Hey galaxy. So I was hoping someone could help me answer the ultimate question...will my PC build be enough for SWTOR in 2021?

Due to my laptops inability to play any multiplayer content or basic pve content without serious issues, I have started putting together the following, low budget system...

MB is an MSI B460m A-PRO DDR4 2.5G LAN, 3000mhz

CPU is Intel I3 10100 (quad core) 4.3ghz

RAM is Tforce Delta 16gb (8gbx2) DDR4 3000mhz

Storage is Crucial P2 500gb SSD 2400mb/a

GPU is Zotac Geforce GT 730 4gb... couldn't find an affordable GPU atm that was worthy.

OS is Microsoft windows 10 pro

 

So these are the core system components and my Internet is high speed 1gb/s listed... Can anyone tell me if these will run SWTOR smoothly and at what possible quality? I am currently in process of, well waiting on parts. I am looking for suggestions as well if anyone has some.

That should do a reasonable job, altthough with an NVidia 730, I'd steer clear of anything higher than 1920x1080 ("1080p") for the screen. Above all, avoid "4K" screens where the FPS will usually be about half what a 1080p screen will give.

Thank you much for the info. Hoping to upgrade to a rx 570 or better when I can find one thats affordable, GPU'S have gone price crazy atm. Thanks again.

That should work for swtor... but honestly, I don't see how you could pick a worse time to build a pc.

That should work for swtor... but honestly, I don't see how you could pick a worse time to build a pc.

 

That's the sort of comment that needs elaboration.

That's the sort of comment that needs elaboration.

 

Um... scalpers, bitcoiners, inflated prices, supply issues, take your pick

That should work for swtor... but honestly, I don't see how you could pick a worse time to build a pc.

 

Only really a problem with GPUs, everything else is in pretty good shape (AMD making intel look bad, SSD prices plummeting...)

Only really a problem with GPUs, everything else is in pretty good shape (AMD making intel look bad, SSD prices plummeting...)

 

yeah, everything else is totally great. been on a list for a 5900x for about what, 3 months now? totally great on the cpu front.

Well, to answer as to why at this time... my current laptop is from 2011 and is steadily falling apart. It runs the game ...but barely and the internet connection is garbage. In addition I have to use a constant external fan as the internal fan no longer works. Basically, if I want a PC in quarantine, I need to do it now. The GPU is something I plan to upgrade in the future but due to inflation and limited budget, I did what I could. Sometimes choices are made because demand and circumstance limits your options.

Sometimes choices are made because demand and circumstance limits your options.

 

Absolutely. Life works like that. Good luck with the build. Keep us updated.

Well, to answer as to why at this time... my current laptop is from 2011 and is steadily falling apart. It runs the game ...but barely and the internet connection is garbage. In addition I have to use a constant external fan as the internal fan no longer works. Basically, if I want a PC in quarantine, I need to do it now. The GPU is something I plan to upgrade in the future but due to inflation and limited budget, I did what I could. Sometimes choices are made because demand and circumstance limits your options.

My laptop from 2011 died around 2014, (lightning hit my house and I had suboptimal grounding solution)(on top of that, I manually replaced the thermal paste and reassembled the laptop to suboptimal condition not up to factory standard) a repair shop resurrected it back to life. I upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 in 2020, shortly after the laptop exhibited the same problem prior to taking it to the repair shop. Apparently Windows 10 helped undue the change the repair shop custom modified my system to keep it alive past death. The repair shop closed so I couldn't take it back.

 

Props to you for taking care of your system for so long, I'm sure it had a long career in gaming in its time.

Mine suffered enough abuse, it was time to rest for good.

