Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

[wrongfeifong]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

instead of you guys discussion about parts and such can we start another thread that actually just post up "deals".

While i am one man army, i would like to see what type of deals goes around in us or canada so i can get a cheap pre-built pc for ffxiv.

I can't afford these crazy pc that goes 1k+ my job doesn't even pay out 1k to begin with and i am a university HBsc just 3 years ago. Damn this recession.

[Malacite]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

lol Laptop gaming /sigh

[Tipsy]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

I think you've inspired me to upgrade to the 3 year (or 4 if available) plan. Looking at the M15x, it seems to have plenty of ventilation (around 6-8 vents) so there's to hoping the heating problem was resolved. I was looking at other laptops, but aesthetics are a big thing for me, and Alienware is unmatched.

Unless anyone knows of a few other brands that are similar?

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

I was thinkin' of upgrading my laptop, I know I can get better performance from a desktop, but I don't feel like rearranging my room and putting up a computer desk.

What I've been looking at is M15x Alienware M15x Laptop Product Details | Dell

How well would this run FFXIV? Also, how much better performance would I get from 1GB dedicated graphics card than a 512MB? I was thinking of the 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5730 instead of the 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 240M?

FYI, I recently bought a top of the line Alienware laptop that was nearly $5000. I took out the extended warranty for 3 years and everything. Finally I had my gaming laptop! Oh she ran FFXI smoother and prettier than my desktop did...I loved her so! First off, it ran HOT AS SHIT so make sure you have something thick to set on your lap before putting it there. I received a pretty severe 2nd degree burn from mine when I was sick, took some meds, and passed out, with it setting on my lap running. Another thing, it was heavy as hell. Mine was definitely not a laptop for carrying around so if you are thinking of dual purposing it for use at school...don't bother. And after about 3 years, don't expect Alienware to help you out with any hardware issues. After my 3 year warranty ran out something on my laptop went. Between my son and I, we figured out it was probably the motherboard. Now I may build desktops just fine but I am not touching a laptop...and my son feels the same way. So we call up Alienware and figure we'll bite the bullet and pay the price but guess what!? "We don't carry those parts anymore." So I get into a discussion with this rep and find out that they clear out old tech every 3 - 4 years. So repairs after a certain time are impossible through them. Thanks for the $5000 paperweight. Personally, I think it was the heat issue that did my girl in.

Also we had previous issues with this laptop when the extended warranty was in effect. The graphics card went and had to be replaced. Of course they didn't have the same card in stock so they put in a different one. There was also another issue it was sent in for concerning the DVD RW drive. They replaced it but it happened again and I still had my desktop for burning so I didn't feel like going through the hassle again. So, all in all, I bought a top of the line laptop that I had nothing but issues with. I loved the laptop to pieces but I'll never buy another one from them. I also had wonderful customer service with them, it wasn't the reps fault that they didn't carry the part anymore. So you decide but personally you can buy a laptop from somewhere else cheaper that can do the same shit....and maybe not have issues with. /em shrugs

[Malacite]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Shoot I don't even know what power supply I have for my PC...

[Tipsy]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

I was thinkin' of upgrading my laptop, I know I can get better performance from a desktop, but I don't feel like rearranging my room and putting up a computer desk.

What I've been looking at is M15x Alienware M15x Laptop Product Details | Dell

How well would this run FFXIV? Also, how much better performance would I get from 1GB dedicated graphics card than a 512MB? I was thinking of the 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 5730 instead of the 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 240M?

[Kafeen]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

What can I run with a small power supply, like 380W?

I was looking at the HD 5570, then saw that the GT 240 was getting slightly higher benchmarks, then saw the GTS 250 was a bit better than that. I was thinking about getting the GTS 250 but that needs a 500W power supply.

Any recommendations or is a new graphics card going to mean a new power supply for me as well?

[Malacite]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Newegg doesn't ship outside of the U.S.

[wrongfeifong]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

someone go find a way for ps3 to play pc ver please.

I can't afford to play 1000 bucks just to play this game.

At least i scored 780 with a D 3.20 ghz 4 g ram 8600 GTS.

Just need to get a new GPU! maybe i will get 1000!

[Aeni]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Didn't see the 295, but the 480 is $599.99 at futureshop....


orz


This is why I hate PC gaming...

Unless you're deep into HD video conversion, working on 3D graphics or have lots of money, the 480 is a bit of an epeen item. The best bang for the buck right now is the 260 and you can get one for under $200 ...

Newegg.com - Recertified: EVGA 896-P3-1255-RX GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$160

Most of the GTX 260 have gone up in price due to low chip yields and many enthusiasts getting the upgrade bug (summer time is the worst to look for a new graphics card) Wait till the new school year rolls around and things should have settled down a bit and supplies will be back up again.

Like I said, if you wait a couple months, I expect the GTX 250 to become the new "sub $100" offering and the GTX 260 to be more readily available at or under the $150 mark. The GTX 275 will more than likely make appearances at the $180 unless Nvidia gets better with chip yields for the OC market and gut out the non OC versions market and push all of these cards down another 15-20%...

