I know we still have a year or so but maybe something to think about. Have the developers nail down some super gaming speced machines without any company endorsements. Maybe go 3 different levels
Level 1 pc is - this cpu, this gpu, this mb, this ram etc... and it is in this price range $800-$1100
Level 2 pc is - "specs here" for $1100-$1400
Level 3 pc is - "specs here" for $1400-$1700
Then, maybe once the game is headed in the right direction you can get a company endorsed pc and if we say that we are from pantheon then we can get 10%off (or something like that). But still keep the other custom options up. And lastly toss in a gaming laptop you recommend. I haven't built my own pc for 6 years or followed the tech industry since I have been out of gaming. Getting advice right from the dev team would be god send. It's just hard to trust anyone these days, it's all about making a buck. The new PCs have all kinds of useless crap on them. I just want my OS and my game. I'm one who will buy a pc just for a game. Also would strongly consider a laptop if doable. Then I could move around the house. I can be upstairs to keep an eye on the kids or down stairs to hide from them. Your advice would be true to the game and untainted and that's what I would go with. Or Players can give advice and you endorse those posts
Simples
I just replied to you last thread... (plz read)
The SPEED of your computer will not matter. The CPU you have will NOT matter. What STANDARDS (DX12) your computer supports ARE what will matter the most. (Pantheon is based of the Unity engine.)
Secondly, the size and power of your Video Card (GPU) is soley based on the amount of pixels you are pushing (ie: what resolution you game at). You always right-size your GPU to your monitor, otherwise you have a miss-match and performance will suffer.
And... nobody should have to game on a lap-top, don't do that to yourself if you can avoid it.
So many misconceptions going on here. Not to be rude, but take Hieromonk's posts with a grain of salt. DX12 support is far from the most relevant information when choosing hardware. Just about any mid-high range graphics card you buy today has DX12 support.
in terme of CPU, this is the point of highest contention. The i7 4790k is $249.99 right now, which is a great buy. i7 6700k will outperform it, but not without a substantially higher $ investment. Going for the 6700k also opens you up to better future-proofing down the road, but if you don't plan to upgrade your CPU independent of anything else in the future, I think the 4790k is going to be your best bet right now.
In terms of GPU, 980 Ti is hands down the best GPU you can get your hands on, and will be more than sufficient for a game like Pantheon.
In terms of RAM, 8GB DDR3-1600 is dirt cheap. You can find a variety of brands that sell 2x4GB sticks of DDR3-1600 for dirt cheap.
In terms of motherboard, it's largely irrelevant as long as the CPU fits. The most important factor in choosing a motherboard is SLI/Crossfire support (mATX and mITX boards usually only have a single PCI-e slot), and overclocking features. Beyond that, it's all down to build quality which you can read reviews about online to hear people's complaints. i7 4790k is LGA1150 for socket type, i7 6700k is LGA1151.
Make sure your PSU wattage sufficiently supports the hardware you choose, and don't skimp on it. EVGA Supernova line of PSUs is incredible price/quality, but other good ones exist. I would recommend going semi-modular on the PSU because cord management is a lot easier this way.
Case is up to personal preference, just make sure the case form factor supports your motherboard. An ATX board is going to fit into a mITX mini-tower.
Cooling is largely personal preference. Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO fits both of those CPUs and is an excellent cooler for the $25-30 it costs. It's more than good enough to support a modest overclock to 4.5-4.7GHz depending on whether or not you win the silicon lottery.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Only thing i can think to add off the top of my head from Liav's post is that the larger your pc case the longer your cables have to be. I had to order longer data cables to reach a few placces in a full size tower.
Agree with Liav, Dont focus on feature sets focus on raw power, and the whole GPU theory he spun above is incorrect. one of dx12s main features is utilizing multithreading for both the cpu/gpu, and time and time again anything faster always means runs better. for instance a gtx 680 at 1920x1080 will definetly be slower than a 980 at 1920x1080 by a good margin.
