# New build for FFXIV



## Nosada (Jul 26, 2010)

My GF desperately wants me to build her a brand new machine for the sole purpose of playing Final Fantasy XIV. Obviously she'll be doing other things with it, but the only performance she cares about is the one she'll get in that game. The build I have so far looks as follows:

Intel i5 760 (or i7 860 / Xeon 3440, depending on how this thread turns out
ASRock P55 Extreme
GSkill Ripjaws DDR3 1600 CL7-8-7-24
Intel SSD 80Gb G2
Asus HD5850
Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus
Corsair TX650W
Antec 300

If anyone sees anything that can be improved upon, I'm open to all forms of critique.


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## kurosagi01 (Jul 26, 2010)

I would switch the case with a NZXT Beta evo or something,the Antec 300 isn't really a good choice in my opinion since it has very little cable management such as cable holes.


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## theonedub (Jul 26, 2010)

Was never a fan of the Beta case until I actually owned one  Nice budget case, would def take it over an Antec 300 knowing what I do now.


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## joeyck (Jul 26, 2010)

only thing i would change is instead of getting a 760 u can get a i5 750.. they r both exactly the same just dif. Clocks...

u can OC the fuck out of the 750\

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache L...

good choise in mobo and GPU 

-1 on the beta evo it is cheap but there r no sufficent air filters other then a bunch of huge holes -_- ur computer parts could get very very dusty... unless u intend to buy enough filters for all ur intake fans...

I'd rather get this : NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Black Steel / Plastic G...


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## Nosada (Jul 26, 2010)

kurosagi01 said:


> I would switch the case with a NZXT Beta evo or something,the Antec 300 isn't really a good choice in my opinion since it has very little cable management such as cable holes.





theonedub said:


> Was never a fan of the Beta case until I actually owned one  Nice budget case, would def take it over an Antec 300 knowing what I do now.



I'll be sure to check out the NZXT cases when I go pick one up at the shop, I'm doing the case local since shipping would be prohibitively expensiven. So I can change that one on the fly.



joeyck said:


> only thing i would change is instead of getting a 760 u can get a i5 750.. they r both exactly the same just dif. Clocks...
> 
> u can OC the fuck out of the 750\



I wouldn't mind getting a 750 over a 760, but the price difference is 6€, would be kind of silly to get the lower multi, no?


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## WhiteLotus (Jul 26, 2010)

What are the actual specs of the game? Might be able to get away with lesser hardware if money is an issue.


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## joeyck (Jul 26, 2010)

well 6 uros is a new case fan  

in US the price dif. is 12$ that there is 2 case fans ya no? when building a a system u want to be as wise as possible... none the less u wont c any dif. in performance between the 750 or 760 lol unless u choose not to OC then the 760 is for u . 

try this case out  : 

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black S...

great for gaming nice size looks great as well and free shipping to where ever u are.


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## douglatins (Jul 26, 2010)

Total overkill for a momorpge


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## joeyck (Jul 26, 2010)

WhiteLotus said:


> What are the actual specs of the game? Might be able to get away with lesser hardware if money is an issue.





to what whitelotus said i would use the benchmark tool to see if ureally need this much

http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/media/benchmark/na/index.html


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## WhiteLotus (Jul 26, 2010)

douglatins said:


> Total overkill for a momorpge



Agreed,

If all your GF is going to do is play this one game, (with a side order of general Internet use) you do NOT need a SSD or i7.

If you have the money and don't really give a shit, then hell, go all out.


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## joeyck (Jul 26, 2010)

i thought i was the only who thought this way, this build is monster for just final fantasy lol I think a i5 - 750 and 5770 would do just as good...


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## WhiteLotus (Jul 26, 2010)

joeyck said:


> i thought i was the only who thought this way, this build is monster for just final fantasy lol I think a i5 - 750 and 5770 would do just as good...



with a WD Cavier Black and your set, saving a good load of money as well.


