Good Starter CPU And GPU

[Tru]

NOTE:
PLEASE don't come to me saying stuff like "The i3 and pentium processors aren't fit for gaming. Just get an i7, dude." No! I don't want to hear it. Not everyone has the money for an expensive pc. Sorry if I seem abrasive, but comments like that don't help me, and I've heard them too many times. Thank you.



Anyway, this youtuber name Lathland got me really interested in From The Depths, and I want to get it. Luckily I'm in the process of building a pc that can actually run games, compared to my garbage laptop from 2011. The only thing I've bought is the case, and I need some help deciding on some good ENTRY-level CPUs and GPUs that can run this game. Nothing crazy, just something to start my build.

For a CPU, I was thinking the pentium g4560, and while I've heard pentium processors are underestimated, I don't know if this dual core CPU can handle large ships/ship counts. My second option is the i3 8100. It's an impressive little i3 quad core CPU. It's definitely better than the g4560, but it's also $50 more than the g4560, AND the motherboards for it have a hefty price as well. I would like to hear your thoughts on these.

For the GPU, I'm looking at the nvidia gt 1030. I know, it sounds like a really weak GPU, but ftd isnt a GPU-intense game, and I've lived without a GPU playing games at 20 fps at minimum graphics my whole life. The 1030 will at least make games playable for me, even if the graphics are low. My second option is either the gtx 1050 or 1050 ti. The 1050 is much cheaper than the 1050 ti, but is still around $40 more than the 1030. I just don't know if the 1050 will be worth it for the typical low-end games I play. This is another tough decision and I'd like to hear you comments.

Overall, I'm trying to build a cheap pc that has at least more power than a console, but also isn't crazy expensive. If I go with the pentium g4560 and the gt 1030, my overall price will be about $350-375. That's around my target budget, but if I go with the i3 8100 and the gtx 1050 the price will be about $450-500. I really, really don't like those numbers, but if that's what's needed I can save up.

ANY help is greatly appreciated!

[Coffee Fox]

I'm going to be honest with you on this.

Save up a bit more money to get build a higher quality system. I understand how tempting it can be to use the money you have now to get some hardware that would be better than what you currently own. But even if you plan to upgrade down the line, your not going to get the full amount back that you paid for the parts, so you'll be losing money.

Anyway, let's say that you do get a G4560 and a GT 1030. What happens if your not happy with the results? What if the game doesn't run nearly as well as you would like it to?

From what I've researched on the forums this game is quite CPU heavy and while a GT 1030 may be... adequate, and you have been playing games at FPS all of your life, one can't say for sure that one day FtD will get an update that makes it more GPU intensive, which would tank your already low framerate to the point where it becomes unplayable. Also, while you may be able to stand low FPS... think of how much more enjoyable it may be to play a game at high FPS, without having to worry about framedrops. Sure, you can live with low FPS, but it does affect the experience even if you've gotten used to it.

A computer is a big purchase. A well planned out and built computer will last you many years... don't waste money by buying parts that your probably going to upgrade in just a year. Save up that extra money, buy a good CPU (a good CPU rarely becomes obsolete), a 'decent' GPU, a high quality power supply (Seasonic is good, it's actually very important) and perhaps 8GB of RAM with the intention to add another set of 8GB down the line.

Please just wait and save up OP. I was one of those people who would build a computer, and in a year I would sell it and build another one all because I didn't have the patience to just wait and build a high quality system from the start. After all, even 100-200$ more can make the difference between a system that will last you for years... and one that in short order you won't be happy with.

And if you must build a PC now... don't skimp on the CPU and power supply. You can skimp on anything else, but a good CPU like an I5-4690K or the I7-4790K can still compete with the newer CPUs that intel comes out with and will last you lifetime. Their performance gains on the 'new generation' are paltry at best, so you can definitely save some money if your willing to buy an older (used, Ebay is good if your diligent) CPU that isn't "cutting edge" as it were.

And for power supplies, it's the same story. A good power supply will also last you a lifetime, so it's best to just buy one high quality PSU and never have to worry about it ever again. Power supplies are often underappreciated, but are vital to your system.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Good luck with your PC man, whichever decision you decide to make. If I sound overly harsh, I'm sorry about that. Just make sure that before you click the buy button on your parts... that they are the parts you will be happy with.

[thomasbo94]

At that price I'd look for old higher end hardware. Something like an 2nd to 4th gen i5 or i7 can be bought really cheaply and the performance loss compared to their newer equivalents isn't all that much.
The Mainboards and DDR3-RAM are also cheaper.
Same for GPUs.
With the new 2000 series around the corner many people are selling their old GPUs and prices drop.
700 or 900 series from Nvidia or comparable AMD cards

[Carolus Magnus]

I can't really advise on individual parts, but what I did on my meagre student income was getting some stuff piecemeal. In my up front budget I got a few beefy bits (the sceptred I7 among them, sorry), a decent motherboard and everything required barebones.

