Minimum requirements to play with ultra settings?

[Zasszz]

Two years ago I upgraded most of my hardware to play wow, which I was mostly playing then, with decent settings. I even got an SSD harddrive to run my windows 7 64 while running the game on another harddrive. I didnt upgrade my graphics card and I assume its the weakest piece in my machine right now. But I have no idea which card is suitable for me or for swtor or if its even compatible with most of my hardware. But given the current status of technology I have to get a new power supply aswell that can work with the cards. I had to install a noname power supply because former broke down and this one is compatible with my graphics card. I saw no need to upgrade it until I get a graphics card that cant connect with it. As far as Im aware the current generation requires appropriate power supply units. Shouldnt hurt to plan abit ahead like right now

 

My current hardware:

AMD FX-6110

Gigabyte 970A-UD3P mainboard

Corsair pc18166 DDR3 8gb RAM

Radeon HD 5830 1024MBytes GDDR5

 

The graphics card did a good job for years but I do like to play with higher settings even older games which I couldnt play with ultra settings with that card. Also there will be no more support or driver upgrades for that generation of cards. Unfortunately I can hardly play any game with shadows without experiencing low fps. Its odd that it works with swtor but the shadows on lowest settings look almost transparent and square. I also planned that my next card should be nvidia as all games are optimized for them. ATI cards always required tweeking first.

 

I have ~300$ saved up for upgrades at the moment. I hope thats enough for good graphics card and a combatible power supply. What graphics card generation should I aim for? How do I determine if my hardware is balanced to get the results Im looking for? Should I change my other hardware?

[JediQuaker]

SWTOR, like most MMOs, relies heavily on the CPU. The FX-6110 is probably OK for normal PvE, but will have poor fps (frames per second) in crowded areas, warzones and OPs. The best option for SWTOR at this time is an Intel Haswell or Skylake i5 processor, but you could also make some improvement by upgrading your current motherboard's CPU to an FX-8350/8370.

 

Graphics-wise, an R7-370 or GTX-950 would get you basic mid to high graphics in SWTOR and should work fine with a 400watt or better power supply. (Assuming 1920x1080)

You could go as high as an R9 380(X) or GTX-960/970 with a standard 500/550 watt power supply. (You gave no specs for your power supply.)

 

For "ultra" settings, you'll basically need the best graphics card you can afford. I'm running an R9 390 (with a 635watt PSU) and I can get pretty close to ultra before it starts to limit fps. (I'm running an i5-3570 at the moment, which is my main fps limiter - soon to be upgraded to a new Skylake.)

 

What would be best for your $300 (US?) would depend a bit upon what seems to be most noticeable to you. If your fps is bothering you, you should put the money into the CPU - either upgrading to a better FX, or going to a basic i5-4460 and a B85 based motherboard (re-using your current RAM).

If the graphics quality is your main concern, you'd need to shop around for what current gen graphics card you can get and include a new power supply if necessary. You'd want either an AMD based 300 series or a nVidia based GTX-900 series card.

 

Give us some specs on your power supply and what aspects you most want to improve and we could give more specific recommendations. But here's some graphics info:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gpus,4380.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

Edited March 17, 2016 by JediQuaker

[TX_Angel]

My current hardware:

AMD FX-6110

Gigabyte 970A-UD3P mainboard

Corsair pc18166 DDR3 8gb RAM

Radeon HD 5830 1024MBytes GDDR5

 

I have ~300$ saved up for upgrades at the moment. I hope thats enough for good graphics card and a combatible power supply. What graphics card generation should I aim for? How do I determine if my hardware is balanced to get the results Im looking for? Should I change my other hardware?

 

Your biggest challenge is going to be your CPU, not your GPU.

 

Yes, the GPU is getting long in the tooth, and an upgrade is due there, but dropping a modern video card into that machine will do far less for SWTOR than you probably expect it to.

 

SWTOR is only using 2 of your cores, and that CPU is terrible in single core performance. Frankly it isn't that great at multicore either.

 

Example:

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/348/AMD_FX-Series_FX-6100_vs_Intel_Core_i3_i3-6100.html

 

That compares is to a modern Intel i3 DUAL core chip (you have a 6 core). The Intel chip is 119% faster in single threaded performance (such as things like SWTOR) and is still 16% faster in anything that will use all 6 of your cores (which is very little in terms of gaming). It also does it using half the power.

 

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/356/AMD_FX-Series_FX-6100_vs_Intel_Core_i5_i5-6500.html

 

Compare it to a modern 4 core Intel chip, it is 115% faster in single threaded stuff and 62% faster in multithreaded stuff (while still being 2 cores short).

