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Good hardware to play the game ?


OlBuzzard

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I'm upgrading a few items on the old puter. I know some of you are pretty darn good at this stuff. And maybe it might help someone else as well.

 

Sooo .. Let me run a few specs by and see what shakes out.

1. Current graphics card: NVidia GeForce GTX 1080

2. New CPU i9 9900 K ... (possibly).. Kind of what I'd prefer as far as I can tell. This is one of the items I'm looking at really hard.

3. Mother Board: either ASUS or Gigabyte .. (still debating this one too)

4. 64 gig RAM (for now at least)

5. SSD ?? Not sure. Depending upon what tech / spec you read: Yes. I do know that SSD loads MUCH faster than the old style HD. But...the down side is that when they start to go .. they're simply gone. And I have 10-12 years of 3-D models and other art work that I'd prefer not to loose. Sooo Looks like an external drive as well to use for back up stuff.

 

My monitor and most everything else is new or only 10- 12 months old ... only the case is older: Cooler Master Cosmos. It still has plenty of room for about anything I need to shove under the hood !

 

A little tech input from those who care to would be appreciated ! The biggest concern I have is unforseen "bottle necks" that might be there if there was a lack of compatibility between components.

 

Thanks in advance !

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Your graphics card is way more than enough for TOR, I played from Dec 2011 - April 2019 with a GTX 770 and never had it max out.

 

CPU is more important, specifically single-core performance. SWTOR is super single core heavy so that's a big one.

 

An SSD helps for loading times for planets and zones, but those aren't bothering you then you're good there.

 

Overall, just make sure you don't have bitraider, and minimize your latency as much as possible.

Edited by AshlaBoga
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For just the game 64 gigs of ram is absolute overkill.

 

I still only have 8 gigs in 2019 and have zero issues with running game + several other apps open.

 

CPU, the better the individual core is, the better your performance. SWTOR does not use 4 cores, mostly just 1 maybe 2 (not sure).

 

I dont think it matters how good a CPU you are using, you will still lag badly on bug WB on ossus.

 

No reason not to have game on SSD or m.2 even. The stuff you care about you should always keep backed up on separate HDD.

Edited by Benirons
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While SSD sizes have gone up a lot, it's still more practical in my opinion to have an SSD and HDD. SSD for fast stuff, HDD for multimedia and other big stuff.

 

Otherwise, that system is massive levels of overkill (not really a bad thing if you got the cash). Just remember not to skimp on the cooler. Probably the biggest mistake I see is people buying monster CPUs and putting a stock/near stock cooler on it so it just ends up throttling to keep from exploding.

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For just the game 64 gigs of ram is absolute overkill.

 

I still only have 8 gigs in 2019 and have zero issues with running game + several other apps open.

 

CPU, the better the individual core is, the better your performance. SWTOR does not use 4 cores, mostly just 1 maybe 2 (not sure).

 

I dont think it matters how good a CPU you are using, you will still lag badly on bug WB on ossus.

 

No reason not to have game on SSD or m.2 even. The stuff you care about you should always keep backed up on separate HDD.

 

One thing that I failed to mention was that I also do 3-D modeling (wings 3-D).. and I already have a few models that use to bog the old GPU down until I went to the new Nvidia... That was also one of the reasons I'm going to 64 gig RAM ..

OH .. and of course everything is running at 64 bit as well.

 

I do appreciate the input.

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While SSD sizes have gone up a lot, it's still more practical in my opinion to have an SSD and HDD. SSD for fast stuff, HDD for multimedia and other big stuff.

 

Otherwise, that system is massive levels of overkill (not really a bad thing if you got the cash). Just remember not to skimp on the cooler. Probably the biggest mistake I see is people buying monster CPUs and putting a stock/near stock cooler on it so it just ends up throttling to keep from exploding.

 

Agreed. That is the main reason that I'm keeping my old Cosmos case. It has a killer cooling fan on it. And I custom built my own desk to make sure that there is easy access to all of the wiring in the back as well as plenty of ventilation with a 6 inch fan on the underside of said desk pushing fresh air in.

 

It is a bit of over kill.. but this last system was at the time I initially had it built ... That was over 10 years ago. I'm running an old quad core DDR-3 system right now. This with the exception of the newer items we just had installed in the last ffew months.

 

NOTE to everyone who has responded. I really do appreciate the input. This has been very helpful. I have done a lot of research on my own... but thought I'd see what some of the rest of you might think. I'm quite certain that a lot of you know much more about these new fangled gadgets than I do !

