FFXI System Build/Upgrade Advice

[WraithAkaMrak]

July 03 I built a system on a budget, and I've since upgraded it a bit. Relevant specs:

Athlon XP 1700+ @ 2.0 GHz
1 x 512 MB Corsair PC3200 CAS2
Soltek nForce2 Ultra 400 (SL-75FRN2-RL)
Sapphire Radeon 9600 PRO 128 MB "Ultimate" (Passive) Edition
Samsung SP1614N 160 GB 8 MB cache
BenQ FP767 17" LCD 16ms native 1280 x 1024
802.11b wireless PCI card
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz 5.1 PCI

This is a quiet (though not silent) system. (The reason for the passively-cooled graphics card.)

Now I'm getting the urge to upgrade, and my budget's a bit bigger this time around (though I'm not going nuts on bleeding edge stuff like an FX cpu or $400+ graphics cards).
I play a lot of Final Fantasy XI, along with a bit of Sims 2, BF1942, SimCity 4, etc. I run FFXI at 1280 x 1024, with most of the graphics options turned up. Also increased the background resolution w/ a registry edit.
It looks pretty good, but the background seems to stutter a bit, when moving around. It just doesn't seem to move smoothly. Did this before the reg edit too. And weather effects like dust storms can really slow things down.
Battlefield is good except when I turned on AA, I think.

Just looking for any specific recommendations regarding FFXI performance. The specs I'm thinking about now are:

Athlon 64 skt939 90nm 3500 or 3200
2 x 512 MB, 1 x 1 GB, or 2 x 1 GB?; PC3200 or greater
nForce4 or K8T890-based motherboard, maaaybe ATI's chipset?
PCI Express: 6600 GT, X700XT, maybe vanilla 6800
Hard drive, monitor, sound card and wireless card probably remaining the same for the time being.

Not buying immediately, but in the next couple months I'd guess.

 

[effee]

all this for FFXI? it looks set for EQ2

 

[WraithAkaMrak]

Well, they're some options, depending on how much I want to spend and where.

 

[Tarrant64]

I would stick with just A64 3200 processor. no need to go any higher if your not looking for TOP NOTCH performance or whatever.
I also hear 1 Stick of memory works better with A64 mobo/processors???(could be wrong here, just what i've read somewhere). So maybe try sticking to one stick of 1gig pc3200? 2gb would be OVERKILL. Also could just do pc3500-4000 if you got money for 2gb of ram. <(^^<)
Last, NVIDIA I think regardly what you choose will be a good choice if you dont' have money for the X800 PCI-E. if you can shoot for the 6800 i recommend it. Keep in mind tho I think NVIDIA's cards sometimes require 2 power connectors, just FYI.

Tarrant

P.S. What sever are you on? I play FFXI also.
Pheonix Server, Lvl 32 War, Atak

 

[Numan]

Your old system would run FFXI fine. When the game came out, I was in the middle of a video card trade/selling thing and was bororing an old GF2 card. That old card with my 2600XP, the game still ran fine.

 

[Elcs]

I played FFXI and I wasnt impressed but thats of no consequence.

My Barton 2500+ @ 2.2Ghz at the time, 9800Pro and 1Gb DDR didnt seem to have much trouble with 1024x768 with all settings on although It did get bogged down a little with a lot of action.

I feel tempted to tell you to get another stick of 512mb DDR for FFXI but I am BY NO MEANS sure that it'd help you. FFXI strikes me as a RAM hog although I cant prove it, especially since I cancelled my subscription.

Your proposed system seems like overkill for the listed games but it should prove to be a competant system that can handle games for a good while to come. Most people over at the Video Section dont seem to rate the 6800 vanilla much and prefer the GT.

Hope for some better advice than mine

EDIT: Remember!!! Buy a quality PSU!

 

[newParadigm]

Your old system would run FFXI fine. When the game came out, I was in the middle of a video card trade/selling thing and was bororing an old GF2 card. That old card with my 2600XP, the game still ran fine.

Some one always hasta come in and say "OMG, you dont need upgrade, my Pentium 100 Comp Plays that Game just great."

 

[effee]

yup, but playing the game, and playing the game at quality is a whole new ball game

 

[DrCool]

your current system should handle the programs you mentioned, with the exception of TWO components..

'Soltek Motherboard' (can you say 'generic crap?')
'Sapphire Radeon 9600' (get a real video card, nvidia FX5700 LE would work beautifully and not break the bank)

otherwise, if you've set everything up right, that system should work flawlessly.

don't waste your money, just spend it more wisely in the future..

 

[WraithAkaMrak]

EDIT: Remember!!! Buy a quality PSU!

Using a Fortron FSP350-60PN, without the blue LED.

 

[WraithAkaMrak]

'Soltek Motherboard' (can you say 'generic crap?')

Why do you say that? The board's been good to me, and it got good reviews.

'Sapphire Radeon 9600' (get a real video card, nvidia FX5700 LE would work beautifully and not break the bank)

I don't know how the FX5700LE scores, but some benchmarks would suggest my 9600 PRO is comparable to a FX5700.

don't waste your money, just spend it more wisely in the future..

Um...

 

[Numan]

Originally posted by: newParadime

Your old system would run FFXI fine. When the game came out, I was in the middle of a video card trade/selling thing and was bororing an old GF2 card. That old card with my 2600XP, the game still ran fine.

Some one always hasta come in and say "OMG, you dont need upgrade, my Pentium 100 Comp Plays that Game just great."

If he's just going to play FFXI then he could play it fine at 800x600 (most likely 1024x768 too)*shrug* If he wants to logout to play Doom 3 or something else after a lousy group kills you 10 times, then hell yeah, upgrade the pants off it.

FFXI is a weird semi emulated/ported PS2 game that relies more on CPU speed then your GPU. Which was why when I did get my newer card, a 9800XT, the game pretty much ran the same. I could turn on AA/AF and that fun stuff, but the framerates plummeted at weird times, usually with the wind effects. His CPU upgrade will help out this game more then a video card upgrade, all I am saying. For THIS game.

 

[WraithAkaMrak]

His CPU upgrade will help out this game more then a video card upgrade, all I am saying. For THIS game.

Good to know.