Hardware & Technical Set Up Advice / Specs

[Dash]

The PC Specialist build looks spot on. My only reservation is the 120GB disk, I'm currently recommending a 256GB minimum - I suspect you will come a cropper in the future on 120GB. External drives are ok for photos and the like, but you won't be able to install programs onto them.

As for the downgraded graphics card. My understanding is the game should work fine on it (hopefully somebody with a similar card will chime in); but... it may be worth paying the extra now for longevity. An entry-level gaming card will have to be replaced a lot sooner than a mid-range if you want to play new games.

And remember, whilst the vast nothingness of space isn't that taxing, planetary exploration may turn out to be.

You're looking at around the right price point though for a machine capable of a good gaming experience, you'll be in the land of diminishing returns if you go over a grand. But go down too far and you'll be knocking on poor quality components.

£350 - buys you the bear minimum computer
£500 - buys you the bear minimum to play games
£750 - you're cooking on gas
£1000 - well, now you're into enthusiast territory

 

[SharkH]

I have seen suggestions about amd r9 270 and r9 290 but what about the r9 280?

Anyway my setup can run elite fine on max settings 60fps.

CPU - AMD FX-8350 @4500Mhz
MB - ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0
Cooling - Corsair H100i
Memory - Corsair 8GB Dominator Platinum DDR3 1866MHz
VGA - ASUS R9280 DC2T 3GB
HDD - WD Velociraptor 250GB
PSU - Corsair RM750

Be ware! Beside CPU, GFX, Memory you should get a proper PSU and motherboard. For gfx cards like r9 290 you need at least a good quality PSU 700W+ .

Someone mentioned 8GB memory is very low.... For what? For gaming 8GB is more than enough and you can upgrade to 16 any time if you want to do works on your computer in the future.

Edit: If you are not good at computers than I would also suggest you to buy an i5. You have to know a bit about setting your computer right to be able to use "the benefits of AMD platform" I think.

 

[Ben_BigBen]

All-in for mine I'm at about the £750 mark (just under) but I did shop around for separate second hand parts and didn't have to buy a case. 120GB RAID0 (2 x 60GB SSDs) are fine for E: D (~15GB), MechWarrior (~5GB) and FarCry4 (31GB) and super fast !

E: D Ran fine on a borrowed GTX 560Ti for me so R9 290 might be a bit of overkill - I'd look for that bang-for-buck sweet spot and go 280x (yes I know I went GTX 970 )

I did also see that faster OC RAM can make a big difference to the bandwidth available for the Haswells - that's why I went for the 2133MHz


/edit

I second the power supply requirements - factor that in to your price too !

 

[Dash]

I'd just like to call out baloney on the PSU thing. You do not need a 700W power supply for a standard gaming rig. Even with a heavily over-clocked and over-volted PC running twin-overclocked graphics cards - all from a less energy efficient era than current components, I never went far over 500W at the wall.

Having an over-powered PSU costs you (a) up-front and (b) constantly with efficiencies. PSUs will run optimally around the 50% mark (the better PSUs will have a wider band). Your computer will *mostly* be using under 100W, when gaming you can expect that to go to 200-300W depending on the graphics card you have.

If you're building your own computer and having to specify your own PSU, do yourself a favour and get one under 500W. This should cope for even adding a second graphics-card in at a later date. If you're serious about overclocking then you'll do the sums for your power draw too and know what you need. Don't believe the gumph.

 

[adoredtv]

I'd just like to call out baloney on the PSU thing. You do not need a 700W power supply for a standard gaming rig. Even with a heavily over-clocked and over-volted PC running twin-overclocked graphics cards - all from a less energy efficient era than current components, I never went far over 500W at the wall.

Having an over-powered PSU costs you (a) up-front and (b) constantly with efficiencies. PSUs will run optimally around the 50% mark (the better PSUs will have a wider band). Your computer will *mostly* be using under 100W, when gaming you can expect that to go to 200-300W depending on the graphics card you have.

If you're building your own computer and having to specify your own PSU, do yourself a favour and get one under 500W. This should cope for even adding a second graphics-card in at a later date. If you're serious about overclocking then you'll do the sums for your power draw too and know what you need. Don't believe the gumph.

The "less energy efficient era" you talk about didn't really exist. Graphics cards in particular have just been getting more and more powerful, drawing more and more power. For example the old "top end" cards like the 8800 Ultra were only pulling 175W compared to say stuff like the GTX 480 which was easily pulling 300W.

So with that in mind, in no way should 500W be considered good enough for Crossfire or SLI these days, especially not at these level of graphics cards being talked about (290's are easily drawing 200W+ each). You'll also really struggle to find a 500W PSU with enough 8-pin connectors to run a couple of higher-end GPUs. I'd go at least 600W to be on the safe side and have a bit extra, but to be frank I'd be looking at 700W+ for dual-card setups. You don't really want the PSU running at 90% load all the time as it'll add extra heat and noise.

For sure though, anyone saying "you need a 1000W PSU" is almost certainly talking nonsense, especially for single-card setups. Even a 750W PSU is not needed, ever, for a single card.

 

[Ytheleus]

Another point is that it's better to have 2 x 4GB memory sticks than 1 x 8GB stick if it can possibly be arranged and a motherboard with 4 memory slots still gives you an upgrade path. 2 x 4GB can be arranged in parallel, think of it as a dual carriageway rather than a one-lane road. It matters for large memory transfers.

Consider the 280 and 280X GPUs also for 1080p resolution monitors, there are bargains available at the moment because the R9 285 has just been released and it sits in the same sort of performance bracket so stock is being cleared. Look to get a 280 for £130 (as I just did), 280X for £150 incl.

If you get a 280X then a quality 600W PSU is an effective minimum as far as I'm concerned, considering the small money involved over a 500W. A blown PSU can blow everything else, so it's insurance, even if it's not strictly necessary. All imo of course.

 

[OVMorat]

There is a lot of good advice in this thread. Sadly I ignored all of it.
I bought my first computer since my Commodore Amiga: http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/-b-NEW-b-Infernodon-4790K-94p2186.htm
with a smaller case and an overclocked graphics card (the ASUS Strix).
It should arrive on Friday - here's hoping!

If you're feeling more sensible, there are a lot of cost effective options on that site and they will build it all for you and provide a 3 year guarantee.
Obviously I can't vouch for it all myself because the machine hasn't arrived yet but the reviews seem positive. If you want any customisations just call them up, I did and they were really helpful.

 

[Sav112]

Using a Nov 2004 build PC here so having to get a decent rig for this. The only part I was forced to get was a 27” ASUS screen as my old screen started playing up. Its not played a game since about 2007.

I’m getting overclockers to build me one while it’s less interesting than doing it yourself I just want it done right and under warranty for at least a year.

Thinking about waiting till Windows 10 ships next year and the games ED and DayZ are patched and running well. Although in Dayz that’s a big hope. Just figure the later I leave it the better the hardware I’ll get for my money.

 

[Knot2clever]

My only tip. If you do go for a SSD as suggested you can save a few bob by just getting a smaller size for the OS only.
You can fit a std HDD for any further storage space you may need. You can always upgrade later.

Not totally sure but, I play on my 50" Samsung HD TV, as far as I'm aware I am limited to 60FPS max, as it is
a TV and not a monitor and as such dose not support higher frame rates. If wrong can some one put me right.

 

[Thogapotomus]

Truth is, you'll never get a solid consensus on what to buy. Set a budget, as there's no sense in looking at all the variables at once. When you have a set budget, then you can narrow down what you want better.

(Edit: By reach a consensus, I mean find out what is best for you. You'll be steered in the right direction, to the class of parts you want (R9 series cards and Nvidia equivalents). In the end, you should do some research and go with what you're most happy/comfortable with, as each card has many different manufacturers.)

Graphics card is the most important thing to spend money on. Processors are nice, but they won't hold you back as long as they're fairly modern.

Get a big enough case. Some graphics cards are 12-13" long.