:D

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1. Current graphics card: NVidia GeForce GTX 1080

2. New CPU i9 9900 K

3. Mother Board: either ASUS or Gigabyte .. (still debating this one too)

4. 64 gig RAM (for now at least)

5. SSD ??

1. The GTX 1080 should handle the graphics in SWTOR very easily. Even at 1440p or 4K. There's not much need to upgrade it.

2. SWTOR is very CPU bound. It only uses 1 or 2 cores and likes high clock speed and IPC (Instructions Per Clock). The i7-9900K is generally the best gaming CPU you can get at this time. You don't need all those cores for SWTOR, but they will come in handy for video editing.

If cost becomes a factor, you could consider an i5-9700 or a new Ryzen 3000 series CPU (when the are released later this year.)

3. They are both well respected motherboard makers. Any of the "good" brands would do. It's mostly just a matter of features and price.

4. 16Gigs is the "normal" amount of RAM these days, but more doesn't hurt and, again, may help video editing, etc.

5. You don't already have an SSD?!! An SSD makes the whole system much snappier. Once you have your OS and main apps/games on an SSD, you'll never go back to hard drives.

My suggestion for you would be - an M.2 NVMe drive for OS and main apps - 250 Gigs is enough, but 500Gigs would be a good "sweet spot". You can also add a 2TB hard drive (or more/larger) for bulk storage of files.

BTW, when an SSD fails due to old age, it usually fails to write new info, but the old info can still be read, giving you time to copy stuff to a new drive. Modern SSDs have such a long life-span that you'll probably be upgrading to something new long before they fail. (They have a lower failure rate than HDDs also.)

 

6. The case is just a box to hold the hardware together. Unless it lacks some feature you want, there's never any real need to change it. (I recently had to change my case because the poor airflow in the previous one was cooking the graphics card, but other than that, it was fine.)

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Everything looks pretty good, imo.

 

5. SSD ?? Not sure. Depending upon what tech / spec you read: Yes. I do know that SSD loads MUCH faster than the old style HD. But...the down side is that when they start to go .. they're simply gone. And I have 10-12 years of 3-D models and other art work that I'd prefer not to loose. Sooo Looks like an external drive as well to use for back up stuff.

 

I wanted to address this part. You can absolutely use your old school HDD in conjunction with your SSD. But I highly highly recommend that you buy a M.2 SSD, like this Samsung https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-PRO-512GB-MZ-V7P512BW/dp/B07BYHGNB5.

 

Mechanical HDD's make great backup and storage drives. Install Windows on this drive and use it as your "main" drive. Your old mechanical drive will be separate and will still be usable. Install all of your most-used apps on the M.2 SSD. You won't regret it.

 

If you have never experienced the speed of the newest M.2 NVME drives, you are missing out. I swear by these things.

Edited by Rion_Starkiller
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1. The GTX 1080 should handle the graphics in SWTOR very easily. Even at 1440p or 4K. There's not much need to upgrade it.

2. SWTOR is very CPU bound. It only uses 1 or 2 cores and likes high clock speed and IPC (Instructions Per Clock). The i7-9900K is generally the best gaming CPU you can get at this time. You don't need all those cores for SWTOR, but they will come in handy for video editing.

If cost becomes a factor, you could consider an i5-9700 or a new Ryzen 3000 series CPU (when the are released later this year.)

3. They are both well respected motherboard makers. Any of the "good" brands would do. It's mostly just a matter of features and price.

4. 16Gigs is the "normal" amount of RAM these days, but more doesn't hurt and, again, may help video editing, etc.

5. You don't already have an SSD?!! An SSD makes the whole system much snappier. Once you have your OS and main apps/games on an SSD, you'll never go back to hard drives.

My suggestion for you would be - an M.2 NVMe drive for OS and main apps - 250 Gigs is enough, but 500Gigs would be a good "sweet spot". You can also add a 2TB hard drive (or more/larger) for bulk storage of files.

BTW, when an SSD fails due to old age, it usually fails to write new info, but the old info can still be read, giving you time to copy stuff to a new drive. Modern SSDs have such a long life-span that you'll probably be upgrading to something new long before they fail. (They have a lower failure rate than HDDs also.)

 

6. The case is just a box to hold the hardware together. Unless it lacks some feature you want, there's never any real need to change it. (I recently had to change my case because the poor airflow in the previous one was cooking the graphics card, but other than that, it was fine.)

 

 

 

Everything looks pretty good, imo.

 

 

 

I wanted to address this part. You can absolutely use your old school HDD in conjunction with your SSD. But I highly highly recommend that you buy a M.2 SSD, like this Samsung https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-PRO-512GB-MZ-V7P512BW/dp/B07BYHGNB5.