But I didn't originally get a video card, and started out with the bare minimum of RAM. Over time, with extra saving up and some lucky breaks I got a decent video card and some extra ram and just slotted them in.

Just saying it's possible to spread costs this way. With my integrated intell graphics I lasted through from the depths quite well while saving up for a discounted video card from the local store.

Might be better than immediately getting everything at a slightly lower grade. I'm afraid I don't have much else to contribute here, so I'll shut up now. but that's how I handled being stuck in the same rut.

[Tru]

Originally posted by Coffee Fox:

I'm going to be honest with you on this.

Save up a bit more money to get build a higher quality system. I understand how tempting it can be to use the money you have now to get some hardware that would be better than what you currently own. But even if you plan to upgrade down the line, your not going to get the full amount back that you paid for the parts, so you'll be losing money.

Anyway, let's say that you do get a G4560 and a GT 1030. What happens if your not happy with the results? What if the game doesn't run nearly as well as you would like it to?

From what I've researched on the forums this game is quite CPU heavy and while a GT 1030 may be... adequate, and you have been playing games at FPS all of your life, one can't say for sure that one day FtD will get an update that makes it more GPU intensive, which would tank your already low framerate to the point where it becomes unplayable. Also, while you may be able to stand low FPS... think of how much more enjoyable it may be to play a game at high FPS, without having to worry about framedrops. Sure, you can live with low FPS, but it does affect the experience even if you've gotten used to it.

A computer is a big purchase. A well planned out and built computer will last you many years... don't waste money by buying parts that your probably going to upgrade in just a year. Save up that extra money, buy a good CPU (a good CPU rarely becomes obsolete), a 'decent' GPU, a high quality power supply (Seasonic is good, it's actually very important) and perhaps 8GB of RAM with the intention to add another set of 8GB down the line.

Please just wait and save up OP. I was one of those people who would build a computer, and in a year I would sell it and build another one all because I didn't have the patience to just wait and build a high quality system from the start. After all, even 100-200$ more can make the difference between a system that will last you for years... and one that in short order you won't be happy with.

And if you must build a PC now... don't skimp on the CPU and power supply. You can skimp on anything else, but a good CPU like an I5-4690K or the I7-4790K can still compete with the newer CPUs that intel comes out with and will last you lifetime. Their performance gains on the 'new generation' are paltry at best, so you can definitely save some money if your willing to buy an older (used, Ebay is good if your diligent) CPU that isn't "cutting edge" as it were.

And for power supplies, it's the same story. A good power supply will also last you a lifetime, so it's best to just buy one high quality PSU and never have to worry about it ever again. Power supplies are often underappreciated, but are vital to your system.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Good luck with your PC man, whichever decision you decide to make. If I sound overly harsh, I'm sorry about that. Just make sure that before you click the buy button on your parts... that they are the parts you will be happy with.

You're not being harsh, just facing the facts. That's life. But I believe it's my fault I didn't explain my plan. Right now I'm just trying to build a pc that only makes games playable. Nothing too powerful, just something decent. Then in time I'll slowly buy the better parts. For instance, say I get the gt 1030 or gtx 1050. It makes games at least playable until I raise enough for a gtx 1060 6Gb or maybe even a gtx 1070.

The same goes for the CPU. That's why I like the i3 8100. Its definitely not as powerful as I want, but with its motherboard I can get 8th gen i5s or i7s. Not to mention it wont be outdated for a while.

[Tru]

At that price I'd look for old higher end hardware. Something like an 2nd to 4th gen i5 or i7 can be bought really cheaply and the performance loss compared to their newer equivalents isn't all that much.
The Mainboards and DDR3-RAM are also cheaper.
Same for GPUs.
With the new 2000 series around the corner many people are selling their old GPUs and prices drop.
700 or 900 series from Nvidia or comparable AMD cards

What I'm going to do is slowly upgrade this base pc. If I get a motherboard for a 4th gen intel CPU, but I want an i5 8400 in the future, then I'll have to get a new motherboard as well. Not to mention windows 10 doesn't like changing motherboards. So I would go for older hardware if it wasn't for that me trying to stay up to date.

[Tru]

I can't really advise on individual parts, but what I did on my meagre student income was getting some stuff piecemeal. In my up front budget I got a few beefy bits (the sceptred I7 among them, sorry), a decent motherboard and everything required barebones.

But I didn't originally get a video card, and started out with the bare minimum of RAM. Over time, with extra saving up and some lucky breaks I got a decent video card and some extra ram and just slotted them in.

Just saying it's possible to spread costs this way. With my integrated intell graphics I lasted through from the depths quite well while saving up for a discounted video card from the local store.

