When building a new computer, what is best for SWTOR?

[Lhancelot]

My computer I have now is about 6 years old, so I was thinking of getting a new one soon.

 

I will run on a budget of about 2k or less, and want something that runs not only SWTOR but also can do music production and video editing with great ease.

 

If anyone here has some knowledge of what kind of processor I should get, video card, amount of RAM, power supply size, etc., I would appreciate it.

 

I honestly don't know anything about computers so any input on this would be helpful.

 

Thanks in advance!

[JattaGin]

Any computer for 2000 Euros will run Swtor perfectly. You can get a decent computer for Swtor for a 1/4 of that price. I bought a new laptop for 650 Euros in November and am enjoying this game on max settings smoothly.

 

My laptop specs are:

 

Intel i5-6200 2.3 GHz

Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M with 2 GB VRam

16 GB DDR4 Ram

SSD HD

Windows 10

 

I suggest you get some Intel i7 quadcore processor, the latest GeForce (1080?) and a big SSD harddrive. Especially a SSD is essential for Swtor as it speeds up the loading times a lot.

[Lhancelot]

Any computer for 2000 Euros will run Swtor perfectly. You can get a decent computer for Swtor for a 1/4 of that price. I bought a new laptop for 650 Euros in November and am enjoying this game on max settings smoothly.

 

My laptop specs are:

 

Intel i5-6200 2.3 GHz

Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M with 2 GB VRam

16 GB DDR4 Ram

SSD HD

Windows 10

 

I suggest you get some Intel i7 quadcore processor, the latest GeForce (1080?) and a big SSD harddrive. Especially a SSD is essential for Swtor as it speeds up the loading times a lot.

 

OK thanks a lot for sharing your specs and advice!

[HelinCarnate]

This game is CPU heavy so would go for better power there. I5 runs fine, can find decent ones for 200-250. For graphics cards a GTX 1060 should be able to handle most anything you can throw at it for most people. You only really need more if you are running multiple displays at high resolution. 8GB of memory should be fine as well but 16 couldn't hurt. One thing I would also invest in is SSD drive. I noticed my load times into planets was cut quite a bit when I made the switch.

 

Did some quick digging on amazon and found this for under 1200. Not bad for those that are not familiar with how to build your own.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0UL44G/ref=psdc_13896597011_t1_B01KKLKJ6I

 

This would be closer to the top end with the 1080 card and high end CPU for just under your 2k budget

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M074RN0/ref=psdc_13896597011_t2_B01M0UL44G

Edited January 19, 2017 by HelinCarnate

[Lhancelot]

This game is CPU heavy so would go for better power there. I5 runs fine, can find decent ones for 200-250. For graphics cards a GTX 1060 should be able to handle most anything you can throw at it for most people. You only really need more if you are running multiple displays at high resolution. 8GB of memory should be fine as well but 16 couldn't hurt. One thing I would also invest in is SSD drive. I noticed my load times into planets was cut quite a bit when I made the switch.

 

Did some quick digging on amazon and found this for under 1200. Not bad for those that are not familiar with how to build your own.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0UL44G/ref=psdc_13896597011_t1_B01KKLKJ6I

 

This would be closer to the top end with the 1080 card and high end CPU for just under your 2k budget

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M074RN0/ref=psdc_13896597011_t2_B01M0UL44G

 

Alright thank you for the links, I will check them out now. Much appreciated!

[Ramalina]

An i5 CPU, 16 GB RAM, a video card with 4 GB VRAM, a 250 GB SSD and 1 TB 7200 storage HD should be adequate for several years at the very least, and well within budget. A motherboard that can take RAM upgrades to 32 or 64 GB would give you some room to grow if you keep the computer for a long time.

 

If you're thinking video on a full time work basis then you might want to consider an i7 CPU and a 6 GB video card, but a normal user isn't likely to need that.

 

I'm running a 3 1/2 year old laptop with an i7, 2 GB GPU, 8 GB RAM, and a 7200 rpm HD. It does well with SWTOR at all but the highest settings, can run LMMS ( a digital audio workstation) easily, but struggles a bit with rendering animations in Blender. Please note though, that rendering a 3D image is much, much, more demanding than video editing. Editing shouldn't be a problem at any of the specs people have suggested unless you use long segments of high definition high framerate video.