 

Mechanical HDD's make great backup and storage drives. Install Windows on this drive and use it as your "main" drive. Your old mechanical drive will be separate and will still be usable. Install all of your most-used apps on the M.2 SSD. You won't regret it.

 

If you have never experienced the speed of the newest M.2 NVME drives, you are missing out. I swear by these things.

 

I really do appreciate the information.. REALLY !

Your input (and that of a close friend on the east coast).. pretty much reinforces the same conclusion I have came to save one item in particular: the SSD. I was still somewhat indecisive … HHD ?? or SSD??

I'll probably get a 1 TB SSD drive with a 1 TB HHD to use for back up on all my art and 3-D files.

 

Input is much appreciated !

Best Regards

Ol Buzzard

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Sorry, one small bit of clarification: to get the maximum benefit of your M.2 SSD, install Windows on the SSD, not the mechanical HDD.

 

Yeah... I kind of figured as much ! It's all cool !

 

OH ! BTW... I couldn't help to note the name "Starkiller".... From B-5 ? by any chace ? As in Capt. John Sheridan ?

Just currious !

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Bangin rig, bruh. You can run any game on the market with that and a few years to come.

 

The idea is to be able to keep the small stuff updated .. and the bigger more expensive stuff to last me 8 - 10 years ( I've had this one almost 11 now). I'll save money in the long run !

 

;)

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The idea is to be able to keep the small stuff updated .. and the bigger more expensive stuff to last me 8 - 10 years ( I've had this one almost 11 now). I'll save money in the long run !

 

;)

 

As a system builder myself, I always suggest people buy the highest spec they can afford at the time because it will last the longest.

 

How is your PC build from the OP running?

If you still have any bottle necks with that it’s background apps or windows service causing any hiccups.

Edited by TrixxieTriss
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As a system builder myself, I always suggest people buy the highest spec they can afford at the time because it will last the longest.

 

How is your PC build from the OP running?

If you still have any bottle necks with that it’s background apps or windows service causing any hiccups.

 

Right now I'm still waiting on the final quote from the folks who will actually do the work. I'm not tech savy enough to put this together my self. I can follow the discussions we have.. (even the other thread where NVidia is being discussed). But sadly not enough ability there to do the assembly. If something went south I'd have no idea how to trouble shoot !

 

On paper ... it looks good to go. OH . BTW.. I also have the GTX-1080. Works great.

 

Just before installing the 1080 I was forced to run this game ion "Windows" mode only. That took place the day after we did the DL to begin KotET. Prior to that I just simply used whatever the latest DX setting were and logged in. At any rate... once the new Nvidia 1080 was installed I just simply logged in ... tried to switch over to the standard game play (No longer in Windows mode) ... adjusted the setting to "high" and made sure I was getting the "shadows" (mostly to see what my system would do with it)... and truthfully ... we're good to go.

 

I have been planning the final updates for about 2 years now. The original icore I wanted is no longer available. Soooo I looked at the i9 9900K .... Seems like the real deal. And (as you indicated) .. should last me for several years to come.

Edited by OlBuzzard
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Right now I'm still waiting on the final quote from the folks who will actually do the work. I'm not tech savy enough to put this together my self. I can follow the discussions we have.. (even the other thread where NVidia is being discussed). But sadly not enough ability there to do the assembly. If something went south I'd have no idea how to trouble shoot !

 

On paper ... it looks good to go. OH . BTW.. I also have the GTX-1080. Works great.

 

Just before installing the 1080 I was forced to run this game ion "Windows" mode only. That took place the day after we did the DL to begin KotET. Prior to that I just simply used whatever the latest DX setting were and logged in. At any rate... once the new Nvidia 1080 was installed I just simply logged in ... tried to switch over to the standard game play (No longer in Windows mode) ... adjusted the setting to "high" and made sure I was getting the "shadows" (mostly to see what my system would do with it)... and truthfully ... we're good to go.

 

I have been planning the final updates for about 2 years now. The original icore I wanted is no longer available. Soooo I looked at the i9 9900K .... Seems like the real deal. And (as you indicated) .. should last me for several years to come.

 

One suggestion. Get an AIO (All-in-one) water cooler for your CPU. Even if you don’t overclock now, you will future proof the PC because you’ll be able to do it in the future if you need extra power.

It also keeps your internal parts cooler and prolongs the life.

 

I use the Deep Cool Captain 240 as its the best one Ive come across in my many years of testing. If you can’t get Deep Cool, just stay away from Corsair because the quality is poor and you only need to go to their forums to see all the problems people have. I went through 3 myself before I learnt my lesson.

