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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
To my PC builders;
TheDarkSorcerer
Member, Alpha Two
Happy Monday! I got on Friday to play and played for about 20 minutes because my PC was bought in 2021... And it was a laggy mess, even on the lowest settings.
Specs:
Any suggestions to what I should change out here so I can play A2 without issues but could also last me into launch? And any YT tutorials for how to do so?
I have 0 knowledge on PC building.
Specs:
- CyberPowerPC - Gamer Master Desktop
- MD Ryzen 7 3700X
- 16GB Memory
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super
- 1TB HDD + 500GB SSD
Any suggestions to what I should change out here so I can play A2 without issues but could also last me into launch? And any YT tutorials for how to do so?
I have 0 knowledge on PC building. 
0
Comments
As a PC Person...
CPU: I don't know much about AMD CPUs but that one seems a little on the lower side...
RAM: 16GB is great; however only if it's DDR4 or DDR5 (DDR5 is the best rn, DDR3 is from like 2013 and each number iteration is double the speed of the last)
GPU: That one seems solid on Medium most likely
Storage: I think this one is your problem. Install Ashes of Creation on your SSD, not your HDD. Games these days really need that SSD and the difference is notable.
If you're in need of a guild, feel free to reach out to me! We're going to be playing on Vyra.
Good afternoon, I think the processor is still quite decent, it can be overclocked a little with memory, it is still up to date and should not cause severe lags.
I think 16 GB of memory should also be enough for stable operation, I think there are quite a lot of cases who play with 16 GB without much pain.
It seems to me that the bottleneck of your assembly is the video card. Quite an old card, with a small amount of video memory, the game eats up your 6 gigabytes of video, and begins to eat up the RAM, which is not very much anyway. If you need an increase here and now, then it’s the RTX 4060TI or RX 6700xt (a little cheaper, all other things being equal).
your GPU is your weaker spot it sits between a gtx 1060 6gb and a gtx 1070 and they say gtx 1070 min and thats for 1080p gaming. Your cpu is a tad better than the minimum for 1080p. The good news is I believe your on an AM4 platform with gen4 pcie so if you wanna keep costs down you could buy 5000x3d series cpu they are on their way out so really cheap and I think all but the newest GPus run GEN4 or under so you could get a cheaper but descent video card something with atleast 12 to 16 gig vram.Changing the cpu if your not a pc builder pay for a shop to do it that u buy the cpu from way less headache and if it screws up it is on them.
P.S. also before diving in make sure your board is capable of using the 5000x3d it probably would need a bios update.'
To echo Zehlan, the AM4 platform is still good. Depending on your budget, the GPU is the first you need to upgrade. It is below minimim requirements.
I also very much think you need to look into getting a CPU upgrade. The 5700X3D is a solid choice. In order for it to work, you need that BIOS update before swapping. Check the papers or email you got with the PC for details on the motherboard. Double-check the info with CPU-Z: https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html. Look at the Mainboard tab when you run it. It'll show manufacturer, model and current BIOS version. Then go to the page for the specific motherboard model on the manufacturer's page and check if they have a BIOS update for the X3D processors and get the latest version. It would be very surprising if they didn't. Look at youtube guides if you haven't done a BIOS update before.
Edit: But again, GPU first if you need to stagger the upgrades for budget reasons. It's also the simplest to swap.
Oh and make sure the game is installed on the SSD! It'll run like crap if it runs at all on the spinning HD.
The 4070Super is still terrible value considering its only 12GB at $600.
The AMD RDNA2 6000 series is drying up. RX6600 is still the best low end 8GB1080p GPU. RX6800 might still be kicking the 4060/ti into the gutter but availability is low...RX6800xt are still floating about.
the 7700XT 12Gb is decent at $400 and 7800XT 16GB $530 are capable 1440p and light 4k GPUs respectfully. (currently bundled with 2 games including Space Marine 2)
The 7900GRE is also price/performance reasonable value...after this you hit diminishing returns. With the Rumored RDNA 4 8000 series potentially 4080 performance for under $600 Q1 2025.
The Used market is also great right now with RTX 2000/3000 offerings and RDNA 2 cards a bit cheaper.
AM4 is still solid a 5700x3d is about $150 from aliexpress and performs about the same as a 7600 on AM5, no slouch. Great upgrade over a 3700X
I'd honestly double the RAM kit from 16GB to 32GB if your motherboard still has 2 spare Dimm slots...As 1440p-4k Alpha testing is showing 20GB+ of system RAM use. My RX6800 99%use using 12GB+ and my 7500F cpu at 50% cruising....
https://www.youtube.com/@PCBuilderChannel
What you just wrote is a different language to me. Just tell me what the best is to get at a solid price haha
Check out that youtube channel...
Not sure what your budget is...
upgrade CPU to a 5700x3d from aliexpress $150
if your motherboard has 2 empty RAM slots you can double your RAM from 16GB to 32GB with a matching kit...
budget GPU for 1080p display RX6600
for 1440p RX7700XT-7800XT (4070 super if you prefer Nvidia)
4k or higher refresh wait for RDNA4 8000 series gpu reviews early 2025....
If you're plugged into the area where all your audio/video/USB ports/etc. are that means you are plugged straight into your motherboard which is going to cause you to run onboard graphics. onboard graphics is where your CPU acts as the GPU, you need to make sure you're plugged into your graphics card or your rig won't even use it.
