Computer to run Elite Dangerous....

Barking_Mad · Mar 18, 2015

Hi,

Yes, another one of those threads....Played this for ages as a young boy on my BBC B+ (64k) with floppy drive! WHOOP! My brother works in the industry on AAA titles, partly because of this game! I'm now in a position (work bonus) to spend some money on a machine, basically just to run Elite and "do other desktopy things" (Shhh don't tell the wife!). Any comments from anyone about which of these is preferable/up to the job and what sort of performance i should get. Even better if you have these set-ups.

Intel Core i3 4160 3.6GHz CPU
8GB DDR3 Memory
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti

AMD FX 4350 4.2GHz CPU
8GB DDR3 Memory
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti

AMD A10 7850K 3.7GHz CPU
8GB DDR3 Memory
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti

Whiterose · Mar 18, 2015

I have the GTX 750 Ti with an Intel Core and it works fine.

Kiblams · Mar 18, 2015

Elite uses very little CPU (less than 35% of my 2nd gen Intel i5) so the GPU is most important.

Out of those that you listed, I would personally go with the i3 as it is most likely the fastest there and will certainly use the least electricity.

Simi Kusoni · Mar 18, 2015

I hate to say it but Intel and Nvidia wipe the floor with AMD these days so I'd go with the box on the top.

Insomnia · Mar 18, 2015

Simi Kusoni said:
I hate to say it but Intel and Nvidia wipe the floor with AMD these days so I'd go with the box on the top.

^^^This.
Also the GTX 960 is very good for normal 1080p gaming and requires very little power.

Darque · Mar 18, 2015

Get an i7. IMO it has made the largest difference in my computing experience over the years. I have a big family and we have purchased ~12 computers over the last 4 years between us and the i7's blow away everything else. The AMDs tend to do buggy things, especially if they should get a little warm.

I am also still using a 560ti from NVidia and I have never had a problem with graphics or any lag because of it, so that 750 should be a dream!

Simi Kusoni · Mar 18, 2015

An i7 and 960 is probably overkill for Elite though

kilvenny · Mar 18, 2015

Get an ssd drive if you can! I have an i3 at work and an i7 at home. Boot at home into windows, password entered and able to browse internet is less than 30 seconds. At work same process takes several minutes.

Insomnia · Mar 18, 2015

i7 sure is overkill. i5 is enough. But a 960 isnt overkill.

Anarky · Mar 18, 2015

kilvenny said:
Get an ssd drive if you can! I have an i3 at work and an i7 at home. Boot at home into windows, password entered and able to browse internet is less than 30 seconds. At work same process takes several minutes.

Yeah. SSDs are awesome if you can fit a big enough one into the budget.

Barking_Mad · Mar 18, 2015

Thanks all. Top tips

Hardwood · Mar 18, 2015

I played it on my a10-7850 system without a discrete videocard and it ran fine at med. settings.
Now I've added my old AMD 5870 and can play at High settings.

The APU system has Elite installed on an SSD and compared to primary system it's a treat vs playing off a black edition HDD.

Kiblams · Mar 18, 2015

Speaking as someone who has had ED installed on both an ssd and HDD; you will load the game faster, but see very little difference in game.

For the CPU, the i3 will be fine, and the 750Ti will also be fine for ultra at greater than 30fps. Don't let people talk you into spending more than you need to.

graham.reeds · Mar 18, 2015

I have a quad core Xeon with 24gb of RAM and GTX 970 connected to a 1280x1024 monitor.

Waiting on the Oculus Rift...

Seriously though, go for Intel and a more recent gfx card.

Faerie · Mar 18, 2015

The game will run well on a decent mid range machine so you don't need to spend a lot of money, though I would advise you don't skimp on the main board. The i3 setup looks fine to me.

WiseDuck · Mar 18, 2015

Just buy a xbone.

GaryII · Mar 18, 2015

Buy i3 for better single core performance - will run little bit faster some everyday tasks.

Zelos1983 · Mar 18, 2015

If you buy a new computer, please get yourself a decent one. They last long.
At least a 4-core (e.g. i5), with 16GB RAM (2x8GB) to start with.
m.2 ssd with NVM, and a midrange GPU (that will be the part that is going to be replaced first anyway).

shadragon · Mar 18, 2015

Of the three options:

AMD FX 4350 4.2GHz CPU
8GB DDR3 Memory
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti

Works best for budget. Yes, the AMD chips are slightly under Intel performance wise, but they are also much cheaper and so much easier to overclock. 80% of the performance for 20% of the price. Hope that AMD is around for a long time because otherwise Intel CPU costs will explode upwards.

The GPU is key and that's a good one, but if you go AMD look at a HD 7950 from AMD as it will work best with your AMD FX processor. I like the MSI version, but that's a personal choice.

If you do go Intel, avoid the i3 which is inadequate if you want to do more than browse facebook and email. Minimum i5. Cannot tell you how many people at my work bought an i3 and regretted it. Pay the extra $25.

The SSD sugg is a good call. I have a OCZ Revo Drive 3 - 240GB PCI Express which rocks. They don't make those anymore, but SSD is the way to go.

Don't forget the motherboard. Don't buy a cheap one and limit yourself. Get one you can expand in the future. I have:

ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA Motherboard - Republic of Gamers edition.
with
Zalman Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler CNPS14X

As a result it runs cool even with full on gaming.

I play Elite (or indeed any game) at Ultra settings on a 1080 display without issue and I have the FX 8350 with MSI AMD HD 7850 video card. No overclocking.

Last, a decent case with lots of cooling fans will keep your system rolling smoothly. Coolermaster has a bunch of decent looking towers you can rig up with LED lights.

Here's mine. Note the size of the cooler above the side fan.

Synther · Mar 18, 2015

My i5-4670k with a GTX 780 averages 60-140fps depending on the situation.

My dad's C2D with a GTX 560 ti averages 20-40fps everywhere. He seems content because that's his FSX framerate.