If your building a computer now, its better to build more future proof imo, i'd go with a i7 6700 for$350, or a i5 6600 for $229. (stay away from the K series not worth the extra incurred cost unless you know how to SAFELY overclock)
I suggest a 16gb ram kits. higher bandwidth is always better than tighter timings. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226728&cm_re=ddr4_16gb-_-20-226-728-_-Product $125
Motherboard: any 170a chipset. MSI makes great boards, asus is a safe alternative as well. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130873&ignorebbr=1&cm_re=PPSSRHYMBCDBZI-_-13-130-873-_-Product $179
Video Card: GTX 970 or AMD equivelant r9 290x $350 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127832&cm_re=msi_gtx_970-_-14-127-832-_-Product
Power supply: 1000w corsair (never skimp on power, worst mistake you'll make) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438019&cm_re=evga_1000w-_-17-438-019-_-Product $140
Processor Cooler: Your choice, look to spend 50-75 bucks. anything is better than stock intel cooler, they suck badly if your running intense gaming. some dont even come with coolers.
HDD: nab a intel 535 480gb or samsung evo 500gb for around $150. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147373&cm_re=samsung_850_evo_250gb-_-20-147-372-_-Product
can pick up cheap HDDs for more storage if needed down the line.
Case: Any mid tower case that you like the looks of. just make sure it has decent ventilation. heres a decent one for $70 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147161&cm_re=rosewill_mid_tower_case-_-11-147-161-_-Product
This build will cost you between 1300-1500 depending on which parts you go with.
If you need cut something for a cheaper buid (save a few hundred), do the following(and trust me it wont matter much), cut down to 8gb of ram, save you some cash $47 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226742&cm_re=ddr4_8gb-_-20-226-742-_-Product
cheaper mboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130884 $115
and you could cut to a 250mb SSD and use whatever hdd you currnetly have for backup $90
Again... many of you are missing the context and over-all point. (some of this ties in to the other thread)
Nobody said anything about building a computer TODAY... when Pantheon is going to be released in 2017... and is what the OP is talking about. So the undertood & context is in the future... when you are going to build/buy. And when building a computer SYSTEM, it's components must all act on consort to be optimal (and affordable) to what you are using it for... and in this case Pantheon and Unity.
We all know buying the BEST... the BEST CPU will make for the BEST performance... but it will not make for the BEST use of your money when building as Pantheon rig. There is ZERO reason to build an i7 rig, when for $120 less you can use a i5 CPU. None..! The multithreading going on is not synthetic, you are not doing large scale multithreading. Even as great as DX12 is, you saw with AMD's Mantle, how old hardware can be renewed and used to it's fullest.. given a new API or feature. Not everything is soley based on Ghz and speed, but ability. Specially when you can put that $120 saved, into a better video card... that will make for the best system for playing Pantheon. (and wasn't that the point..?)
In 2017... the CPU will handle more multithreading and 64bit environments much better and more equally.. And like all things, once you reach a certain threshold or speed, there is a cost of diminishing returns. That happens to be, when you past the i5 threshold.
Oddly, many here shun what I am saying... but in their own context, admit outright a GPU (or two) will give great gaming qualities and performance. Some even assume that most will drop $400 on a 980Ti.. while most will actually be shopping GPU in the $200 range. And that spending another $120 ($320 bucks on a GPU) will get you more gaming peformance, than did that i7. <--- fact
Otherwise, if you have the money for both a $400 CPU and a $600 GPU then there is no point to this thread, just buy the best. Right?
I have 3 i7 rigs I maintain, each with $1k of video cards... they do me no good when playing 80% of my games. All 3 rigs will be upgraded for Pantheon, because I want second gen DX12 compatable cards.. that will outshine my $1k cards, at half the price... because of the FEATURE set these new cards will have... because of the compliance they carry with whatever 2017/18 industry standards there are. (PCIe 3.0/DX12.2, etc?)
Coincidentally, who is/would build a new rig today, based on DDR3 memory... when DDR4, USB 3.1, PCIe 3.0 mobos are out.. (?) You always go for the latest chipsets (that means you have the latest standards) & the over all point I am making. I'd rather have a new i5 DDR4 system & mobo, than a older i7 system and older mobo.. with an even older AMD R9's that is not even DX12 compatable.
Because a new system conforms to the latest standards and allows you to upgrade with relative ease in the future. For those who say otherwise.. given the choice between a i5 rig on the latest mobo & socket, or a i7 resting on an oldchipset & socket.. which one would you rather have..? The sane poeple will always choose DDR4 and latest PCI3.0/USB3.1 & latest STANDARDS, over a faster older system... because fastest (Ghz), does not always mean bestest (standards)...