 

Sadly, AMD rather sucks for CPUs at the moment, outside of very low cost APU based system at the bottom of the market.

 

---

 

GPUs are easier, SWTOR will play at full detail without a fuss on a GTX 960:

 

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB - $180

http://amzn.to/1Wr1tLe

 

But if you put that GPU into your current machine, it won't actually help all that much, your current GPU is enough for SWTOR. I also wouldn't go with less GPU, a 750 TI is a nice card, but not really an upgrade over your current card. A 950 is, but at $150, not worth it for the price (at $120 it would be).

 

A better choice would be:

 

Gigabyte H170 motherboard - $85

http://amzn.to/1Wr23Jb

Kingston HyperX 16GB DDR4 - $70

http://amzn.to/1Wr2cw9

Intel i5-6400 - $185

http://amzn.to/1Wr2p2f

 

Total cost - $340

 

More than you wanted to spend, but you'd have a really nice system. You could skimp and go to a H110 board, but I think for a i5, that would be a mistake.

 

If you want cheaper:

 

Gigabyte H110 Motherboard - $64

http://amzn.to/22mMQwg

Intel i3-6100 - $122

http://amzn.to/1Mn7Tpd

 

You can likely use your existing RAM on that motherboard since it takes DDR3, but if it doesn't work (voltages have changed for DDR3 over time):

 

Crucial DDR3 16GB - $57

http://amzn.to/22mNoCk

 

Total without RAM - $186

Total with RAM - $243

[TX_Angel]

SWTOR, like most MMOs, relies heavily on the CPU. The FX-6110 is probably OK for normal PvE, but will have poor fps (frames per second) in crowded areas, warzones and OPs. The best option for SWTOR at this time is an Intel Haswell or Skylake i5 processor, but you could also make some improvement by upgrading your current motherboard to an FX-8350/8370.

 

Frankly, that wouldn't be much of an upgrade for SWTOR, the single core performance is just not an improvement (since they are basically the same chip with 2 more cores)

 

A H110 or H170 motherboard is pretty reasonable and in SWTOR, even a dual core i3-6100 will run faster than anything AMD makes.

 

Graphics-wise, an R7-370 or GTX-950 would get you basic mid to high graphics in SWTOR and should work fine with a 400watt or better power supply. (Assuming 1920x1080)

You could go as high as an R9 380(X) or GTX-960/970 with a standard 500/550 watt power supply. (You gave no specs for your power supply.)

 

The R9 cards are power hungry, but the GTX 960 is shocking low power. I have one installed in a ASUS M32CD prebuilt desktop using the factory 300 watt power supply, it plays the game perfectly.

 

It is over the OP's budget, but that is something he might want to consider:

 

ASUS M32CD - $450

http://amzn.to/1Mn9ds2

 

Intel i5-6400

8GB DDR4

1TB HD

 

It comes with AC wireless, Windows 10, and the whole point of course is that you get to keep your current machine. I will caution, it comes with a H110 motherboard, so if you don't care about having 2 machines, you can upgrade your current machine for less with a H110 board and i5-6400. But if you take the $340 option I posted and instead buy the ASUS machine and add a 8GB stick of RAM, it isn't that much more money and you get two computers out of it.

 

8GB DDR4 (to make the ASUS M32CD have 16GB of RAM) - $34

http://amzn.to/1Wr4paL

[TX_Angel]

I have ~300$ saved up for upgrades at the moment. I hope thats enough for good graphics card and a combatible power supply. What graphics card generation should I aim for? How do I determine if my hardware is balanced to get the results Im looking for? Should I change my other hardware?

 

Side note:

 

Your HD 5830 has 1120 stream processors running at 800 MHz. It has 1GB of RAM (which is starting to show its age).

 

For $300, you can buy either a NVidia GTX 970 or a AMD R9 390.

 

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-390-vs-GeForce-GTX-970

 

That page gives you some idea of the differences, but in reality the two cards are more or less the same performance. The AMD card does consume nearly TWICE the power of the NVidia card however to do it. Both are way overkill for SWTOR however, but since you asked about $300 price points, there you go:

 

NVidia GTX 970 4GB - $305

http://amzn.to/1Wr5teN

 

AMD R9 390 8GB - $315

http://amzn.to/1Wr5zTD

 

I would still buy a GTX 960 if SWTOR is your main game and you're playing at 1440p or less on a single monitor (or 1080p on three monitors, it will do that too). If you get anything less than a 960, I don't think you'll notice much of an improvement, you're replacing and older mid-range card with a newer entry level card in that case, it isn't really worth doing IMHO.