Might be better than immediately getting everything at a slightly lower grade. I'm afraid I don't have much else to contribute here, so I'll shut up now. but that's how I handled being stuck in the same rut.[/qoute]

That's basically what I'm doing. I have this scrap home pc that I'm taking from. It gave me a 1080p monitor, a keyboard, 4Gb of RAM, an HDD, and an optical drive. But still, thanks for the advice.

[Dyna]

All it needs now is a wodden box with ships painted on it and a FTD sticker wrapped around the system.

What is FTD is not so single core dependant all of a sudden ? Or another similar game shows up.

I think you should make sure the CPU got 8 threads and minimum 4 cores, do not cheap it out too much on the CPU.

The g4560 is a dual-core with 4 threads and good enough for FTD and errr counter strike perhaps, but windows operations and other tasks in the background might interrupt your gaming a bit now and then. And at this point with all the updates to FTD i would say it is a bad choice.

Maybe look at what AMD got also and save up some more before you build anything.

What is your current hardware?

[Tru]

Originally posted by Dyna:

...
What is your current hardware?

If you're talking about my current pc, a laptop, I have an i3 2330m, no GPU, and 6Gb of ram.

If you're talking about my current build, I don't have anything but the case. Although I'm planning to get either a pentium g4560 or i3 8100, a gt 1030 or gtx 1050, and 4Gb or ram (from a scrap pc I have. Will get more in the future).

[Silamon]

You could save some dosh by getting one of the Ryzen APUs if you just want a decent system for right now. Ryzen 5 2400g is a better processor on its own than an I3, and it has a gt 1030 equivalent gpu built into it.

If you do go the 1030 route, be VERY sure you know what you are getting. There are TWO versions of gt 1030 on the market right now, one has 2gb GDDR5 vram, the other has 2gb DDR4 ram. The ddr4 version is SIGNIFICANTLY worse, less than half the speed of the gddr5 version. Both versions have the same name and price tag, you need to look at the specifications and make sure it is the GDDR5 version before you buy it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CazEXejPCU

[Tru]

Originally posted by Silamon:

You could save some dosh by getting one of the Ryzen APUs if you just want a decent system for right now. Ryzen 5 2400g is a better processor on its own than an I3, and it has a gt 1030 equivalent gpu built into it.

If you do go the 1030 route, be VERY sure you know what you are getting. There are TWO versions of gt 1030 on the market right now, one has 2gb GDDR5 vram, the other has 2gb DDR4 ram. The ddr4 version is SIGNIFICANTLY worse, less than half the speed of the gddr5 version. Both versions have the same name and price tag, you need to look at the specifications and make sure it is the GDDR5 version before you buy it.

Thanks for the advice. I had no idea about the DDR4 and GDDR5 1030s. If I get the 1030 I'll definitely look at the specs before I buy.

I'm not a fan of AMD CPUs. Not because I just don't like them, it's because I think AMD is better for multitasking. With high core count but slow clock speed it makes their CPUs perfect for workstations, but not for gaming. The slower clock speed doesn't help with running CPU intense games. And before you say "but they have a high core count," that doesn't necessarily mean it's better. While programs do use all cores, they primarily focus on 4 of the cores (sometimes 2. It depends on if the program is 32 or 64 bit). So in my opinion AMD is great for multitasking/workstations, not so great for gaming.

EDIT:
Now that I've looked at the benchmark for the 2400g vs the i3 8100, I'll say it's tempting. Quad core, multithreading, high clock speed. Yes, it's definitely tempting, though what you said isn't true. The i3 8100 just barely beats the 2400g in a benchmark. That's not even mentioning the i3 8350k, so the 2400g definitely has some competition from the i3s.

[Silamon]

Originally posted by YoursTruly:

Originally posted by Silamon:

You could save some dosh by getting one of the Ryzen APUs if you just want a decent system for right now. Ryzen 5 2400g is a better processor on its own than an I3, and it has a gt 1030 equivalent gpu built into it.

If you do go the 1030 route, be VERY sure you know what you are getting. There are TWO versions of gt 1030 on the market right now, one has 2gb GDDR5 vram, the other has 2gb DDR4 ram. The ddr4 version is SIGNIFICANTLY worse, less than half the speed of the gddr5 version. Both versions have the same name and price tag, you need to look at the specifications and make sure it is the GDDR5 version before you buy it.

Thanks for the advice. I had no idea about the DDR4 and GDDR5 1030s. If I get the 1030 I'll definitely look at the specs before I buy.

I'm not a fan of AMD CPUs. Not because I just don't like them, it's because I think AMD is better for multitasking. With high core count but slow clock speed it makes their CPUs perfect for workstations, but not for gaming. The slower clock speed doesn't help with running CPU intense games. And before you say "but they have a high core count," that doesn't necessarily mean it's better. While programs do use all cores, they primarily focus on 4 of the cores (sometimes 2. It depends on if the program is 32 or 64 bit). So in my opinion AMD is great for multitasking/workstations, not so great for gaming.

