World of Warcraft (WOW) and Everquest/2 - What Graphics card needed 1920x1200?

Big.Wayne · 17 Feb 2006 at 02:58

Hello,

I have been asked to build a gaming system (or two) for some guys who play MMORPG's games.

Everquest (Maybe Everquest 2 I'm not sure)

World of Warcraft

I did a bit of checking on the web and it seems that you dont need that much VGA power to run it. I was wondering if any of you guys who have actually played these games could advise me.

What VGA solution would be needed to run @ totally *MAX EYE CANDY!!!* settings @ 1920x1200

I read that SLI is a bit overkill and possibly can cause problems, is this true still?

I will be using an Opteron 170 and 2GB of good ram but I just need a rough indicator of graphics class needed, i.e:

256MB X850XT or 6800GS

256MB X1800XL or 7800GT

512MB X1900XT or 7800GTX

The systems will be driven by an Opteron 170 (multicore) and 2GB of ram and displayed on a DELL 2405FPW. . . so really just needing some pointers on the VGA hardware,

Many thanks!

FerretBoy · 17 Feb 2006 at 08:48

I dont think you can build a system that will play EQ2 with max eye candy.

My overclocked 7800GTX 256MB was able to do about 1 frame a second on max settings... (A64 x2 @ 2.5GHz, 2GB ram, clean system), maybe SLI the 512s and a very overclocked FX60 might get you close...

WoW on the otherhand is easy, 7800GTX sits at max frame rates all the time.

The Asgard · 17 Feb 2006 at 08:53

I Play Wow on a bog standard X800XL running at 1920x1200 with 2X AA and 8X AF runs smooth and looks sweet and thats not OC.

EQ is a different matter but it prefers ATI.

Torquar · 17 Feb 2006 at 08:56

I use an x1900xt at 1920 x 1200, again on a 2405 fpw. 2 gig of ram and a 4400 x2 cpu. WoW runs at max settings at a solid 55-60 fps, even in Ironforge (lagforge) and Molten Core.

EQ2 on the other hand I havent played on this setup, but it is notoriously heavy on system reqs, I doubt you could max it out at 1920 x 1200 without a 512mb sli or x1900xt crossfire setup.

Big.Wayne · 17 Feb 2006 at 09:28

FerretBoy said:
I dont think you can build a system that will play EQ2 with max eye candy

The Asgard said:
EQ is a different matter but it prefers ATI.

Torquar said:
EQ2 on the other hand I havent played on this setup, but it is notoriously heavy on system reqs, I doubt you could max it out at 1920 x 1200 without a 512mb sli or x1900xt crossfire setup.

Great!
thanks for replies guys, so it seems Everquest 2 is a real system killer?

Will have to look up EQ2 as I only had checked WoW. How about the original EQ?.

Are there any issues with SLI using either of these games?

Also are you saying a 512MB card would have an advantage over a 256MB card in these games (or EQ2)?

PinkPig · 17 Feb 2006 at 09:37

Everquest 2 is certainly a system killer - my Opteron 170 @ 2.7, with X1900XT (XTX Speeds) can run "high detail" mode (not "ultra detail") at a playable framerate, but it's still not especially smooth. WoW is no problem at all though.

ajgoodfellow · 17 Feb 2006 at 17:06

As above

512MB will make a difference at the resolutions that you're talking about. Basically for EQ2 I'd be looking at the 7800GTX/X1800XT/X1900XT level

WoW has very low requirements - puts out 50+ fps on 1024x768, high details with an X550 and an A64 3200+!

BigDom · 17 Feb 2006 at 17:40

EQ2 a X1800XT will run at useable frame rate at 1200x1024 at fairly high settings (can't remember the setting I use but it has most I candy on, full particles, all the flowing clothing etc.). An X1900XT Crossfire pair MIGHT just manage absolutely max at 1920x.

WoW OTOH is silly low on requirements - an X850XT is almost overkill for it and a Dual Processor system is Definatly overkill.

FWIW at 1200x1024 max settings with nice AA and AF EQ2 looks Fabulous ( I have run it at that settings on my system but it get's a bit bogged down at times) - not sure how much better it'll look at 1900x

testa12 · 17 Feb 2006 at 18:30

with the above comment in mind, you should consider waiting until March 9th and try it with 2x 7900GTX512. I'm sure that would be your best chance of running it at highest level

queamin · 17 Feb 2006 at 20:13

any card you use for wow or eq2 will run eq

queamin · 17 Feb 2006 at 20:17

Wait until G71 comes out and pick the best card from X1900XT-X or G71

Q

dbmzk1 · 18 Feb 2006 at 01:12

I play EQ2 and it does indeed kill your system. Looks good though!

Big.Wayne · 18 Feb 2006 at 01:22

Opteron Powered Gaming Machines!

can anyone give me some feedback on this, trying to get a nice *simple* one page cover, its for a prospective client who needs a few high-end gaming machines, gonna include the technical stuff on page 2, but just had to get the Opteron Logo in there

Which do you prefere?

