Building a new PC for FFXIV - Help prz?

[Uzor]

I thought I'd ask here since I I'm not very tech savvy when it comes to computers. I'm building a new PC for FFXIV (I know how to put one together, I just suck at knowing what's best etc.), I'm considering one of these two sets:

1:

Spoiler: show

• Intel Core i7 930 2,8GHz / 8MB / 4,8GT/s Socket 1366 (Boxed)
• Asus - Socket 1366 - ATX Intel X58 (P6X58D-E) - PCI-E / DDR3 / SATA / USB 3.0
• Corsair 6144MB DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz (9-9-9-24) (3x2048MB) (TR3X6G1600C9)
• ASUS ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB (EAH5850/2DIS/1GD5) - PCI-E / 2xDVI / HDMI / DisplayPort
• Corsair PowerSupply (PSU) 650W TX ATX
• Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (7200RPM / 32MB Cache / SATA II)
• Samsung Intern SATA DVD±RW 22x - Svart (Dual-Layer) (SH-S223C) (Bulk)

2:

Spoiler: show

• Intel Core i5 750 2,66GHz / 8MB / Socket 1156 (Boxed)
• Asus - Socket 1156 - ATX Intel P55 (P7P55D-E PRO) - DDR3 / PCI-E / SATA
• Corsair XMS3 4096MB DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz (2X2048MB) (CL9) (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
• Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB (7200RPM / 32MB Cache / SATA II / NCQ)
• Fractal Design Define R2 - Svart (Ej PSU)
• Corsair PowerSupply (PSU) 650W TX ATX
• Zotac GeForce GTX 460 768MB (ZT-40401-10P) - PCI-E / 2xDVI
• Samsung Intern SATA DVD±RW 22x - Svart (Dual-Layer) (SH-S223C) (Bulk)

The first one (with casing included) is about $1400, the second one is about $1186.

Would the first one run FFXIV good at high settings, and would it be cashing out the extra $220, when the main thing I would be playing is FFXIV? Would the difference in performance be worth the extra buck?

Looking at the score board, i7 seem to perform a lot better than i5, but is it worth the extra money?

Both of the above are combo deals at the store I was considering buying them from, but you can buy the parts separate too in case there's better in the same price range.

[Skeeterxi]

I suggest just waiting for the game to come out and compare how well its running on other peoples machines to the one you want to build. The cost of the i7s might come down by then too.

[Dolmen]

I built my new comp with better specs for less than #1. I was able to do:

Intel i7 930
6GB RAM
ATI 5870 graphics card
Cooler Master HAF 932 case
Corsair 850W PSU
1TB HDD
Gigabyte motherboard

Total cost was about $1200 (including $25 of tax) ordering through Newegg and getting some stuff at MicroCenter.

[Uzor]

I built my new comp with better specs for less than #1. I was able to do:

Intel i7 930
6GB RAM
ATI 5870 graphics card
Cooler Master HAF 932 case
Corsair 850W PSU
1TB HDD
Gigabyte motherboard

Total cost was about $1200 (including $25 of tax) ordering through Newegg and getting some stuff at MicroCenter.

Well, I converted it from SEK, so the cost could be slightly off. It costs 11195 SEK. If you go by the traditional 1:10 ratio it puts it at roughly $1100, but I believe the current ration is somewhere between 1:7 - 1:8, so it depends on how you count. And that's probably why you could get it cheaper too, since I live in Sweden and we have 25% tax I usually import things from the states, but I'm not sure a new computer would be worth importing due to all of the extra fees.

And yeah, I've seen lots of computers at Newegg I wanted to buy, but the bastards don't ship to Sweden

I suggest just waiting for the game to come out and compare how well its running on other peoples machines to the one you want to build. The cost of the i7s might come down by then too.

I don't plan on purchasing it until closer to release or after release, but I need to know which one is best so I know how much I need to save up, thus deciding how much alcohol I can consume this month ;p

[CoronA1979]

I guess it's possible the i7's will come down in price but I wouldn't bet to terribly much on it.

I purchased my i7-920 almost a year ago to the date. When I purchased the processor from NewEgg a year ago I paid $279.99 - I checked the price of them the other day and they were $299.99

-Edit- Shows unavailable on the 920 now, though...

[Knyghtmayre]

Everything I've read says that i7s are a total waste if your sole intention is gaming. i5s are cheaper and perform just as well/better. But if you're using the box for any other purposes in addition to gaming, then an i7 might be worth it to you.

[Uzor]

Everything I've read says that i7s are a total waste if your sole intention is gaming. i5s are cheaper and perform just as well/better. But if you're using the box for any other purposes in addition to gaming, then an i7 might be worth it to you.

