Computer build for someone

Technology and Gaming Help and Support
#1

So someone I know is trying to build a computer, nothing too high end, just enough to run games better than his laptop with Intel integrated. Specs so far are

AMD Athlon II X4 640
ATI HD 5870 (which I was using before, so we don’t have to buy another card)
4 GB RAM

I really know nothing about AMD CPUs, so I was wondering if this would create a severe bottleneck or not. On Passmark’s site, the CPU is towards the bottom of the high end CPU list and the 5870 is about mid way down the high end GPU list. I know that the 5870 is a pretty good card but now sure how the CPU would affect it.

#2

Most games will be limited by the GPU first - that said, the CPU might limit performance in some games (PlanetSide 2, Skyrim, Metro: Last Light…) compared to a higher-end AMD or… almost any recent Intel CPU.

I think the RAM might turn out to be a significant bottleneck, especially if they’re planning to play any “next-gen” games. Get 8GB if possible.

I recently upgraded from an Intel Core 2 Extreme with 4GB 800MHz DDR2 RAM to an i7 4770 with 16GB 1866MHz DDR3 RAM. Using the same GPU (GeForce 9600GT… I had a more recent card but it died shortly before I got the new parts), I got 2x the performance in Metro: Last Light at the same settings.

#3

He only really plays CivV and Rome Total War. Both seem like they might be CPU limited too, though I’m sure anything is better than a cheap laptop. 4 GB RAM should be plenty for most games. Could always get more RAM later if it’s an issue, but price is a factor right now.

#4

Once again I will plug Tom’s Hardware’s monthly Best X for the Money articles, CPU in this case. These articles have been invaluable for me when building my PCs. Looks like the X4 640 is about the best you can get at that price point. I must say though that it would much preferable to invest in an Intel socket 1155 system if at all possible. Even the low end i3 processors blow AMD’s offerings out of the water, and if you ever want to upgrade that’s where you’d want to go anyway. But if you have to go ultra cheap, then go with what you’re looking at now.

#5

This is a very simmilar rig to what I am currently running. Except I have more RAM and a less GPU a 5770 1 gb gddr5 ram. I only use a 1600 x 900 monitor though keep that in mind in terms of running games. I can run basically any current game on all highest (except anti-aliasing but thats a GPU thing) depending on how you want the frame rate. Certain games just don’t sometimes its optimization (the low end nature of the cpu means games on older engines not threaded so well or not made well for quad core struggle a bit) other times idk because most of the time a game runs poorly for my rig graphics settings have no impact on frame rates. I run Civ V great on all high. I haven’t played Total War but I am sure it also would run just fine. BF3 runs all highest with 40+ stable frames. Source games all run highest with full 60 frames. Bioshock infinite ran all highest with a good frame rate not sure exactly what but I can feel when a game dips below 30 fps.

The cpu probably going to be a bit of a bottle neck for the gpu but not by much. Since I can safely say my gpu would be a bigger bottleneck if the current hardware cycle of consoles didn’t focus so much on CPU dev and if I was trying to push a 1080p res(which I have and it didn’t work well).

The rig will probably have problems with games like Watch Dogs and other upcoming PC/next gen titles as I imagine mine will too.

#6

the bug is the ram : 4 Go is good for a pc that does all but not gaming
8 or even 16 Go are nice by now .
plus a second ati to have a super boost in game with crossfireX , there should be some still available .
gpu is dx11 with hd5k

Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.