[Lhancelot]

An i5 CPU, 16 GB RAM, a video card with 4 GB VRAM, a 250 GB SSD and 1 TB 7200 storage HD should be adequate for several years at the very least, and well within budget. A motherboard that can take RAM upgrades to 32 or 64 GB would give you some room to grow if you keep the computer for a long time.

 

If you're thinking video on a full time work basis then you might want to consider an i7 CPU and a 6 GB video card, but a normal user isn't likely to need that.

 

I'm running a 3 1/2 year old laptop with an i7, 2 GB GPU, 8 GB RAM, and a 7200 rpm HD. It does well with SWTOR at all but the highest settings, can run LMMS ( a digital audio workstation) easily, but struggles a bit with rendering animations in Blender. Please note though, that rendering a 3D image is much, much, more demanding than video editing. Editing shouldn't be a problem at any of the specs people have suggested unless you use long segments of high definition high framerate video.

 

Alright, I really only use my present PC for games and music production atm but want to be able to start messing with video editing/movie stuff.

 

I already create music, and started finding myself wanting to try to create videos with my own music and never done this before so really I am not sure what I need.

 

Basically sounds like a heavy gaming PC will easily handle any movie making projects I begin getting into.

 

My PC I use now is around 6 years old, and I have done no upgrades to it but obviously I bought a fairly decent PC for the times as it's still running swtor, and I have found no issues with it when creating songs through Reason.

 

I just worry it will end up blowing up or something, and I kind of want to have another PC running so I can get my music files onto it and start using a new PC for that stuff.

 

Anyway, I digress. Thanks a lot for the input I am looking up PC parts atm and comparing prices etc., using all the advice you helpful folk have given me.

 

Thanks again.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

Let's get more specific to SWToR performance. The higher frequency the CPU is running the better the game will run, even an i3 will get similar performance to an i5 if you are running them at similar clock speeds.

 

I had played with a pcpartpicker build in another thread so adapted it slightly to your budget:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ksK8zM

 

Now as mentioned above that i7 you DO NOT need for this game but depending what sort of video production you get into you will get great benefit from it as it speed up encoding times etc. ( these are the sort of activities where the multi core/threaded cpus shine ). You could of course get away from the i7 and get the i5 7600K instead and save yourself $100+ - downside isn't what you won't be able to do video wise, just how long it will take.

 

Other than that the rest of the build is some of the best bits you can get within your budget.

 

Now as you don't know Pcs well per your OP I suggest when getting the PC built to look into having them overclock it for you ( most decent PC stores should do this no worries if they don't already have various specced custom rigs over clocked and ready to go ). The more you overclock the better FPs you get from this game basically.

 

You can of course downgrade part depending on price for you and the extra cost you may need absorb by not building the PC yourself.

So there would be downgrading the CPU to the i5 or even going back a generation to the i5 6600K or i7 6700K , no massive difference there expect clock speeds really.

You could also downgrade to the 1070 GPU instead of the 1080, not really comparable in performance as the 1080 is a beast but still really good performance for this and most games from the 1070 unless you want to get into 4K gaming it might struggle in some areas. I recommended the 1080 just to max your budget.

 

The cooling if you aren't going overclock you wouldn't need ( well you wouldn't need the K series CPU either but I really recommend overclocking ) - factory would do. The motherboard ... peoples opinions vary but for a mid range board for that chipset for kabylake this one performs well but you can of course substitute that out as it was already on my list for a SLI GPU build. If you get the kabylake CPU though I recommend sticking with that motherboard chipset though.

Another consideration with music creation is of course will you use on board sound or buy a sound card, if you use onboard you want a quality boardl ike that with good on board order processor and if you go external sound card well simply downgrade the m/b to a less "bells and whistles" type board.

 

Same goes for case and power supply, opinions vary - that power supply is probably a bit OTT for only one GPU but at least it gives you some overhead if you ever added another GPU

 

Ram si easy, 500gig SSD there for all your install and games ( I personally recommend 2 SSDs, 1 for O/S and 1 for games/programs ) and a big HDD for storage there.