 

If your budget is FIRM at $300... With your existing card, I'd be inclined to go with the i3-6100, anything that runs on that card will run on the i3, and save you money. But if you want some future proofing, get the i5, it will be faster for other games having 4 cores. It just doesn't matter for SWTOR.

[Zasszz]

Big thanks for the (long) replies

 

I knew I should have listened to my brother when he recommended the intel cpu back then... *sigh*. Thats what happens when I dont listen to myself.

 

I had a talk with a friend about it and we think a 600w power supply like this one should sort out one problem:

http://www.amazon.com/Be-Quiet-Bronze-CrossFireX-Exclusive/dp/B00I8QVWRI/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458155369&sr=1-3&keywords=be+quiet+power+supply&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_two_browse-bin%3A6906985011

 

As for the graphics card we think a 4096MB GeForce GTX 960 will do nicely. 128bit should be fine, 256bit is 50 bucks extra. Not sure if its worth it if I find such a card. That generation is one year old while mine is six years old now. Im in europe and I didnt find it on the US amazon page.

According to a page I found to compare hardware there is a 144% increase of performance between my old card and this one. http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=2436&gid2=368&compare=geforce-gtx-960-2gb-vs-radeon-hd-5830

 

Guess if I change the other hardware I wait two more months.

[TX_Angel]

Big thanks for the (long) replies

 

You're very welcome!

 

I had a talk with a friend about it and we think a 600w power supply like this one should sort out one problem:

http://www.amazon.com/Be-Quiet-Bronze-CrossFireX-Exclusive/dp/B00I8QVWRI/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458155369&sr=1-3&keywords=be+quiet+power+supply&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_two_browse-bin%3A6906985011

 

Depends on the price you can get it for. I suggest this one:

 

EVGA 600W B PLUS Bronze certified - $45

http://amzn.to/1Pcs6ht

 

I have one, I've used it, works perfectly, cheap price!

 

As for the graphics card we think a 4096MB GeForce GTX 960 will do nicely. 128bit should be fine, 256bit is 50 bucks extra. Not sure if its worth it if I find such a card. That generation is one year old while mine is six years old now. Im in europe and I didnt find it on the US amazon page.

According to a page I found to compare hardware there is a 144% increase of performance between my old card and this one. http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=2436&gid2=368&compare=geforce-gtx-960-2gb-vs-radeon-hd-5830

 

Guess if I change the other hardware I wait two more months.

 

In my professional opinion, the 4GB is completely wasted on a GTX 960. The limited 128-bit memory interface will prevent it from being useful since you really need 4GB for gaming above 1080p, such as 1440p, multiple monitors, or 4K, and that card doesn't have the power to do that.

 

The GTX 960 was tailor made for 1080p gaming, in fact the 2GB card will handle almost anything on the market today at medium to high detail levels, at 45-60 fps at 1080p without a fuss. It also is very power supply tolerant, running just fine off a 300w power supply.

 

The GTX 970 does need 4GB and it was designed for 1440p gaming, or multiple monitor 1080p gaming, and it does need a bit more power supply, the above 600w unit will work nicely (as would a 500w to be honest)

 

---

 

The above being said, I can tell you from personal experience the GTX 960 is actually enough for multiple monitor gaming for SWTOR. My son plays with me and he had a Sandy Bridge Intel i5 chip in a cheap Dell Vostro desktop (i5-2310) and a GTX 960 video card. The primary limit to frame rate was CPU, but he played on three monitors in SWTOR and it worked reasonably well. Not always silky smooth, but for a year, it was fine. He has a better one machine now, but for a year it worked well enough.

 

I suspect you'll put a newer video card in and be disappointed in the experience, if SWTOR is your gauge of success. I have an older machine with a ATI HD 5850 in it and the GPU is not the limiting factor for SWTOR (that machine runs on a 1080p monitor), it is the CPU in that machine (a Core2Quad Q6600). The performance is completely unacceptable by any definition regardless of location or what you're doing, but that is due to the 9 year old CPU, not the GPU.

Edited March 16, 2016 by TX_Angel

[Max_Killjoy]

I'll just throw in a quick note that I LOVE the results I got from upgrading to a GTX 960.

[Zasszz]

I just noticed that the mainboard you suggested are MICRO boards. Are there non-micro boards available for those CPUs too? Just curious since I always used the non-micro boards, dunno what they are actually called. I forgot

 

EVGA 600W B PLUS Bronze certified - $45

I selected mine for noise reasons too. How would you describe the noise level?

 

In my professional opinion, the 4GB is completely wasted on a GTX 960. The limited 128-bit memory interface will prevent it from being useful since you really need 4GB for gaming above 1080p, such as 1440p, multiple monitors, or 4K, and that card doesn't have the power to do that.

