Build a PC for Rome 2 / Hardware Recommendations and Advice Thread

[Nihahs]

you should have windows and your games on the SSD

HD is for storage and backup files etc

Yep, that's what I've done. Best solution.

[AussieWolf]

On reading through this thread I did the Shogun 2 bench test on DX 11 Graphics high 1080p. It came back with 86.9, that good ? and if so will I be able to run RTW2 on ultra ? My screen res is 1920 by 1080

[autonova]

Hey guys I'm a massive noob and desperately need some advice: all of my laptops specs satisfy Rome II's minimum specs apart from my GPU. It has 256MB of memory but the minimum size listed is 512MB.

Will I be able to run Rome II? I have a 2.1GHz processor and 4GB of RAM, but will the GPU make it impossible to run, even on the bare minimum settings?

Thanks.

[Biggus Splenus]

@ Aussiewolf - there's a separate thread for benchmarking, but yes, you should be able to run ultra, but maybe not. Only 2 days left, then we can actually play and bench that game

Autonova - I'm guessing not, sorry. Minimum really is the minimum, but I can't confirm it for you, once the game is out, ill monitor the vram and get back to you on that.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4

[Biggus Splenus]

Big news people! The first 64-bit game has been confirmed (that I know of) --- Star Citizen. It has a recommended spec of 8GB RAM, GTX 770 and latest i7 CPU (overclocked). And guess what, this is just for medium settings! The dev said that the hardware to run ultra on his game doesn't exist yet... how exciting this is a big step for game development, finally they'll be making use of more than 4GB of ram (or 2.5GB is TWs case).

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4

[alQamar]

Good stuff. But far cry and stalker ran on 64bit before

[Biggus Splenus]

Farcry (3?) and Stalker? Do they still run on this?

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[Ishan]

Hardware related advice thread merged with this sticky thread. Please redirect any hardware related help here, otherwise if someone wants a separate thread then head towards the basement section since it's specifically about computers and its hardware.

[Biggus Splenus]

Someone stole your avatar Ishan how rude of them

Edit: wait no they didn't, my phone's being retarded.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 4

[-Concrete-]

I'm using WinDirStat as instructed by you guys, trying to see which things can be deleted/moved from my SSD. The OS is on the SSD. Here's some ideas.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

hiberfile.sys I'm guessing this is to do with hibernation which I don't want to use, it's 6.4 GB so would be good to get rid of it.
Pagefile.sys Sounds like this one I ought to keep? It's 1.2 GB
Windows Apps (I'm on Windows 8) is full of crap I will never, ever use, I guess it won't allow you to delete them though? BingTravel for example (who in their right mind would use that?)
Google Chrome, I'm guessing I could move the application over to the HDD but leave the 'appdata' stuff on the SSD.
Under Windows > WindSxS There's a bunch of stuff, half of which starts with AMD (which I don't have) plus a big file called reserve.tmp which I have no idea what it does.

[-Concrete-]

Hook a brotha up! Is it safe to delete hiberfile.sys?

[Aruberikku]

Yes, it's safe to delete it. You will need to disable hybernation mode though, because if you don't and simply delete the file it will come back.
Run the command prompt and type powercfg -h off and then press enter.

Also don't delete pagefile.sys or reserve.tmp
Pagefile.sys is something used by Windows that uses a part of your HDD as if it's RAM. Disabling it complete sometimes gives errors, but you can adjust the size if you want.
If you get errors, increase it again. Here's how to find the settings. Or in the settings you can move the file to another drive.
Reserve.tmp is something from a Windows 8 update I believe, that deletes itself after a while.

[-Concrete-]

Yes, it's safe to delete it. You will need to disable hybernation mode though, because if you don't and simply delete the file it will come back.
Run the command prompt and type powercfg -h off and then press enter.

Also don't delete pagefile.sys or reserve.tmp
Pagefile.sys is something used by Windows that uses a part of your HDD as if it's RAM. Disabling it complete sometimes gives errors, but you can adjust the size if you want.
If you get errors, increase it again. Here's how to find the settings. Or in the settings you can move the file to another drive.
Reserve.tmp is something from a Windows 8 update I believe, that deletes itself after a while.

Thanks, this worked great. Just had to realise I wasn't using Command Prompt as an administrator

[Nihahs]

My pc:

Intel i5 4670k
MSI Z87-GD67 Gaming
NVIDIA GTX 770 Phantom
8GB G.skill DDR3 2133
Coolmaster 800watt
Samsung SSD 840 Basic 250GB
Samsung S27C 27" LED monitor

And bought everything for 1000 € just the enegery thing (sorry I don't know the english word for it) was into my old pc. I think Rome 2 will run on ultra easily

[ahowl11]

Okay, I refunded the previous computer I was talking about and am now looking at custom built ones from this site:
http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Intel..._Configurator#

My custom set up includes the following:
Intel Core i5-4430 Processor
8GB RAM
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 650 -2GB
Motherboard: MSI B85 G41 -2x PCIe 3.0 x16 2x USB 3.0, HDMI
PSU: 400w Standard
HDD: 1TB
Windows 8

Comes out to a total of $753

Is that good? Do I need to upgrade or downgrade anything for maximum price/performance ratio?

[alQamar]

Okay, I refunded the previous computer I was talking about and am now looking at custom built ones from this site:
http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Intel..._Configurator#

My custom set up includes the following:
Intel Core i5-4430 Processor
8GB RAM
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 650 -2GB
Motherboard: MSI B85 G41 -2x PCIe 3.0 x16 2x USB 3.0, HDMI
PSU: 400w Standard
HDD: 1TB
Windows 8

Comes out to a total of $753

Is that good? Do I need to upgrade or downgrade anything for maximum price/performance ratio?

Take a h87 chipset and a 4450. Psu 500w bronze plus at least.

The ram should be 1866 mhz cl9
Gpu ay least a gtx 660
Those are more than cosmetic changes in terms of price but needed for performance.

[ahowl11]

Okay, did some more searching. What about this one?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+D...6#tab=overview
The graphics card should be able to run the game just fine right?
I'm not looking to have this high octane performance, just something that will work smoothly. Heck if I could go cheaper I would.

[Irishman]

Okay, did some more searching. What about this one?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+D...6#tab=overview
The graphics card should be able to run the game just fine right?
I'm not looking to have this high octane performance, just something that will work smoothly. Heck if I could go cheaper I would.

Are you against building (sorry if you said this before)? What is scary about these prebuilts is where they skimp, usually in Ram, Motherboard and Power. The computer likely has JUST enough power to run the system as is, so expansions or upgrades are out of the question. You can also choose to go less in certain areas for better components in other areas, like bumping up to a GTX 650 or 660. The GTX 650 is only about 10 bucks more and is quite a bit faster.

To answer your question though: the PC looks pretty decent, though they have mislabeled the Graphics card, there's no such thing as a GTX 640, it's a GT 640 (indicating lower clocks and memory). It looks like it can run Shogun on high settings at 1680 and 40 fps, so I wouldn't worry about it. Other than that, it's not a bad setup for Rome 2.

[Aruberikku]

Okay, did some more searching. What about this one?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+D...6#tab=overview
The graphics card should be able to run the game just fine right?
I'm not looking to have this high octane performance, just something that will work smoothly. Heck if I could go cheaper I would.

Guessing you can't change anything in that PC?
Because 8GB of RAM would be more than enough and you could use the money to increase the GPU instead, like Irishman said.
No info on the PSU though.

[Kalliman85]

Would there be a big difference in performance or should I stick with what I have?