Computer System requirements
- Thread starter oobydoobbenooby
- Start date
My laptop (i7) runs SC ok if I set graphics to low else it is choppy....
I think I will need to upgrade my desktop. (1998 PIII............ seriously..it is.....512Meg or RAM too LOL.............I only use it for WP and last major game I played on it was GTA San Andreas and it worked fine) :smilie:
I think I will need to upgrade my desktop. (1998 PIII............ seriously..it is.....512Meg or RAM too LOL.............I only use it for WP and last major game I played on it was GTA San Andreas and it worked fine) :smilie:
I feel your pain! Although I suspect, like me it wont really be an upgrade and more of a "I'll keep the case"..
Like a complete pillock I didn't even think that my disk drives would no longer work with modern motherboards.. another twenty five quid on a SATA disk drive.. Luckilly my PSU is good enough and I don't have a powerful GPU, so am okay till I get new graphics then I'll also need to get a new PSU.. Computers... nearly as costly as chainsaw...
Games may not, but the OS does, and being as games run on top of an OS there's the advantage straight away. (There is a lot of IO / CPU activity when running games and they use the OS for system calls)
Shouldn't it be enough with an i5 then? They also have hyperthreading. As far as I know the main difference between i5 and i7 is cache size.
By my experience, data used by games are either tiny or gigantic. There's very little of "big parts of small data" (small amounts of data that would be to big to fit into the i5 cache but small enough to fit into the i7 cache). So CPU cache size isn't a big problem while playing games since most CPU instructions will be made on data either so small that it will fit into the cache anyway or to big to fit even into the i7 cache... And the vast majority of the data will be managed by the GPU anyway....
If you're not an overclocking wizard or doing a lot of CPU intensive calculations where you can configure the data chunks to really maximise the cache usage, I don't really see the meaning of putting in the extra bucks for an i7 instead if an i5. It's to big difference in cost against how much more performance you get.
By my experience, data used by games are either tiny or gigantic. There's very little of "big parts of small data" (small amounts of data that would be to big to fit into the i5 cache but small enough to fit into the i7 cache). So CPU cache size isn't a big problem while playing games since most CPU instructions will be made on data either so small that it will fit into the cache anyway or to big to fit even into the i7 cache... And the vast majority of the data will be managed by the GPU anyway....
If you're not an overclocking wizard or doing a lot of CPU intensive calculations where you can configure the data chunks to really maximise the cache usage, I don't really see the meaning of putting in the extra bucks for an i7 instead if an i5. It's to big difference in cost against how much more performance you get.
This is a very good comparison of an i5-4670K vs i7-4770K in games. In conclusion, they say that there is very little difference between the CPU (once clocked at the same speed).
http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1061
The biggest difference between the two processors is in desktop applications that take advantage of the additional cores in the i7 (hyper-threading).
So if you're on a budget and are not too worried about desktop applications and synthetic benchmarks, it looks like the i5 is the way to go.
http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1061
The biggest difference between the two processors is in desktop applications that take advantage of the additional cores in the i7 (hyper-threading).
So if you're on a budget and are not too worried about desktop applications and synthetic benchmarks, it looks like the i5 is the way to go.
Umm. Hyper Threading is hardware based switching technology (aka Jackson) and as such will run regardless. It does help as it saves several million cycles per switch as it can simply switch the stack, register and pointers in one go than piecemeal. I am guessing you just mean threading.
As for games not using threads that too is completely untrue. A few years back threading was considered hard. Now it is considered medium in complexity. It is practically impossible to keep all cores and all active threads processing as there will be natural bottlenecks that will block.
And even then that is not the end of it. Even if games weren't written using threads then the OS is threaded and that will pick up the slack.
So would it be wiser to look for an I-5 alternative (with possibly a better graphics card) than go for something like this: i7-4702MQ Haswell Quad Core Processor, Dedicated GT 740M 2GB Graphics? I've been looking at the laptop linked in post #54 for a while since its bang on my budget of £650 but if I can find a cheaper I-5 that will run ED just as well I'll go for that instead.
I'm going to replicate this.... http://m.imgur.com/a/x75U2#
Only Red will be for combat, Blue for cruising, and green for when I meet Thargoids. Yellow for when ships damaged, and white for when docked.
Only Red will be for combat, Blue for cruising, and green for when I meet Thargoids. Yellow for when ships damaged, and white for when docked.