Well, Im using two monitors with both running 1920x1080, only one for gaming. Does that count? And Im not sure about the relevance of 1080p while gaming. I only know the relevance for playing videos or streaming.

What if I upgrade to a 256bit version of that card instead of 128bit?`Would you say its worth it with the setup you suggested?

[TX_Angel]

I'll just throw in a quick note that I LOVE the results I got from upgrading to a GTX 960.

 

What CPU do you have? What GPU did you come from? Do you PvE solo, PvE group, or PvP group?

 

I ask, because all of those make a big difference to figure out if the upgrade makes sense for anyone else.

[TX_Angel]

I just noticed that the mainboard you suggested are MICRO boards. Are there non-micro boards available for those CPUs too? Just curious since I always used the non-micro boards, dunno what they are actually called. I forgot

 

Yes, I normally suggest ATX-micro boards when I'm making suggestions in the blind, not knowing what kind of case someone has. They will fit into almost anything and reduce the risk that you'll buy something that will show up and not fit.

 

I personally much prefer full size boards, but not everyone has the case for that and I understand.

 

The H110 motherboards are almost all micro boards, due to their reduced price and feature set compared to H170 boards.

 

For H170 boards, a nice one is this one:

 

ASUS H170-Plus D3 - $98

http://amzn.to/1MojxjL

 

One benefit of this board is that it takes DDR3 rather than DDR4, which costs less and you might be able to reuse existing RAM on it. I have a i5-6500 installed on this board with DDR3-1600 memory running at 1.5v, which is above the "official spec" of 1.35v for DDR3 for Skylake, but this board seems to not care.

 

If you want DDR4 support:

 

Gigabyte H170D3H - $105

http://amzn.to/21wiSnj

 

I selected mine for noise reasons too. How would you describe the noise level?

 

Very quiet, in the right case, nearly silent.

 

I have one of those installed in this case:

Corsair Carbide Series 100R Silent Edition - $60

http://amzn.to/1XwKdV9

 

The above ASUS H170-PLUS D3 motherboard is also in that case, along with a AMD R9 280 GPU, and frankly even while gaming you can't hear anything, it is whisper quiet.

 

The case is $10 more than the "non-silent edition", but I think the $10 is worth silence.

 

Well, Im using two monitors with both running 1920x1080, only one for gaming. Does that count? And Im not sure about the relevance of 1080p while gaming. I only know the relevance for playing videos or streaming.

What if I upgrade to a 256bit version of that card instead of 128bit?`Would you say its worth it with the setup you suggested?

 

1080p for gaming gives you about 2 million pixels to drive, if at 60fps, then your GPU has to render 120 million pixels per second. If you were gaming at 2560x1440 (otherwise known as 1440p), then you'd have 3.6 million pixels to drive, or 216 million per second. If you had three 1080p monitors, you could game in NVidia Surround and put SWTOR on all three screens (a wonderful experience if you have never done it, makes the game a different experience), then you'd have 6 million pixels or drive, or 360 million per second.

 

More pixels requires more GPU horsepower.

 

In your case, the second monitor doesn't really matter. Yes, it takes *something* to run the second screen, but nothing worth worrying about. Playing on one screen and leaving the other for chat, web browsing, netflix, etc. is almost the same as just playing on one screen.

 

As for the memory interface, I'm not aware that a 256-bit option exists for the GTX 960, can you provide a link to such a card? I'd be interested to see it. The older GTX 760 card had a 256-bit memory interface, but that is a completely different card and is slower by 25% than the GTX 960.

 

As for 4GB vs 2GB on a GTX 960 level card, if I may be blunt... in most cases, the higher memory version is offered to sell to people who don't know what is needed and what is not. There exist 4GB versions of cards half the performance of the GTX 960. Why? To sell to the uninformed. (4GB is more than 2GB, so it MUST be faster!)

 

The GTX 960 doesn't have the hardware to play games at resolutions and detail levels that require 4GB at an acceptable frame rate. Save your money and get the 2GB version.

 

If you think you'll upgrade to something more than a single 1080p display for gaming, such as 1440p or perhaps three 1080p screens, then a GTX 970 4GB might be a wise purchase. Anything over 1080p single screen gaming, *in general* I suggest a GTX 970, the extra performance is needed for more pixels.

[Zasszz]

Big thanks again for the very detailed reply

 

For H170 boards, a nice one is this one:

 

ASUS H170-Plus D3 - $98

http://amzn.to/1MojxjL

 

One benefit of this board is that it takes DDR3 rather than DDR4, which costs less and you might be able to reuse existing RAM on it. I have a i5-6500 installed on this board with DDR3-1600 memory running at 1.5v, which is above the "official spec" of 1.35v for DDR3 for Skylake, but this board seems to not care.