[Malacite]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Tier1 - GTX 295, GTX 480

Didn't see the 295, but the 480 is $599.99 at futureshop....


orz


This is why I hate PC gaming...

[Aeni]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

@Aeni

When the benchmark came out, I had to wait a week before ATI released driver. A week, god damnit.

Support will be slow for beta clients of any game so that's understandable. But if that is a foreshadowing of release then I'm going to buy an NV card just to be on the safe side.

How steep are the requirements? I've asked around and got various friends to run the benchmarks.

i5/nv 260 at around 4100 (720p)
i7920/nv 275 at around 4400 (720p)
Phenom II/nv 260 at around 3200 (720p)
E8200/8800GTS at around 2400 (720p)

So I was right all along. You'll need at least a Phenom II/nv 260 for default settings and for HD mode you will probably need an i5/i7 (4-8 cores) and nv 275. The equivalent in ATI will be HD 5770 (720p) and HD 5850 (1080p)

Here is the hierarchy for both CPU and Graphics (Gaming Performance only, Tom's Hardware):

ATI

Tier0 - HD 5970
Tier1 - HD 4870 x2 (Crossfire)
Tier2 - HD 4850 x2, HD 5870
Tier3 - HD 5850
Tier4 - HD 4870, HD 4890, HD 5770
Tier5 - HD 3870 x2, HD 4850, HD 5750

Nvidia

Tier0 - n/a
Tier1 - GTX 295, GTX 480
Tier2 - n/a
Tier3 - GTX 280, GTX 285, GTX 470
Tier4 - 9800 GX2, GTX 260, GTX 275, GTX 465
Tier5 - 8800 Ultra, 9800 GTX, 9800 GTX+, GTS 250

----------------------------------------

Intel

Tier0 - Core i7-965, -975 Extreme, -980X Extreme, Core i7-860, -870, -920, -930, -940, -950, Core i5-750, Core 2 Extreme QX9775, QX9770, QX9650, Core 2 Quad Q9650
Tier1 - Core 2 Extreme QX6850, QX6800, Core 2 Quad Q9550, Q9450, Q9400, Core i5-650, -660, -661, -670, -680
Tier2 - Core 2 Extreme QX6700, Core 2 Quad Q6700, Q9300, Q8400, Q6600, Q8300, Core 2 Duo E8600, E8500, E8400, E7600, Core i3 -530, -540

AMD

Tier0 - n/a
Tier1 - Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition, Phenom II X4 Black Edition 955, 965
Tier2 - Phenom II X6 1055T, Phenom II X4 945, 940, 920, 910, 910e, 810, Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition, Athlon II X4 640, 635, 630, Athlon II X3 445, 440, 435


-----------------------

These are what people should be aiming for in my opinion (if you are building a rig or purchasing a new system or looking to upgrade) If you decide to go with something less, be prepared to run the game at subpar levels. Yes, you can play the game with minimum requirements, but let's not kid ourselves.

[wrongfeifong]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

I been thinking to buy a PC for FFXI as well.

or i can use my athon x2 3ghz 4g ram + a new GPU to play.

Damn i wish they release PS3 version with PC, they are such an ASS. they expect people to buy 2 copy if you want to play ps3 version too.

I wonder how much do i need to get a bare minimum machine to play.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

I think this is a good base to work off of:

Beta Test System Requirements:

OS:
XP SP3 **
Vista 32bit/64bit SP2 ***
Win7 32bit/64bit ***

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo (2.0 Ghz)
AMD Athlon X2 (2.0 Ghz)

Ram:
XP 1.5GB+
Vista/Win7 2.0GB+

HD Space:
Installation: 15GB+
Download: Space on the hard drive where My Documents is located should be 6GB+ ****

Graphics:
Nvidia Geforce 9600 or higher with 512 vram or higher
ATI Radeon HD 2900 or higher with 512 vram or higher

Sound Card:
DirectSound compatible sound card (DirectX 9 or higher)

Internet Connection:
Broadband Internet Connection or higher

Resolution:
1280 x 720 or higher, 32 bit or higher

DirectX:
DirectX 9.0c

Other:
Mouse, Keyboard, Gamepad *****

** If using WinXP, the executible files, installation, and version updates should be set to Administrator settings.
*** 64 bit OS will run in WOW64 (Windows on Windows 64) mode.
**** The file system in the drive containing the My Documents folder will need to be set to NTFS formatting.
***** A gamepad is not reuquired.

These are the required specifications for the Windows PC Beta Test. The requirements may change at the time of retail launch.

[Feba]

Re: Guide: Building a PC to play FFXIV

Keep in mind that FFXI's minimum requirements were something like Pre-orVeryEarly-GeForce when it first came out; I ran it on an MX440 (Basically a Geforce 2) for a long time with pretty good results (High resolution, shadows, draw distance). With expansions, that's been increased; TAU doesn't look better than RTZ for no reason. It could be that SE put some things into Alpha to test how far they could push it now, and decided to cut back on the graphics; or give some very forgiving minimum settings.

Of course, that's assuming the "SE isn't a bunch of incompetent dicks" theory.