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## joeyck (Jul 26, 2010)

yep, i'm building a new computer with cheap parts but with bing bang to em...  the person i am building it for a is a mobile gamer (so he needs a case with hand bars) (thats where the CM storm scout comes in ) 

he wanted a i7 with GTX480's instead i am going to get him a AMD set up with 555be unlock and OC and get him a 5770 saving him but loads...

and he only plays counter strike... and that is like so not demanding...


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## douglatins (Jul 26, 2010)

joeyck said:


> yep, i'm building a new computer with cheap parts but with bing bang to em...  the person i am building it for a is a mobile gamer (so he needs a case with hand bars) (thats where the CM storm scout comes in )
> 
> he wanted a i7 with GTX480's instead i am going to get him a AMD set up with 555be unlock and OC and get him a 5770 saving him but loads...
> 
> and he only plays counter strike... and that is like so not demanding...



Buttloads of heat, weight, electricity and money.

Also a i7 + a 480 would render liga a gajillion frames per sec in either CSS or CS


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## joeyck (Jul 26, 2010)

exactly what i was saying to him... I'm currently looking up his GPU and mobo atm, but I was against a 480 hands down... extreme waste...


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## Dent1 (Jul 26, 2010)

Some of these build ideas are completely overkill and unnecessary for playing Final Fantasy FFXIV, you guys are acting like we are making a rig for Crysis 2 or something.

All you need is a cheap 785G motherboard, Athlon II X3/Athlon II X4, maybe a Phenom II X4 and a $100 GTS 1GB 250. This build shouldnt run you more than $400 and it will eat FF and most other games up for breakfast still


Edit:

And yes, I have benchmarked the Athlon II X2/X3/X4 and Phenom II series in Final Fantasy, I created a thread about it last month and yes all these processors eat FFXIV for breakfast still

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=125059


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## Nosada (Jul 26, 2010)

WhiteLotus said:


> What are the actual specs of the game? Might be able to get away with lesser hardware if money is an issue.



FFXIV is running on the Crystal Tools Engine, the same engine that powered FFXIII on PS3. Recommended specs are i7, 4Gb RAM and a GTX460.



joeyck said:


> i would use the benchmark tool to see if ureally need this much



I'm currently in the beta on a 4Ghz E8400, 4Gb RAM and a HD5850 @950/1200, the benchmark gives me a score of 2900 on high, while actual game barely copes with any crowd larger than 5 people.



WhiteLotus said:


> Agreed,
> 
> If all your GF is going to do is play this one game, (with a side order of general Internet use) you do NOT need a SSD or i7.
> 
> If you have the money and don't really give a shit, then hell, go all out.



The SSD seems unnecessary indeed, but that's more for other things than just this game. The i7 I'm definitely doubting.



Dent1 said:


> ... you guys are acting like we are making a rig for Crysis 2 or something.



I can't overstate this well enough: the benchmark is a horrible representation of actual ingame performance. Scoring just under 3.000 points on high, any crowded place is nigh unplayable. I know the game is still beta, but I'm guessing the graphical engine is pretty much worked out at this time. Could she play like this? Probably, but it would be far from an enjoyable experience for someone who likes to explore and walk around cities all day. I'm looking for actual smooth gameplay in 99% of cases on mid to high settings. I'd rather spend a few hundred more than have frequent stutters.

Thanks to all for the replies so far, you've pretty much convinced me an i7 would be pointless.


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## ShRoOmAlIsTiC (Jul 26, 2010)

I say the rosewill challenger
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Com...

or the nzxt gamma
NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel A...

pretty much both the same cases,  the gamma has 2 x 140mm or 120mm on top and challenger only has 1 x 140mm or 120mm for top.  great cable management on both.  

I own both but I have the challenger front panel on my gamma.

not sure if you can find those cases where your at but look for em.  the challenger is also called a casecom 6788

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=112489

not sure if you can buy from ebuyer
Casecom 6788 Black Mid Tower Case with Full Black....

