Hey all,
I haven't shopped for a computer/laptop for the last 5 years or so. I'm astounded with how far things have come. I have no idea what to expect from Pantheon in regards to how demanding of game it will be. The crew has stated they want a broad audience to be able to play, which suggests i could get by with an average gaming laptop. However, I want to play with max settings enabled. I think Pantheon will be aesthetically gorgeous and i want to revel in it. I travel often, and ill be taking my laptop to work (to play hehe) so a laptop is a must, however battery life/size is not important to me. Max budget is $2k, cheaper is better. Buying in the spring.
In your experience, how demanding are mmo's at max settings? What should i look for specifically to optimize for smooth gameplay if I decide to compromise on a cheaper machine?
MMOs are machine killers. Whatever you buy you'll want to make sure it has a well designed ventilation scheme or you'll find yourself getting toasty under the fingertips as you play.
Also note: We don't have system specs for Pantheon yet and won't for some time. If you are considering upgrading for this game I strongly recommend waiting until we have some firm details on the minimum and recommended requirements.
That said,
Assuming MMOs are your highest gaming priority (things change somewhat if you also want FPS gaming, etc):
CPU: You want to make sure your system has at leat a quad core i5. A quad i7 is probably overkill (most engines do not benefit from or take advantage of hyperthreading), but with an i3 or a duo i5 you'll probably run into a CPU bottleneck. Avoid AMD when possible for performance resons.
GPU: Ordinarily you can get by with a budget GPU for MMO gaming and still play on max settings. However, mobile GPUs are already behind the curve due to their power and heat constraints, so I'd actually recommend you also go towards the higher end here. Under no circumstances should you buy a machine with an integrated GPU (e.g. Intel HD Graphics 4000, etc).
Storage: Not as big a concern, but I personally find SSDs to be a huge quality of life improvement both for gaming and for everyday computing. Fast boots, quick load times. This is where you can sacrifice on a budget, but if you can afford one I highly recommend it.
We just won't know what the requirements will be until they release them. One route you could go is to save for a desktop PC (perhaps even build your own, lots of great resources and communities out there), and if you need a laptop now, go for something cheaper like a Chromebook.
Generally, gaming laptops are overpriced for the hardware, and one of the issues they face is heat management, which can cause faster degradation of the components inside. And if you're gaming, that CPU and GPU is going to heat up.
Once Pantheon gets closer to launch and we have an idea regarding specs, I'll probably make a post with some recommended DIY builds for different price tiers and in-game settings targets.
Sicario said:We just won't know what the requirements will be until they release them. One route you could go is to save for a desktop PC (perhaps even build your own, lots of great resources and communities out there), and if you need a laptop now, go for something cheaper like a Chromebook.
Generally, gaming laptops are overpriced for the hardware, and one of the issues they face is heat management, which can cause faster degradation of the components inside. And if you're gaming, that CPU and GPU is going to heat up.
Once Pantheon gets closer to launch and we have an idea regarding specs, I'll probably make a post with some recommended DIY builds for different price tiers and in-game settings targets.
I've considered the PC route, but ill be gaming while i travel and i intend to bring it to work as well. So a laptop is a must. I was reading there may be some new hardware released come January, so I'll be waiting until at least spring before I buy.
hemolytic said:MMOs are machine killers. Whatever you buy you'll want to make sure it has a well designed ventilation scheme or you'll find yourself getting toasty under the fingertips as you play.
Also note: We don't have system specs for Pantheon yet and won't for some time. If you are considering upgrading for this game I strongly recommend waiting until we have some firm details on the minimum and recommended requirements.
That said,
Assuming MMOs are your highest gaming priority (things change somewhat if you also want FPS gaming, etc):
CPU: You want to make sure your system has at leat a quad core i5. A quad i7 is probably overkill (most engines do not benefit from or take advantage of hyperthreading), but with an i3 or a duo i5 you'll probably run into a CPU bottleneck. Avoid AMD when possible for performance resons.
GPU: Ordinarily you can get by with a budget GPU for MMO gaming and still play on max settings. However, mobile GPUs are already behind the curve due to their power and heat constraints, so I'd actually recommend you also go towards the higher end here. Under no circumstances should you buy a machine with an integrated GPU (e.g. Intel HD Graphics 4000, etc).
Storage: Not as big a concern, but I personally find SSDs to be a huge quality of life improvement both for gaming and for everyday computing. Fast boots, quick load times. This is where you can sacrifice on a budget, but if you can afford one I highly recommend it.
I completely agree about waiting for system specs if the laptop is for this game. You can't upgrade CPU / GPU in most laptops so if you're not planning on buying a top of the line system that's fully spec'd out, wait until you absolutely need to buy.
I have a couple of notes I'd like to throw in for consideration but I could be wrong.
CPU: If we were talking about desktops, I'd agree than an i7 is overkill if we're talking about the current generation (6th) or upcoming (7th). However, the just about any mobile CPU is going to be weaker than it's desktop counterpart so the i7 will not be overkill in a laptop. Also, the 7th generation i7s will/should be out later this year / early next year. I recommend waiting for that to hit the market before buying if you can.
When you do buy a laptop, make sure you're getting a quad core i7 and not the weaker, dual core, version. Model numbers can be tricky so watch for those and double check to make sure. For example, the i7 6500U and 6600U are both dual core while the 6700HQ is a quad core.
I agree about current AMD CPUs and APUs being too underpowered in laptops but a new version (Zen) should be coming early next year for them and I'm not sure if that will be as true then. But unless there's reviews to show otherwise, I'd avoid AMD in laptops for a gaming system. I also recommend avoiding an i5 or an i3. A 6th Gen i5's performance falls around a 3rd gen i7's... and you might be better off with a high end AMD over an i3. Another reason that it may be best to avoid an i5 or weaker CPU is that most systems that don't have an i7 aren't going to have the higher end GPU... and I think that's because the CPU would end up being a bottleneck and you'd end up paying for hardware your system can't actually put to use.
The internet is full of performance charts to help you figure out where something you're looking at falls compared to other processors.
GPU: I agree completely about what was said here. To add on this, the new mobile GPUs of Nvidia's 10-series just started making into laptops. If I were looking at a laptop, I'd probably go for a 1070 to get something somewhere in the middle of the best performance vs affordability.
I also agree with the note about a well ventilated system. Powerful components in a system that constantly overheats will not perform well and may burn out faster. And I hope that this is an unnecessary comment but the term 'laptop' does not mean that it should be used on your lap (or a comforter/blanket on your lap). The system should be setup on a flat surface that allows those vents to do their job and cool the system.
And don't forget that a nice cool ale works well to cool down the player too!
I recently got myself an Acer Predator 17 G9-791-752G laptop and it seems to handle most games fine. I use my PC for gaming though as I purpose built it for such and it eats everything I throw at it to date. The laptop is just secondary, but it works well. Perhaps worth looking in to?
• Processor: Intel Skylake Core i7-6700HQ
• Memory: 16GB DDR4 Memory (2x8GB)
• Display: 17.3" FHD IPS Acer ComfyView™ LCD pane
• Storage: 256GB M.2 SSD + 2TB HDD
• Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970M 3G-GDDR5 (128*32*6)