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

[Neige]

It'll perform good enough on medium or low unit sizes, but animation lag is something that happen constantly with a fair few units on screen (given that the AMD Phenoms and APUs have similar cores, I know this from experience).

Thanks for the info! On a side note, what would you suggest from the Intel side as the cheapest option that would shred Shogun 2 and Rome 2 even on huge scale? (I know it won't be cheap per se, but you get the idea.)

[Marshal Ney]

Get a fx-8350, easily overclockable to 4.6 without touching the voltage, will scale better than intel cpus, or just as well, maybe a 1-2 fps difference, not to mention if they optimize multi core support it will annhilate the intels, scales better into the future, and only costs 200 dollars, saving you 50 bucks. (put that towards the grahpics card, thats what matters the most here.)

[alQamar]

Get a fx-8350, easily overclockable to 4.6 without touching the voltage, will scale better than intel cpus, or just as well, maybe a 1-2 fps difference, not to mention if they optimize multi core support it will annhilate the intels, scales better into the future, and only costs 200 dollars, saving you 50 bucks. (put that towards the grahpics card, thats what matters the most here.)

technically this is bullsh... AMD CPUs are way slower on all games than Intel. Even the latest 5.0 GHz monster cannot compete with a STOCK Intel Sandy Bridge mate.
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/p...sor-im-test/6/

It'll perform good enough on medium or low unit sizes, but animation lag is something that happen constantly with a fair few units on screen (given that the AMD Phenoms and APUs have similar cores, I know this from experience).


how much expansion slots do you have? That's the only thing that matters, and I guess if there are any height restrictions. Standard height limits for an expansion card in a case is between 20 and 24cm.

He needs to look for a low profile PCI-E card which takes a lot of possibilities. Usually you will not find mid or high end cards with that feature

[Biggus Splenus]

Thanks for the info! On a side note, what would you suggest from the Intel side as the cheapest option that would shred Shogun 2 and Rome 2 even on huge scale? (I know it won't be cheap per se, but you get the idea.)

The new 4670K for $250 is the optimal choice, with a $150 new mobo to go with it. That'll set you back $400, but an upgrade wont be necessary for another 3 years minimum Just have a look at the recommended builds, and pick a mobo+cpu combination that fits your budget, but both items should be from the same tier.

Get a fx-8350, easily overclockable to 4.6 without touching the voltage, will scale better than intel cpus, or just as well, maybe a 1-2 fps difference, not to mention if they optimize multi core support it will annhilate the intels, scales better into the future, and only costs 200 dollars, saving you 50 bucks. (put that towards the grahpics card, thats what matters the most here.)

alQ is right, this is 100% false. While AMD CPUs can perform VERY competitively on heavily threaded games, they absolutely suck in TW when comparing against Intel. Doesn't matter how high you clock it, even if you got it to 6Ghz, Intel's Haswell would still outperform at much less of the cost. And also, no, the CPU is more important in TW than the GPU.

[cogidubnus]

Can anyone help, I have a slim line Pc an:OptiPlex 390, intel(R) core(TM) i5-2400 CPU @3.10 GHz. 8gig ram, 64 bit. Looking for a graphics card that would fit, I was looking at the Asus 2GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 650Ti Boost. but think that's too big, any ideas? It looks like it only has about 7.5cm clearance.

[Neige]

Thanks, Haswell does look like the best option for a new build at the moment. The octa core would be great for video editing I guess, but I really like Intel's low TDP and power consumption.

[alQamar]

Thanks for backup Metal and splenyi. It is very hard to convince people to step out of their GHz race , not to say a 5 GHz Haswell is worse performing than a 3,8 GHz Haswell. But comparing clocks on different Intel CPU generations or even AMD vs Intel is not reliable and really nuts.

Thanks, Haswell does look like the best option for a new build at the moment. The octa core would be great for video editing I guess, but I really like Intel's low TDP and power consumption.

