Need Pre Built PC Help

Hi!

So the PC i bought from best buy 2 years ago can only play this game when all settings are set to low and even then its slow as heck. I'm wondering if anyone can help me out. I've got about $1400 I can spend and have been looking at websites like that ibuypower one but there are so many options im not sure at all what to pick.

I'd like one that can play at max or near max but im not very computer savy at all so building one is out of the question, any help anyone could give would be greatly apreciated! =)

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Originally Posted by Dann

Hi!

So the PC i bought from best buy 2 years ago can only play this game when all settings are set to low and even then its slow as heck. I'm wondering if anyone can help me out. I've got about $1400 I can spend and have been looking at websites like that ibuypower one but there are so many options im not sure at all what to pick.

I'd like one that can play at max or near max but im not very computer savy at all so building one is out of the question, any help anyone could give would be greatly apreciated! =)

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With 1400 you could build a beastly PC that would run better than anything prebuilt for that money. If you're for sure about going with pre-built IBP are decent enough but note that you're paying someone to put the PC together and make a profit thus losing out on power you would have gotten.

If you look on newegg the higher priced (over 1,000) usually have 3-4 stars because they lack performance for what you're paying. But the ones in the 700-900 range are usually 4-5 star and the reviews say things like "good pc for the cost".

Also depends what you want to do with it... sounds like you're not technically savy else you would build your own? So you probably won't be overclocking, so that might cut down on your cost a bit. (unlocked cpu's cost a little more).

This PC would be pretty much only for playing FFXIV and maybe battlefield but thats not as important to me.

Yeah I'm pretty set on buying one pre built at this point just looking for suggestions and advice on what to actually buy.

You may have some difficulty finding a prebuilt that can play at max for that pricepoint.

But I suspect others are shopping now with your criteria in mind and may post a link before I get to it.

Thank you Fiosha, im in no rush as im still waiting on my tax return to come in but if no one else comes forward I'd love to hear any suggestions you may have.

Here's two that will most likely pump out enough powuh to get your games running at pretty high settings. The biggest hitch I see for both of these is that the graphics card, while on the upper end, is not on the monstrous end. FFXIV also is a heavy processor hog, so while I have the same graphics card on two setups, the setup with the Quad processor is handling the game with less struggle.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227383
(if you play Steam games, you'll probably want to follow-up with this link as well IF this is the unit you choose:
http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles...platforms.aspx)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229283

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229269

Even looking at websites like iBuyPower and such... at a glance,

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Gamer_Paladin_D858

(Smoother framerates if turning off FF14 shadows, no extended draw distance, general drawing quality set to 8 or 9, instead of 10, not using any anti-aliasing beyond x8, only one monitor).

Others will certainly have far more knowledge and input than I on the matter.

As ze RemVye hath said, t'were you building your computer, a $1400 retainer would be delicious in this day and age (where the processor + graphics side would probably cost you more than half of that budget alone).

On that last link it gives me the option to do two graphics cards and it bumps the preformance for battlefield from mid to high and only tacks on $295 would that work for FFXIV?

Wow I haven't looked at prebuilt computers for a long long time, just looked at alienware/ibuypower/cyberpc/digitalstorm etc. Man those guys really rip you off.

Dann you could build a BEAST with 1.4k I urge you to find someone to do it for you or please consider learning it yourself with the help of forums.

I personally have not tried two cards on FFXIV. My understanding is that the processor plays a large role in FFXIV and that the sheer muscle of the GPU won't get you as far as one would hope.

This may be just me, but I think I would go for the GTX580 over the dual GTX560 in the long run. Should I ever decide to go completely spend-happy-crazy and dual GTX580s.

But for either route, you'll also want to bump up the power supply from whatever it's currently on to maybe an 850W or higher.

Ok thanks for the links Fiosha It looks like I'm just gonna have to up my budget a bit and pick a higher card and power supply, ive hear a solid state drive helps alot too so im gonna have to add that in.

