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Advice needed on desktop
charonzaha
Member Posts: 8
Hi all
I've been getting some advice on choosing a desktop that I could run SWTOR on, and have been pointed in this direction for more hardware specific help.
I know noting about building computers, and my knowledge of computers in general is fairly limited (Something I'm going to remedy after all this!), so don't want to go done that road right now.
I've been pointed to a few suggestions, and so far this one is looking like a strong option;
http://www.novatech.co.uk/pc/range/novatechblacknta35.html
But, with these advised changes
Processor: AMD Piledriver Quad Core FX 4350 4.2GHz [Upgraded]
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz Single Module [Upgraded]
Hard Drive: 120GB Solid State Drive
Hard Drive 2: 2TB 3.5" 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
Graphics Card: ASUS Radeon R9 270X DirectCU II TOP OC 2GB GDDR5 [Upgraded]
Optical Drive: 22x DVD Writer
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1 Power Supply- 80+ Gold Certified [Upgraded]
Mouse: Novatech Standard Wired USB Mouse
Keyboard: Novatech Standard USB Keyboard
Case: Novatech ATX Gaming Case
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) Motherboard
Cooling: Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler [Upgraded]
Sound: Onboard Audio
As well as SWTOR, I'm keen on playing the big games like Skyrim, etc., and possibly SW Battle front when it comes out (don't mind playing this at lower resolutions). I'm also something that won't be too hard to up grade at some point in the future. Does the above look OK for this? I'd really rather not go any high in cost, as will still need to get OS and I'm a tight git! :-)
Many thanks
Comments
I would advise Intel for MMOs because it's better single core performance is really big in MMOs but this will likely invite the rage of AMD squad of these forums.
16 gigs of RAM is a bit of a overkill. Everything else looks OK.
If you're buying now, look for something with an intel i5 processor running at 3.5 GHz or up and an nvidia GTX 970. You can get those for just slightly more than what you linked and will have much better gaming performance.
i'm from Canada so can't help you much with UK vendors but just a quick look in Amazon UK showed me several i5/970 systems just a few pounds up from the one you linked. Maybe someone else from the UK will have some tips on where to look.
8GB of ram is all you need. 16 is nice but not required. An SSD is highly recommended especially for MMOs that load a lot of new stuff as you travel around.
HD of 1 TB is plenty and more can be added easily in the future if your need grows.
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On your budget, 16 GB of memory is a waste of money. Strangely, that site offers 29 choices for memory, all of which are at least 16 GB.
For the CPU, I'd get an FX-6300 over an FX-4350. The FX-6300 will turbo up to 4.1 GHz, so you don't lose much in single-threaded performance. But you do get an extra two cores for nearly the same price.
Someone above said that Intel is faster than AMD at the moment. And while an Intel Core i5-4690(K) is indeed substantially better for gaming than an any of AMD's FX-series processors, it's also a lot more expensive. It looks like you're trying to keep the budget down, and an AMD CPU is one way to do that while still getting a respectable gaming rig.
I wouldn't get an unspecified 120 GB SSD. It might be fine, but there have historically been some really bad SSDs, though they're mostly off the market now. But a vendor might still have a few that they're trying to get rid of. Getting an SSD is a good idea, but you want a particular SSD, not just some unnamed one; the Kingston V300 lets you get that for essentially the same price.
You seem to be aware that getting the Novatech power supply is a bad idea, so I won't have to explain that to you. The power supply you picked is sensible given their options.
Its cheap enough to go ahead and upgrade to the FX 6300 CPU and the Kingston V300 SSD. Like 5 bucks more so no worries.
Add an OS in there somewhere and you should be good to go.
I agree with everything in this post. 8gb ram would be plenty, but it looks like you might be stuck with 16gb.
Normally i'd reccomend an I5, but with the budget you're at i agree that the FX-6300 is the right choice in this situation.
If you can can the SSD and get an I5, that might be an option as well.
Edit: Checked website, options appear to be limited. Id go with the 6300 or 6350. Stick with the base RAM.
If you have a bit of money to play with upgrade to a 280x or a 960
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche