BUILLLDD TEKKIS NEW RELIC!

[Tekki]

ok i need to build a pc.

I want my game to look as pretty as it is on my Dell XPS 1710
I want to be able to record flawlessly. When I say flawless.. I mean 0 lag... I mean "shit i left it running and didn't even notice" 0 lag....

Thats pretty much it. I dont care too much about PC gaming past this game. Have a 360 for everything else.

Suggestion? I want to spend $1000-1500 (maaaybe 1600-1700) any less would be awesome but I MUST stay within my requirements.

As many details on exactly what parts to look for when it comes to processor, video card, ram, HDD, videocard/HDD setup, everything that would effect my requirements or help me.

[Cephius]

It doesn't take much to run FFXI flawlessly, the only problem is it is not designed to work with dual core processors, yet is a processor-heavy application. IMO it's your best bet to get a high end P4 single core processsor, like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116197

Any 7 or 8 series graphics card should run the game fine. It's not GPU intensive. I'd use XP for stability unless you really want to test the Vista waters. Probably only need 1 Gig of ram, but it's so cheap nowadays you might as well get 2 since you'll be recording. Corsair ram gets my recommendation. As for HDD, does it really matter? Go with Seagate or Western Digital, preferably a 7500rpm driver or better.

Again the biggest hurdle with making a FFXI-box is the processor. The game chews it up like nobody's business but it wasn't designed for the newer models and even if you did get a 400 dollar dual core, it'll likely just max out one core and you'll be back where you started. Go for the best single-core you can find and you should be in good shape. The rest is just icing on the cake.

[pirahna1]

I'm not exactly sure how FRAPs or video capture works, but wouldn't he be better off with a dual-core CPU? 1 core to run FFXI and the other to handle the overspill with the video capture? That's how it works in my head, dunno how processes get sent out in reality though.

Plus for another 100$ (from that P4) he can get a dual-core AMD 3.0ghz. Can't hurt, and it's not much more to spend

[izembo]

dunno wouldnt go with an amd for that really, i think there would be better performance for the system with the p4.

[Shadowhusky]

dunno wouldnt go with an amd for that really, i think there would be better performance for the system with the p4.

I do hope you're kidding.

[Avanarius]

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php? ... omoid=1087 will blow the shit out of that p4 even on ffxi.

[Cephius]

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=25299&vpn=BX80557E6850&manufacture=I ntel&promoid=1087 will blow the shit out of that p4 even on ffxi.

The thing is the OP said he wants a box that's going to be used for FFXI only, anything else would use it for would probably be surfing, aim ect since he plays other games on the 360. So, him spending 270 bucks on a dual core processor when he can get about the same (albeit less, but I doubt it'd even be noticeable in FFXI) performance out of the p4 doesn't make much sense.

[Tekki]

Ya this is going to be a XI, surf the web, box only. But I want it to record flawlessly. So if that means spending the money on a hefty processor, Ill do it.

[pirahna1]

Well, here's a link from 1up boards where a fellow build a rig that would play Crysis on high settings and he only spent 900$ for it (not including a monitor), so that's a really good place for you to start Tekki, considering your budget is well over the price of this rig and the performance you want is well under the performance of this rig. I haven't checked the specifics of this rig, so I'd imagine you could lower the video card in here and get a bigger HD (I'd go 1 TB since you'll be doing a lot of recording, only 250 on newegg) and probably get a cheaper processor too, since this rig is using a quad core. But like I said earlier, I'm not sure what kind of processor would be good for the setup you need.

Link: http://boards.1up.com/zd/board/message? ... d.id=10504

[Izzy]

Only real suggestions to you for FFXI are:

DO NOT GET AN NVIDIA CARD!!! Granted, the only problem cards are the 8x00 ones, however nVidia cards are horrible glitchy with FFXI for having "The way it's meant to be played" stamp on the box. My ATI 9600XT outperforms any newer nVidia card I've tried. I've since upgraded to an even better ATI card, and it's even better.