 

A good case is just as important as what you put into it. If you don’t have good air flow and positive air pressure, you will run at temps you do t have too. This also puts a strain on parts.

I use Phantek cases because they are good quality

Edited by TrixxieTriss
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It's 3 days to AMDs Zen 2 CPU Computex keynote (27th May). I'd definitely wait for that before pulling the trigger until then. AMD has been really good on price/perf for the last couple years, and perf on last Ryzens is also not too shabby, more than enough for SWTOR.

 

I think AIOs are overrated. Top AIOs and air tower coolers have close performance, only few degree difference. There are pros and cons to each but air is cheaper.

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It's 3 days to AMDs Zen 2 CPU Computex keynote (27th May). I'd definitely wait for that before pulling the trigger until then. AMD has been really good on price/perf for the last couple years, and perf on last Ryzens is also not too shabby, more than enough for SWTOR.

 

I think AIOs are overrated. Top AIOs and air tower coolers have close performance, only few degree difference. There are pros and cons to each but air is cheaper.

 

AMD is an unknown factor. Plus he’s already got the build ready to go. He won’t want to wait for AMD to release.

 

As for AIO, they are similar in performance to the best air coolers, but the difference is you can keep your whole case and system cooler because you keep the hot air out of the case. Where as an air cooler is circulating the air within the case.

Obviously the solution would be a good custom loop. But most people won’t do that because there are more risks and they require maintenance.

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If I could wait, I'd wait 3 days. OP didn't state the budget and typical workloads except SWTOR and wings 3D, so recommending something is a guesswork, but If it's really burning urgency and PC must be bought today, I'd go for Ryzen 2700 or 2700x. Intels are way overpriced for minimal single threaded gains.

 

Same for AIO. There are some legit use cases, like you move case a lot so you don't want to put extra weight on socket, but under a more typical use case, Ryzens already come with decent boxed cooler, on Intel I'd slap on a 90$ Noctua NH-D15 and call it a day.

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AMD is an unknown factor. Plus he’s already got the build ready to go. He won’t want to wait for AMD to release.

 

As for AIO, they are similar in performance to the best air coolers, but the difference is you can keep your whole case and system cooler because you keep the hot air out of the case. Where as an air cooler is circulating the air within the case.

Obviously the solution would be a good custom loop. But most people won’t do that because there are more risks and they require maintenance.

 

Trixxie:

 

This is prety much where I'm at. I have thought about going to a water cooled system. That is one thing about the Cosmos case. It is already set up to utilize the system you have described if so desired. It also comes standard with one of the best fans (for air cool) in the industry. I have never had any issues with air circulation since I purchased it. BEFORE the Cosmos case ... unquestionably. I will look into the water cool system you have described.

 

OH ... a friend of mine saw information on the AMD a while back. But to be honest I have used nothing but Intel over the last 20 years... So far .. so good ! I agree about the pricing. But they have (to me at least) been a proven product. So I'll probably just stick with Intel.

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Trixxie:

 

This is prety much where I'm at. I have thought about going to a water cooled system. That is one thing about the Cosmos case. It is already set up to utilize the system you have described if so desired. It also comes standard with one of the best fans (for air cool) in the industry. I have never had any issues with air circulation since I purchased it. BEFORE the Cosmos case ... unquestionably. I will look into the water cool system you have described.

 

OH ... a friend of mine saw information on the AMD a while back. But to be honest I have used nothing but Intel over the last 20 years... So far .. so good ! I agree about the pricing. But they have (to me at least) been a proven product. So I'll probably just stick with Intel.

 

The Cosmos case is a good one. I’ve sold a few over the years, so I know it well :D

(I use this Phantek one http://www.phanteks.com/Enthoo-Evolv-ATX.html)

 

If you do decide to go down the WCing path, do some in-depth research on the different ones and not just how good they cool. Some are noisier than others and some have way too many issues.

Edited by TrixxieTriss
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The Cosmos case is a good one. I’ve sold a few over the years, so I know it well :D

(I use this Phantek one http://www.phanteks.com/Enthoo-Evolv-ATX.html)

 

If you do decide to go down the WCing path, do some in-depth research on the different ones and not just how good they cool. Some are noisier than others and some have way too many issues.

 

I'm very familiar with ATX stuff. My first full tower was that brand. But I have to be honest .. The Cosmos has a lot of good stuff to offer ! (yeah ... probably one of those stubborn old man things !)

 

I do appreciate your continued input !

 

Edit: I also found this as a good alternative to the WC system:

 

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. The ratings seem to be pretty good and the cost is excellent !

Edited by OlBuzzard
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