AMD Game Rig for RTS

[Excel_Based_GUI]

Hey everyone First post and please bear in mind i only use my current system for command and conquer generals zero hour.


I am currently using a lenovo thinkcentre 7099 i got from work for £20.



Its got a core duo 2 3gig processor
4 gig of 3200 ddr2 chips
VTX3d 7750 4 gig graphics card
128gig ssd boot
128gig ssd vram drive
500w PSU
2Hard drive coolers
2x 120mm case fan
Fox PCi exhaust port right under the graphics card



You can all have a chuckle but as i said i have been using it for command and conquer generals zero hour

It runs smooth as silk at 1440 x 900 with everything on highest with 1 v 7 Hard AI no screen lag and online no Screen lag


However watching a video of the new generals 2 on youtube i guess this isnt going to cut it. Plus the it appears the RTS game has really moved onto worlds instead of maps.

So i am looking at building a new machine and ideally would prefer AMD Tech over Intel Tech


Looking at
AMD FX-8350 FX-Series Eight-Core Processor
ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 AM3+
Corsair Vengeance 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz
2 x ASUS HD7970 DirectCU II 1000MHz HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 (Crossfire Mode)
32" LED HD 3d TV

is this likly to cut it without going core i7HT k ???

Is it likly to give me a few years of rts games or am i better going off on a Intel based system with Nividia??


Any help you can give this old man would be a great help

 

[Giseth]

Hey, RTS games doesnt demand as much as MMO's and FPS games. So you dont actually need a beast computer to play RTS games for many years ahead. Most of the times, lowering graphics in RTS games give you a huge advantage.

You never need an i7 actually. Only if you are super serious and dont want to buy a new processor for a long time. An i5 is more than enough. Maybe the top models of i3's can make the cut also, just because its an RTS.
Im not sure if Intel and Nvidia is much better than AMD, but i know that AMD is cheaper compared to the rivals.

Two HD7970 is more than enough. And i think this is going to work well for many years. On the other side, you can get two GTX 650Ti's or 660Ti's in SLI, they will both give good performance in RTS games.
Keep in mind though if you get a really bad processor or a bad power supply everything will suffer for this, so make sure your components are at about the same level of performance

 

[Excel_Based_GUI]

Thank you Giseth.

Now i have retired, i am planning on the RTS games to keep my mind alive lol

Gone from VBA Programmer to old fart sitting under the stairs with my little war games.

The only reason i was thinking amd is the 8 core as even excel can use all 8 cores so i was guessing games can to against intels 4 core

The rts seams to be a bit of a dying genre in its old age ( very much like me lol ) and i would like a build that would give me max settings on everything when my last guilty pleasure finally comes out.

It will never been used for FPS games as i have a ps3 that i use to play against the grandkids on various things, all the driving sims are taken care of on it as well.

Its a shame the grandkids will never know the delights of quake 2 on a old p233 with 128meg ram and voodo 16mb card lol as i was really very good at that and the verion that came with quake 4 on the xbox 360 just didnt allow me to show off years of double jumping skills grandpa has lol

again thanks for the advice and thanks for not being rude about my current system as its allowed this old man to win many many games online and against my know it all spawns kids lol

 

[jimthenagual]

They haven't released any required specs for that game yet, but I can tell you one thing for sure. That system you list above is a monster. Major MAJOR overkill for what you would need.

I'd guess and say while playing you'd be using about 30% to 40% of what that machine would be capable of. (just making up numbers, but you get the point)

 

[Excel_Based_GUI]

Yes its a very exciting prospect.

I am hoping it will have 3d support as a 32" 3d TV would give me a great view in a cupboard under the stairs.

I have just reached the point where i want to experience the last 20 years of my time being able to play in max mode.

If it is over kill i will allow the family to fight over who gets it when i am gone or make them hold a zero hour match to see who wins it wonder if my lawyer could make that a must lol

 

[jimthenagual]

There is something to be said about driving a Ferrari. Need one? Nope, but what a ride!

 

[marqol]

Hey,
You mind tossing in your budget?
2x 7970 does sound a little overkill but... if you got the $ why not use it, lol.
They run brilliantly, I've recently upgraded to one myself.
I think for 'future proofing' a single GPU is more cost effective. usually they drop in performance when you with 2 but the real reason I suggest only getting a single GPU set up is really 'cos it gives you the cash to eventually upgrade when it finally does need it. You'll be running most if not all games on ultra / high with one alone.

 

[Excel_Based_GUI]

you get to that time in life and the faster you go the longer you live



Shame i wont be around to watch the 8 Grand kid free for all 🙁

 

[Excel_Based_GUI]

Anything up to £1,000 that has to cover a much wanted 3d tv to go in my little cuboard under the stairs.

But it has to be worth it mind i want the grandkids to deathmatch it when i die

 

[Excel_Based_GUI]

Apologies marqol

i didnt see the rest of your post i was hoping for a 3d set up i thought a graphics card which could do with 3d would output any game in 3d as rts is one game type that would benefit massively from this extra depth of view ( nothing wrong with my eyes)

I was hoping for a 3d LED TV and a monster rig that would last me 10 years at least, and cover future releases of rts

But i have to admit the idea of making a machine the grandkids would all fight to the death for is very appealing

 

[marqol]

With that budget in mind:

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Irly
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Irly/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Irly/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£146.39 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£55.82 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£100.97 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£39.33 @ Dabs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Green 1TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive (£42.42 @ Dabs)
Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£112.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (£309.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case (£70.07 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£13.70 @ CCL Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£67.19 @ Aria PC)
Total: £958.85

You have the option to add an additional 7970 if you wish, later on with that PSU.
An SSD for games and your OS.
The best air cooler on the market to OC to your heart's content, with added in Low Profile ram to fit it.
You can change the case to whatever you prefer, I chose this on personal preference and I think there's an Tom's Hardware case article suggesting it's their best rated one also.

Hope this helps.

Quick edit:
You can also take out CPU cooler, SSD and HDD / optical drive if you wanted to use your older ones, as they will do the job. if you're not OCing you won't need the additional cooler. That is under the assumption you would like to save some of that budget for the 3D tv.
If you do already own the tv then GRAB THE LOT =)

 

[Excel_Based_GUI]

Thank you i will take a look


I guess my trusty lenovo think center 7099 is going to be Casio calculator I have to admit i will miss it seams a shame to throw it out but the system specs are that low its about all it is good for

I might ask one of the kids next door if they would like it as it runs really fast so should be ok for facebook google

 

[marqol]

Thank you i will take a look


I guess my trusty lenovo think center 7099 is going to be Casio calculator I have to admit i will miss it seams a shame to throw it out but the system specs are that low its about all it is good for

I might ask one of the kids next door if they would like it as it runs really fast so should be ok for facebook google

Well, as I said above. You can scrap the quite a few parts to save yourself some cash.
It's really up to you helping out others could leave you with getting the karma in return of getting the PERFECT CPU and GPU to OC :lol:

 

[Excel_Based_GUI]

It can only help i guess,

for £20 its been a one hell of a pc Probably helps i put 4 gig of fast ram in and the 7750 which is clocked to 900MHZ 1000MHZ Ram 100% Fan speed I have to use headphones in the cuboard as all the fans inside


and hopefully the vram helps as that used to be a good trick back in the day (56k online quake that is )

So do games have to be 3d enabled or can i get any old game to run in 3d.

 

[marqol]

Cannot help you there, as I do not own any 3D tv's or monitors. I can howveer give a pretty good guess and say that the game / program would have to be 3D enabled to view it in 3D, if I'm wrong then that's pretty crazy, lol.