Budget Rig for Swtor

[mwforrest7]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Playing Starwars The Old Republic

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

400-600 USD

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

Newegg USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

None

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Re-using case (med tower), dvd-rom, harddrive (win 7 installed), 4 gigs of DDR-800 Ram, 450 W PSU, 1920 x 1080 Monitor

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

No.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

No.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

1920 x 1080

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Next week or two.

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

I'm not thin Skinned.

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I am thinking the only parts that need upgrades is the CPU, mobo, and GPU. If I am correct, the ram, and PSU should be ok?

We are leaning on the GeForce 550TI GPU. Do you think this would be good enough to play SWTOR on high settings?

If we were to go with that, which CPU and MOBO combo do you think would be good? I was thinking an i3 would be fine, but I have no idea which motherboard would be good.

If you don't think the 550TI is a good choice, what would you pick?

I appreciate any help!

 

[Ken g6]

Please ensure you've answered all the questions in [thread=80121]this thread[/thread]. Like, what's your budget?

Also, what are your friend's existing specs? CPU? (I assume a Core 2 of some kind) GPU?

 

[mwforrest7]

I have reformatted my post so that the answers to those questions are more clearly visible. Sorry Ken!

 

[mwforrest7]

Please ensure you've answered all the questions in [thread=80121]this thread[/thread]. Like, what's your budget?

Also, what are your friend's existing specs? CPU? (I assume a Core 2 of some kind) GPU?

Also to answer your latter question, I believe he currently has an GeForce 8600 and a e8400 but I am not totally certain about that. Its definitely a core 2 though.

 

[fralexandr]

the ram is almost certainly DDR2 800, in which case, you'd need to get some DDR3 if you upgrade the mobo


http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/star-wars-gaming-tests-review,3087-5.html
based on this link, I'd get a 6850/70;they've been on sale lately, and there seems to be a nice performance boost over the 550 ti

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/star-wars-gaming-tests-review,3087-8.html
the game seems to make use of 4 threads
you would probably benefit from going with a core i3 though if you're planning on playing other games a core i5 2500(k) is probably the best bet

if you don't want to upgrade to a new motherboard + ddr3 you could also upgrade the CPU to a q6600 (~$100 used) and OC it to 3-3.2 GHz as well, since having 4 cores/threads seems to improve the min fps significantly
the q6600 is pretty close to the phenom II x4 performance wise
depending on the mobo, you might be able to use 1333 fsb cpus (doubtful) in which case i would recommend the q9300/9400

-----
do you know what brand/model PSU the existing computer has?
do you know what brand/model CASE the computer has?

-----
so upgrading to q6600 + 6850/70 = ~$250 + (30)
q6600 = ~$100
6850/70 = ~$150
cpu HSF [somewhat-optional]: hyper 212+ ~$30

upgrading to core i3 2100 = ~$355
i3 2100 = ~$120
mobo = $50+
6850/70 = ~$150
2x4gb ddr3 = ~$35

upgrading to core i5 = ~$485 (mobo ~$100, i5 ~$200) you can save $50 if you have a microcenter near you

you could spend whatever leftover moneys you have by getting an SSD wooooooo

 

[mwforrest7]

His case is a Xion he said, but he couldn't find it on the net, I guess its too old.

Its something like this though. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208034

As for the PSU, he doesn't know the brand right this second, he just knows its a 450W. Ill get back to you on that.

At the moment we are leaning on the 6850, and the i3 CPU (the 120ish dollar one). Any mobo recommendation?

 

[fralexandr]

if you want an ATX board, something like this ASROCK for $78
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157246

if you don't mind the fewer RAM, USB, SATA and PCI/PCI-e expansion slots, a micro ATX like this biostar should be ok for $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138332 or this ASROCK for $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241
the most limiting factor would probably be if you need more USB slots (wireless usb adapter? mouse? keyboard? headphones? etc) in which case you'd need to get a USB hub

I'm pretty sure SATA HDDs were commonly used for core 2 duos, but DVD drives might be IDE dunno.
you might need to get an SATA DVD-drive (most of them are now SATA)

 

[Bateluer]

Also to answer your latter question, I believe he currently has an GeForce 8600 and a e8400 but I am not totally certain about that. Its definitely a core 2 though.

If he has an ~3Ghz C2D, that Geforce 8600 is the bottleneck. If money is a big factor, upgrading the video card to something modern and decent would be an option as well. Assuming the case/power supply can handle that a new card.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

If he has an ~3Ghz C2D, that Geforce 8600 is the bottleneck. If money is a big factor, upgrading the video card to something modern and decent would be an option as well. Assuming the case/power supply can handle that a new card.

i agree.

 

[mwforrest7]

Thanks for the help everyone! He ordered the 6850, an i3, and 8 gigs of DDR3 1333 ram and the ASRock mobo that was suggested. Will be here next week

 

[mfenn]

:thumbsup: That's a good parts list. I am a little worried about the (probably off-brand) PSU though.