Aces High III new compter recommendations

[Gard06]

Since downloading and trying to run the new AH III "open Alpha",   it became very  apparent that my old 8 year PC will not cut it.  I am at 2 FPM in the tower!   With all the eye candy off.  WTF

I would like the pro's here to start letting us old guys know what we should be shopping for in a new gaming PC.  I know, I know, we have all heard that we should wait until the game is officially out.  However, if that alpha test game is anywhere near the finished product there will be a lot of people not flying until we either upgrade or buy and new complete gaming system.   I am sure we have some idea what it will take to run it with all the eye candy on and with a frame rate better then 2.

If able, can we get some recommendations?  Links to combos and systems we don't have to be a rocket scientist to work?

We should consider the lowest cost to the highest complete system recommendations. 

Anybody?
 

[Bizman]

At this moment "wait" is indeed the best advice. The second best is to get as good a computer as you can afford - something that would run any game with ease.

Since we don't know the final requirements for AH3, any suggestions for the best bang for buck low budget rig would be wild guesses. Educated guesses, maybe, but guesses whatsoever. Something like MrRipley's build it or not! or Brooke's $650 modified Dell should be quite safe bets also for AH3 with mid-class graphic quality.

[Gard06]

Again, if we wait there will be 75% less people in the game.  Using the Alpha game as a guide, anyone can tell if they are going to have to buy a new system or a massive graphics card update.  From what I can tell and what I have read is, the frame rate in AHIII is horrible because it now depends on GPU more the CPU.   Those of us that have playing for almost two decades will have to buy new equipment just to play at the lowest level of settings.

The minimum requirements for the new AHIII is far greater then it is today, understandably.  What is needed is some guidance on buying new systems and links to them, that would possible meet those standards.

[Bizman]

For a budget build the two I mentioned above are built for AH3 in mind. If your budget allows, mikev just built himself a sweet rig for about $2000 in order it to serve him for several years.

If you don't want to build it yourself, look at the components of those and try to find a matching one readily built. If you want to build it yourself, do as the others and throw a list here for evaluation.

Without knowing where you're from, it's quite impossible to recommend you where to buy from. People here talk about Amazon, Tigerdirect, BestBuy, Newegg. I wouldn't buy from any of them, simply because they might not even ship to my home and if they did, the taxes and shipping costs would double the prices.

By the way, what do you mean by a complete system? Does that include peripherals like monitor, mouse, keyboard, stick, throttle, pedals... Or just the computer?

[Gard06]

Many of us do not have the time for a build our own "do it yourself system."    I am looking for a link to a site we can purchase a computer that possible meets the new AHIII standards.

[Gard06]

I am wondering if something like this would be sufficient. 


ASUS Desktop Computer GR6-R019R Intel Core i5 5200U (2.20GHz) 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2GB Windows 8.1
5 out of 5 eggs (1)   |   Write a Review

In stock.

    Intel Core i5 5200U (2.20GHz)
    8GB 1600MHz DDR3 Memory
    1TB 7200rpm HDD
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2GB
    Windows 8.1

799.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G36F9438

[Gard06]

ASUS Desktop PC M32BF-US012S A8-Series APU A8-6500 (3.50GHz) 8GB DDR3 2TB HDD Windows 8.1 (64-Bit)
Eligible for free game offer, please go here after purchase
Be the first to review this product...

In stock.

    A8-Series APU A8-6500 (3.50GHz)
    8GB DDR3 2TB HDD
    Windows 8.1 (64-Bit)
    AMD Radeon HD 8570D

 $439.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220754


would that graphics card be ok?

[Skuzzy]

No need to panic.  Most people will make bad purchasing decisions if they do. We still have a Beta period to go through and the current game will continue running in parallel during that as well.  The Alpha is not done yet.  It is still premature to talk about hardware requirements.

HiTech's current 7 year old computer runs the Alpha great.  Intel E8400 CPU with GB of system RAM, Windows 7 64 bit, and an NVidia 660GTX video card (3 years old) with 2GB of video RAM.