 

The reality of helping someone build is where they will get parts from, who will build it etc. so there are just recommendations that you could ideally buy right now for that price but if you are going local and getting a local build done prices are likely to be higher and you would need to sacrifice some areas to meet budget.

[tummiswtor]

A motherboard that can take RAM upgrades to 32 or 64 GB would give you some room to grow if you keep the computer for a long time.

 

When games need 32 or more gb of ram, You will change CPU and mobo 5 Times... (If You use PC for games only)

[SwiftDuck]

My computer I have now is about 6 years old, so I was thinking of getting a new one soon.

 

I will run on a budget of about 2k or less, and want something that runs not only SWTOR but also can do music production and video editing with great ease.

 

If anyone here has some knowledge of what kind of processor I should get, video card, amount of RAM, power supply size, etc., I would appreciate it.

 

I honestly don't know anything about computers so any input on this would be helpful.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

if you plan to use a PC and not a Mac for Music production, you are gonna have a HORRIBLE time.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

if you plan to use a mac you are gonna have a horrible time.

 

ftfy.

[teclado]

I really wish I could justify building myself a new comp. If I could, I'd build something along the lines of the following:

 

CPU: i7-7700K (some can hit 5GHz with a little effort)

MB: Asus Maximus LGA 1151 series

RAM: 16-32GB DDR4 (depending on price)

GPU: GTX 1070 or 1080 series (depending on how much you want to spend)

PSU: 80+ Gold from EVGA, Seasonic, Corsair

Corsair Water Cooling kit

SSD in the 250-500GB range

1TB+ HDD

Case

 

Should be able to do all that for around 1700 bucks (closer to 2k if you go with 1080 GPU and more RAM). If you are not willing to build it yourself, it's going to cost you more for an equivalent system. Might as well find a friend who has done a build before and get them to help you out. People love to play with new hardware. Once you learn how to build your own, you'll never buy a pre-built machine again. Pre-built will cost you more and you lose some degree of control over what you get.

[Lhancelot]

if you plan to use a PC and not a Mac for Music production, you are gonna have a HORRIBLE time.

 

I already use my PC for music production and it suits my needs. I am by no means a professional artist I only create music as a hobby and for self fulfillment. My PC has done this well enough, for my standards anyway.

 

I am just curious, why do you feel that a PC cannot be used for music production?

 

Let's get more specific to SWToR performance. The higher frequency the CPU is running the better the game will run, even an i3 will get similar performance to an i5 if you are running them at similar clock speeds.

 

I had played with a pcpartpicker build in another thread so adapted it slightly to your budget:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ksK8zM

 

Now as mentioned above that i7 you DO NOT need for this game but depending what sort of video production you get into you will get great benefit from it as it speed up encoding times etc. ( these are the sort of activities where the multi core/threaded cpus shine ). You could of course get away from the i7 and get the i5 7600K instead and save yourself $100+ - downside isn't what you won't be able to do video wise, just how long it will take.

 

Other than that the rest of the build is some of the best bits you can get within your budget.

 

Now as you don't know Pcs well per your OP I suggest when getting the PC built to look into having them overclock it for you ( most decent PC stores should do this no worries if they don't already have various specced custom rigs over clocked and ready to go ). The more you overclock the better FPs you get from this game basically.

 

You can of course downgrade part depending on price for you and the extra cost you may need absorb by not building the PC yourself.

So there would be downgrading the CPU to the i5 or even going back a generation to the i5 6600K or i7 6700K , no massive difference there expect clock speeds really.

You could also downgrade to the 1070 GPU instead of the 1080, not really comparable in performance as the 1080 is a beast but still really good performance for this and most games from the 1070 unless you want to get into 4K gaming it might struggle in some areas. I recommended the 1080 just to max your budget.

 

The cooling if you aren't going overclock you wouldn't need ( well you wouldn't need the K series CPU either but I really recommend overclocking ) - factory would do. The motherboard ... peoples opinions vary but for a mid range board for that chipset for kabylake this one performs well but you can of course substitute that out as it was already on my list for a SLI GPU build. If you get the kabylake CPU though I recommend sticking with that motherboard chipset though.

