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Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok to Beef7

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Re: Will MoP require a more powerful machine to play it?

Titan is years off, so it's impossible to build to its specifications, even with Ivy Bridge-E. It's an unknown, although I suspect the current Ivy Bridge i5's will be able to handle the CPU side of the house with no problem.

For Tera/GW2/etc., I'd suggest a Radeon 7850 or GTX 570 or higher.

DarkLogix
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said by Beef7:

and be able to handle Titan with no problems

If you want it to handle titan (ie a game thats not out, not even in alpha) then you'd have the guesstimate what it needs or aim so high that you'll ether do it or nothing currently available will do it.

In that case buy a dual 2011 3.1GH'z 8-core xeons with 256GB ram and 4X GTX690's and a 6 drive SSD raid array.

then if it can't run it nothing currently buildable would be able to.

Goldheart
join:2002-06-09
Las Cruces, NM

Goldheart

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said by DarkLogix:

said by Beef7:

and be able to handle Titan with no problems

If you want it to handle titan (ie a game thats not out, not even in alpha) then you'd have the guesstimate what it needs or aim so high that you'll ether do it or nothing currently available will do it.

In that case buy a dual 2011 3.1GH'z 8-core xeons with 256GB ram and 4X GTX690's and a 6 drive SSD raid array.

then if it can't run it nothing currently buildable would be able to.

I don't think that would be necessary lol.

WoW was not that demanding when it came out.

With MMORPG the more people who can play it = more $$$ so specs will be lower end than single player games.

DarkLogix
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Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

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The point of my post is you don't know how much it'll need

likely an IvyB like the one he's planning will be fine. but unknowns are unknown.

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

Beef7

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Tera max, WoW max, GW2 max

the system i'm building will almost if not very close run those games at max right now

if titan comes out in 2-4 years, my system will run it pretty much guaranteed... at max... no way... at 50fps(mid settings)... I would guess yes... 50fps in 4 years for titan is fine by me

blizzard keeps crap at the low end... compared to other games out there... just like said above... to not lose out on the monies

current games close to max, and titan decently

titan will utilize 4 cores if I had to guess... theres no way they will release titan in the next 2-4 years, and have it utilize 8 cores, i just don't see it

DarkLogix
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DarkLogix

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Actually I would ecpect a game in 2-4 years to be more multi-threaded.

Sure 4 is more multi-threaded than 1 but the thing is when they multi-thread a program right it is very scalable.

IE if they made one that COULD use 64 but is run on a system with only 2 it'd be fine, it'd just be capable of using more though using doesn't mean max'ing.

so a 64thread program might be able to max 1 core or have 2 at 50% or 64 at 1.5625%, it'd be capable of using them all but at 64 it'd largely be wasting money.

But it'd make the program scaleable and capable of using more and more, but even then 4 cores would be fine.

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

1 edit

Beef7

Member

In an effort to save as much money as possible, to salvage my current rig, and to simplify the process...

After all is said and done this is what I have done:

My current system:
Inspiron 530s, 250W PSU, low profile (slimline) case
Intel Core 2 Duo, E6550, 2.2 GHz, dual core, 2 threads
Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT 512mb DDR2
2GB 667 DDR2 ram

Upgrading it to the following:
- 4GB 667 DDR2 ram (upgrade of 2GB)
- AMD Radeon HD 6670 1GB DDR5 (low profile card, uses very low Watts)(my 250W psu does support it)

This should easily carry me through MoP, I currently run WoW at 1680x1050 on mid settings at 30 to 60fps (usually 60fps).

I currently run Tera on garbage settings, but tera usually utilizes 90+% of my ram, so this should help a ton with the graphics card upgrade as well.

Wether or not it makes GW2 playable for me is TBD

Why the hell do I have a dell 530s? Because I wasn't into WoW when I baught the machine, and I wasn't into gaming much. I had taken about a 2 years break from gaming. Then bought the machine.

the above upgrades cost me $100 on newegg
Beef7

Beef7

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In addition I opened up my case, for the first time in about 2 years, and cleaned out the cpu fan which was literally choked with dust/cat fur.

The fan runs super quiet now, and should help as well

Playing GW2 is my lowest priority.

Playing WoW+Tera are my tops priority. And I think my machine can do so for those 2 for at least the next 1+ years

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

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Will it support faster ram? $100 is a lot to put into DDR2 and a 6670, unless you plan on sticking with this build for another year or two.

You are getting a GPU about 3 times as powerful as the 9500 GT, though, so it should be a nice boost.

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

Beef7

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the 530s came with 2 mobos from my research

one that supported 667mhz ram

one that supported 667/800

mine only supports the 667

there's also a time factor involved... popping in the ram and gpu will take me 2-3 minutes

this machine will be handed off to the wife once i do buiild a new machine, so its not wasted in the long run

for the low psu, the gpu I selected came highly recommended from good ol' tom's... otherwise i coudl fry my psu
Beef7

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to Krisnatharok
kris, at 1680x1050, on ultra

what do you guess my fps will be?

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

No idea, you are ram/GPU-bound. There's got to be a WoW "What will my FPS be" calculator out there somewhere. I am guessing at least over 30 FPS if you are lucky given the low res. But that's just a guess.

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

Beef7

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When my fps suffers I usually turn ground clutter to low, then shadows to low, and water affects to low
Beef7

Beef7

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OK... now I am looking for a laptop under $400 for playing WoW

should I go with an intel 2 core?
or an AMD quad core?

ultimately, I would like this laptop for playing Tera as well. And while WoW doesn't utilize 4 threads, I know Tera does

I AM
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join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

I AM

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$400 probably doable for WoW. You can play WoW on with a cereal box. Not sure about TERA. Not for PVP anyways.