Komplett.be
http://www.komplett.be/Komplett/pro...MA_Midtowermodel_ATX_/GAMA_001BK/default.aspx

Heres a pic of mine so you can see how everything fits.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t83/shroomalistic/100_5959.jpg


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## Dent1 (Jul 26, 2010)

Nosada said:


> FFXIV is running on the Crystal Tools Engine, the same engine that powered FFXIII on PS3. Recommended specs are i7, 4Gb RAM and a GTX460.
> 
> 
> I'm currently in the beta on a 4Ghz E8400, 4Gb RAM and a HD5850 @950/1200, the benchmark gives me a score of 2900 on high, while actual game barely copes with any crowd larger than 5 people.




Strange, you only score 2900, that is pretty low. My Athlon II X4 @ stock (2.6GHz) scores higher paired with a 4850. But then again I run the benchmark @ 720p. 

Are your scores @ 1080p or 720p?




Nosada said:


> The i7 I'm definitely doubting.
> 
> I'm looking for actual smooth gameplay in 99% of cases on mid to high settings. I'd rather spend a few hundred more than have frequent stutters.
> 
> Thanks to all for the replies so far, you've pretty much convinced me an i7 would be pointless.



i7 isnt pointless as per say. It gets the job done!

My feeling judging by the scores that I have compiled on the FF benchmark in my own thread is that the game is just a quad core whore. My feeling is that it will play better on any CPU that is more than dual core.

Perhaps you could sell your GF your current system (minus your 5850)  for say $350 and stick in a GTS 250 1GB for her and she'll be content with medium settings. Then with the same $250 left over and pick up a AMD socket, DDR3, and Athlon II X3/X4 and overclock the fuck out of it till about 3.7GHz-4GHz,


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## Nosada (Jul 26, 2010)

ShRoOmAlIsTiC said:


> I say the rosewill challenger



I was gonna tell you I can't buy Rosewill over here, but I never knew Casecom = Rosewill, certainly gonna check those out. Keeping an eye on the NZXTs at the moment though, they look pretty good for the money



Dent1 said:


> Strange, you only score 2900, that is pretty low. My Athlon II X4 @ stock (2.6GHz) scores higher paired with a 4850. But then again I run the benchmark @ 720p.
> 
> Are your scores @ 1080p or 720p?



1080p, which puts more load on the videocard, and seemingly less on the CPU. Strangely enough, I score 2900 on 1080p, and only 2700 on 720p. 



Dent1 said:


> i7 isnt pointless as per say. It gets the job done!
> 
> My feeling judging by the scores that I have compiled on the FF benchmark in my own thread is that the game is just a quad core whore. My feeling is that it will play better on any CPU that is more than dual core.



Didn't mean to insinuate that i7 was worthless in general  just in this specific case, hyperthreading might not be worth it.



Dent1 said:


> Perhaps you could sell your GF your current system (minus your 5850)  for say $350 and stick in a GTS 250 1GB for her and she'll be content with medium settings. Then with the same $250 left over and pick up a AMD socket, DDR3, and Athlon II X3/X4 and overclock the fuck out of it till about 3.7GHz-4GHz,



We've been living together for nine years now, so I can hardly sell her anything, she basically takes what she wants.  Also, medium is a no go. She's not usually a graphics whore, but when it comes to her MMOs, it's all or nothing. It's my job to make sure it's all.

I don't mind spending serious cash on this, but I'm a price/performance-whore and refuse to pay for things that wont be used or large premiums for small gains.


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## WhiteLotus (Jul 26, 2010)

Could you please find me somewhere where it says that you will need an i7 and 460 in any recommended specs?

All I could find was a mediocre dual core and 9800GT, and that's minimum.


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## theonedub (Jul 26, 2010)

joeyck said:


> -1 on the beta evo it is cheap but there r no sufficent air filters other then a bunch of huge holes -_- ur computer parts could get very very dusty... unless u intend to buy enough filters for all ur intake fans...
> 
> I'd rather get this : NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Black Steel / Plastic G...



Wait a min- you say the Beta has too many holes and no filters so instead you rec the Vulcan which has a complete mesh side panel? 