Well aswell you video editor is able to handle 8 cores (16 threads with hyperthreading) it would be an advantage. For sure TW is not doing it as it can only handle 4 threads at the moment, while we still do not get any comment from CAs marketing experts how Rome 2 would perform.

[Soothsayer]

What tier would an Intel Core i7 processor with a Nvidia GT 745M graphics card be?

[alQamar]

AMD vs. Intel:
I fear he don't even checked my link.
Telling we are on high horses is really absurd. This thread is about getting advice for tech noobs and all others that like a second and third option before investment.
If a CPU is cheaper it does not make it more competitive as I'd personally never spend less money for a technical crux, but instead saving up for something that lasts more for the price. That's another economical approach than yours. Not anything biased. I may also commit that once in my decades of experience I can commit i also stepped into the GHz race buying several amd k6-2 cpus while I was able to see a lower clocked intel Pentium 2 or later intel Pentium 3 outperformed my cpu. That was in time of Shogun 1. So I am quite aware of real life experiences and do not have to comment all benchmarks on earth. Till now nothing changed.

What tier would an Intel Core i7 processor with a Nvidia GT 745M graphics card be?

Good morning. The gpu draws this back into the entry category. You can expect mid details.
Said again CA refuse to publish cpu benchmark comparisons and so all categorised rigs are based on Shogun 2 benchmarks.

should I get some better fans and power supply cable for the new pc im getting its the chillblast fusion tiger shark and its overclocked upto 4.3GHz the processor is a intel i5 4670k I cannot spend too much as I need to pay for shipping and VAT. but its the machine I been looking into for a while and its the one im after

Better power supply cable? You make me mad What is this? I am very sure the rig is good as listed! Please don't hesitate. It is a good offer and you exceeded your budget by 50 pounds already. You don't need to alter the setup Sam. Feel save like it is offered mate before it is not available anymore.

[freeboy]

cheaper?? Well, I just put a gigabyte z87x UD4H board and 4760k chip together at Microcenter for 274.98 plus tax... so I know its based on a error on the online add, but still amd is not neccessarily cheaper, depends on the individual needs... I put ram at 2X4 or 8 gig, ddr3 at 2400 from G skill at 63$ shipped again eitehr amd or intel uses the same ram.... to all
good luck on the new builds...
Ill be interested what CA lets on as release gets closer

[Marshal Ney]

Guys, I know your on your high horses, and are fan boys, I am completlty un biased and only going for the best value, and after all we dont know until we know how multi core rome 2 is. HOWEVER even in the videos you posted the amd is still competitive, and the point is its cheaper and more future proof thats all im saying.

[Biggus Splenus]

Guys, I know your on your high horses, and are fan boys, I am completlty un biased and only going for the best value, and after all we dont know until we know how multi core rome 2 is. HOWEVER even in the videos you posted the amd is still competitive, and the point is its cheaper and more future proof thats all im saying.

I completely disagree. I know when I see a good deal, and AMD CPUs are not one of them for TW. An i3 3220 will outperform an FX 8350 in Shogun 2..... i3 3220 is much cheaper, and doesn't need an aftermarket cooler, and only a cheap motherboard. What seems like the better deal?

It seems like you are the fanboy here, because you're saying AMD is so great without any actual evidence of them running better than Intel on TW. Intel is the better value for TW, that much is 100% true and undeniable, if you don't want to listen then I don't care, just don't feed other people your poison...

I love AMD, I had a 7970 before (best card I ever got, and it's price is amazing), and my laptop runs an AMD APU... so I don't dislike them in anyway, nor am I a fanboy of Intel or Nvidia (I'm actually very displeased with Intel of of late, but they're still better than AMD CPUs for these games). I know the hard facts are hard for some loyal fans.

[SamueleD]

Get a fx-8350, easily overclockable to 4.6 without touching the voltage, will scale better than intel cpus, or just as well, maybe a 1-2 fps difference, not to mention if they optimize multi core support it will annhilate the intels, scales better into the future, and only costs 200 dollars, saving you 50 bucks. (put that towards the grahpics card, thats what matters the most here.)