Also, check out pcpartpicker.com, if you haven't already. You can view full builds there, find good prices on where to buy, and I believe it helps make sure everything is compatible. Don't quote me on that last point though.

 

[adoredtv]

Not totally sure but, I play on my 50" Samsung HD TV, as far as I'm aware I am limited to 60FPS max, as it is
a TV and not a monitor and as such dose not support higher frame rates. If wrong can some one put me right.

The reason you can't get a higher frame-rate is because the game has V-Sync on as default. If you remove that in the graphics options you'll go higher than 60fps, but removing V-sync also introduces screen "tearing" which will be really horrible on a large tv, so you're better off leaving it on.

 

[sun_tzu]

@OV Morat
looks like a great site
under £800 I can get a
i5 4690
Zelman R1 Case
Zelman CPU cooler
Windows 8.1 or 7
the R9 290
with 8GB Ram
and 250GB samsung SSD
with wifi and a 600w PSU
the motherbord is a Gigabite H 81 M-H (says it can only take up to 16G RAM but all their memory cards say that but as im not installing more than that it should be ok right?

If I drop down to an i5 (4460) and a R9 280 card (which means I can also drop down to a 550W PSU) then it is all under £700 including warrenty and delivery - I think one of those two set ups could be the winner.

Just not sure on the motherboard and also would the R9 290 get so hot that additional coolng is needed - I have been told it can get quite warm?

 

[Knot2clever]

The reason you can't get a higher frame-rate is because the game has V-Sync on as default. If you remove that in the graphics options you'll go higher than 60fps, but removing V-sync also introduces screen "tearing" which will be really horrible on a large tv, so you're better off leaving it on.

Thank you for the reply.

I eventually want to get the Rift, but am very happy with what I already have to be going on with.

 

[zhaith]

@OV Morat
looks like a great site
under £800 I can get a
i5 4690
Zelman R1 Case
Zelman CPU cooler
Windows 8.1 or 7
the R9 290
with 8GB Ram
and 250GB samsung SSD
with wifi and a 600w PSU
the motherbord is a Gigabite H 81 M-H (says it can only take up to 16G RAM but all their memory cards say that but as im not installing more than that it should be ok right?

If I drop down to an i5 (4460) and a R9 280 card (which means I can also drop down to a 550W PSU) then it is all under £700 including warrenty and delivery - I think one of those two set ups could be the winner.

Just not sure on the motherboard and also would the R9 290 get so hot that additional coolng is needed - I have been told it can get quite warm?

The 290's can run hot, as long as you steer clear of the reference coolers they are not too bad, personally if I was to choose one i'd pick one with a good cooler

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-344-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752 for example, The H81 is is is a micro atx board which may limit upgrades in the future, personally i'd look at a different motherboard but that depends on your budget.

 

[SharkH]

The "less energy efficient era" you talk about didn't really exist. Graphics cards in particular have just been getting more and more powerful, drawing more and more power. For example the old "top end" cards like the 8800 Ultra were only pulling 175W compared to say stuff like the GTX 480 which was easily pulling 300W.

So with that in mind, in no way should 500W be considered good enough for Crossfire or SLI these days, especially not at these level of graphics cards being talked about (290's are easily drawing 200W+ each). You'll also really struggle to find a 500W PSU with enough 8-pin connectors to run a couple of higher-end GPUs. I'd go at least 600W to be on the safe side and have a bit extra, but to be frank I'd be looking at 700W+ for dual-card setups. You don't really want the PSU running at 90% load all the time as it'll add extra heat and noise.

For sure though, anyone saying "you need a 1000W PSU" is almost certainly talking nonsense, especially for single-card setups. Even a 750W PSU is not needed, ever, for a single card.

You might be right but if you use a power hungry OC AMD system with a single r9 290 I would still suggest at least a good 700W+ beside most of the "lesser" PSUs don't even have enough cable to support these cards.

 

[adoredtv]

You might be right but if you use a power hungry OC AMD system with a single r9 290 I would still suggest at least a good 700W+ beside most of the "lesser" PSUs don't even have enough cable to support these cards.