Another consideration with music creation is of course will you use on board sound or buy a sound card, if you use onboard you want a quality boardl ike that with good on board order processor and if you go external sound card well simply downgrade the m/b to a less "bells and whistles" type board.

 

Same goes for case and power supply, opinions vary - that power supply is probably a bit OTT for only one GPU but at least it gives you some overhead if you ever added another GPU

 

Ram si easy, 500gig SSD there for all your install and games ( I personally recommend 2 SSDs, 1 for O/S and 1 for games/programs ) and a big HDD for storage there.

 

The reality of helping someone build is where they will get parts from, who will build it etc. so there are just recommendations that you could ideally buy right now for that price but if you are going local and getting a local build done prices are likely to be higher and you would need to sacrifice some areas to meet budget.

 

Thanks a lot for all of the explanations and advice you gave here. I will check out your link, also.

 

Yes, I am not sure what kind of sound card i should get for my music production stuff tbh.

 

I guess I got lucky when i bought this first computer, it's 6 years old but still runs swtor and does all my music production quite flawlessly from what I can tell.

 

I just suspect that technology has to have advanced in the past 6 years, and I want to get a new PC and run games on it and also have a new system to make music on and possibly videos too.

 

For some reason I have this nagging feeling something is going to happen to my present PC, and before it does I want to have a new one up and running. I don't know why I have this feeling but I do.

 

Anyway, thanks a ton man. I will go to your link and compare what you have there with things I have been looking at all day.

[Lhancelot]

I really wish I could justify building myself a new comp. If I could, I'd build something along the lines of the following:

 

CPU: i7-7700K (some can hit 5GHz with a little effort)

MB: Asus Maximus LGA 1151 series

RAM: 16-32GB DDR4 (depending on price)

GPU: GTX 1070 or 1080 series (depending on how much you want to spend)

PSU: 80+ Gold from EVGA, Seasonic, Corsair

Corsair Water Cooling kit

SSD in the 250-500GB range

1TB+ HDD

Case

 

Should be able to do all that for around 1700 bucks (closer to 2k if you go with 1080 GPU and more RAM). If you are not willing to build it yourself, it's going to cost you more for an equivalent system. Might as well find a friend who has done a build before and get them to help you out. People love to play with new hardware. Once you learn how to build your own, you'll never buy a pre-built machine again. Pre-built will cost you more and you lose some degree of control over what you get.

 

Yeah, I have a couple friends who love building computers the problem is both live out of my state, rofl.

 

I can't get into building PCs, I just really don't see the draw to it at all. I built one with a friend one time, and it was so frustrating! It did work in the end, but I only kept it for a few years before upgrading to a more powerful one.

 

I can see how it saves tons of money building it yourself, but I tend to keep these computers that I buy for quite a long time.

 

My present PC I bought from a company prebuilt has lasted 6 years and it's still performing well. I paid a decent amount for it, but considering how long it has lasted I don't consider the cost that much in the big picture.

 

The certainty of it being done correctly, and avoiding any possible frustrations ends up being worth the extra money for me to buy one I have decided.

[teclado]

Fair enough. Yeah, sometimes stuff doesn't work quite right when you build it yourself. Sometimes you have to RMA a component. Sometimes you accidentally buy something that is incompatible, sometimes you buy something that is supposed to be compatible but really isn't grrrrr. So you have to do your research. But for hardware geeks who just love tinkering and optimizing their system and having full control and knowledge over everything in the box, it's totally worth it.

 

I'm certainly not the guy to ask regarding buying a computer as I have little to no experience in that regard.

[MadDutchman]

The real must have here is the SSD. You REALLY want one of these nowadays, along with a 1-2 TB old school HD.

 

If wherever you get it from does custom builds, I would also highly recommend getting something with a decent cooler. Stock coolers kinda suck and are usually obnoxiously noisy. With a good cooler, you can overclock a lot more should you decide you want more power later on.