I used to play First Person Shooters and ran operations and warzone content in SWTOR with that little battle top that could. Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex: First Assault, Day of Defeat: Source, Day of Infamy, Day of Defeat 1.3, many free to play mmos too

 

These were the specs www.newegg.com/black-acer-aspire-as5552g-7641/p/N82E16834215037

 

Acer Aspire AS5552G-7641

CPU AMD Phenom II Quad-Core N970 2.2GHz

Memory 4 GB DDR3

Graphics Card AMD Radeon HD 6650M

Video Memory 1GB DDR3 VRAM

Screen 15.6"

Resolution 1366 x 768

HDD 500 GB 5400 RPM SATA

 

I used it as a desktop replacement with a separate monitor at 1080p and USB mouse and keyboard combo. I ran the games at 720p despite the 1080p available from the monitor

Edited February 21, 2021 by Falensawino

yeah, everything else is totally great. been on a list for a 5900x for about what, 3 months now? totally great on the cpu front.

 

*shrug* can't comment on your specific case, but I got my 5800X after only a couple weeks wait from my local computer store (which wouldn't have nearly the buying power as somewhere like Best Buy or any other big online retailer/franchise store)

Hello,

 

I am having a custom pc built and had a question...

 

I am looking for 65+ FPS game play at max settings for 1080P, with that said, did I achieve this with the build?

 

Note: I am a solo player, only playing PVE content and do not participate in war zones or operations.

 

The build:

Zalman M3 case

MSI B450M Gaming Motherboarg

Ryzen 5 3600

AMD RADEON RX580 8GB cpu

XPG (2x8) 16GB 3200Mhz Memory

128GB ADATA SSD

Seagate 500GB 7200 HD

Corsair CV 650watt 80+Bronze PSU

MSI Optix G27C4W 165Hz monitor.

 

 

I am looking to be upgrading in a year or two, I am considering changing out the CPU to a ryzen 7 and a 2070 8gb, however, the listed build is what I could afford right now.

 

For those who may have seen my other thread, I did make some changes in the build.

Hello,

 

I am having a custom pc built and had a question...

 

I am looking for 65+ FPS game play at max settings for 1080P, with that said, did I achieve this with the build?

 

Note: I am a solo player, only playing PVE content and do not participate in war zones or operations.

 

The build:

Zalman M3 case

MSI B450M Gaming Motherboarg

Ryzen 5 3600

AMD RADEON RX580 8GB cpu

XPG (2x8) 16GB 3200Mhz Memory

128GB ADATA SSD

Seagate 500GB 7200 HD

Corsair CV 650watt 80+Bronze PSU

MSI Optix G27C4W 165Hz monitor.

 

 

I am looking to be upgrading in a year or two, I am considering changing out the CPU to a ryzen 7 and a 2070 8gb, however, the listed build is what I could afford right now.

 

For those who may have seen my other thread, I did make some changes in the build.

 

Unless someone has that exact processor, my gut feeling would be no, it couldn't quite do that on max settings. You'd probably have to turn the Shadow Map Resolution down at least a bit (seems to be the real killer). Should do pretty good all in all though.

 

Also, I would recommend going for a bigger SSD than that. They have massively come down in price and 128 GB is rather tiny (SWTOR would eat like a third of that on it's own, and an SSD is a big benefit for SWTOR)

Thank you for your response. This is actually my first build!

 

Yeah, I realized that the 128GB is a bit low a little too late. Fortunately my co-worker is going to give me a 256GB SSD just to boot windows and SWTOR.

 

I'm hoping that, at the very least, it will handle high settings at 1080p.

 

Like I stated before, I do plan on upgrading in a year or 2.

If I have the opportunity to upgrade in 6 months or so, would you have any recommendations of upgrades to get for ultra at 1080p?

Thank you for your response. This is actually my first build!

 

Yeah, I realized that the 128GB is a bit low a little too late. Fortunately my co-worker is going to give me a 256GB SSD just to boot windows and SWTOR.

 

I'm hoping that, at the very least, it will handle high settings at 1080p.

 

Like I stated before, I do plan on upgrading in a year or 2.

If I have the opportunity to upgrade in 6 months or so, would you have any recommendations of upgrades to get for ultra at 1080p?

