Hello everyone. Last week I downloaded and tried SW:ToR and decided to stay. Problem is, as I haven't played anything on PC in ages, needed a machine for work and internet browsing, not gaming, I have a simple setup. It's something like:

- one core ~1.4 GHz CPU

- 2 GB RAM

- integrated GPU

- Windows 7

 

I gave you the specs not because I want to upgrade this, but to say that on this PC, SW:ToR works *almost* well. Like, it needs just a bit more power to be fine with the game. Of course it's all on minimal graphic settings, but it was hugely surprising to me after hundreds of posts in which people were saying what a minimal requirements for this game are.

 

I would like to build something on which the game can run at low-to-middle graphic settings nicely. I have rather limited resources at the moment (200 British Pounds). 1280x768 resolution without AA, AF or shadows, maybe in high details if possible.

 

Simple Intel Dual Core CPU with 2/4 GBs of RAM don't cost that much here and should totally do for now. What I'm most unsure about is GPU. What is the cheapest graphic card I can buy which can provide an acceptable level of experience? Any help you can give is appreciated.

Go to your local PC parts store, they will probably have a selection of older, though more than adequate, PC cards. I would suggest a Nvidia card. You should be able to find one for under 150 pounds (which is below 100$ here in Canada, and pretty cheap for a video card), probably in the series 3 or 4 range of Nvidia Cards.

 

GPU won't do you much good, though, without the RAM to support it. You need to double your RAM, at the very least, if you want to play this game in the mid-graphics range.

 

With a new video card, you might also need a new power supply. I would suggest saving your money for a bit longer, I doubt 200 pounds will be enough to get what you want.

 

There's also the problem that your motherboard may not support newer video cards, it sounds like your system is pretty old.

 

Just unhook your tower, take it in to your local PC parts dealer, have him look it over and see what he suggests.

 

Good luck to you!

There's also the problem that your motherboard may not support newer video cards, it sounds like your system is pretty old.

 

Thanks for answering! Although I'm not upgrading that machine, I'm building a new one.

Since you don't want to upgrade your current PC and are looking for something within a certain price range, I would suggest looking at a pre-built rig with just enough power to get by. 200 pounds in US dollars (I looked it up) would get you something like this to start off (at least here):

 

Gateway SX2865-UR348 Desktop PC - Intel Pentium G630 2.70GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, Windows 8 64-bit, Keyboard & Mouse, (DT.GDPAA.005)

 

It's Dual Core (which was a requirement when I first started playing on my older laptop in BETA)

Graphics are integrated so it's not the most ideal card but it would allow for the game to be played and run on low settings.

RAM and HDD space are fine. The one listed above is from a site called Tiger Direct. Not sure what they have over there that would offer the same to fit your needs.

 

Only reason I say buy pre-build with that budget is because a good graphics card to run this game, coupled with a good motherboard, casing, power supply, RAM, HDD are gonna run you upwards of $400 USD. A pre-build may fit your budget needs.

Did anyone play SWToR or a similarly demanding game on Radeon 6670 and can comment on its performance?

Did anyone play SWToR or a similarly demanding game on Radeon 6670 and can comment on its performance?

 

I'm on a 5770 run everything in High and have no issues except when it's crowded on Fleet.

I have a Asus tower with a AMD A-8 5500 quad core processor running at 3.2 GHZ 12 GB of memory and 1 gb dedicated for graphics and I can only run this game in very low graphic. But yet I can run Diablo 3 in high graphic the tower does have Windows 8 but still I should be able to run this game in at the very least low graphics not very low. The game also freezes up on me. So I have no idea what Bioware is thinking. I think they need more servers but that's me. Edited June 18, 2013 by sspayne

OP, if you are still looking to build something new, please try this resource. Ask around for help.

http://www.reddit.com/r/BuildaPC

I am not familiar with it personally, but the staffer which threw it my way says it's a good bet.

If you need the best deal on a specific item, just ask.

Since you don't want to upgrade your current PC and are looking for something within a certain price range, I would suggest looking at a pre-built rig with just enough power to get by. 200 pounds in US dollars (I looked it up) would get you something like this to start off (at least here):

 

Gateway SX2865-UR348 Desktop PC - Intel Pentium G630 2.70GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, Windows 8 64-bit, Keyboard & Mouse, (DT.GDPAA.005)

 

It's Dual Core (which was a requirement when I first started playing on my older laptop in BETA)

Graphics are integrated so it's not the most ideal card but it would allow for the game to be played and run on low settings.

RAM and HDD space are fine. The one listed above is from a site called Tiger Direct. Not sure what they have over there that would offer the same to fit your needs.

 

Only reason I say buy pre-build with that budget is because a good graphics card to run this game, coupled with a good motherboard, casing, power supply, RAM, HDD are gonna run you upwards of $400 USD. A pre-build may fit your budget needs.

 

lol a gateway, yes suggest that they purchase from the worst computer company in the world....haha

lol a gateway, yes suggest that they purchase from the worst computer company in the world....haha

 

I like your suggestion as well which was....wait...no suggestion?

 

Anyway, I'm not suggesting a Gateway, I'm showing what's available for his budget according to what I see.

 

I'll be waiting for your suggestion as well

Check Ebay. There are some deals to be found there, if you hunt around a bit. Just be comfy fixing things yourself, as you'll want to do an os reinstall when you get the box. Edited June 18, 2013 by translucentwolf

I used to know a lot about PCs, just went out of the loop for few years, mostly working and playing on consoles in what free time I had. I won't have a problem with putting all the pieces together. Also I already have an OS and did hundreds of system installs.