 

Other than that, I'd go for a lower end i7 or a higher end i5, 8+ GB of RAM, maybe a 1060 GPU (not as important)

[AllisonLightning]

if you plan to use a PC and not a Mac for Music production, you are gonna have a HORRIBLE time.

 

Are you an iDork... people like you are why schools have junk Apple computers that stop kids from learning how to use computers properly. They are proprietary locked down tricycles and the height of my disdain came when I saw a woman having to get a Macbook Air for her kid because her public school was demanding not just a laptop but an Apple.

 

Ignore that person, OP. I recommend an i7, 16 GB RAM on the video/music editing side that will also work wonders for SWTOR. The graphics card depends on if you play other games and what resolutions, if this is your main game - GTX 1060 will be fine- GTX 1070 (which I have) is good for if you play current release AAA games like Rise of the Tomb Raider. Pick the parts but have the store build it for you because that covers accidents and takes the stress out of it.

 

The GTX 1060 would be more than fine for video editing and as for an SSD- as long as you aren't cannibalizing from any other part's budget, it's recommended. But I will stress- get a good power supply with protections that won't kill your computer if it goes out. My computer survived a PSU fault because it was a high end one despite the fact it borked and begun restarting my computer constantly... do not skimp.

Edited January 20, 2017 by AllisonLightning

[Lhancelot]

Are you an iDork... people like you are why schools have junk Apple computers that stop kids from learning how to use computers properly. They are proprietary locked down tricycles and the height of my disdain came when I saw a woman having to get a Macbook Air for her kid because her public school was demanding not just a laptop but an Apple.

 

Ignore that person, OP. I recommend an i7, 16 GB RAM on the video/music editing side that will also work wonders for SWTOR. The graphics card depends on if you play other games and what resolutions, if this is your main game - GTX 1060 will be fine- GTX 1070 (which I have) is good for if you play current release AAA games like Rise of the Tomb Raider. Pick the parts but have the store build it for you because that covers accidents and takes the stress out of it.

 

The GTX 1060 would be more than fine for video editing and as for an SSD- as long as you aren't cannibalizing from any other part's budget, it's recommended. But I will stress- get a good power supply with protections that won't kill your computer if it goes out. My computer survived a PSU fault because it was a high end one despite the fact it borked and begun restarting my computer constantly... do not skimp.

 

Got it, thanks for that I was looking at power supplies and really not sure what to get. So, what do you mean a power supply with "protections" though?

 

I even tried to read some lengthy tech article with stats of a bunch of power supplies and how efficient they were with assorted processors and gamecards and, ffs it was just too confusing for me to follow in the end rofl.

[Lhancelot]

The real must have here is the SSD. You REALLY want one of these nowadays, along with a 1-2 TB old school HD.

 

If wherever you get it from does custom builds, I would also highly recommend getting something with a decent cooler. Stock coolers kinda suck and are usually obnoxiously noisy. With a good cooler, you can overclock a lot more should you decide you want more power later on.

 

Other than that, I'd go for a lower end i7 or a higher end i5, 8+ GB of RAM, maybe a 1060 GPU (not as important)

 

Ok, basically I am probably going to end up spending more than I wanted but I don't want a bunch of cheap parts in it.

 

So with a cooler, you are talking about the cooler for the CPU right? Would a liquid cooler be best if I end up with a fairly powerful processor etc.? Do liquid coolers need additional maintenance over an air drying type fan cooler?

 

Also, does overclocking cause undue wear on the PC, I mean will overclocking end up shortening the life of parts? I rather have a long lasting PC over one that runs 15% faster but dies in half the time.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Lhancelot

[MadDutchman]

Ok, basically I am probably going to end up spending more than I wanted but I don't want a bunch of cheap parts in it.

 

So with a cooler, you are talking about the cooler for the CPU right? Would a liquid cooler be best if I end up with a fairly powerful processor etc.? Do liquid coolers need additional maintenance over an air drying type fan cooler?

 

Also, does overclocking cause undue wear on the PC, I mean will overclocking end up shortening the life of parts? I rather have a long lasting PC over one that runs 15% faster but dies in half the time.

 

Yes, CPU cooler.