Makes sense to me.

 

Im using a chieftec dragon tower for about 15 years now. The insulation of the inner lining is my own upgrade. So the noise level only depends on the hardware

 

If you had three 1080p monitors, you could game in NVidia Surround and put SWTOR on all three screens (a wonderful experience if you have never done it, makes the game a different experience), then you'd have 6 million pixels or drive, or 360 million per second.

If I figure out one day how to run three monitors with the right hardware I probably will do that. My current graphics card and most Ive seen only support two monitors. Do I need a dvi hub or another card to run more monitors?

 

As for the memory interface, I'm not aware that a 256-bit option exists for the GTX 960, can you provide a link to such a card? I'd be interested to see it.

My friend noted that the gtx I selected only has 128bit so he suggested to find one with 256bit. But we couldnt find one either. Thats why we went for a 4gb version thinking it would compensate. Guess that didnt work out as planned.

 

As for 4GB vs 2GB on a GTX 960 level card, if I may be blunt... in most cases, the higher memory version is offered to sell to people who don't know what is needed and what is not. There exist 4GB versions of cards half the performance of the GTX 960. Why? To sell to the uninformed. (4GB is more than 2GB, so it MUST be faster!)

It really sucks that what you expect is the opposite of what you get.

 

The GTX 960 doesn't have the hardware to play games at resolutions and detail levels that require 4GB at an acceptable frame rate. Save your money and get the 2GB version.

 

If you think you'll upgrade to something more than a single 1080p display for gaming, such as 1440p or perhaps three 1080p screens, then a GTX 970 4GB might be a wise purchase. Anything over 1080p single screen gaming, *in general* I suggest a GTX 970, the extra performance is needed for more pixels.

It looks like I stay with my monitor setup of 2x 1920x1080 for awhile. I find it acceptable for the games I play.

 

This really helped me selecting the right hardware. Im very grateful for the help *force pat on the back*

[JediQuaker]

I just noticed that the mainboard you suggested are MICRO boards.

The main difference between micro-ATX (mATX) and full ATX is just size. Back in the early days, you had to sacrifice some features to go to mATX, but not so much anymore. mATX boards generally have about the same number of SATA, USB, and memory slots as a full ATX board. (Certainly as many as the average gamer needs)

 

The main thing you get from full ATX is more expansion slots. Unless you are going for 3-way or 4-way SLI and/or you have a sound card, and other add in cards, you don't need full ATX.

An mATX motherboard has the same mounting arrangement as a full ATX board - the only difference is the length.

But an mATX board will fit also into a smaller mATX mid/mini tower, if you decide to get a smaller case sometime.

So, bottom line, if the mATX board has the features you want, no worries.

 

I selected mine for noise reasons too. How would you describe the noise level?

Most modern, brand name power supplies are very quiet. That Be Quiet supply seems very over-priced for a "bronze" unit. If you stick to a GTX-960, you don't need anything bigger, or more expensive, than a good 500watt 80+ bronze unit such as a Corsair CX500.

 

Well, Im using two monitors with both running 1920x1080, only one for gaming.

I'm running two monitors. One (main) 1920x1080 and one 1280x1024. I used to run them with an HD7870 graphics card, and they worked fine. If the secondary monitor just has a desktop displaying a browser, voice chat, etc, it takes relatively little GPU power to run it.

[Max_Killjoy]

What CPU do you have? What GPU did you come from? Do you PvE solo, PvE group, or PvP group?

 

I ask, because all of those make a big difference to figure out if the upgrade makes sense for anyone else.

 

We talked upgrades before -- -- I'm the guy with the AMD Phenom II X4 925 2.8GHz; upgraded from a 9800 GTX+. 512Mb to a GTX 960 2GB last February, and just put a 1TB Samsung SSD in a few weeks ago.

[jedip_enguin]

You don't need to be on the beefiest rig, you just need to be realistic with your fps expectations.

 

I managed to play with most settings at full on a 2011 gaming laptop (i7+560m+16GB), and the fps difference between all settings maxed and all settings low during high impact activity (PvP, 16m ops) was in the high single digits at best.

 

When I upgraded to a desktop with a top line i7 and a 780 my overall and top line performance shot up, but it still grinds in the exact same spots because the engine has very serious issues with how it handles parts of the game word (gunfire, particle effects and transparency/fogging seem to be particular overheads) and no amount of hardware can make up for this.

[DarkSaberMaster]

I bit the bullet and bought an Acer Predator 17. Can play the game in ultra with no issues whatsoever. Look up the stats and it will give you an idea to aim for.