If you're going to go the single core route, I would get an AMD processor. Their single core processors outperform Intel's on almost every test I've seen. I would probley still get a dual core processor though. Newer motherboards don't even support single core processors, and it is actually pretty hard to find a good single core motherboard nowadays anyways.

[Tekki]

awesome pointers guys, thanks for the advice.

Anyone out have extensive experience with fraps/gamecam?

[Osede]

get an external 500gb as the storage for fraps video.

I still suggess a core 2 duo, due to that if you plan to run multiple programs at the same times, especially when open some webpage with lots of flash stuff, you will find yourself suffering with the intensive cpu loading. This is very noticible when I compare my laptop with my desktop.

[Cjskater]

Well, the lower end AMD X2s are REALLY cheap right now. I'm talking $57 for a Athlon X2 4000+ 2.1Ghz (Brisbane) and like $62 for the 4200+. There is really no reason to go single core right now with AMD. Single core Athlon starts at like $40 on Newegg. I'm doing an "upgrade" right now, basically the whole thing lol, for about $180 using that 4000+.

I mean, you would probably get lag with that 4000/4200, but if you went with something like:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
or
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

That should definitely handle it, it is about the same price as a E6550. With your budget I would just go with a E6750/E6850 though.

EDIT: 6400+ doesn't have unlocked multiplier :/ only 5000+

[Shadowhusky]

Well, the lower end AMD X2s are REALLY cheap right now. I'm talking $57 for a Athlon X2 4000+ 2.1Ghz (Brisbane) and like $62 for the 4200+. There is really no reason to go single core right now with AMD. Single core Athlon starts at like $40 on Newegg. I'm doing an "upgrade" right now, basically the whole thing lol, for about $180 using that 4000+.

I mean, you would probably get lag with that 4000/4200, but if you went with something like:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
or
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

That should definitely handle it, it is about the same price as a E6550. With your budget I would just go with a E6750/E6850 though.

EDIT: 6400+ doesn't have unlocked multiplier :/ only 5000+

Actually I'm using the 4200+ (Stock was at 2.2, OC'd to 2.4GHz) and I don't get any lag except in whitegate. But that's because I'm using an nvidia card, so that's why. The processor it self is very good.

[Snowknight26]

Dual or Quad core CPU and at least a 10k RPM Raptor. However, you will still lag because those morons at SE don't know how to code for the PC. There is nothing else you can get that will stop the lag.

As for video card.. well, NVIDIA cards used to suck for FFXI, AMD (ATI) ones not so much, but it doesn't really matter because you could have an ATI Rage 128 and it'd still probably run fine.

[Shadowhusky]

Dual or Quad core CPU and at least a 10k RPM Raptor. However, you will still lag because those morons at SE don't know how to code for the PC. There is nothing else you can get that will stop the lag.

As for video card.. well, NVIDIA cards used to suck for FFXI, AMD (ATI) ones not so much, but it doesn't really matter because you could have an ATI Rage 128 and it'd still probably run fine.

Quad is just wasting money if only for FFXI, the 10k raptor drive is iffy. But really you're still good with a 7200RPM drive too.

[Snowknight26]

Don't forget he wants to run Fraps....

[levish]

I wouldn't say the 10k raptor is iffy, it has some of the best random access times available short of SSD's and FFXI does a lot of "random access" in high traffic areas

And I wouldn't personally build a AMD system at the moment especially if you are doing it more or less from the ground up.

[Don Katsu]

Here's a little story not sure if it will help you decide but I thought I would share:

I bought a computer in July 07 it had a AMD 5000+ with a 8600GT and Vista... I ran this game 2048x2048 with no lag, even in dynamis... i had it for a month and gave it to my nephew because I got an intel machine the month after I kept the video card and the ram (2gb pc6400)... The intel was a Core 2 E6420 which according to "Tom's hardware CPU charts" is marginally better than the 5000+

I installed my Video card and FFXI then I found myself browsing, searching and posting in this section of the forums.....

[altwight]

so amd = no lag and intel = sup bg