Ok first SSDs only help for start up and a few other things, games are not effected really. PSU (power supply) is important but try this DIY @ Newegg.com.

As far as adding a second card GPU (graphics card) as in Crossfire or SLI, every gamer and builder I have spoken to says it's not needed.

Heat sinks for your CPU and GPU are very important especially running FFXIV! My new GPU is running rather hot as the stock cooler is crap and my usual brand at the time I purchased my GTX 560 was not available. Case and room are important as well as is routing your wiring to keep air flow moving and cooling your components properly.

I have to agree with EVERYONE on here, build it yourself it's actually REALLY easy. Look at that link. See if your comfortable with what they explain and show. As other's have suggested, get anyone you trust that can and knows how to build you a great XIV PC with 1.4k. Any money you save, get a 2nd monitor, also really helpful when playing in game for ... omg SOOO much stuff this would become TL;DR. lol

Good luck!

Edit: Also as for SSDs, do some research on them. What I have read is Intel is best on market for not failing as much as others. There are also two different types of SSD. Here is a great article on SLC (single layer Cell) and MLC (Multi layer cell) SSDs and a quick wiki on SSDs. This will help a lot too in your decision.

I heard that FFXIV tends to read in those .dat files from the disk pretty frequently. Do you know if this is the case or not? If it is, I think an SSD could help with loading times significantly.

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Originally Posted by REDace0

I heard that FFXIV tends to read in those .dat files from the disk pretty frequently. Do you know if this is the case or not? If it is, I think an SSD could help with loading times significantly.

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I can check RQ for you if you like?

Edit: Friend in LS is of COURSE AFK lol. Unless someone else knows I'll have to get back to you on this one. ;)

Edit 2: The answer is no. 2 Reasons; 1) SSDs have a limited # of R/Ws as they work off the same premise as a Flash Drive. 2) XIV actually doesn't access files more than any other game and was told in honesty any speed increase would be negligible.

Well thats good to know that'll save me some cash lol

not sure if someone answered this or not, but I do play with 2 GFX cards, and it does make a difference. The only issue is that you will need to play in True Full Screen mode, not Windowed mode at full screen. Weather you get AMD or nVidia, they only dual/tripple in full screen mode.

Edit: I run 2 XFX 5770's (not the best card in the world) on a OCZ 600W power supply, so if you do go the build your own route, which I agree with also, just make sure you know what power your video cards require. Some require more than others even though they are the same GPU. Example: one of my 5770s require 500 the other 550. FYI it is SUPER SUPER simple to build your own computer.

All of the links below are DIY combos from newegg. They come with everthing you need but software. And all will be more than you need for FFXI!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.827606
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.791304
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.827614

And they are all below your budget!

Thanks for the information on dual cards! Ill have to pick that option on the website.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.827606 - Good value (the FX8120 is so close to the FX8150 for the price difference, as well as they both Overclock to around 4.6Ghz to 5.0Ghz) You will definatly want to swap out the 5900RPM Hard Drive for either a 7200RPM or an SSD for better loading times. 2GB is way overkill if you are just gaming anyways. A great SSD is the Crucial M4 or Corsair Force Series 3. (The Intel SSD's are very reliable though, but a bit slower)
I'd also recommend picking up an aftermarket CPU cooler for this style of build, as the AMD FX CPU's run warm. Even if you aren't overclocking it's nice to have a bit more thermal headroom. Aftermarket coolers are also a great deal quieter than the stock AMD cooler.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.791304 - Although a bit above your price range this is a nice choice.
You can't go wrong with the i7 2600k. The AMD 6970 series video cards are nice. A 60GB SSD is kinda small even for gaming, you'd want one a bit bigger (around 120GB at least) Gigabyte motherboards are decent, but if you could switch it for an ASUS board, it'd be better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.827614 - A bit overpriced, not a good choice

For video card selection - Single powerful graphics card is good for MMO (unless you are playing WOW, then you just need a Comodore 64 to play max at 60FPS)

First Person Shooters benefit from Crossfire or SLI (Multiple Graphics Cards) setups to get insane FPS to gain an
advantage on speed.