[TX_Angel]

We talked upgrades before -- -- I'm the guy with the AMD Phenom II X4 925 2.8GHz; upgraded from a 9800 GTX+. 512Mb to a GTX 960 2GB last February, and just put a 1TB Samsung SSD in a few weeks ago.

 

I actually remember, but the post was more meant for everyone else, not you.

 

I simply wished to point out that there are almost no blanket answers in the PC business. A part will work wonders for one person, and do almost nothing for the next person.

 

And frankly, you had a MASSIVE upgrade, the 9800 GTX+ was an AWESOME card in its day, but that day was not yesterday. The OP has a far more recent card compared to that.

 

I still think you need a new CPU, a nice i5-6500 would rock your world.

[Max_Killjoy]

I actually remember, but the post was more meant for everyone else, not you.

 

I simply wished to point out that there are almost no blanket answers in the PC business. A part will work wonders for one person, and do almost nothing for the next person.

 

And frankly, you had a MASSIVE upgrade, the 9800 GTX+ was an AWESOME card in its day, but that day was not yesterday. The OP has a far more recent card compared to that.

 

I still think you need a new CPU, a nice i5-6500 would rock your world.

 

I'm tempted to see what happens with Zen and any counter-move from Intel, at this point.

 

(My initial comment about the card was short because anything in detail I could say was already being posted by you, etc.)

Edited March 17, 2016 by Max_Killjoy

[TX_Angel]

I bit the bullet and bought an Acer Predator 17. Can play the game in ultra with no issues whatsoever. Look up the stats and it will give you an idea to aim for.

 

It is worth noting that the "Acer Predator 17" is actually a line of notebooks, not a specific one.

 

Example:

http://amzn.to/21xYS3q - This machine has a GTX 970M in it

http://amzn.to/1R6GtG8 - This machine has a GTX 980M in it.

 

Bot hare Acer Predator 17 notebooks, but the latter has far more GPU power in it. Now that doesn't matter for SWTOR, both have plenty, but it is worth a mention

 

---

 

It is ALSO worth noting that your machine has an Intel Skylake i7-6700HQ, a 2.6GHz true quad core chip that turbos to 3.5GHz (which it will get close to for SWTOR, since it only uses 2 cores).

 

It is a top of the line CPU in a $1,500 notebook that SHOULD run everything maxed out (if not, it would be a waste of money).

 

---

 

BTW, if you have money to burn, try this one:

 

http://amzn.to/2572ePC

 

Acer Predator 17

6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor 2.6GHz

32GB DDR4 Memory

1TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, 512GB PCIe Solid-State Drive

6X Blu-ray Disc

17.3" Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) widescreen LED-backlit IPS display

NVIDIA GeForce GT980M with 4GB GDDR5 VRAM

Windows 10 Home, Up to 5.5-hour battery life

 

That is a beast of a machine, but for $2,600 it bloody well should be. It does have a really nice SSD in there, a beautiful IPS Ultra HD 4k screen, and a very nice GPU. It would also play SWTOR on ultra detail, but due to the resolution, something like GTA V would struggle to run at ultra on that, it doesn't quite have enough GPU for that.

[TX_Angel]

Big thanks again for the very detailed reply

 

Sure thing.

 

If I figure out one day how to run three monitors with the right hardware I probably will do that. My current graphics card and most Ive seen only support two monitors. Do I need a dvi hub or another card to run more monitors?

 

Actually, your current card should be able to support three monitors, it has EyeFinity technology to turn multiple screens into one display. EyeFinity is AMD's name for it, Surround is NVidia's name for it, they both do the same thing.

 

Your biggest limitation will be the 1GB of VRAM on your card for three screens, it will probably work for SWTOR, but little else these days.

 

You simply plug three monitors into your card, go into AMD's control panel and click the EyeFinity tab and set it up. Bezel correction options are in there so that the card renders the "blank space" behind each bezel so it all lines up correctly. The thing is, you do need three screens, the game is centered and if you play on two, your toon and everything you're looking at will be blocked by the bezels. There is no way to move the "center" to one monitor, so you do need three monitors.

 

It is ALSO worth noting that many cards will not work with three HDMI only monitors. I've had nothing but problems (mostly with AMD cards) getting three 1080p HDMI monitors to work. I stopped fighting it and switched to monitors with displayport, got cards with three displayport connectors, and it works perfectly the first time, every time.

 

Example GTX 960 card with 1 HDMI, 2 DVI, 1 DisplayPort:

http://amzn.to/1MbTeCu

 

Example GTX 960 card with 1 HDMI, 1 DVI, 3 DisplayPort:

http://amzn.to/1MbTmlB

 

The first card works fine with one monitor, and SHOULD work fine with 2 DVI monitors and 1 DisplayPort monitor. The second card works perfectly with three displayport monitors.