What I am saying is, you may have a good core system and all that is needed is a video card upgrade.  Certainly is up to the user as to whether or not they want to by a new computer.

That said, Windows XP 32 bit (32 bit anything actually) is going to be a tough operating system to get everything needed.  A 64 bit operating system would be a good upgrade.  Trying to cram everything into a single 4GB address space is getting really hard.

[Gard06]

CyberpowerPC Gaming Desktop AMD Configurator

Allow 5-7 Days for Assembly
View Details

        1 × CYBERPOWERPC X-Titan Black/Red Full-Tower Gaming Case
        Item #: N82E16811855011

        1 × AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz(4.1GHz Turbo) CPU and AMD 760G Chipset Motherboard Combo
        Item #: N82E16813456002

        1 × AMD CPU Cooler
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        1 × G.Skill 8GB DDR3 1866MHz (2 X 4GB) RipJaws-X
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        1 × Corsair 500 Watt CX500 80+ Power Supply
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        1 × 24X DVD/CD Re-Writer Drive - OEM
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        1 × Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit - OEM
        Item #: N82E16832416793

     

$851.91



AMD v Intel?

[Bizman]

Rather than AMD I'd choose Intel for CPU. There has been issues with AMD processors only using one core in AH and IIRC it still is somewhat of a lottery to get a model that will run it on more cores.

Your first suggestion is basically OK, but the processor is a little on the down side. Something above 3 GHz would be better. At Newegg I made this filtering for a starter. Even the cheapest would outperform the Asus you first mentioned. My personal favourite of that bunch is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883102060 for $1,099.99. The unavailable $719 Pentium G3258 version would have been my choice for a budget build.
 

[Gard06]

I am wondering if something like this would be sufficient. 


ASUS Desktop Computer GR6-R019R Intel Core i5 5200U (2.20GHz) 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2GB Windows 8.1
5 out of 5 eggs (1)   |   Write a Review

In stock.

    Intel Core i5 5200U (2.20GHz)
    8GB 1600MHz DDR3 Memory
    1TB 7200rpm HDD
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 2GB
    Windows 8.1

799.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G36F9438

I am going to purchase and new PC anyway.   The new update was a great excuse to the wife.  :-)     I am just researching what might be expected.

[Gard06]

ABS Commander ALI014 Desktop PC Intel i5-4690K (3.5GHz) 16GB DDR3 1TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Win 8.1 64-Bit
Free Game: Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain w/ purchase, limited time offer
3 out of 5 eggs (3)   |   Write a Review

In stock.

    Intel Core-i5-4690K (3.5GHz)
    16GB DDR3 |1TB HDD
    Nvidia GTX 970 4GB
    Tt eSPORTS Commander KB/MO

$1,099.99


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883102060


like

[Skuzzy]

I would not go below a 3GHZ CPU.  We still need the CPU for a lot of the non-graphic work.  If you are dead set on running with all the eye candy enabled (sans environment mapping), I would not get a video card with less than 2GB of dedicated video RAM.

If you want to run with real time environment mapping, consider an NVidia 980 Ti as the slowest card to get.  It seems to do okay with full environment mapping, as long as anti-aliasing is off.

An NVidia 970 is probably the best bang for the buck video card in the 1920x1080 resolution marketplace.

[Gard06]

I am leaning towards this one.   My credit card is burn a hole in my pocket, so this research will have to be fast.   lol

CyberpowerPC Desktop PC Gamer Xtreme H170 Intel Core i5 4460 (3.2GHz) 8GB DDR3 500GB HDD Windows 8.1 64-Bit

    Type: Gaming & Entertainment
    Optical Drive Type: DVD±RW
    Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2 GB
    Part#: GXH170
    Model #: Gamer Xtreme H170
    Item #: N82E16883230007
    Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

   
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883230007



any thoughts?

Add To Cart
?????

[Bizman]

Not bad, nor anything stellar either.

Of your suggestions I like CyberpowerPC more because they allow for customizing the component list to a higher quality. You never know what the "standard" no-name power supplies might do to the rest of your rig, for example. If you can wait a second I'll go through it for something I believe would be good.