that i have a rocketfish 650W modular power supply from best buy. I expect to be able to play MW:O with no problems, I can run Skyrim on High (minus Grass) and no lag at all.\

EDIT: URK i have an Geforce 8800 GT ( was about 200 US bucks when i came home from the desert)

Edited by Joe Davion 86, 06 January 2012 - 12:52 PM.

[T0RC4ED]

I build and repair PCs for a living as well as for fun, custom mods, im even considering building a phase change cooling system...kinda an exparament. Any way, wait till the end of Q1 of 2012... Intel should be in full swing with their new 3d transistor tech (on the market) by then which will drop prices on current equipment. Fact: Crysis 2 (uses the same engine that MWO will be using) is a joke to my laptops 2 485M graphics cards. So you could aim for something in that area. Im going to have to suggest for CPUs you keep in mind that AMD Hex core CPUs compete with intel's quad core CPUs as a general rule. Their new line could change that though...and I hope it does. 6gb of ram should be sufficiant, but i would suggest shooting for 12+ just to give you room to breathe. Corsair and Mushkin are my prefered venders. make sure u get low latency... and if it says value ram on the package look elseware. Mobos...I favor Asus, but MSI, Intel, DFI (makers of the lan party mobo) Gigabyte are also good brands. Power supplies... Im a big fan of Enermax and Thermaltake (im currently running a 1200watt TR2 made by thermaltake). Coolermaster and corsair also make good power supplies.
NOTE: I only mentioned equipment from companies that I have personally used. I wouldnt recommend something I wouldnt use.

Edited by T0RC4ED, 06 January 2012 - 01:05 PM.

[UncleKulikov]

Grab a monitor with a refresh rate <5ms.

[Rathverge]

2 crucial M4 SSD's ftw

[Vincent Vascaul]

I recommend the following

intel 2500k proc.
Asus Mobo
Lian Li Aluminum Case
for one monitor at 1080p or less a AMD 6950 2 gb graphics card or a GTX 560ti for anything higher consider crossfire or SLI setups for dual monitors ect...
a ThermalTake Frio CPU cooler
Solid state drive made by corsair, crucial,Intel or samsung of at least 120gb in size
a 600-750 watt PSU made by corsair, Seasonic, Thermaltake TX series ect...
8gb of ram Corsair, mushkin, G skill ect..... At lease 1333mhz speed

There ya go a killer gaming PC that can be build for around $800 if your budget is less get an AMD 965 or higher quad or hexacore proc and mobo setup.

also feel free to pm me if you have questions or need help, we had a PC help thread going in the off topic section aswell.

Edited by Vincent Vascaul, 06 January 2012 - 03:34 PM.

[Vulpesveritas]

Depending on price, I would say the following:

750 down: Grab an FM1 motherboard and and an AMD A series APU for your price point- given the engine is the same and general system requirements should be similar to Crysis 2 and other CryEngine 3 titles, it should play MWO on low to medium settings, perhaps high depending on your monitor's resolution and which processor you get. Also gives you the option to X-fire an AMD Radeon HD 6670 later for a graphics increase. For cooling, go with a coolermaster 212, or for a smaller case a SielntX EFZ cooler..


750-1500:.
AMD A8-3870k, AMD FX 8000 series, intel i5 / i7, Radeon HD 6850, 6870, 6950 / Nvidea Geforce GTX 560ti, 570
CryEngine 3 supports 8 CPU threads, so the FX 8000 series and i7 will shine. If more on a buget, the A8-3870k will be more energy efficient when not gaming as the dedicated GPU can be turned off, and is the closest per core performance AMD has to an intel processor, given that the game is likely to be more graphics heavy, you won't see too much of a difference between it and an i5. If you mostly play old games the i5 is a decent choice, but if newer titles are your thing and you don't mind losing 2-3 frames per second on old games, and AMD FX 8000 series processor or Intel i7 is your best bet, the FX 8150p and i7-2600k preform within 1 frame per second of each other on CryEngine 3. Also you'll have a slightly cheaper system using an AMD motherboard. I would recommend an AMD graphics card personally, as you tend to have a bit more performance for your price. For cooling, use a Gelid GC-GX7-01-A, or a Thermaltake OCK


1500+: Intel i7 + Radeon HD 6970, 6990, 7970, Nvidea GTX 580, 590
I would recommend a Noctura or Zalman air cooler, or liquid cooling.