 

Other solutions can and do work, sometimes, but I prefer guaranteed solutions. Multiple HDMI monitors "sometimes" work, and I hate "sometimes.

 

My friend noted that the gtx I selected only has 128bit so he suggested to find one with 256bit. But we couldnt find one either. Thats why we went for a 4gb version thinking it would compensate. Guess that didnt work out as planned.

 

The memory interface only matters if it is the bottleneck. Consider that 2GHz memory at 128-bit is exactly the same performance as 1GHz memory at 256-bit.

 

The new High Bandwidth Memory on Fury and Fury X for example has a 4096-bit interface, but it is very slow compared to the 384-Bit GDDR5 interface on the 980 TI. Now, when you multiple the two together, the Fury X does have faster memory, but even that only matters at 4k resolutions. In multiple tests, the 980 TI tends to be faster at lower resolutions, the Fury X faster at 4k, but the difference is minor for the most part.

 

This is the same as the 2GB vs 4GB thing, it only matters if that is the limitation. Adding more of anything only helps if a shortage of that thing is what it causing the slowdown.

 

In your case, what is causing your slowdown is your CPU, not your GPU. I think $300 spent on a CPU and motherboard will provide you a far larger boost to SWTOR than a GPU upgrade will.

 

HOWEVER... that being said... if you play OTHER games, then that may not be true. I suspect your CPU is fine for many games such as Tomb Raider, GTA V, Fallout 4, etc. Your GPU becomes the limiting factor in some of those cases.

 

Each game is different.

 

It really sucks that what you expect is the opposite of what you get.

 

Yep:

 

Nvidia GT 730 - 4GB - $80

http://amzn.to/1UjRpGb

 

That card is actually SLOWER than the built in Integrated graphics of Intel's new Skylake chips. The 4GB card exists to pray on the uninformed.

 

Watch that video (LinusTechTips for the Win!) if you'd like to see what I mean. There is a whole section of products that have no reason to exist, but they do because they prey on people who don't know better.

 

Look on the bright side, now you do!

 

This really helped me selecting the right hardware. Im very grateful for the help *force pat on the back*

 

Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad it was helpful!

[Zasszz]

Actually, your current card should be able to support three monitors, it has EyeFinity technology to turn multiple screens into one display. EyeFinity is AMD's name for it, Surround is NVidia's name for it, they both do the same thing.

I thought thats physically not possible with mine. I only have two DVI connectors like all cards Ive seen. I have no idea how any of the other connectors allow for monitors to connect. I take it I need a special cable/plug/something between my monitor and the card but couldnt figure out what exactly I need.

 

You simply plug three monitors into your card, go into AMD's control panel and click the EyeFinity tab and set it up. Bezel correction options are in there so that the card renders the "blank space" behind each bezel so it all lines up correctly. The thing is, you do need three screens, the game is centered and if you play on two, your toon and everything you're looking at will be blocked by the bezels. There is no way to move the "center" to one monitor, so you do need three monitors.

I tried two monitors once with WoW and had exactly that problem So I stopped and stayed two monitors since then.

 

This is the same as the 2GB vs 4GB thing, it only matters if that is the limitation. Adding more of anything only helps if a shortage of that thing is what it causing the slowdown.

 

In your case, what is causing your slowdown is your CPU, not your GPU. I think $300 spent on a CPU and motherboard will provide you a far larger boost to SWTOR than a GPU upgrade will.

 

HOWEVER... that being said... if you play OTHER games, then that may not be true. I suspect your CPU is fine for many games such as Tomb Raider, GTA V, Fallout 4, etc. Your GPU becomes the limiting factor in some of those cases.

 

Each game is different.

I play none of those. I used to play prototype 2 but cant because the ATI drivers are messed up for my card, the current drivers offer no support for my card as far as Ive seen and the only way to play that particular game would require older drivers.

Other games I play are D3, star trek online, eve online, sins of a solar empire: star trek mod.

 

Look on the bright side, now you do!

And so does my friend

[TX_Angel]

I thought thats physically not possible with mine. I only have two DVI connectors like all cards Ive seen. I have no idea how any of the other connectors allow for monitors to connect. I take it I need a special cable/plug/something between my monitor and the card but couldnt figure out what exactly I need.

 

Does your card not have a DisplayPort or HDMI connector, in addition to the pair of DVI ports? It *should*, but I suppose it is possible there exist cards without them.

 

It doesn't matter all that much anyway, within the next year or two, you really are going to want to upgrade it.