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
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Beef7

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After reading good ol' Tom's, it seems TERA is optimized for 2 cores. NOT 4 cores.

So the workload is roughly 60-80% on first 2 cores, and 30-40% on 2nd two cores.

Which makes me believe that an intel 2 core for a laptop is the way to go.

I thought Tera was utilizing 4 cores better than that!
Beef7

Beef7

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said by Beef7:

My current system:
Inspiron 530s, 250W PSU, low profile (slimline) case
Intel Core 2 Duo, E6550, 2.2 GHz, dual core, 2 threads
Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT 512mb DDR2
2GB 667 DDR2 ram

Upgrading it to the following:
- 2GB to 4GB 667 DDR2 ram (upgrade of 2GB, 3.25GB usable due to Win xp 32 bit os)
- AMD Radeon HD 6670 1GB DDR5 (low profile card, uses very low Watts)(my 250W psu does support it)

^So I did these upgrades last night

I went from 1680x1050 with medium settings getting 30 to 60 fps depending on what's going on.

To 1680x1050 with Ultra settings (with a few exceptions) getting a rock solid 60-62fps no matter what, no dips

The exceptions are, shadows set to fair instead of low, water set to fair instead of low, and ground clutter set to fair instead of low. All 3 of which I don't deem as critical to my gameplay experience. Textures are high(max), and everything else is ultra.

What complications I ran into.

- Upon intalling the extra 2GB of ram, I was surprised to see that my ram went form 2GB to 3.25GB. Found out it is win xp 32 bit limitation.

- installed the graphics card, it didn't work. Re-installed old graphics card, it worked. Re-installed new graphics card and this time it worked. Was afraid PCIe 2.1 6670 was not compatible with PCIe1.0 mobo, but finally it started working, few!

After playing WoW/Tera for about 1.5 hours, noticed my PSU/inspiron 530s case were getting VERY hot.

I was like holy shit, its going to melt, or burn out.

Removed the case cover, within 5 minutes PSU went back to pretty much room temp. I can't play video games with the case cover on with the new GPU, the PSU gets too hot...

What are my options for the overheating PSU when the case is on? I thought of the following:

#1 - Just use the PC with case cover off all the time. But we do have a cat. Lot's of crap exposed. Prolly bad in the long run.

#2 - Just remove case cover when playing video games. Annoying

#3 - Buy a new Case, remove guts from 530s, put guts into better ventilated, more fans, case

#4 - Buy a new Case, and a new PSU, move guts

#5 - Drill about 50 holes in current case cover, near PSU, and see if the holes let the case vent better and keep the psu cool

#6 - keep case cover on, purchase small fan to blow into back of case all the time, i removed PCI metal covers on back of the 530s case.

I AM
Premium Member
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

I AM

Premium Member

Might be time to update the OS.

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

Beef7

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If I install Windows 7 on this baby, will it prohibit me from installing it on a new machine I build someday?

I AM
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join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

I AM to Beef7

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to Beef7
You mean like activation keys?

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

Beef7

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If I buy Windows 7 home basic, how many machines can I install it on?

I am not familiar with win 7 at all

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
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join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

Premium Member

Per the EULA if you buy retail you can install it on 2 computers (read the EULA and fine print for details) concurrently

if you buy the OEM then no its only for that one computer.

This is speaking legaly.

Its ment to be for a desktop and a laptop used by the same person. I once confirmed this with a Microsoft pre-sales rep.

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

Beef7

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Logix, can you please give your input on the overheating PSU in my crappy inspiron 530s case?

I AM
Premium Member
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

I AM

Premium Member

1) Buy a box of Cheerios
2) Install WoW
3) Is it dropping in FPS?
4) Upgrade to Honey Nut Cheerios Box

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

Beef7

Member

no drop in fps

I have had GPUs melt when one of the fans on it died

I'm just scared when psu gets too hot, fire harzard and all

when case cover off, it goes back to room temp, with tera/wow playing

DarkLogix
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join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

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I'm not really familure with Dell powersupplies, they tend to be custom.

I assume based on the context of your post that its a desktop, though I thought that inspiron's were only laptops.

I'd check that the powersupply fan is functioning, I've seen a opti-plex that the fan died on and we found a replacement that fit and spliced in the wires.

also get some canned air or an air compressor and carefully flow out the dust from the powersupply, short bursts and use something to imobilize the fan (so it doesn't spin to fast when the compressed air hits it)

btw one time with compressed air I spun a fan so fast that it broke apart.

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

Beef7

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yeah PSU fan is running fine and it is a desktop

PSU not getting enough ventilation with cover on

Logix - when I look at your icon, it looks like you are processing my questions, it's pretty hilarious

DarkLogix
Texan and Proud
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join:2008-10-23
Baytown, TX

DarkLogix

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can you follow the path the air takes to get to the power supply? look for any blockage?

also ensure the powersupply isn't packed with dust.

Beef7
join:2012-05-16
027054

Beef7

Member

since it is a slim tower, when I installed the new larger GPU it almost created a pockett where no air can get in or out... not due to dust, just due to PC hardware

I will try to remove any dust from the PSU fan tonight(unplugged of corse), and then I plan to put about 100 holes in the case cover

I AM
Premium Member
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA

I AM

Premium Member

Buy a new case.