But i5 also has hyper threading. Or at least all the ones that I've looked at. And comparing a 2 core i5 against a 4 core i7 would be a very strange comparison.
But if you want more than 4 cores you have no choice then go for an i7... And that will give you much improvement in CPU power since you get additional REAL cores (not hyper threading). But then you also get a totally different price level
the i3 on the other hand doesn't have hyperthreading.... or turboboost, speed stepping, virtualization support and so on...
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WOAH!!!! That is some pimped out PC! Love it.
Whilst its not clear what the limiting factor will be for ED in terms of CPU/gfx card ability, the VAST majority of games will be limited by graphics card and with some beautiful gfx to be on show, I would be very surprised indeed if the gfx card isn't the limiting factor. I5s (on desktops anyway) with reasonable clocks run all the new games at full whack on high/ultra high gfx if coupled with the right gfx card. It is worth remembering that mobile gfx cards (and I imagine CPUs) do not run to the same spec as their desktop counterparts, so a mobile 7950 would be at least one step below than its desktop counterpart. Therefore, if mobility is essential you're hands may be tied but otherwise go for a desktop for best 'bang for your buck', and upgradeability. Spent well, £650 would get you a pretty decent desktop system.
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Erimus - I would also add that unless you have other reasons to upgrade by purchasing a new laptop now I would strongly urge you to wait ... Nearer the time it will be clearer as to what you need to make ED "glow" - on top of that prices (in general) fall over time thus getting more for your money.
Not read the entire thread to see why you want a laptop now so my reply could be moot.
Not read the entire thread to see why you want a laptop now so my reply could be moot.
So, you want to be a Jedi?
I had an MSI gaming laptop a bit below that spec before red wine took it out (drunken gaming is not a kung-fu). When I went for a new one about 18 months ago, I opted for the ASUS G series. The latest G74sx is probably a bit above budget, so one of the older ones (that I have now and runs Skyrim on max), like a G53sx, but with an SSD system drive (if you can afford to stretch a bit), should be well in your range. Of course, you need to be prepared to replace the SSD in a couple of years depending on how hard you 'grind' it.
Looking for a bit advice regarding this laptop setup:
Intel® Core™ i7-4702MQ Haswell Quad Core Processor
15.6" HD Screen
Microsoft Windows 8 64bit
8GB DDR3 RAM
1000GB HDD
DVD-RW
Dedicated GT 740M 2GB Graphics
http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/MSI_CX61_Haswell_1389669.html
Would something like that be able to handle ED? I know we don't have any minimum specs at hand, so wild guesses are welcome here
My budget will be around £650 and I can only really go for a laptop, not ideal I know, but I'd settle for playing ED on low settings as long as its not a slide show.
I had an MSI gaming laptop a bit below that spec before red wine took it out (drunken gaming is not a kung-fu). When I went for a new one about 18 months ago, I opted for the ASUS G series. The latest G74sx is probably a bit above budget, so one of the older ones (that I have now and runs Skyrim on max), like a G53sx, but with an SSD system drive (if you can afford to stretch a bit), should be well in your range. Of course, you need to be prepared to replace the SSD in a couple of years depending on how hard you 'grind' it.
Couple of people where I work have RoG laptops .. they are rather tasty.
Expensive, but worth every penny, and will probably run ED with ease, and if not on full settings then certainly near the max.
I won't be getting one until Jan/Feb, hopefully there will be a few sales on then - just in time for ED beta II
I won't be getting one until Jan/Feb, hopefully there will be a few sales on then - just in time for ED beta II
Perfect timing, and yes (fingers crossed) in time for Beta 2
I feel your pain! Although I suspect, like me it wont really be an upgrade and more of a "I'll keep the case"..
Computers... nearly as costly as chainsaw...
Well you could say I got a good run with my PIII desktop. It has 4 HD's onboard all EIDE, LOL.............so not bad from 1998 - 2013 and needing an upgrade in 2014.
I can't use the case even. That's ok though. Time for a new one. I was looking at the ASUS VI Maximus, the ROG one, they are around AUD$300 here. I'll put 32 GIG ram on board and a 2 GIG nVidia card, the MB can run SLI but I won't go that far as the video card will almost cost the price of the MB
I won't move till around March/April next year though. No point getting it now. For now the Laptop it shall be and that will be the main place I play ED anyway. All offline so that won't matter...........