No point in going better CPU, unless you have your GPU up to snuff... which 80% of the people won't. That is why $$ thrown at a video card is better than going i7.
No worries though..
In 2017, you will be able to build a $900 rig, that will play Pantheon beautifully @ 1080p... but I myself game at 4k now, so I won't need more CPU, but more GPU to drive my monitor. So now that $900 rig I just mentioned, will cost me about $2,200 bucks... and I don't even have to change the CPU config, just my GPU config..
When Pantheon gets close to release, there will be many "Computer Build" threads which will help those looking for a new system. The single biggest cost, is relative to the pixels you need to push in the size & resolution of your display. For most @ 1080p you are looking at under $1k for a rig to handle Unity 5 & Pantheon.
And again... I can't recommend gaming on a laptop in any manner for Pantheon, it is not a video poker game. Not to mention, a gaming laptop will cost 2x the amount of a PC.
Hieromonk said:
Again... many of you are missing the context and over-all point. (some of this ties in to the other thread)
Nobody said anything about building a computer TODAY... when Pantheon is going to be released in 2017... and is what the OP is talking about. So the undertood & context is in the future... when you are going to build/buy. And when building a computer SYSTEM, it's components must all act on consort to be optimal (and affordable) to what you are using it for... and in this case Pantheon and Unity.
yes, this particular post was meant for the future.
I have been following both threads and still don't know what the correct answer is because there is no real correct answer at this time since it is for the future. if anything i hope when the time comes the devs put their stamp of approval on some sort of build. i may mess with my current old PC and set it up to at least run beta and then build my main rig shortly before release.
There is a lot of good info though that i'll be using in the near future since i have been out of the game for so long. Again, i'm sure i'm not the only one who will use the Computer build advice when the time comes.
Edited because i sounded ungreatful for the advice that has been posted. I'm VERY greatful for the help people are offering! I'll be applying it to my current pc (just realised it's almost 8 years old).
There are two things here at play...
The mindset:
The answers are extremely simple:
"if anything i hope when the time comes the devs put their stamp of approval on some sort of build."
Don't go by what they put on the box. They will give a minimum systems requirements - a toaster
and they 'might' put recommended system requirements - a 4 slice toaster
every post in this thread has a lot of things right. Laptop gaming is a terrible experience.
Buy the best you can afford, when you build.
What Hiermonk is basically saying is this:
if on a budget (can't get the best of the best) an i5 (skylake) paired with a nVidia 980TI will give more FPS than an i7 (skylake) with an AMD R9 280 or nVidia GTX 970.
(Skylake being the Current best CPU (requires DDR4) 1151 socket)
Everyone is also saying: if you are playing at 1920x1080, or lower, the toaster will run the game.
If you are going 4K you will need an i5/i7 haswell/skylake etc. but you might want to go SLI 980's on the graphics cards. (crossfire if you want to use AMD for whatever reason)
and as dark said: Do Not skimp on power. if you want to crossfire 2 AMD (power hungry) cards, you best get 1200-1500W power supply. 1000W+ for nVidia SLI
a Motherboard will have 0 (zero) fps impact. the difference between a $99 MB vs a $249 MB will be: ability to overclock, or better sound (soundblaster vs realtek), features. Not performance.
Anantech has some articles where they tested the latest games (at the time) with an i5 vs i7.
Sometimes the i5 outperformed the i7 because most games don't even take advantage of hyperthreading.
Right now I am using a Late 2015 5K 27" iMac with a Skylake 4.0Ghz i7, 16GB DDR4 1867Mhz, AMD 395X 4GB graphics card and pure Flash storage (1800MB/s)
I have a BootCamp partition with W10, that way, I reboot and the imac becomes a pure windows PC ( no parallels junk)
World of Warcraft, EverQuest, EverQuest II, SWTOR, WildStar: ALL run at 2560X1440 on Ultra @ 50-120 FPS. @1080p I average well over 100 FPS
World of Warcraft (being the least taxing) will run at 4K at 40FPS. not 'bad' - not great...(on ultra/highest settings possible)
I get like 25-35 FPS at 4k on most games. (not good) on ultra. If I adjust a few sliders, basically medium settings, I can get 45 - 70fps @ 4K.