 

256GB is still small but much more workable (my new build has a 2TB SSD in it. It's so much nicer not having to worry about what drive I install stuff on. If it's media, throw in on the spinning disk drive. Everything else = SSD)

 

I am running a Ryzen 7 5800X and a RX 580 and I can handle ultra with only occasional stutter during some cutscenes if that helps for comparison.

 

In general terms for SWTOR, what you want to look for is the highest single thread performance you can get, as SWTOR can't use multiple cores worth a dam. Since something like a 5800X or 5900X could hardly be considered budget friendly, I'd suggest looking at at something like the 5600X or perhaps keep an eye on what Intel is doing with their 11th gen CPUs (I don't have high expectations but hey, you never know)

 

The thing about SWTOR is that even really high end CPUs are going to have moments when they just can't quite handle it. A few small settings tweaks though and you can bring the bar down significantly without seriously impacting quality (Shadow Map Resolution and Visible Character Limit are probably the first to get turned down a bit) and doing so can really save on your budget if you're willing to accept not quite the best

Ryzen 5 3600

AMD RADEON RX580 8GB cpu

 

I am looking to be upgrading in a year or two, I am considering changing out the CPU to a ryzen 7 and a 2070 8gb, however, the listed build is what I could afford right now.

As it stands now, upgrading to an R7** will not make much difference to SWTOR. SWTOR only uses 2 cores, so extra cores won't help. (Clock speed is what matters.)

Also, the current graphics should get pretty close to 'max' with the Rx580.

 

Of course, future games you play, or possibly even updates to SWTOR, may require the upgrades. But no rush. 🙂

 

** Although, of course, a newer 5000 or (future) 6000 series may have a higher clock speed and/or better IPC (Instructions Per Cycle).

Hello,

 

I am having a custom pc built and had a question...

 

I am looking for 65+ FPS game play at max settings for 1080P, with that said, did I achieve this with the build?

 

Note: I am a solo player, only playing PVE content and do not participate in war zones or operations.

 

The build:

Zalman M3 case

MSI B450M Gaming Motherboarg

Ryzen 5 3600

AMD RADEON RX580 8GB cpu

XPG (2x8) 16GB 3200Mhz Memory

128GB ADATA SSD

Seagate 500GB 7200 HD

Corsair CV 650watt 80+Bronze PSU

MSI Optix G27C4W 165Hz monitor.

 

 

I am looking to be upgrading in a year or two, I am considering changing out the CPU to a ryzen 7 and a 2070 8gb, however, the listed build is what I could afford right now.

 

For those who may have seen my other thread, I did make some changes in the build.

 

For 1080p outside of warzones and large ops groups, you should be fine (though as others mentioned, you may need to adjust a few settings).

 

My old PC was an i5 (circa 2013-ish) with 8 GB ram and an RX570 (8gb), and was generally above 65 FPS @ 1080p in most areas of the game outside warzones and large operations groups with most settings on high or better.

 

I currently run SWTOR on ultra (turned down visible character limit) @ 1440p with a Ryzen 3600XT, 16 GB ram, and a 3060ti, and am well over 65 FPS outside warzones and large operations groups.

 

Oh and in warzones and large operations groups FPS is all over the map, sometimes it is smooth with a high sustained FPS, other times it is terrible - and I doubt spending several thousand more on top-of-the-line hardware would change that much.

Edited March 10, 2021 by DawnAskham

** Although, of course, a newer 5000 or (future) 6000 series may have a higher clock speed and/or better IPC (Instructions Per Cycle).

 

Not so much on the base clock side but the 5000's in general got better boost clocks (good for SWTOR), as well as an impressive ~15% IPC increase from previous generation.

Not to hijack the thread, but:

 

I'm looking forward to putting together a system with the following:

 

AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

GeForce RTX 3080

64+ GB RAM

 

Not now, but in a few months. I read up a little following KendraP's comment above and the shortages all round and the consequent higher prices mean that I'll wait a bit. This PC is not just for SWTOR but a lot of other things as well.

