Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

[Voicestobeheard]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX

Newegg.com - MSI 870A-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard


Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

Newegg.com - ASUS ENGTX460/2DI/768MD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply


Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN3 CM690 II Basic Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case


total 800 will run the game like a champ.

If you replace the GTX460 card I picked with an HD5770

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card


It'll drop to 750.

With the GTX460 you get good performance now, with 5770 you get ok performance with the option to Crossfire later.

My pick is the GTX460, 5770 in crossfire is only slightly better.

Thank you for this, I am in the same situation and all this research is slightly overwhelming. One question though, How does the AMD Phenom IIx6 compare with the intels? also, is there a comparable lower price x4? I heard that games rarely use more than two or three cores. I'm completely new to this so i'm assuming x6 means six-cores. Thank you for your input.

PS. I also saw that in an earlier post you mentioned and ASUS mb instead of that MSI 870A. Is there a big difference?

[wrongfeifong]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

intel >>>> x6. amd x6 is not for gaming

[Freelancer]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Well you can change the x6 to i5 with the motherboard to this.

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-661 Clarkdale 3.33GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 87W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I5661

Newegg.com - EVGA P55V 120-LF-E651-TR LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Roughly same price.

Though you can get a amd x4 instead of x6 and just save money.

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDX945WFGMBOX

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX


the other Asus mobo I recommended I think was the EVO

Newegg.com - ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

I just like the Asus brand, both are decent mobos.

[Voicestobeheard]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

I've heard rumors that the i7 950 is dropping in price in the next few days. to 250$. I'm trying to get the best bang for the buck. So i'm thinking either the i5 or phenom x4 965. or if its worth it spending 50 bucks more for the i7. Then I just have to pick which mobo.

Besides all that info, is there anything else i need other than the standard mouse, keyboard, monitor? I can get a free win 7 OS. But wasnt sure about fans and all that jazz.

And i think i'm going to go with the Radeon HD 5770, and maybe upgrade in the future two x2. This will be okay for ffxiv right?

[Freelancer]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Its dropping today actually to around 290$

Also, LGA1366 boards cost alot more to get the decent ones (200-300$) but it IS a better processor if you go that route you'll want a bigger budget and more ram since you need 6gb to get the triple channel running.

[Voicestobeheard]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Well i'm trying to keep it under 750 total.
So should I go with the first post but the x4 965 BE and the ASUS EVO Mobo? And the Radeon HD 5770?
Just hoping all this works together and plays ffxiv.

[Freelancer]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Same build above with reducing the cpu from x6 to x4 will leave you extra money to get the better GTX460 over 5770, I'd go with that.

[wrongfeifong]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

why get a piece of crap 460 when you can get a 5850 or 470 Newegg.ca - XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

xfx 5850 for 280.99 last call before august (for canadians)

You have to realize 460 doesn't have the power to play in 1080 and that card won't last on any 100+ man battles for sure.

Just cut the cpu, cut the PSU to 500 use OCZ (those goes for 20-30 bucks, cut that expensive case for a no-brand name.

[Freelancer]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

I'm not sure even my SLI 470s can last on a 100+ man battle.

[Aeni]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

why get a piece of crap 460 when you can get a 5850 or 470 Newegg.ca - XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

xfx 5850 for 280.99 last call before august (for canadians)

You have to realize 460 doesn't have the power to play in 1080 and that card won't last on any 100+ man battles for sure.

Just cut the cpu, cut the PSU to 500 use OCZ (those goes for 20-30 bucks, cut that expensive case for a no-brand name.

Stock 5850 is worse than a slightly oc 460 ... and 460 can oc to 800 just fine. Not sure what kind of acid you dropped but you're not thinking well. 460 is at least 50 bucks cheaper than a 5850 and performance wise is pretty close. Unless you meant the 5870 but last I checked it was still in the high 300s.

I got this one: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=3530#ov

[wrongfeifong]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

I have no idea why you are comparing OC 460. Not like 460 is the only GPU that can be OC. Why were you drinking?

5850 can OC up to 1000 mhz. I have compare the 2 card myself on FFXIV beta, i am playing on 1080 not low res, i rather pay 30 bucks extra (250 here for a good 460 1gb) for a double life time warranty card that play well in 1080.

gigabytes doesn't have lifetime warranty either.I am paying a premium for lifetime warranty.

Performances was pretty close yes, but in most cases 5850 outperform 460. Only under when heavy AA is use 460 outperform 5850 by little.

460 SLI indeed outperform 5850 CF on the other hand but i pay less on manage a CF than a SLI due to heat problem.

5850 is usually around 10% behind 470 and 10-20% above 460. But newer game will prove 460 to be slightly better especially in DX11.