Another issue that people have is CPU drivers, when windows is installed and updates it needs to install certain .net framework. the framework packages need the CPU drivers but will only give you the most bare-bones driver there is to ensure the cleanest install. That being said windows gives you the oldest CPU driver there is on setup and needs to be updated even if everything seems like it's good to go.
So make sure your resolution is good and matches what the desktop is running at, check your plugs to make sure your running off your GPU and not CPU, last make sure your CPU drivers are up to date cause I know from experience the unreal engine does not like out of date CPU drivers.
If you think the 4000series will get cheaper because of the 5000 series you are kidding yourself...if anything expect to pay more.
The OP is using a GTX1660 I doubt his/her budget for a GPU is more than $400 let alone $1400-$2000
Microcenter is a good idea they have a 5700x3d on sale for 179 dollars, Cpu installation 79 bucks all safely done. Graphics card you can do your self just watch some vidcrads installs and becareful. You can always go on market place by a used gpu or buy like @Uncommon Sense said 7700xt ish gpu. Now if you have money to burn with no responsibilities and looking for something for down the road then I would go with a different strategy.
What is the resolution of your monitor? Right-click your desktop, choose Display settings and look for Display resolution.
The second market on GPUs is very good right now if you don't mind used...
Otherwise Use somethine like PCpartpicker to find deals...Those most USA prices come from Amazon/Newegg
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/
Shiny new AMD processor coming out soon...
Bottomline is, it depends on your budget.
If you can throw around $500 at the gpu, the 7800 XT is $490 https://www.microcenter.com/product/684085/xfx-amd-radeon-rx-7800-xt-speedster-swft-210-dual-fan-16gb-gddr6-pcie-40-graphics-card. It's comparable to the slightly more expensive 4070.
But don't throw that kind of money at the GPU without upgrading the CPU too, or your 3700X will just bottleneck the GPU.
With the 5700X3D and the 7800 XT you can easily run the game at high or ultra with good FPS. If you prefer Nvidia, the 4070 will do the same.
I hit best buy and got a i7 14700f / 32 gigs of DDR5 \ 16gb 4060TI / 2TB SSD for a little over a grand brand new.
Huge upgrade from my i5 9600k / 6700XT / 32 Gigs of ram (ddr4 i believe).
There are number of situations where the 6700XT performs better than a 4060ti.
The 4060 and 4060ti are horrifically bad price to performance.
Intel 13/14th gen did have major degradation problems though intel says they have fixed* it with bios updates.
For that budget you could have got a 7600 and 7900GRE and smoked that best buy prebuilt...
or a 5700x3d on AM4 and reused that 32gb of DDR4
Now , i've been playing with the 6700 XT for most of this year.. The 16 GIG 4060TI is a better card. The 8gig 4060ti is what you were comparing too.
I also work in IT - ive been doing this my entire life. On what planet is a 7600 comparable to an i7 14700k? Its not, user benchmark to confirm that if you want to. I did.
And sure I could have a better GPU, but not for the price point i've gotten everything. And I could easily sell the 16 GIG 4060TI and 6700XT and buy a 79xx card. Don't see the point though,
Any comp shooter gets played in 1080p and MMORPGs so long as you're over 100 fps in 2k or whatever youre playing it .. Literally doesnt matter.
To each their own though.
OK so you need a PC for work/IT CUDA/Nvidia I get it... AI needs 16gb. 4060ti 16gb But with a 128bit bus...But you had an 6700xt so your productivity wasn't that important then...
Any Nvidia GPU below a 4070Super is terrible price to performance. If you can find a used 3060ti 12gb is an exception.
No I still stand by my statement that the 6700xt in some instances beats the 4060ti 16gb.
Yes I would sell both GPUs and get something better...
you're not doing much productivity when the Intel Raptor lake cpu cooks itself while baking the room its in...Update your BIOS ASAP.
I am not a 24" 1080p competitive shooter needing 240fps. I have an RX6800 (cheaper than a 4060ti 16gb) doing 42" OLED 4k at 60fps in Ashes of creation. Would I like a GPU that could do 120fps sure, but I don't really see the point though...Waiting for RDNA 4
1440p/2k at 27" is the sweet spot as far as Displays are concerned.
To each their own
@Mork the minimum for 1080p (assume that's what you're playing on) is a 1070 so you're probably going to struggle to play it.
Yeah its 1080p. Guess I'll just support them and wait for my new build.
Thank you brother
I play with that same CPU and I'm doing well. there is lag on some areas though, but that's a serverside issue, not your PC.
if you want to make your PC better buy a better GPU and get 32 GB of ram. confirm that your power supply can handle the upgrade though.
The RX6600 8Gb is $200 and will make the minimum 1080p experience far better than a GTX960 (smokes the more expensive RX3050) . And will be fine for an old 4core CPU like a 6700K/7700K
I cannot recommend any GPU below that. I would try to save up to $400 to get a 7700Xt and skip any GPU in between that price bracket too which will get you into the 1440p comfortably playable.
No I'm not an AMD shill...I had an intel i7 6700k and GTX1080ti a while back.
That 6700k and a new RX6600 went into a PC I built for my niece's kids 1st PC...