Recommended parts:
Processor: if under 1500 total system cost, I would recommend AMD. Intel i7 is the only real choice for a more expensive build.
GPU: AMD Radeon HD. With the 7970 coming out on the 9th, there really isn't any price point that AMD doesn't win at for a graphics card. also they tend to run cooler than a Nvidea card. Also gives option for eyefinity should the game support it.
RAM: 8GB 1866mhz w/ AMD, 1600mhz w/ intel. I like Gskill and Mushkin personally.
Motherboard: Asus, Asrock, or MSI. UEFI makes things easy to work with.
HDD/SSD: Unless your touting 2000+ for your rig, just get an HDD. use that money for better system components.
Power supply: Seasonic or Kingwin.
Thermal Paste: I recommend Gelid GC-Extreme, though Artic Cooling MX4 is good as well. Both preform quite a bit better than Artic Silver, which is well known but outclassed by some of the newer TIMs.

Edited by Vulpesveritas, 06 January 2012 - 08:31 PM.

[Gorith]

to many factors are unknown...

If this is your next BIG game I would wait on closed beta signups to start ordering so it is as much up to date as possible.. also dependent on your budget and what they are going to support... you will want to wait to see if they offer multi-monitor support and track ir support.

Would also make sure you had atleast a g15 keyboard and a high end gamming mouse (want to spend around $80-200 usd on the mouse depending on your budget) or a really nice flight stick system if you are going to prefer those for use (atleast a throttle and stick preferably with feet controls aswell)

[Flawless]

Wow, Thanks for all the responses! I plan on building it over a 4 month period so I will be able to afford higher end parts. My current PC is ok, but just does not cut it anymore. I noticed alot of people mentioned the 6950 and I was just looking at reviews for that this morning. If Intel is coming out with a new line I might wait for that. I'm traditionally an AMD guy, but if the performance is there I could find a reason to switch. Anyone have any knowledge about water cooling systems for CPU's and what brands are good to use?

I just got a 37 inch 1080p flatscreen Tv and am thinking about using it for a monitor, are there any pros/cons i need to know about doing this?

Edited by Flawless, 07 January 2012 - 05:03 PM.

[Vulpesveritas]

If it is an LCD or LED, no issue.

And like I stated before, as MWO runs on CryENGINE 3, and AMD FX-8150p is actually likely the best decision other than an i7 extreme edition after you have gotten the windows 7 patch for bulldozer (which is out already so you just have to download it.). And you won't see more than a 3-4 frame per second difference at most between the CPUs. Plus you save a few hundred dollars.

And the 6950 is probably the best high end price / performance GPU out there. So yea.

AsRock seems to have some of the best AM3+ motherboards at the moment as well.

[Wyatt Earp]

Has anyone seen any comparisons for the hex-core AMD VS. the i7 chipsets? I've looked but not really found any. I know the 6 core AMD's pretty much got smoked by the intel 6 cores. I'm looking hard at the AMD hex-cores, just still a little nervous. Price looks right, though!

[Vulpesveritas]

A few things to take into account:
1st AMD's 6 core processors are last gen
2nd. Intel processors preform more instructions per clock
3rd AMD has 4 module / 8 integer core / 8 thread high end FX 8000 series CPUs
4th Intel has 4/6 core 8/12 thread 'hyperthreaded' i7 CPUs. hyperthreading isn't as effective at making a near 1:1 ratio of IPC per thread as AMD's module design.

on an 8 thread task, like CryENGINE 3, AMD actually does a little better except against the expensive six core intel i7s.
And at most with said i7 you are looking at getting at most 5 frames per second more, and you'll pay at least twice as much for it.

[Wyatt Earp]

So I guess it'd be a better choice to go AMD FX and spend the savings on a better video card....or 2? Maybe even go Crossfire?