How about you post something real? Real world performance is all that matters, not some crap bull about how it beats it at 480X640 resolutions, go watch teksyndicates videos on the fx 8350 and then come back.

Guys, I know your on your high horses, and are fan boys, I am completlty un biased and only going for the best value, and after all we dont know until we know how multi core rome 2 is. HOWEVER even in the videos you posted the amd is still competitive, and the point is its cheaper and more future proof thats all im saying.

Please stop, I've see those videos, their point is that the FX CPUs can be faster, if you are recording a video of your game, and that makes sense, since they have more cores and can dedicate them to the recording program, so, in that case, they are much cheaper than an i7 and better suited than an i5 or i3. Also in non cpu bound games there is little difference between AMD and Intel, and in heavily threaded games they can be even better than a comparatively priced Intel, and since AMD is much cheaper it can be a better option.
The problem with that is that TW is a heavily CPU bound game and every benchmark comparison out there will show you that, in Shogun 2, even the fastest AMD CPU is incredibly slower than even an Intel i3.

These are the facts, if we all thought that an AMD CPU would be a good choice for TW we would have recommended it, as we have recommended AMD GPUs at certain price points, unfortunately even one of the newest Pentiums is better than an FX octa core for TW (and maybe only for TW, but here we are suggesting builds for TW alone).

Rome II will use a modified version of the Warscape engine, which has always run better on Intel, Shogun 2 runs better on Intel and CA has been working with Intel to optimize their game, single threaded performance has proved to be the most important thing when picking a CPU for TW (of course, it's so badly optimized that even when using four cores, most of the load is still on the first one), and that is where Intel shines and AMD doesn't; so you can understand why, in all conscience, we cannot recommend and AMD CPU for TW.

[Metallistic]

Competetive only in price terms. Performance-wise? Not even close. Not only does the AMD CPU have double the amount of cores, but it also has higher clock speeds. Even then it falls 15+ FPS behind in some titles as seen in the videos that I provided. And no, you are not unbiased because you come here spouting nonsense abot the fx 8350 being equal if not superior to the i5 3570k. No CPU review/benchmark tests, which do not have flawed methodology, prove that. Another proof of your bias is how selective you are when it comes to benchmark discussion. You only focus on the one with the most controversial results, due to the flawed methodology. Is AMD great for its price? Sure. But when you are not on a tighter budget, why the hell would you go for AMD? Any specific reason other than brand preference?

[Samuel Pidgeon]

should I get some better fans and power supply cable for the new pc im getting its the chillblast fusion tiger shark and its overclocked upto 4.3GHz the processor is a intel i5 4670k I cannot spend too much as I need to pay for shipping and VAT. but its the machine I been looking into for a while and its the one im after

[Samuel Pidgeon]

Ok I just get the machine with normal cable I'm noob with these things and the company chillblast is rated very good so when I get this machine I hope I can run this game on high settings at least

[MonTeZuma]

Ok I just get the machine with normal cable I'm noob with these things and the company chillblast is rated very good so when I get this machine I hope I can run this game on high settings at least

I own a chillblast PC and the build is excellent. I could not even price the parts cheaper so a pre-built was cheaper. It was a special offer. I got an i7 3770k @ 4.6 ghz, 16 gb ram, Gtx 680 and it works brilliant and has a 2 year collect and return warranty! So don't worry buying from them

[Biggus Splenus]

No need to buy higher quality cables, there's a standard that must be meet on all products, and if they don't meet the standards, then they wouldn't be released. So no worries.

[Swede_9]

Does anyone have a clue if my Macbook Pro 13", mid 2012, be able to run Rome II if i bootcamp it?
Specs:
Processor: 5 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory: 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR 3
Graphic card: Intel HD Graphics 4000 512 MB

[Swede_9]

Sorry, the processor is just 2,5 GHz