It depends - what counts as other purposes? If by other purposes you mean recording in-game, movie editting, streaming etc, I don't do that. If I'm to edit movies, photos and shit, I use my work computer for the programs on it. I'd use if for gaming, surfing, watching movies etc.

From what I've read up on i5 vs i7 is that i7 has Hyper Threading, which i5 don't. I have no idea what hyper threading is though, nor do I know if FFXIV uses it.

[Jurgen]

Go with the i5 if you're trying to maximize bang/buck. You'll see almost no benefit in gaming from an i7.

What resolution are you playing at? If you're playing at 1080P, you might want to go with a slightly better graphics card. Either the ATI 5870 or GTX 470.

As others have said, wait as long as you can before purchasing and look for those combo deals.

[Uzor]

The above was a combo deal, hence why I listed those. The graphic cards you recommended is roughly 2x-3x more expensive though, so if I went for the i5 option with that graphic card it'd be about the same price as the i7 option, but it could possibly be more as it would no longer be a combo deal (as I'd instead have to purchase the parts individually).

Thanks for all of the tips, I'll browse around some more and see if I can find any other combo deals. I guess I'll look in to purchasing an i5 if an i7 is not really worth it.

[Balthasar]

inb4 XIV supports multicore rendering

[Dmitry]

Look at AMD processors if you can. I just got a Phenom II x4 for $150 or so which runs at 3.2ghz, compared to my i5 for $200 at 2.67ghz or something.

Also get like 4GB of RAM you probably won't need 6 for anything game-related.

Also those video cards are probably jacking up the price for both of those rigs.

[Olo401]

Look at AMD processors if you can. I just got a Phenom II x4 for $150 or so which runs at 3.2ghz, compared to my i5 for $200 at 2.67ghz or something.

Never compare two processors that aren't from the same production line by their clock speed ratings. Intel's CPU design is far more efficient than AMD's, which means despite the difference in raw clock speed the i5-750 runs even and/or beats the PIIx4-955 in just about every benchmark (with the notable exception of media encoding).

[Knyghtmayre]

Never compare two processors that aren't from the same production line by their clock speed ratings. Intel's CPU design is far more efficient than AMD's, which means despite the difference in raw clock speed the i5-750 runs even and/or beats the PIIx4-955 in just about every benchmark (with the notable exception of media encoding).

This^

Even just glancing at an excerpt from the PassMark CPU benches here:

Intel Core i7 975 @ 3.33GHz	  7,003
Intel Core i7 K 875 @ 2.93GHz	  6,543
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T @ 3.2GHz   6,074
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz	  5,573
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T @ 2.8GHz	  5,156
AMD Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.4GHz     4,262
Intel Core i5 750 @ 2.67GHz	  4,208
AMD Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.2GHz     3,934

You can see that if you were only comparing clock for clock, you might think that a 955 BE and an i7 975 were nearly even, when in reality, the latter is absolutely miles ahead in terms of performance.

[Uzor]

What about this set then?

Ok, next question, I've taken a few considerations in to account (from here and BG), and I've come up with a new set. What about this one?

Ace Ecco 400 Black (Excluding PSU)
Intel Core i7 930 2,8GHz / 8MB / 4,8GT/s Socket 1366
Asus - Socket 1366 - ATX Intel X58 (P6X58D-E) - PCI-E / DDR3 / SATA / USB 3.0
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5870
Corsair Dominator GT 4096MB DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz (7-7-7-20) (2X2048MB)
Corsair PowerSupply (PSU) 650W TX ATX
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (7200RPM / 32MB Cache / SATA II)
Samsung Intern SATA DVD±RW 22x Black (Dual-Layer)

Now, another question; Would a 650W PSU suffice, or would it be better to push for a 850W one? Reason I'm asking is because the 850W one costs almost twice as much as the 650W one.

The difference in price between i5 and i7 is only about $80, so if FFXIV end up supporting Hyper Threading I'll get that, otherwise i5.

[Jojimbo]

You might wanna bump that up to 6 GB of triple channel memory. ATI's site says you only need 500W, or 600W for CF. So single card + OCing on 650W is fine.

[Jintu]

I was just messing around on newegg and found this deal, might help you out; just a suggestion:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.432262

[Uzor]

I was just messing around on newegg and found this deal, might help you out; just a suggestion:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.432262

That's extremely close to the pieces I picked out. If Newegg shipped to Sweden I'd order it from them :3 Sadly, they don't :/ Their prices are a lot better than in Sweden.