 

The difference in performance between a liquid cooler and a good air cooler isn't usually that much, if at all (depends somewhat on the air flow in the case). The main advantage to liquid coolers is that they are typically quite a bit quieter and can fit into smaller cases better while still performing well. The disadvantage of course is they cost twice as much. You should not need to do any maintenance on either (used to be a problem with liquid coolers but that should be all in the past), other than the occasional cleaning out of the case of dust and stuff.

 

As for overclocking, yes it will put additional strain on the CPU, mainly because it runs hotter. As a general rule, the hotter it runs, the earlier it'll die (always exceptions of course). Generally speaking you don't want to overclock if it runs what you want it to fine. Where overclocking comes in handy is when it is getting old, near it's end of life and it's just not performing as well with modern tech. Throw a bit of OC on it and drag it out for an extra year or so before replacing it.

 

Even if you don't overclock though having a good cooler well help extend the lifespan of the computer. Heat is bad.

Edited January 20, 2017 by MadDutchman

[Lhancelot]

Yes, CPU cooler.

 

The difference in performance between a liquid cooler and a good air cooler isn't usually that much, if at all (depends somewhat on the air flow in the case). The main advantage to liquid coolers is that they are typically quite a bit quieter and can fit into smaller cases better while still performing well. The disadvantage of course is they cost twice as much. You should not need to do any maintenance on either (used to be a problem with liquid coolers but that should be all in the past), other than the occasional cleaning out of the case of dust and stuff.

 

As for overclocking, yes it will put additional strain on the CPU, mainly because it runs hotter. As a general rule, the hotter it runs, the earlier it'll die (always exceptions of course). Generally speaking you don't want to overclock if it runs what you want it to fine. Where overclocking comes in handy is when it is getting old, near it's end of life and it's just not performing as well with modern tech. Throw a bit of OC on it and drag it out for an extra year or so before replacing it.

 

Even if you don't overclock though having a good cooler well help extend the lifespan of the computer. Heat is bad.

 

ok thank you for clarifying.

[AllisonLightning]

Got it, thanks for that I was looking at power supplies and really not sure what to get. So, what do you mean a power supply with "protections" though?

 

I even tried to read some lengthy tech article with stats of a bunch of power supplies and how efficient they were with assorted processors and gamecards and, ffs it was just too confusing for me to follow in the end rofl.

 

By protections, it means between over voltage, under voltage- how it performs, hold up time- how much power it actually gives, power correction- Japanese capacitors are a big tick in the PSU department. Efficiency rating is how well it uses power and saves on your power bills but your gold rated will usually have it- there are brands and types to stay away from because they do anything from not providing sufficient power to burning your PC and maybe your house down.

 

Buying a good one means that it actually produces the power it says on the box and 650W with the GTX 1070 while overkill, if you ever do overclocking should give you some nice headroom unless you go for the GTX 1060, in which case I'd recommend between 500-550W.

 

The articles are usually about how well they provide power to the system, load, temperatures and are a good metric- once you've actually narrowed down on what model you want as the caveat. Also, with components, cross check reviews so you don't get stung by rose coloured glasses or conversely someone's bias against.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

Ok, basically I am probably going to end up spending more than I wanted but I don't want a bunch of cheap parts in it.

 

So with a cooler, you are talking about the cooler for the CPU right? Would a liquid cooler be best if I end up with a fairly powerful processor etc.? Do liquid coolers need additional maintenance over an air drying type fan cooler?

 

Also, does overclocking cause undue wear on the PC, I mean will overclocking end up shortening the life of parts? I rather have a long lasting PC over one that runs 15% faster but dies in half the time.

 

Get the cooler I linked - one of the best AIO coolers, can push those kabylake puppies to 5+ ghz on those.

No additional maintenance if installed and setup correctly. Just the usual dust clean from the fans but there is no heatsink to clean like a big tower air fan so easier than those.

 

Overclocking does not cause any stress on cpu life if properly cooled. At least not in the sense you'd ever notice it, I've overclocked every PC I have and never had a CPU go and use my old CPUs in servers and other household pc's when I upgrade and they're still going strong.