The Beta EVO has the front intake and PSU intake filtered stock. You have the option of adding 2 120mm fans on the side panel (which I did in my recent Beta build), but you will have to add filters at a whopping cost of about $7 each new- I got (2) for $5 shipped from a member here  

Buying 2 cheap dust filters is going to be a lot easier than trying to rig up a filter for the entire side panel.


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## AKlass (Jul 26, 2010)

specs =) http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/media/recom/na/pc.html


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 26, 2010)

simple get a Phenom II 945 AM3  785g mobo 4 gigs DDR3 and a 5770 or 5750 for low power usage and good gaming performance.

As for recommended specs dont make me pull up the seriously inflated Metro 2033 recommended requirements of an I7 and gtx 480 when the game ran the same speed on a core 2 duo and a 5870 cost a metric shit ton less.

MMO tend to use just 2 cores at most they can use a good chunk of ram but 4 gigs is still fine

cpu $140
mobo $100
Ram $100
GPU : $129 for a 5770 
ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon ... - note this is an example look around in your region and find a good buy that said ati 4850 5750 5770 4890 nvidia gtx 260core 216 gtx 275  gtx460 1gig etc. fine the best of those for the best price you can
Case: $70 pick your own
PSU: $70 for a good 550 watt like a Corsair Silverstone etc
HDD: 1TB samsung or Western digital at $75-100

and the same engine for FF13 runs on a 5 year old CPU thats way behind the times and a 7800gtx thats in the PS3 the above system i speced out is way overkill in comparison FFIV wont be that demanding. And heres why 
1) its an mmo
2) if it is demanding it cuts there customer base severly
3) its an mmo
4) again its an mmo 
5) MMOs are made to run smoothly as possible on ancient hardware to get as many subscribers as possible.


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## WhiteLotus (Jul 26, 2010)

AKlass said:


> specs =) http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/media/recom/na/pc.html



You gotta be shitting me. It's still in DX9 and they recommend a 460? Are they fucking stupid?


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## joeyck (Jul 26, 2010)

i cant agree with crayeyez any more...  u dont need expensive shit to run final fantasy lol if u were playing crysis then thats a dif. story lol good job crazy 

my current system can play this game with *ATLEAST* 40 FPS hands down...


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 26, 2010)

my point is its an MMO and all mmos run on ancient hardware maxing it wont be a problem it will be more of an issue on how far you are from the games servers that determines alot of issues.

and you cant just brute force your way past MMO issues

example overpopulated servers lag will be there no matter HOW powerful your rig way to many ppl on screen your system will again lag examples of this can be found in WoW where quadcores and $600 gpus still cant get over 15fps in some cities.  that said the above system i specced should max the game and allow fluid gameplay 95% of the time the 5% being server crowding or other issues.

if i must i am currently using an 8800gs and an athlon II x2 240 i can download the benchmark and run it at 1920x1200 and see what my results are but i can pretty much say it will be more then adequate


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## joeyck (Jul 26, 2010)

hows the x2 240 look for ya? ya like it? how does it OC?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 26, 2010)

on this 760g micro atk board i was able to push it to 3.6 but it got a little to hot on the stock heatsink lol 3.4 same as the person before me had it runs like a champ temps arent to bad either

i know a few lucky ppl have hit 4+ghz on them


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## joeyck (Jul 27, 2010)

alright thanks  i was just since i am still doing a good ammount of research for a friends computer i don think i will drop the 555be for the 240 tho


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 27, 2010)

well the 555 can unlock to a quad the 240 cant


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## joeyck (Jul 27, 2010)

yea i no =\ i was looking at the 550 callisto with a H50 Combo... even without black edition i could still OC the 550 callisto... and if i cant unlock all cores i could have x3 or even a x2... but now i'm really being stingy what u think? 550 callisto w/ H50? = 152$ 

or 555BE w/ H50 = 163$

11$ dif. lol (or am i being a dumb arse?)


