Really don't know where to post (pc requirements)

[Geryth]

If you have a machine that you need to upgrade a few parts, just make sure all the requirements are met for the new piece you are getting. I have a PC that really just needs a new processor which the biggest bottle neck on FFXIV performance. It has 8g RAM, 1g video memory (DDR5), and a quad core 2.3ghz processor, and FFXIV is nigh unplayable on it, it runs all settings on low and still frame skips while running in mostly unpopulated areas at around 25fps. Cutscenes just barely play without skipping.

But I can't just upgrade the processor. The motherboard is cheap and old too, to get a better processor I'd also need to get a new motherboard. But wait! The power supply is also cheap and low (300w maybe). Upgrading the processor also probably means an upgrade in PSU. Getting a new motherboard also means that it has to be compatible with your current GPU and memory.

Things can cascade to where you end up buying half of a whole new computer. Just do your research. Make sure the chipset of the motherboard matches the processor, and make sure you have sufficient power.

With $500, not sure if that's a hard cap or not, but if you started from scratch, you would be hard pressed to get something with decent FFXIV performance for that much. I'd appraise a decent machine for FFXIV, if you had to buy everything, at at least $650-750. I would recycle as much from an older comp as possible - monitor, mouse, keyboard, optical drive, hard drive, case, operating system, etc. If all you need is MB, CPU, GPU, RAM, PSU, then $500 can probably do it for you:

• $70'ish on the motherboard (something with a modern chipset)
• $80'ish on memory (that's about the going rate for 8g RAM)
• $70'ish on power supply (try to get at least 550w with a decent brand name)
• $140 on the CPU (you can really get bang for your buck at this price especially if you dabble in over clocking)
• $140 on GPU (you can get something at 2g memory on DDR5 at this price range)

Yeah, for $500 the above could get you something really nice, as long as you didn't need anything else.