Yet another Upgrade advice request :D

[BudBrain]

Hey,

Just wondering if my current build will play PS2, and if not - what should I upgrade first?

PSU = Thermaltake PurePower 560W
MB = Gigabyte P35-DS3
CPU = Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (Socket 775)
RAM = Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400
GPU = ATI Radeon HD 6870

:groovy:

[Mutant]

It should run ok.
low/med depending on settings/res

I feel the Q6600 is about the lowest acceptable CPU.
The 6870 should be solid on lower resolutions with sensible settings


I think your CPU and GPU are quite well balanced. If your CPU is good enough (and i think its likely on the edge) then a new GPU should be a good upgrade to give you higher settings.

If the Q6600 does not perform at the settings you expect depending on your motherboard you could upgrade to a Q9550 or QX9650 for a low cost upgrade but that is not a massive improvement and would be a short delay till you went to a new platform.


4 GB of ram is a tad low these days but i doubt would be a problem. (another 4GB from ebay cheap would solve that)

[TheMozFather]

It's all completely speculation at this point, however, if i recall correctly Higby mentioned that an i5 with a 560 ran the game well, yet no specific resolution was stated - bearing in mind the 6870 is pretty much on par with the 560, so it's hard to tell. But your CPU will be a hindrance.

You wouldn't necessarily need much more than 4GB of RAM for Planetside 2.

I'm guessing that you can run the game at medium/low-med at a moderate resolution.

[BudBrain]

Cheers guys.

I'm kinda hoping to play it using Normal/High with a constant 30fps at 1920x1200.

[Goku]

30? You should be aiming for 60 AVG anyway.

[TheMozFather]

30 is playable though...

[Goku]

RPG it is ok for me. FPS no way. Rather have more frames then eye candy.

[BudBrain]

I think you're right Goku, I should be aiming for 60 and was going to say that, but then the whole 'Your eyes can't see more than 24 FPS' jumped in my head so changed it back to 30.

60 :huh:

[Goku]

Thats a myth. I can easily notice the difference between 30 and 60 FPS. Pretty sure most people can...

[Vancha]

There's no scientifically stated limit on the FPS the eyes can perceive, because eyes don't work that way.

Anyway, I'd upgrade the CPU/Mobo/RAM first. A 6870 will certainly be capable of running PS2, but at 1920x1080 you might need to lower the settings a little.

[BudBrain]

So should I be upgrading? CPU then GPU?

Wondering if it'd be worth waiting for (if) beta then upgrading... though it'd pass the time quicker if I upgrade first ;)

[Coreldan]

The old "eyes cant see more than 24/30 fps" myth is more about when it comes to television. I believe the main reasoning for that is motion blur that is natural in TV, but quite rare (or naturally artificial) in games. There is a huge difference in 30 FPS and 60 FPS when playing majority of games and anyone who cant see that is.. weird :D

However I stop seeing much difference after some 50 fps.

[Goku]

Refresh rates on most monitors do not go beyond 60Hz is probably one of the reasons. A lot of people say its a total different experience using the 120Hz monitors (120 FPS) if you keep your mins high, not just your average.

[Rbstr]

Wondering if it'd be worth waiting for (if) beta then upgrading... though it'd pass the time quicker if I upgrade first ;)

Yes. Really this is the answer for everyone that's on the borderline, and only cares about PS2:
Play beta.
Was it ok?
yes? don't upgrade
Was it shit?
Yes? upgrade

[Ailos]

Dunno about you guys, but at 24 fps, I can see the raster lines most of the time. I keep seeing them all the way upwards of 40 FPS. I, too, consider 60 FPS to be the acceptable gaming minimum.

I think your current hardware should run the game, and the video card at least, should give you enough muscle to even enjoy a little eye candy (or a lot, if you turn down the resolution). Personally, I'd wait to see how well it runs, and if I can achieve 60 FPS with min settings, I'd wait for Haswell/GK110/HD8000s to come out come February/March of '13 to get the really brilliant upgrade.

[BudBrain]

Bought myself a Core i5-3570K!

Just looking at motherboards now, any suggestions? Looking at the Asus PZ77 V-Pro.

[Vancha]

I suggest not getting more than you need. Why are you looking at the V Pro?

[BudBrain]

No particular reason, I've just seen people raving about it.

What would you suggest? I do want something that does the chip justice though.

Also looking at the 'Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H' :confused:

[Vancha]

What's your GPU?
Do you know the cons/benefits of SLi and Crossfire? If so, do you want that capability?
What sort of overclock would you be happy with?
Is there any brands/colour schemes you're looking for or want to avoid?

[BudBrain]

PSU = Thermaltake PurePower 560W
MB =
CPU = Intel Core i5-3570K
RAM =
GPU = ATI Radeon HD 6870

- Don't want SLi at the moment, though might be a bonus further down the line.
- Will probably keep it at stock, but you never know.
- I'm a fan of Asus, no colour schemes.

Looking at the specs, I'm probably going to go for the Asus PZ77 V-Pro (Not the Pro version).

[Goku]

Without breaking the bank I would look into these:

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128544)
MSI Z77A-GD55 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130644)
ASUS P8Z77-V LE (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131823)

From what I read looks like the Gigabyte is a good choice. The other two aren't bad, but seems that UD3H kept up pretty good with its older brother UD5H for the most part (missed 100Mhz in one review). Not bad IMO.

[Rbstr]

I agree with leaving SLi out.

I think you can go with the LK or LX versions of the Asus just fine and save some dollars.
I wish they've offer non-sli boards with the larger numbers of SATA 6gb/s and USB 3.0

I've always been a fan of Asus. It's purely anecdotal, of course, but nearly all of the systems I've built have an Asus motherboard and half the laptops I've owned were Asus.
Only ever had to call tech support once and they replaced it with no hassle.

For ram I think I'd try and get some of the 1.35v sticks...I don't really have a good reason other than "why not". It's not like you spend a lot more. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226184 maybe?