AH Rig

[MK-84]

Been working on it, total cost will be maybe 300?

My question is for us guys that are kinda dumb when it comes to PC's

What would a rig dedicated to AH require?  I dont mean specific brands, and I dont mean specific prices...not necessarily anyways.

Lets say I had a friend that knows how to build a pc, but what specs would I tell him?

The HTC system req, dont really cover enough, it gives a rough idea, as I believe it should.  But what if it was designed specifically for the purpose?

I.E (and please take it with a grain I'm not  a pc guy)
Literally what specific requirements of each component, with no regard to any other function of the PC.

The idea is simply cost, if it serves no other function, it should be the best at what it does, for example, whats the smallest HD space required, the minimum ram, and a graphics card specifically for this game with no consideration for other stuff.

I dont need specifics in prices, that can be sourced, used/new, etc.  Looking for a baseline so i can submit it to my friends that know how to build a pc.  And since they know nothing about this game, any advice would be super helpful.

[The Fugitive]

Rule of thumb is buy as much as you can afford!

The spec listed on the HTC page are good to go by. Put together the rig that meets those. Then add what you can where you can until you hit your price limit.

[Bizman]

Very basically:

• A two core processor, AFAIK Intel uses both cores and AMD doesn't, yet
• about 4 GB of RAM
• a decent video card from the better half, performance vice.
• a decent hard disk
• a good power source unit

If you don't already have any of the components, your total cost would be way over 300. Hard disk prices have risen due to the floods in Thailand, costing about $ 100 and up. A video card in the $ 150 price range will serve you a couple of years unless they make radical changes in the game graphics. 50 bucks and up for the memory, same for the PSU, same for the case, Windows isn't free either. You might also like to have an optical drive for installing purposes, add 20...

[guncrasher]

mk84 best thing to do is build for the long run.  you may not have the money today for a nice set, but if you buy wisely you will be able to get some kickazz puter by summer or next year that will be easy to upgrade with minimum amount of money.

300 is on the low side for a gaming computer as a hd and windows os will eat up more than 1/2 of it.  but if you have an existing computer you may be able to upgrade some components and as you save more money you can buy another component every month or 2 or 3 till you have something really nice.  that's what I did.  I have spent about 3k (1/2 of it just for show and tell ) but I didnt spend the money at one time.  it actually took me 2 1/2 years to get the last monitor for the system that I planned 3 years ago.  after all I had more time than money  .


semp

[Tigger29]

Yes the problem with AH is that it can run on older systems (with settings turned down) but also with a modern system you can crank the settings way up.  We also don't quite know what kind of an impact the next update (coming very very soon) is going to have on our performance.

You're going to have a tough time building a good system for $300 unless you can reuse a lot of your old hardware and/or locate a really inexpensive source for used computer parts.

If you can let us know what you have now and what you can reuse and if there is anything else besides AH you plan on using the computer for (besides web browsing and solitaire) we may be able to give some more advice.

My system runs AH pretty well and it's far from state-of-the-art.  I can crank everything up as long as I don't turn on shadows.  At 1920X1200 resolution I run 2048 (hi-res) textures, two notches of AA, and all settings maxed EXCEPT shadows which is all off.  With this I see 59/60FPS almost all of the time but I do sometimes see dips as low as 40-45 FPS if there is a lot of planes around and smoke/fire.  This is accomplished with MS Security Essentials, TrackIR, and Logitech's profiling software all running in the background.

I can actually turn on up to 2048 shadow textures without any major performance hit but I personally like how it looks better without it.  I can't even begin to consider turning on "other planes' shadows" that slows me down to a halt!

Here is what I have:

Intel E7400 Processor (Stock is 2.8GHz but mine is overclocked to 3.15GHz with stock cooling)
4GB DDR3 ram (albeit the slower DDR3 speed)
ASRock G43Twins-FullHD motherboard running onboard 5.1 sound
AMD 5830 Video card
Corsair 650Watt Power Supply (this specific one has Seasonic internals but not all Corsairs do)
WD Velociraptor 120GB hard drive (although any modern hard drive will be fine).

My most recent upgrade was the Velociraptor hard drive and the 5830 video card, although looking back I should have put the money I spend on the drive towards a better video card.. perhaps a 5850 or 5870 at the time.  Not that I'm not happy with the 5830's performance it's just that I push it to its limits on a regular basis with AH.

[TequilaChaser]

Very basically:

• A two core processor, AFAIK Intel uses both cores and AMD doesn't, yet
• about 4 GB of RAM
• a decent video card from the better half, performance vice.
• a decent hard disk
• a good power source unit

this was so when talking/refering about the older version of dual/multi core AMD cpus

Skuzzy has posted that the newest/newer generation dual/multi core AMD cpus  actually do use  2 cores........ the line drawn between the older version verses the newer version is right around the athlon II / phenom   time line  ( meaning older athlon II  & phenom series AMD cpus will not use more than 1 core, while the newer Phenom II series will use more than 1 core )
 from my understanding, as Skuzzy has posted, is that most of your AMD phenom II dual/multi core cpus  should indeed be utilizing 2 cpu cores in Aces high , these days ...... but the older Phenom / or athlon II  series it is a 50/50 proposition whether you will be able to have the use of more than 1 cpu core...... most times you will not.........

hope this helps.....

TC

[MK-84]

I would really like to see a post from HTC as to what an optimal setup is.

Not optimal in terms of a PC setup...but what specifically works best to run the game.

And also not in terms of specific parts...numbers only.  I know this varies, but something to create a damn good baseline for a PC guy

[Bizman]

this was so when talking/refering about the older version of dual/multi core AMD cpus

Skuzzy has posted that the newest/newer generation dual/multi core AMD cpus  actually do use  2 cores...

Thanks TC.............. wasn't quite sure about amd being capable of using more than one core in AH............. that's why I added the "AFAIK" and "yet"............ nice to know they now do, anyway...... gives much more options both price and performance wise................ and as you said, it's still 50/50........

Added the dots for easy reading..........

[TequilaChaser]

Added the dots for easy reading..........

I don't know why I do that.. it has become a habit some time ago.   lol

TC

[The Fugitive]

I would really like to see a post from HTC as to what an optimal setup is.

Not optimal in terms of a PC setup...but what specifically works best to run the game.

And also not in terms of specific parts...numbers only.  I know this varies, but something to create a damn good baseline for a PC guy

HTC won't give recommendations other than the requirements on the front page. My guess is they don't want to be caught up in any "but HTC said...." type of issues.