Demands on a system: RTS, RPG, FPS

[Drowning_ox]

Greetings.

I have been researching and shopping around trying to educate myself as best I can concerning my new theoretical build. It would be mostly for gaming (surprise!). But I am just wondering how (to generate discussion) the different genres differ in their demands on a system - information/input that would further help me in making decisions on components.

For example: I am mainly interested in top-down RTS like StarCraft 2, Crusader Kings 2 ( ), Civ 5... and Clockwork Empire looks like it'll be pretty neat. EDIT: And let us not forget Total War!


I also want to dabble some good ol fashioned over-the-shoulder RPG's: Perhaps ACIII, among others...

At the bottom of my list are FPS. Maxing out every graphics setting does not interest me. Although, I still argue that FPS should only be played with a keyboard and a mouse.

With this said, do I put more money into a motherboard and CPU? Will a midlevel GPU be legit? Also, would a SSD help in-game performance? I'm not looking to max out and perform benchmarks but I still want my new rig to be forward-compatible and to haul some ass.

Building a new rig (my first rig) has been an exciting prospect. The TomsHardware forums have been an excellent resource. Thanks to all who give constructive advice.

 

[marsay001]

A way to look at the games you have listed is like this, bare with me!

When the xbox 360 came out, Fight night had, and probably still does have the best visuals. For the reason that the hardware on has to deal with rendering and processing 2 men in a ring, and the ring (essentially).

Now take an rts or rpg like WoW. There is quite literally an entire world for the hardware to render, hens the graphical quality will go down.

As for the hard drives, you will see an increase in speed with loading times with a solid state, but in game performance I cant see it.

What is your budget? and happy building its always exciting!

 

[bystander]

RTS games tend to be much more CPU limited, however, single player RPG games are more balanced. You won't want to skimp on the CPU, but that doesn't mean you need to go extreme either. Definitely look towards an i5 setup. Anything less and RTS's often struggle. A mid ranged graphics card should do you well, not that a higher end one isn't better.