Ryzen is significantly better than the FX processors were. While intel is still slightly better at single core performance, Ryzen is perfectly good for gaming. Also for multicore, that used to be true, but more and more games are coming out that use more cores, which is one of the reason Intel FINALLY increased their core counts. (the other being the curb stomp that was Ryzen).

I will not deny that Intel is still slightly better at gaming, but I would certainly not count AMD out so quickly. For example, a Ryzen 7 2700x is 319 dollars, vs 350 for an i7, and it comes with a very decent cooler. 8700k does not come witha cooler at all, so you have to add another 30 dollars at the least to the price. The 2700x is within 10 fps of the i7 at 1440p in the great majority of games.
https://www.techspot.com/review/1655-core-i7-8700k-vs-ryzen-7-2700x/

[Cap]

My advice?

Budget PC means used parts. I am betting you could probably find a decent CPU at Goodwill, or other 2nd Hand stores.

Usually you can google the specs for a machine with the tags on the outside, If not just ask if you can open the case to make sure everything is there, and then check the motherboard model or serial, and you'll have a real good idea what the processor could be.

Personally, i like to buy expensive PC's and then run them for 5-7 years.

Edit: after rereading your OP, ftd now is GPU instensive with the last update.

Specs I have for running FTD

I7-7700K
Gtx 1080

Epic settings

CPU usage: 30%
GPU usage: 60-80%

I am achieving 65 fps at game idle/looking around driving my boat. I hate fps counters so I don't know what it drops to in battle, but it's not noticable.

Not saying you couldn't put it on potato settings, then it would be more CPU intensive, which is probably closer to what you would be doing.

[Tru]

Originally posted by Silamon:

Ryzen is significantly better than the FX processors were. While intel is still slightly better at single core performance, Ryzen is perfectly good for gaming. Also for multicore, that used to be true, but more and more games are coming out that use more cores, which is one of the reason Intel FINALLY increased their core counts. (the other being the curb stomp that was Ryzen).

I will not deny that Intel is still slightly better at gaming, but I would certainly not count AMD out so quickly. For example, a Ryzen 7 2700x is 300 dollars, vs 360 for an i7. The 2700x is within 10 fps of the i7 at 1440p in the great majority of games.

I'm not trying to say AMD can't be used for gaming at all. I'm just saying it's typical for AMD to dominate in workstations. I edited my last post saying the 2400g is pretty tempting, so I'm not biased, just cautious.

One other thing. Sorry if I come off as rude, but could you be a little more specific when you say i3, i5, i7, etc? Saying i7 or i3 only can be extremely vague. I know plenty of i3s that can outperform i7s, and vice versa. Again, sorry if I seem rude, but it doesn't tell me how good the CPUs you mention really are.

[Silamon]

Originally posted by YoursTruly:

Originally posted by Silamon:

Ryzen is significantly better than the FX processors were. While intel is still slightly better at single core performance, Ryzen is perfectly good for gaming. Also for multicore, that used to be true, but more and more games are coming out that use more cores, which is one of the reason Intel FINALLY increased their core counts. (the other being the curb stomp that was Ryzen).

I will not deny that Intel is still slightly better at gaming, but I would certainly not count AMD out so quickly. For example, a Ryzen 7 2700x is 300 dollars, vs 360 for an i7. The 2700x is within 10 fps of the i7 at 1440p in the great majority of games.

I'm not trying to say AMD can't be used for gaming at all. I'm just saying it's typical for AMD to dominate in workstations. I edited my last post saying the 2400g is pretty tempting, so I'm not biased, just cautious.

One other thing. Sorry if I come off as rude, but could you be a little more specific when you say i3, i5, i7, etc? Saying i7 or i3 only can be extremely vague. I know plenty of i3s that can outperform i7s, and vice versa. Again, sorry if I seem rude, but it doesn't tell me how good the CPUs you mention really are.

I was comparing I7 8700k with ryzen 2700x, and the benchmarks in the link I posted reflect that.
I stand corrected on one thing though, 8700k apparently does come with a stock cooler but it is the bare minimum to run it, you would still probably get an aftermarket one if I bought one especially if you want to overclock at all with it.

For gt 1030 vs ryzen 2400g IGPU:
https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3261-r3-2200g-r5-2400g-review-gaming-benchmarks-vs-gt-1030
For i3 8100 vs Ryzen 2400g with discrete gpu:
Actually couldnt find good benches for this one, I did find a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkL4JMl50jg

For gt 1030 + i3 8100 vs 2400g IGPU (specifically what you are looking at, the other ones were only looking at the GPU or the cpu)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txZoO0wveic

[Tru]

Could you send the links? Steam doesn't want to play videos for me for some reason.