If you were to buy new, what's the best computer for Il-2? - Printable Version
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If you were to buy new, what's the best computer for Il-2? - csvousden - 05.02.2009
I am on the verge of getting a new desktop and would like suggestions about the best computer to get.
I do not know much about computers myself, but I have good tech support at work, so if you offer your opinions, I can get help purchasing the right device. Money is not really a problem if there is a clear gaming benefit.
Feel free to let me know what your results have been on the various computers, etc. you use now.
I am very grateful for the insight and practical advice!
CV
- hoover - 05.02.2009
If you have great tech support then learn to build your own with there help you wont regret the time spent and save money too.I did dell pissed me off so bad thats what i did ill never buy a rig agian.
you will end up upgrading every chance you get tho lol.
I built my first pc with help from a guy i never met using a web cam so he could see what i was doing.
I knew him for a long time tho so i trusted him and ill never forget the first time it booted up what a thrill.
- RRuger - 05.02.2009
Build your own gaming system that way you'll have what you're looking for...
- Guest - 05.02.2009
If your going to spend the money,then I would go to a computer repair-store and have a computer built the way you want it.That's what I did and boy did I get a monster MSI mother board platinum edition,two NVIDIA BFG Gforce 9800 video cards,Intel Quad core processor.It runs any game I have on max settings with no problems.Anyway that's what I did, good luck.
- Pirate - 05.02.2009
Building your PC is the way I would go... but that said it can be a nightmare sometimes, even when you know what you are doing. Bingo's suggestion is a good one as the people building it will be able to iron out any potential problems - and I'm no fan of pre-build rigs. As to specifications I find it easier to start with your budget, then work from there - I'm not that up to date on the latest stuff, but I'm sure someone around here will be able to advise on what you can expect depending on what you want to spend.
Pirate
GET THE FASTEST CPU POSSIBLE!!!! - danimalhanke - 05.02.2009
for IL2-46 cpu speed is all important video cards will not make up for a slow cpu IMHO
Re: GET THE FASTEST CPU POSSIBLE!!!! - viking4570 - 05.02.2009
danimalhanke Wrote:for IL2-46 cpu speed is all important video cards will not make up for a slow cpu IMHO+1
It seems to me that anything beyond an nvidia 8800 is overkill if you don't have at least a dual core processor running over 3.0 Mhz; preferably a wolfdale.
- agracier - 06.02.2009
A quadcore seems to be the way to go. I upgraded from a very decent single core processor to a quadcore a few months ago and with the new machine I can now fly 100+ aircraft missions quite easily. Previously a mission couldn't contain more than a dozen aircraft or my framerates would drop way down and it was flying in slow motion.
An even better aspect is that there is info on the site here how to configure your game's config.ini so that Il-2 will use a single, 2, 3 or even all 4 processors on a quadcore at once.
Needless to say that accelerates gameplay even more.
And a small point, but see that you enough space on your harddisks so that you can make backup copies of Il-2, preferably on different physical harddisks, so that you are safe in the event of a hard disk failure.
-a clean, lean install with no mods, as done straight from the install CD
-a modded version with switches for 4.08 and 4.09
-a further modded version with all the extra mods that you choose to install
-possibly another version of the above, but for use with the unlocked FMB
-and just to be safe, a copy of your latest version of Il-2 with all the mods, on which you can try out new mods one by one. When they work, you can then install the mods on your master version of Il-2, the one you fly on.
This may seem a lot of redundancy, but consider the work you will have if ever a new mod really does mess up your game totally. You will have to re-install all the mods you like, probably without knowing which ones they were.
And if you're an avid skin collector, a game directory can become so large so fast you wouldn't believe it. I'm at around 40 gigs for my game directory, mainly due to skins. Multiply that by 3 or 4 and you've got really large sizes on your hands.
That's why it might also be advised to use a motherboard with as many SATA and IDE connections as possible, to allow for more hard disks to be attached. 4 SATA connections is minimum, but there are boards with 6 SATA and 2 IDE connections.
- stansdds - 06.02.2009
I agree on the CPU. Flight sims are mathematical monsters and it takes a tremendous amount of calculating power to run a flight sim. You will certainly want dual core as your minimum and a quad may bring more performance, but I would not consider anything less than 3.0 GHz for speed. Given a choice between a dual core at 3.0 GHz and a quad at 2.6, I expect the dual core would actually be better and easier to overclock. Go with an Intel CPU, AMD is a little cheaper, but the days of AMD out performing Intel are long gone.
Flight sims seem to like RAM as well, nothing less than 2 GB of RAM and it needs to be fast RAM. I don't know that DDR3 is worth the money, but if you are going with DDR2 RAM make sure the timings are tight and that it matches or exceeds the Front Side Bus speed of the motherboard, don't buy the "value" grade stuff. Also, get a good power supply. Again, don't buy the bargain basement, no-name power supply as they will usually burn out and might take out the whole computer with them.
As for where to get your dream machine, either build it yourself or have someone build it for you. The computers at Best Buy or other retail stores are usually not geared towards flight sims and use mid-grade (or lower) video cards. Speaking of video cards, Il2 looks great on my Nvidia 8800GT and I agree, that's all the video card it needs. Higher end video cards will certainly work, but for Il2 the 8800GT is more than sufficient.
- GeneralPsycho - 06.02.2009
Very good suggestions, just as i would say
very good guys on your explanation
i knew this from early on about what the IL2 would need
my specs
E8400 @4.0GHZ
4 GB PC6400 ram
320GB HDD
Nvidia EVGA 8800GTS 512 Super clocked edition, Psycho over clock now
built this system a year ago
- danimalhanke - 06.02.2009
Agreed about the 3Ghz this will run it nicely and the Intel cpu is a better cpu. I have a Phemon Quad 9600 which is 2300Mhz it bogs down with the highest rezo and all bells and whistles turned on. If I overclock to 2600Mhz thenI see a vast imporvement in frame rates. Dual vs quad cous I get the one with the higher speed AND don't forget the L1 and L2 caches on the cpu, the more the better it will perform. Intel has more and this will help as well. Once you decide on the cpu, I'd suggest 3.0Ghz with 1Mb L1 and L2 cache & then figure which vid card to use. I
I have a Gateway 7020FX with 6Mb ram, 1TB of drive space, 8800 GT with a Phenom 9600 @ 2.3Ghz quad cpu and it only provides adequate performance with IL2 I wish I had an Intel quad running @ 3.0Ghz.
Thank you! - csvousden - 06.02.2009
I will show these posts to my tech guy tomorrow, and go from there. I can't thank you all enough!
CV
- GeneralPsycho - 07.02.2009
yea no problem, and thank you other posters in backing up what is needed to make this enjoyable
Now what about Vista as an operating system? - csvousden - 08.02.2009
Can I install this game in Vista and will it play? Or must I get the downgrade to XP, which I am told will be more expensive than Vista? Your opinions are much appreciated.
CV
Re: Now what about Vista as an operating system? - GeneralPsycho - 08.02.2009
csvousden Wrote:Can I install this game in Vista and will it play? Or must I get the downgrade to XP, which I am told will be more expensive than Vista? Your opinions are much appreciated.
CV
yes you can install the game in vista, make sure that you dont install it in Program Files