Something else you may want to consider is the monitor you are using. If you are running (for example) a 17 inch flat screen with 1024 X 900 Resolution, it'd be a good idea to put some money into a nice 22"+ 1920 X 1080 (1080P) LED flat screen monitor. Some decent brands for monitors are ASUS, Acer, LG. You could probably pick one up for around $140 or less. Don't forget to grab a 64-bit version of Windows as well. 32-Bit versions wont let you use any more than 3.5GB of Ram.

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Originally Posted by Dann

Thanks for the information on dual cards! Ill have to pick that option on the website.

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In all reality it is better to get a single card solution if at all possible because it frees up avaible power for your other devices, allows you to add a second card at a later date, and can be much less confusing to setup; plus you can run in windowed mode (at higher graphic settings) which will alow you to play FFXIV and still browse a website or what not, or if you are like me, plug in your iPhone. Everytime I plug in my iPhone while in the game it boots me out because of the windows autoo play, which of course I can disable if I ever remember to do it.

I'm looking at this right now http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Ship_..._AMD_FX_8-Core
thinking about upgradeing the video card to the AMD Radeon HD 6970 - 2GB and upgradeing the power supply to 750 watts should that be enough to run the relativly high settings?

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Originally Posted by Dann

I'm looking at this right now http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Ship_..._AMD_FX_8-Core
thinking about upgradeing the video card to the AMD Radeon HD 6970 - 2GB and upgradeing the power supply to 750 watts should that be enough to run the relativly high settings?

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That is a great machine but for $100 you might not get much more out of a 6970 vs a 6950.

Take a look here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ew,3107-7.html

That gives you a list of most of the cards out there right now, and then shows you the Hierarchy of which is better out of the 3 GPU companies (although Intel is never really a viable option).

THe 70 is only 1 level above the 50 and in my opinion not really worth the extra $100. But that is up to you. SOmeone else here might have more to say about it, not sure. Other wise it is a great machine.

edit: I would stick with the 700 power supply, for the money the 750s are not worth the cost unless you planed on adding another graphics card, then I would get an 800 not a 750.

Cool good to know I'll put that 100 towards a better cooling unit then and dual fans, I heard the standard cooling one they give you sucks some times

So checked the Mobo you have ordered for that build Dann and user reviews are rather bad. :(

Newegg user's reviews here and here. Now one of these is an EVO board the other is not. General rule of thumb for reading Newegg reviews for most folks is, if the combined score of 4 & 5 eggs =s 80%, solid piece of equipment. Anything below that, purchase at your own risk. Sometimes, that risk has worked for me . But with you being a non-building user, if anything goes wrong, you're pretty much SOL and will need someone to come out and fix your PC if it breaks or take it somewhere to get fixed. That's gonna cost you extra $ or cost you game time.

You need to be really careful if you buy from iBuy Power/CyberPowerPC. Pay attention to their RMA process. I know for CyberPowerPC you pay to have your computer shipped to you, and if it's DoA or something needs fixed, you have to pay to ship it back to get fixed.

You really should look into building your own computer, with parts purchased from NewEgg. They have amazing customer service if anything were to be DoA. When I sold my laptop I thought I would just take the money from that and buy a prebuilt PC from CyberPowerPC... Huge mistake. The computer ended up being DoA about a month after they said it had shipped. I got really fed up with them and ended up returning my PC all together and thus losing out on the shipping cost. The computer I have now I bought off Craigs List. (I honestly don't recommend buying off CL but sometimes you do get lucky.) The computer was custom built, less than three months old, and it came with all the boxes/manuals/receipts. He spent over a grand on it, I got it for 500.