 

I play none of those. I used to play prototype 2 but cant because the ATI drivers are messed up for my card, the current drivers offer no support for my card as far as Ive seen and the only way to play that particular game would require older drivers.

Other games I play are D3, star trek online, eve online, sins of a solar empire: star trek mod.

 

I haven't played most of those, so I'm not up on what STO or EvE requires these days. I suspect being MMOs, they need CPU like SWTOR does, but it is worth asking someone who plays them.

 

Your CPU is well suited to single player games where the GPU is what counts. Games that either have tons of players, or that have tons of separate things to process, are CPU bound. ARMA III is a good example of a CPU bound game, due to how many moving parts it has. Call of Duty, on the other hand, tends to be GPU bound, except in heavy multi-player of course, where CPU helps.

 

Speaking of which, the newer games like Battlefield Hardline use multi-cores nicely, which is why your CPU keeps up. If SWTOR had been written to use all your cores, you likely wouldn't be having these problems. The issue is that you're not using them. Open up task manager while playing SWTOR in a warzone (right click your toolbar and click task manager), click on the second tab (performance) and click on your CPU. With 6 cores, you should be seeing 30-35% CPU usage while playing SWTOR, unless you have other things running (web browser, music, videos, etc.)

[DarkSaberMaster]

It is worth noting that the "Acer Predator 17" is actually a line of notebooks, not a specific one.

 

Example:

http://amzn.to/21xYS3q - This machine has a GTX 970M in it

http://amzn.to/1R6GtG8 - This machine has a GTX 980M in it.

 

Bot hare Acer Predator 17 notebooks, but the latter has far more GPU power in it. Now that doesn't matter for SWTOR, both have plenty, but it is worth a mention

 

---

 

It is ALSO worth noting that your machine has an Intel Skylake i7-6700HQ, a 2.6GHz true quad core chip that turbos to 3.5GHz (which it will get close to for SWTOR, since it only uses 2 cores).

 

It is a top of the line CPU in a $1,500 notebook that SHOULD run everything maxed out (if not, it would be a waste of money).

 

---

 

BTW, if you have money to burn, try this one:

 

http://amzn.to/2572ePC

 

Acer Predator 17

6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor 2.6GHz

32GB DDR4 Memory

1TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, 512GB PCIe Solid-State Drive

6X Blu-ray Disc

17.3" Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) widescreen LED-backlit IPS display

NVIDIA GeForce GT980M with 4GB GDDR5 VRAM

Windows 10 Home, Up to 5.5-hour battery life

 

That is a beast of a machine, but for $2,600 it bloody well should be. It does have a really nice SSD in there, a beautiful IPS Ultra HD 4k screen, and a very nice GPU. It would also play SWTOR on ultra detail, but due to the resolution, something like GTA V would struggle to run at ultra on that, it doesn't quite have enough GPU for that.

 

I have that same Predator 17 with the 16gb memory and the 256gb SSD. I'm going to upgrade it later on to the 64gb max ram and change the 1tb hdd to an ssd. I was just giving the poster something that he can use to see the type of specs he can aim for to get his desired results.

[Skolops]

I'm encountering similar problems myself., but you know it used to run far better for some reason.

 

GTX-750 with a base clock of 1058 overclocked to 1228, meaning a possible 1371 MHz when the Nvidia boost kicks in. SWtOR is running at <20FPS but the GPU doesn't boost, or even run at the overclocked speed. It stays at 1058.

No temperature problems. I see a lot of claims in this thread of the CPU being the key factor, but all 4 cores on my i5-2400 have plenty of extra bandwidth, and the in-game FPS counter is red, meaning it wants more GPU power.

 

It's got 25% more GPU power to spare, but the game isn't using it and is complaining that it wants more GPU power. If it wants more CPU power, that''s available, too.

 

Worst of all, even changing to the lowest settings doesn't gain a single FPS. What gives?

[Daex]

I'm getting the occasional stuttering (fps drops) even with my Asus Strix 980ti (factory overlocked) and i5-3570k OC'd to 4 GHz. I've just given up figuring out how to get the game to run perfectly. So if this is the only game that you are playing, my advice is settle with lower settings and/or resolution and don't chase smooth ultra gameplay, it's just bad engine. I would advise GTX 970 regardless which should cover all your 1080p needs as well as decent 1440p. In terms of CPU, strictly for SWTOR, just look for more horsepower in terms of GHz. In that sense, I believe it's small difference for this game whether it is 2500k or new Skylake, if they were to run on the same clock. I would go out on a limb and say that compared on the same clock, you would see no more than 4-5 FPS difference, assuming both configurations are sound otherwise.