 

Any suggestions on the best motherboard for this set up? Is any boutique high-performance PC assembler still offering internal optical drives?

Edited March 11, 2021 by mike_carton

Not to hijack the thread, but:

 

I'm looking forward to putting together a system with the following:

 

AMD Ryzen 9 5950X

GeForce RTX 3080

64+ GB RAM

 

Not now, but in a few months. I read up a little following KendraP's comment above and the shortages all round and the consequent higher prices mean that I'll wait a bit. This PC is not just for SWTOR but a lot of other things as well.

 

Any suggestions on the best motherboard for this set up? Is any boutique high-performance PC assembler still offering internal optical drives?

 

For a setup like that, I personally would aim for X570 board with 4 memory slots @3200 MHz, and dual M.2 slots (because no one should skimp on SSDs these days). Anything else (2.5 Gigabit LAN, built in wifi etc.) is just gravy.

 

As for optical drives, I imagine most places still have some, you'll just have to make sure the case you get has a slot for it

This PC is not just for SWTOR but a lot of other things as well.

 

Any suggestions on the best motherboard for this set up? Is any boutique high-performance PC assembler still offering internal optical drives?

Well, obviously a 5950X is a bit overkill for SWTOR, seeing as SWTOR only uses at most, 2 cores. 🙂

So workstation loads?

 

A B550 based motherboard should be fine provided it has enough ports for your drives, etc. Or you could step up to an X570 if you need the extra features. Brand-wise, any of the 'established' brands is fine. It's more a matter of features and price (and aesthetics).

 

The main thing about internal optical (DVD/Blu-ray) drives, is getting a case that has a slot for one. Many of the newer cases omit the optical bay for aesthetics.

Edit - after a quick look at some assembler's websites, and trying to slog through their menus, I don't know if any of them do offer an optical drive. But, provided you get a case with an optical drive bay, it's pretty easy to add one.

(Basically, pop open the computer, remove the drive bay cover, slide in the optical drive, a couple of screws or a retaining mech, plug in power and USB, done.)

 

Edit #2 - Origin PC offers optical drives depending (of course) on the case. Optical drives appear to be offered more often in "workstation" builds.

Edited March 11, 2021 by JediQuaker

Thanks for the replies so far. It has been a while since I did this (and so things have changed, grumble, grumble) but I again have to shortlist some motherboards and create a spreadsheet to write down their features and compare them; I expect compromises will have to be made.

 

The B550 seems to be newer but the X570 seems to have more features. Need to confirm the Wikipedia article is accurate.

 

With 12 SATA ports, it should be possible to add an optical drive; I expect it is the case that's the limitation as mentioned by JediQuaker.

 

Then there is the whole memory thing where 3200 MHz might have better latency than 3600 MHz; so, have to compare and make a choice there. Not to mention availability in units of 16GB or higher.

 

Lots of research to do; the sort that I relish. I'd appreciate any additional insights.

Edited March 11, 2021 by mike_carton

not so much on the base clock side but the 5000's in general got better boost clocks (good for swtor), as well as an impressive ~15% ipc increase from previous generation.

 

 

disreguard

Edited March 14, 2021 by Dauthuzen

Unless someone has that exact processor, my gut feeling would be no, it couldn't quite do that on max settings. You'd probably have to turn the Shadow Map Resolution down at least a bit (seems to be the real killer). Should do pretty good all in all though.

 

Also, I would recommend going for a bigger SSD than that. They have massively come down in price and 128 GB is rather tiny (SWTOR would eat like a third of that on it's own, and an SSD is a big benefit for SWTOR)

 

UPDATE: I will be installing a WD_BLACK SN750 500GB NVMe SSD, got it 75% off from the big blue store with a yellow tag. The only programs that are going to be on this drive is the OS, SWTOR and a fantasy based hero questing MMORPG

My question is, do I need to have a heatsink for the SSD or not?

I'm only asking because the more I look into this the more conflicting the answers are.

 

As I mentioned before, the case will have 4 fans for air flow...