I'm trying to appeal to MMORPG gamers *while* looking professional. I like it minimal but somehow want to work some fantasy dude in there somewhere, without just slapping some cheesy elf girl in, if you know what I mean

If my photoshop skills were better I would attempt to have a sword dude bursting out from the monitor!

Do you think it matters that the evil dude is partially blocking the tower or should I have a go at getting a goblin peeking out of the monitor,

Any feedback appreciated and thanks all for helpful posts!

ajgoodfellow · 18 Feb 2006 at 01:31

When they're small (like the thumbnails) the first one looks better IMHO as the second one looks a bit cluttered

When they're full size though I prefer the second one. The character fits in well

Big.Wayne · 18 Feb 2006 at 01:36

Hey ajgoodfellow, are you here, if so can I ask you a few questions pls?

ajgoodfellow · 18 Feb 2006 at 01:38

Yep - go ahead

Big.Wayne · 18 Feb 2006 at 01:46

k cool, basically what do you think is the key to the *ultimate* MMORPG machine, as in what sort of specs does your average weekend warrior look for when thinking of upgrading?

I had a brief chat with me client who uses four computers himself while playing these games (4 pcs wtf?) and the only thing I picked up on was that he wanted a quiet machine. Can u think of anything like a *KILLER-Feature* that I could come up with that would really appeal to a typical player who spend like 40 hours a week hooked up?

I'm using some nice multi-core CPU's and working out the graphics now, 2GB of ran enough? why do these players have so many personal PCs for playing, like multi accounts? I'm wondering if I could fix up a dual display so that they could play two accounts on one machine, is this possible?

Any input appreciated!

ajgoodfellow · 18 Feb 2006 at 01:56

Hi!

I'm not a big MMORPG player myself so I don't know what could be the killer feature as such.

I built a cheap PC for my housemate last year (big WoW player) and the one and only thing he kept going on about wanting was silence, above all else. This is definitely a big issue! With silence he really meant silence - so an Antec 380W TruePower PSU, Akasa Amber fan controlled by the PSU (runs at about 300rpm), Artic Cooler on minimum (CPU), passive northbridge/graphics card, etc. You don't really know the PC is on!

Stability is another big issue too - if the machine crashes when you're half way through a quest then all hell will break loose!

The PC I built came to just under £650 and it was just an A64 3200+, X550 based PC with 1GB of ram and a 19" TFT. Higher resolution displays are preferred too

As for multiple accounts with a dual display I don't see why that would be a problem. My housemate often plays with WoW windowed and firefox/whatever opened so you could play with multiple accounts that way. Dual core processors will help with this

2GB of ram should be plenty - I don't see the need for any more. As stabilty and silence are important I would be wary of an overclocked PC - I mentioned the idea to my housemate but he was dead set against it!

I'd go for a dual core Opteron personally (even if you're not overclocking as these are very stable - my ASUS Via K8T800/Opteron 146 (Socket 940) system is the most stable I've owned). Stay clear of SiS chipsets as they can be a little dubious. I'd also go for an ASUS motherboard

Hope some of that helps!

I'll ask my housemate for some more tips tomorrow and I'll get back to you

Big.Wayne · 18 Feb 2006 at 02:11

ajgoodfellow said:
I'd go for a dual core Opteron personally (even if you're not overclocking as these are very stable - my ASUS Via K8T800/Opteron 146 (Socket 940) system is the most stable I've owned).

Nice one! you mean like these. . .

[edit oh no you actually mean two seperate CPUs? lol!)

Ok well silence seems to be a commonly reported need, thats why I opted for the stacker (or similar huge thing!) and will possibly get the quietest hard disks instead.

These machines will be overclocked, but I'm probably one of the most fussy overclockers on these forums for things being stable, a gruelling 24-48 hour loop of dual-prime (in the case of multi-core it will be quad-prime) while at the same time running some intensive 3D stuff etc.

I've built quite a few computers, and all of them over the past two years have been overclocked. I think if you don't push the system right to the *ragged edge* and spend enough time making sure everything is stable its cool.

Of course I will be using all quality gear, cooling, asus mobo etc, so really just need to drill down through the various VGA cards and see what fits, obviously gonna be looking closely at the cards cooling, or if push comes to shove I will have to add 3rd party coolers.

thanks a lot for the helpful reply, and drop back if u come up with some more nuggets ta!

BigDom · 18 Feb 2006 at 02:12

You can definatly run two mmporg's on a dual core system ( I do it sometimes ) but not sure if it works on different displays. I know in the past the second display wasn't accelerated but wouldn't surprise me if it is this day, in which case it'll work fine.

I'd go for a X1900XT or X1800XT as the graphics s you want a reasonable frame rate and stuff like EQ2 does push graphics harder than anything.

Processor doesn't tend to be pushed though as you don't really have anything major going on in physics front. 3800+ should be plenty. 2 gig Ram is very good idea.

( I play/have played EQ2/WoW/SWG/EvE-Online/EnB/CoH - so got a reasonable idea

)