Even the highest end AMD CPU FX-9590 is "only" rated at 220W TDP so one of those and a R9 290 will get close to 500W at full load. In reality though, that 220W TDP number is when all 8 CPU cores are fully loaded, which basically never happens while gaming (if it did AMD would be in much better shape because everybody would be buying their CPUs). The entire system is unlikely to pull over 400W, but it could theoretically happen. Never gonna get near 700W though, that's just plain old physics at work. There isn't enough power draw in all the components of a system like this to break 550W-600W, it just can't happen unless you start overclocking like mad. Only by adding a 2nd graphics card can you get close to 750W requirements.

I already mentioned that many smaller PSUs don't have the cables required, in the post you quoted.

 

[sun_tzu]

Right so thanks for all the feedback and help
I have spoken with Dino PC and think I'm ready to place an order - though the guy i spoke to admitted he had not played the game but had a rough idea if the specs and said this should smash it with the ability to upgrade to a very high end set up with relative ease should I want to

Case Corsair Carbide 500R (seems to have lots of cooling ability which if I upgrade in future I assume I will need)
CPU Intel I5 4690K (not to be overclocked at the start but with the potential to do so in the future with the addition of extra cooling which the case should allow for)
GPU Radeon R9 280 (should be enough for ED now but in the future I could run two of these in crossfire configuration if needed (probably with a couple of extra fans)
Motherboard Gigabite Z97 X Gaming 3 (This will allow upto 32G ram for future upgrades plus supports crossfire and USB3 so that seems to tick the boxes for me)
PSU FSP 750 (plenty of power for now including handling the HOTAS and would support the additional R9 280 and RAM with any upgrade)
RAM 8BG (2X4GB 1600) should be fine for now but the board will allow for additional ram to be added in the future
SSD Crucial 256BMB MX1000 (250GB plus my 1TB external HDD should be fine for now and of course this could be added to if required in the future)
OS windows 8.1 (I don't mind it as I have got used to it via work)

All that comes in at £828 allowing me to get a decent HOTAS as well all for under a grand which seems good value http://eustore.madcatz.com/mad-catz...55-Rhino-H-O-T-A-S-System-for-PC.html?whence=

the plan is that in say 3 years it would be relativity easy to take it in once to get it upgraded all together with possibly an overclocked CPU and cooling added, adding a second R280 card in crossfire plus additional fans (the case allows up to 7) and upgrading the RAM to 16G (all these additions now would take the build up by about £400 but hopefully quite a bit less in a few years as fingers crossed the R9 280, SSD and RAM will all have seen a price reduction)

Can anybody see any glaring errors in my thinking (particularly on the current set up and its ability to play ED - which I imagine will mostly be in Solo mode as I am likely to be able to dedicate an hour or so at a time rather than long sessions)

 

[Knot2clever]

This happens EVERY time, offer advise and you end up getting a system far superior to mine. Never mind eh!

Sound the business, with plenty of upgrade options.

Only thing I would point out, is some motherboards have issues with the X52 Pro when plugged into USB3, don't know too much about it but there are post
on how to resolve. Don't know your setup but hopefully you wont be affected.

Sounds like it won't be long now, see you in space commander & good luck.

Found it

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15257&page=4

 

[sun_tzu]

This happens EVERY time, offer advise and you end up getting a system far superior to mine. Never mind eh!

Sound the business, with plenty of upgrade options.

Only thing I would point out, is some motherboards have issues with the X52 Pro when plugged into USB3, don't know too much about it but there are post
on how to resolve. Don't know your setup but hopefully you wont be affected.

Sounds like it won't be long now, see you in space commander & good luck.

Found it

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15257&page=4

I was looking at the X55 - does that have the same issues? - I have been told to make sure I have a decent PSU as apparently the X55 takes a bit of power as well but as I say I think (hope) I have overspeced that anyway for now so it should (hopefully be fine)

 

[Iddy]

X55 Joystick

I've just found a X55 Joystick for the price of £168.00.
Question 1 is this a good Stick for Elite?
Question 2 is this a good price?
I'm currently using a Black Widow and am thinking of treating myself for Christmas.