I personally just don't want a microwave room for summer where GPU goes up to 90 degree as the norms. %850 usually sit around 60-70 @ max.

Yes, my card sucks for future gaming, but @least i don't lag in 1080 whenever 1-2 people walk pass me unlike the 460 i used to have. (and i kick myself not getting the 470 evga when it was 289.99)

[Tatewaki75]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Just got my upgrades in, Decided against getting the Phenom 9850. I still have my HD 5670 1gb DDR5. My score before my upgrade was 1700-1750 on low. I was using a Athlon X2 4200+.

Now I"m using a Athlon II X3 440 3.0ghz. I managed to unlock the 4th core and it runs stable. So in reality I'm using a Phenom II X4 B40 3.6ghz. I'm still using 3 gigs of DDR2 ram, pc6400, which I definitely need to upgrade. My score on low res jumped to 2990-3000, depending on what's running in the background. I'm pretty satisfied with this. I'll do upgrades as they come along, starting with my ram. Since I'm going to play on low res anyway, I'm going to take my time upgrading my video card.

[Freelancer]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

460 is under 60c on load for me, with stock fan -_0

anyhow with the 200$ price mark on a the gtx 460 then 2 of them for 400$ that beats the shit out of the 5850 @280-300 a pop and 560-600 for 2 then eeehhhh..... 460 wins for multi cards, and we all know that its currently taking the 5770's place as the "standard" for gaming.

460 is the way to go for budget gaming, 500-800 builds, and with the right motherboard you can SLI them and get the best bang for the buck out there.

---------- Post added at 03:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:59 PM ----------

Just got my upgrades in, Decided against getting the Phenom 9850. I still have my HD 5670 1gb DDR5. My score before my upgrade was 1700-1750 on low. I was using a Athlon X2 4200+.

Now I"m using a Athlon II X3 440 3.0ghz. I managed to unlock the 4th core and it runs stable. So in reality I'm using a Phenom II X4 B40 3.6ghz. I'm still using 3 gigs of DDR2 ram, pc6400, which I definitely need to upgrade. My score on low res jumped to 2990-3000, depending on what's running in the background. I'm pretty satisfied with this. I'll do upgrades as they come along, starting with my ram. Since I'm going to play on low res anyway, I'm going to take my time upgrading my video card.

the 5670 is whats killing you, try for a GTX460, but good going on the upgrades.

[abknight]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

But newer game will prove 460 to be slightly better especially in DX11.

That's all that really matters at this point. GTX 460 is cheaper and runs better than the 5850 in DX11 games at higher resolutions. GTX 470 is the way to go if you have the extra $100, though.

Here's the best solution that I've found for anyone building a new PC for FFXIV:

1.) Get a case with good airflow (there are inexpensive cases that meet this requirement).

2.) Get a reliable 750W PSU (there are inexpensive, reliable, 750W PSUs).

3.) Get a MOBO that supports SLI, whether you're using AMD or Intel.

4.) Get a GTX 460.

5.) ???

6.) Profit

You'll get better price/performance on new games than with any current ATI cards and will have everything you need to upgrade your build in the future.

[DakAttack]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

I have no idea why you are comparing OC 460. Not like 460 is the only GPU that can be OC. Why were you drinking?

5850 can OC up to 1000 mhz. I have compare the 2 card myself on FFXIV beta, i am playing on 1080 not low res, i rather pay 30 bucks extra (250 here for a good 460 1gb) for a double life time warranty card that play well in 1080.

gigabytes doesn't have lifetime warranty either.I am paying a premium for lifetime warranty.

Performances was pretty close yes, but in most cases 5850 outperform 460. Only under when heavy AA is use 460 outperform 5850 by little.

460 SLI indeed outperform 5850 CF on the other hand but i pay less on manage a CF than a SLI due to heat problem.

5850 is usually around 10% behind 470 and 10-20% above 460. But newer game will prove 460 to be slightly better especially in DX11.

I personally just don't want a microwave room for summer where GPU goes up to 90 degree as the norms. %850 usually sit around 60-70 @ max.

Yes, my card sucks for future gaming, but @least i don't lag in 1080 whenever 1-2 people walk pass me unlike the 460 i used to have. (and i kick myself not getting the 470 evga when it was 289.99)

It's worth noting that FFXIV is a TWIMTBP game, meaning it's optimized to run with nVidia's hardware. A lot of us, in this thread, are building computers with the intent of playing FFXIV. Sure, we'll play other games, but this is the thread for building a PC to play FFXIV.