After few hours of intense searching, it turns out I can build an acceptable PC that should run SWToR with high details, maybe even in 1080p. I will post the specs, just note that I really cannot go even 5 pounds above what those parts cost, I'm already stretching my tight budget as it is. If you have any suggestions, it has to be exactly the same price point or cheaper.

- Athlon II x2 270

- MSI Radeon HD 6770 (15 pounds more, but way more FPS in most tests)

- 4GB Corsair 1600 DDR3

 

What do you guys think about this setup? Of course there will be some bottle-necking, but it is probably the best I can do with this budget. It should run SWToR nicely and some Blizzard games like StarCraft II.

 

Now gotta find a motherboard and a case. Which MoBo do you recommend? Will 500W PSU be enough?

Edited June 18, 2013 by darkacetone
Typos.

I'm on a 5770 run everything in High and have no issues except when it's crowded on Fleet.

 

I read that 6770 is basically a renamed 5770. If that's the same card, then it's great, because that's the most I can afford. What CPU do you have?

I don't understand how people are having trouble playing this game. I have 4-5 year old computer running things in a high resolution and on high detail...

 

I don't remember spending more than a grand on the computer either.

 

- Arcada

I played the game with 2GB RAM for about 2 months, <walked 100 feet waited for it to catch up>, cheapest way is to look up your motherboard on-line and see the max it will take for RAM - I went to 4GB <the max for the board I had at the time> and if was fine except for flashpoints which I didn't dare do without understanding guildies... Edited June 19, 2013 by Sphinxes

I ordered the parts I listed few posts above, they should run SW:ToR well for now. You really helped me guys, thank you.

I used to know a lot about PCs, just went out of the loop for few years, mostly working and playing on consoles in what free time I had. I won't have a problem with putting all the pieces together. Also I already have an OS and did hundreds of system installs.

After few hours of intense searching, it turns out I can build an acceptable PC that should run SWToR with high details, maybe even in 1080p. I will post the specs, just note that I really cannot go even 5 pounds above what those parts cost, I'm already stretching my tight budget as it is. If you have any suggestions, it has to be exactly the same price point or cheaper.

- Athlon II x2 270

- MSI Radeon HD 6770 (15 pounds more, but way more FPS in most tests)

- 4GB Corsair 1600 DDR3

 

What do you guys think about this setup? Of course there will be some bottle-necking, but it is probably the best I can do with this budget. It should run SWToR nicely and some Blizzard games like StarCraft II.

 

Now gotta find a motherboard and a case. Which MoBo do you recommend? Will 500W PSU be enough?

I'd recommend looking at refurbished/Open Box parts from a reputable dealer (Newegg/Tiger Direct) or a DIY combo deal. I just pulled the below link from Newegg. At 219 USD, that would leave a nice chunk left for a video card. Plus you'd have everything you need.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1291148

Edited June 19, 2013 by Lowyjowylof

I'd recommend looking at refurbished/Open Box parts from a reputable dealer (Newegg/Tiger Direct) or a DIY combo deal. I just pulled the below link from Newegg. At 219 USD, that would leave a nice chunk left for a video card. Plus you'd have everything you need.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1291148

 

Well, they don't send to UK and I never ever buy any piece of technology that isn't brand new and factory sealed. You can end up paying more if it proves faulty, and even if it has some warranty, you waste your time exchanging it.

very very limited resources here myself m8 so i feel yer pain

 

that aside i bought a 2nd hand machine of Gumtree

 

Intel core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0ghz

6 gig memory

Win 7

graphics are pretty rubbish only nvidia 9300 GE so i need to upgrade that

 

got flatscreen mouse n keyboard with it aswell all for £100 which i thought to be a deal.

 

Reason i mention this is look on gumtree and look on ebay there some cracking deals there an could save yourself a fortune plus get a no bad rig to play swtor

No matter what PC you get, SWTOR will run like trash most of the time. Hardware does what programming tells it and if you got crap programming like SWTOR is, hardware won't run it.

 

1. Bad engine is bad. I got 4 graphics cards and enabling the shadows burries my frame rate. These must be some UBER shadows because I do that in any other game, playing over 5k res and i have no issues.

 

2. Long Loading screens. 2 SSD raid arrays here with Samsung 840 PRO drives, loading screens are long as always.

 

 

3. Memory leak. I have three rigs with RAM from 6 GB to 24 GB, all of them have issues and require me to restart the game after a few hours.

 

 

4. SWTOR keeps in your RAM every planet you visit and constantly adds to your RAM information. Would be nice if the planets in your RAM would actually load faster but its the same **** loading time. So again benefit to hog my RAM is zero, i end up loading the whole planet again anyways but with a twist: more consumed RAM than before. So if you load Coruscant and you get X ram used, load it again and you get X +30 RAM used.

 

For those who play SWTOR everyday, any small improvement in performance is godsend. For those who play other MMOs and come back to swtor for a while, the performance makes them laugh. Takes 2 seconds for the speeder to spawn. Run 16 man raids and half the raid group has to reduce graphics, take off nameplates, lol, just lol. Land on makeb, you have 100 FPS, do the dailies help people level all of a sudden your FPS drops to 15-20 with such bad framing you get epilepsy. Its funny to hear that all the people in teamspeak have the same issue and say 'damn the lag'!

Edited June 24, 2013 by Leafy_Bug