Specs: 23 Inch LED Monitor, Logitech X-530 Speakers(Crap), Saitek Eclipse III Keyboard, 4 GBs Mushkin Ram, AMD Phenom IIx4 Black Edition (Running As Quad), Geforce GTX 550 TI Zotac Edition, Windows 7. Not sure what the name of the mobo is other than it's a Biostar. It also came with a ton of games, and wired controller.

Order has been sent in! Hopefully all goes well.

Hope all goes well Dann! By the way, what did you end up going with?

The pre built one i linked a few posts up with some upgrades to a better liquid cooler with dual silent fans. Maybe next tax season I'll look into building my own and give this one too my little brother.

Order arrived not to long ago game plays great! all settings to max except that depth of field and ambiant. only stutters very very very slightly when i wandered into some big forest. Other then that very happy with it! Thanks for all the advice guys!

Also keep in mind that at 2.0 they are releasing a whole new engine one that may actually be optimized unlike this current shitty one. Also learning to build PCs can save you a hell of a lot of money I saw a PC i liked 2 years ago priced at 3k and i built it myself for about 2.5k.

I am in kind of a similar situation about a new computer except my current one was from Cyberpower several years ago and I am about to build a new one myself. I usually build my own systems but wasn't able to last time and am looking forward to making a new one.

I will be purchasing a couple of components a month so it will take several months to get everything before I can build. My main question revolves around AMD vs Intel. I have used both processors in the past and am pleased at the way they both work. FFXIV Version 2.0 will have a better game engine so I am wondering if I can get the same/similar performance out of a AMD FX6100 versus an Intel i7. Budget wise the AMD is very attractive and FFXIV is the most system resource intensive program I run.

Current Specs:
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit (the new system will be 64 bit)
Intel E8400 (dual core, 3.0GHz)
4GB ram
500GB Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive x 2 (non-raid, unfortunately my current motherboard can't do raid)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 (1GB ram)

The current specs can run the game fairly well for my taste but it maxes the CPU and the load time is slower than I would prefer. I don't need nor do I want to spend the money for a high power gaming rig and so I would like to try to stick to $500 to $600 for the new parts. I figured I could reuse the current video card to save some money as well as my optical drive. I also figured I could pull the HDDs and make a raid 0 striped set and up the HDD performance (trying to hold off on the SSD drives for another year until the price drops a bit more).

I know any upgrade will help the game performance at this time but taking into account version 2 can I get by with a $150 FX6100 or have to cave in and spend $300 for the i7?

Thanks all!

honestly the 6100 will do you fine and I wouldn't say you'd need the extra cash for the i7 2600k the 2500k is just as good for gaming and runs around 200~250$ US. Having said that the 6100 isn't so amazing for gaming as it cannot utilize the extra cores as well. It is great however if you do a lot of multi tasking but most os's are not optimized for AMD's architecture just yet, hopefully in the future..

I would not recommend buying a pc part by part over a long period though. If your mother board is bad and you don't find out until 6 months down the line you've lost that much time on your warranty, you're better off saving and buying all your base parts at one time.

Also as far as running FFXIV in high settings, check out my blog I have a mini guide detailing how to squeeze more performance out of your game with ATI and Nvidia cards. Everybody who has used it has seen a FPS boost and diminished lag. Any problems and you can catch me in game or try me on my blog.

P.S. Forgot to add, the 6100 will run the game just fine, go for it if it's in your price range, the performance is worth the ticket cost.

Prebuilts are a ludicrous rip off.....

I know about close to 0 about computer hardware.

Bought a decent quad core for 400 bucks, bought a decent power supply for 70 bucks, bought a decent game card for 160 bucks...stuck it all together and game runs great fine and beautiful....it all just pops right in.

got it all at Best buy as I recall, did some website price matching....yeah so 700? Hell you could even pay the geek squad to install it all for you I think...for WAY WAY cheaper than 1400 bucks.

EDIT: oh I DO know that AMD PWNS intel