Build for Rift

[Deleted]

So i'm looking to get a new computer, i've been using this old one now for about 6 years and am fed up of running anything that's been released in the past 2 years on low settings. I can't play anything with shadows turned on and everything has to be ticked off.

I dont have a budget yet, i was looking through the sample builds and although there's some great advice next to them stating what they can run i know that MMO's tend to tax computers more than typical games, so what i'm basically looking for is advice on which sample build i should aim for to be able to play Rift on high settings.

I'm not looking for any particular advice on which specific parts to use, i'm rather looking to see how much i can expect to pay for what i want and to see if i can realistically afford it in the near future.

I'd really appreciate any input!

[Deleted]

The 650 build would be quite fine and run it at high settings no problem. The 800 gaming build be would it and other newer games with no issues and you would have better upgradability path. All in all you're looking at something around $700-900.

[vesseblah]

Also need to keep in mind those sample builds do not have OS or monitor included in price, and HDD prices can be totally off.

[Butterland]

The i3 2100 builds (about 600$) will get you good settings, but little to no upgrade path. With GW2, MoP, D3 and Titan coming in over the next 2 years, it is generally better to opt for the i5 2500k builds which are closer to 1000$, but will last for at least 2 years on Ultra or 4 years on medium (before upgrades).

[vesseblah]

The i3 2100 builds (about 600$) will get you good settings, but little to no upgrade path.

H67 boards will be upgradeable all the way to i7-2700 today and Ivy Bridges later in the summer, and have great options for better CPUs than the i3-2100 still in 2-3 years for getting 50% more performance with simple drop-in replacement. P67 board would be better since it allows overclocking too, but is limited to the same processors as H67 (and even H61 but I wouldn't take those except for extremely low budget use).

[DeltrusDisc]

Being a Rift-player, I seriously suggest getting a 2500K and *at least* a 560 Ti, as the game is pretty taxing on both your CPU and GPU I find. I have a 2500K@4.0GHz and 560 Ti@880MHz core (will be OCing it again soon here I think) and I can't even get consistent 60 fps anywhere but out away from other players at highish settings. 1920x1080 resolution.

This game is nothing at all like WoW for those wondering....

[Deleted]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys, i was actually expecting it to cost me a lot more so it is appreciated. One question though, this is the first time i'll be getting a comp that isn't store bought and i'm confused by what you mean when you say upgrade path, why do some setups upgrade better than others?

[Deleted]

Things like not having big enough power supply, a motherboard that won't support upcoming CPUs, maybe not enough connectors for X components, not enough expansion slots etc. Forcing you to exchange more parts, thus spending more money in the long run. Vesseblah, talk a little bit about it in his comment further up.

[DeltrusDisc]

I'll give a quick example about upgrade paths as they currently are:

1156, 1366, and 775 LGA sockets are all older gen sockets and Intel is no longer producing CPUs for these sockets. If you bought a motherboard based on any of these sockets, you would have no ability to possibly add a new CPU coming out in the future into these sockets, because they are more or less "dead-end." These were great sockets for their times, however they have grown old and are no longer being given new CPUs. 775 is older than both 1156 and 1366, but for the record, 1156 has been succeeded by socket 1155, and 1366 by 2011. Buying into either 1155 or 2011 right now will mean you'll have some amount of upgrade path before they make new sockets, it's all about getting more power out of CPUs and chipsets. 1155 was for Sandy Bridge and will be getting Ivy Bridge CPUs in a few months here, while 2011 is Sandy Bridge-E and will be getting new Ivy Bridge-E CPUs probably sometime this coming winter or early 2013, as I have heard.