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 27, 2010)

well $11 is $11 lol id still just get a cheaper X3 with a mid range cooler and overclock it to the 3.4=3.5 range and call it good 

AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cach...

with a 

Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm Cooling...

and while rare sometimes the x3 440 will unlock cache etc or a 4th core if i remember right also about $50 cheaper then what you were looking at

both of the above is $115 and u get 3 cores at 3ghz more then enough really with the tuniq at $29 after rebate your set on cooling should be able to get 3.6ghz or higher

BTW sorry to the OP for thread jacking


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## joeyck (Jul 27, 2010)

i can get that water cooled combo  i'm just really scared with the x3... i want the 7.5MB total cache with the 550 or 555

i'm a huge nit pick when it comes to saving money  makes my customers happy saving any bit of money ya no? lol but its either 555 or 550 still doing some reading will come back to ya bout it


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## Dent1 (Jul 27, 2010)

joeyck said:


> i can get that water cooled combo  i'm just really scared with the x3... i want the 7.5MB total cache with the 550 or 555
> )



Why do you care about the cache, lol. 

With the exception of single threaded games and applications, overall the Athlon II X3 is faster than the Phenom II X2 and cheaper, its win win.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 27, 2010)

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/119?vs=83

x3 440 vs x3 720be


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## joeyck (Jul 27, 2010)

wtf???? i looked at 3x vs the 550 555 and the x3 raped it in like more then 75% of all the bench marks??? how? the 555 550 have more Cache :S wtf? lol


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 27, 2010)

cache is good for single threaded apps and games and its also good in some other situations but what your seeing is a 3rd core at 3ghz offload some OS duties and leave 2 full cores for other apps to use


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## Dent1 (Jul 27, 2010)

joeyck said:


> wtf???? i looked at 3x for the 550 555 and the x3 raped it in like more then 75% of all the bench marks??? how? the 555 550 have more Cache :S wtf? lol



EXACTLY.

That is what we are saying the extra cache only makes the processor upto 10% faster on average, that is on single thread applications. On multi threaded applications the X3's additional core will rape the X2 everytime. As the benchmark shows.

But as crazyeyesreaper said in some single threaded apps the X3 might still have an advantage as that extra core can be doing other OS related tasks.


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## joeyck (Jul 27, 2010)

i've read a lot of reviews on the x3 440 and every one is boasting on how they unlocked to x4... so the "x4 440" will over power the x4 B50 / B55?


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 27, 2010)

so that would again mean the x3 + tuniq tower = better deal better performance and another $50 that can go to a better GPU case or w.e


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## joeyck (Jul 27, 2010)

Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L... 

i was thinking more of this H50 + "x4 440"


i could get a hyper 212+ for 30$ making the total a good 100$ for CPU and HSF but i like the H50 water cooling less crammed...


http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_321_542&products_id=25876 

this is the 212+


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 27, 2010)

i know the Hyper 212+ the tuniq tho is $29 and heads up against a straight 212 the tuniq is better you have to put more money into a hyper for it to be the better cooler at that price point

if i remember right a 2nd fan for the 212+ makes it more expensive and in general the Tuniq seems to still give better max overclocks


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## joeyck (Jul 27, 2010)

saved me $53... not bad sir  i can use that for the 2 side 120mm fans on the CM storm scout i am buying for my clients thanks man ur great.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 27, 2010)

no problem glad i could help now hopefully the OP forgives us for completely 100% hijacking the thread


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## joeyck (Jul 27, 2010)

(on topic) 

I really think that the i7 is a waste, so yea I agree with the others get a cheaper CPU (try amd?) for big bang for the buck deals


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## wahdangun (Jul 30, 2010)

shame, SE build this FF for MMORPG fan, hiks

its really drive me mad, after several years without FF come to PC, and now they releasing it in this fashion.

i hope this is the start for SE to come back to PC games crowd, and after all, SE have superior graphic engine in gaming world, and white engine would be beautiful to render with my future  HD 5870, just look at FF13 it have magnificent graphic with just lowly G-force 7950


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