Hieromonk said:
- #2 Yes, wait until Pantheon is released (close to xmass & 2018). Pick a "Pantheon PC Build" that suites your price range (on the forums) and order you PC. (You have essentially 2 years to save $1k for a great in-game experience on a up-to-date brand new PC)
Thats where I am at the moment. Current rig, although quite capable for the games I play now is about 4 years old now and I'll want a new rig for Pantheon...though my budget will be more in the $2k-$3k range as I want 3 new monitors and a new desk along as well.
Bluefyre said:Does Unity even support SLI yet? If not I hope they are at least working on adding support for the multi GPU feature of DX12. Currently I'm running dual 980 TIs with very little use for it currently.
How does that work with multiple monitors or are you just using one? Just curious
Aich said:Bluefyre said:Does Unity even support SLI yet? If not I hope they are at least working on adding support for the multi GPU feature of DX12. Currently I'm running dual 980 TIs with very little use for it currently.
How does that work with multiple monitors or are you just using one? Just curious
I'm currently using 2 1080p 144hz BenQ monitors and going to get a third soon. With EVE I stretch the width of the game across both monitors. Looks great. Expecting to have Pantheon using the width of 3 monitors. Going to look amazing.
i7-6700 Skylake @4 GHz
32 GB DDR4 2666 RAM
2 Samsung 250 GB SSDs (one for operating system, one for games)
Gigabyte OC GTX 1070
LG 29" IPS Ultrawide Monitor (from previous build, I plan on eventually getting a 32" 2560X1440 monitor)
Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower w/4 case fans
This will run Pantheon at very high to ultra settings, guaranteed. It runs EQ2 maxed out and that game is so CPU intensive.
DDR4 2666 is the sweet spot for performance. Anything rated above that is just a waste of $$. Look it up. And the reason I bought 32 GB is that it was on sale and I wanted to have it. 16GB would have been plenty, but I do alot of video and photo editing.
Sicario said:It's just too early to be discussing computer builds, especially with new architectures on the horizon for next year. Once we have better ideas regarding the performance requirements of Pantheon, I'll be happy to post some different price tier builds.
I have to respectfully disagree. As an enthusiast, I ALWAYS like to discuss builds for certain projects, no matter if it is an MMO or not. I know Pantheon the final game will not be out for some time, but I am hopeful that the alpha and (eventually) beta aren't too far away. So, I think it's a good idea to discuss what we can, based upon knowledge of the engine and the gameplay footage we have seen, so that we can test the game with a fair degree of certainty as to the machine needed to run it.
Just an FYI...I added a new monitor to my system, just for Pantheon. 32" HP Omen. 2560X1440. 75 Hz (Freesync for those who go the AMD route). This thing was a steal at $299 at Costco on Black Friday. Runs other, modern MMOs butter smooth, and looks terrific. Can't wait to see how PROTF looks on it!
Something else that might help anyone that's considering building a PC is using https://pcpartpicker.com/ It's a great website to make sure all your parts are compatible. For the amateurs out there reading this who want to build your own PC but feel intimidated, like myself, it's a Godsend. You will really learn a lot.
Hope that helps.
Love my rig. Maybe not the most cost effective, but for once in my life I decided to loosen the butt cheeks.
i7-6700 Skylake 4.0
32GB DDR4-2666 RAM
256GB M.2 SSD with a second 7200 RPM HD
GeForce GTX 1080
Acer 35" Curved 2560x1080 144Hz
The Samsung 950 PRO M.2 SSD was pointed out to me at the last minute before I bought the parts. I can't recommend it enough for the OS. I've never seen a computer boot up so fast.
I was on the verge of buying a brand new computer but talked myself out of it. My current computer was bought in 2012 and still plays all the games I want in max quality at 1440p. The only thing I have really upgraded is the SSD and the GPU which I upgraded to an Nvidia 980Ti. I reckon if I upgrade the SSD again to 1TB I'll be able to make it last another couple of years at least and in the mean time I can do some major saving up for a REALLY good PC and by that time Pantheon will probably be released so I'll know exactly what I need to run it properly.
AMD Zen processors are released in January I believe ... I was gonna build another rig this Christmas, but that should drop Intel prices, and be an extra choice on the market.