What do I need to upgrade on my PC to play this?Follow

Just a probably easy question but I want to play FFXIV when it comes out. The pc I have I bought at Best Buy maybe a year or two ago. I haven't upgraded the video card in it so it has the crap factory one inside. I want to play FFXIV on better than normal graphics. Not minimum requirement settings but a little better than "in the middle" or if from 1-10 (ten being best) a 6-7 settings.

These are my computer specs(i do not know what kinda power supply this thing has so let me know if I would need to upgrade that as well if it needs to be upgraded):

Processor: AMD Athlon II X4 630::::: 2.80 GHz
RAM: 4GB
Graphics Card(factory): ATI Radeon HD 4200

Any tips or answers would be greatly appreciated.

-padwad

So maybe 2 more gigs of RAM and a $150-$250 graphics card and I'm good?

buy a ps3 when the ps4 comes out december? eh... playing on a consol is cute and i have an xbox360 already but to get the better graphics than ps3 and xbox360(since you cant upgrade them) i want to play on pc. i like mouse and keyboard better than a controller for my mmo's.

I'd say 4 more GB of RAM, bringing your total to 8 (btw I'm also assuming you're running a 64bit OS since you said your computer is a year old). You're probably going to want to spend a minimum of $200 on the graphics card. Depends what's available.

The wild card here is your power supply. A major graphics card upgrade COULD require a new power supply too, depending on how close your computer's manufacturer cut it with the power requirements. What you're running right now doesn't require much, so they might have cheaped out on it, in which case you'll need to upgrade that too (also if you get a graphics card that requires extra power from a PCIe rail, you may not have one of those on your current power supply).

Do you know what the computers model number is?

Let me know so I can look up the Power Supply (PSU) and determine what would be a good Graphics Processor (GPU). Most likely you could even get away with something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202011

This second group has more available memory, are slightly more expensive and might require a PSU upgrade but will perform better:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600007782%204017&IsNodeId=1&name=%24100%20-%20%24200&ShowDeactivatedMark=False

Edited, Jun 28th 2013 3:23pm by burtonsnow

250W PSU, and graphics are integrated. You'll definitely be wanting a graphics card.. for sure.

The power supply will probably need a bump when you do. I'd play it safe and go with a 400-450W, that's probably good enough and has enough extra juice that it can age a few years without you having to care about it.

No no no!

I play on normal settings with a macbook with worse specs than yours!!!

Don't waste your money.

I agree on PSU and GPU, there's absolutely no need to touch the ram. You could always spent a bit more now on a good psu (since it will carry over). Then try to find a used GTX 460 or even a 500 series one (or equivalent AMD card), which will probably be just as a good as a low end newer GPU.

The other thing to factor in, if you start thinking of slight upgrades all over the place, just save a few extra bucks and get a new rig all together.

Edited, Jun 28th 2013 6:01pm by Montsegurnephcreep

Sorry mang, but this simply isn't true.

The first thing to upgrade would be your processor. Any of the newer i5 are plenty of processing to suit your needs for the game. The second priority is the GPU. The nVidia GTX670 mentioned in the other thread is more than enough to handle XIV and most any other game you might play, comfortably. PSU might need to be looked at to see if you have enough power to cover your GPU when you get it, but the newer generation cards aren't consuming nearly as much power as the previous generation Fermi did.

RAM would be the last thing you look at and probably only if you're going to be playing games that are RAM intensive. You won't see a notable difference in most games because they're generally all programmed to run at max(3.1ish GB), but you already have more than that. If you're gonna render images in 3D or use programs that hog memory like photoshop then it might be worth the upgrade. It might not hurt your pockets, but it's not going to help your performance in XIV.

I don't make the rules, I just make suggestions. 90% of the people making threads or posting in the sticky about "What do I need to upgrade" usually end up having to upgrade most everything.

Looking at what the OP says(and based on how the game runs), the first best option is a CPU. Depending on what they get, it may or may not mean a socket change which yes, will require a new mobo. Currently, i5 processors are the best bang for the buck which is why I suggested them. There is no mention of budget and considering that they're willing to upgrade their PSU, we could probably safely assume that they understand the upgrades are going to require some work and cost some money. I don't recommend SSD because they give a minimal performance increase in most cases.

If you were really so concerned with the OP's budget, why would you recommend upgrading RAM? Yes it's cheap, but there is literally no performance upgrade from doing so.

@OP

The best course of upgrades from highest to lowest priority:

PSU == CPU > GPU > > > RAM > Anything else

Understand that if you upgrade to a CPU with a different socket, you will likely need a new mobo to house it. I never recommend using any other type of RAM than what is found in the supported list that can be found at the manufacturer's website, so it's just as likely that you'll also have to upgrade the RAM. As a general rule, your PSU should cover the wattage of your GPU + 200 for a healthy overhead. Keep in mind that if you plan on upgrading later to maybe an SLI system with 2 GPUs running together, you should add the extra wattage to whatever you purchase now. I also recommend getting at least a silver rating on your PSU. It powers everything and as a result, can trash everything if you push it too much.

And now for the single best piece of advice you'll find on these boards about building a PC...

Don't. Spend far less money and get a PS3 that will have nearly identical performance for a much smaller price. Not only that, but you won't have to spend the time and possibly extra money on aspirin for the headaches a first build can bring. I never recommend new builds unless your current PC simply can't handle the more important things you need your PC to do. I don't really consider XIV or gaming in general to be that important, but it's your dough.

*EDIT*

I have it on good authority that ZAM's karma system is inversely proportional to how correct your own suggestions are


Edited, Jun 29th 2013 1:14am by FilthMcNasty

so if i dual gpu and buy a psu that can handle them... im good? then maybe buy some RAM if i have cash left over. the reason why i bought a cheapy is cuz my computer that i built(i've built a couple) died and i needed something fast and cheap to tide me over till my next pc build. I might just build another computer all together. im just looking for a good way to get this computer to play ffxiv in the mid section of normal to high settings.

With the PSU though, spend that extra 20-30$ on it to make it last, that way you can get a beefier cheaper GPU. If you're willing to spend 200-300$ as it is, skip the ram, GPU and PSU all the way.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-3.html

Can go up or down in budget. So for give or take 250$, you can probably boost your gaming by quite a bit. You can always spend less on the PSU, but it won't be as future proof.

Double edit in reply to Catwho, his model has a 250W PSU...
Edited, Jun 29th 2013 12:34pm by Montsegurnephcreep

Edited, Jun 29th 2013 12:37pm by Montsegurnephcreep

I actually have a very similar system
P6719
AMD Phenom II 840T

It came with that graphics card, which I replaced. I then replaced the Power Supply Unit (PSU) and have ran WoW at very high settings as well as running FFXIV at normal/high settings. Also have ran a few other games without issue. However my processor is bit faster than yours, x4 at 3.2ghz. I have yet to upgrade the RAM and like you am at 4GB but it doesn't really seem to be an issue.

In my opinion, if you upgrade the graphics card and the PSU you should be fine. Especially if you turn down the spell detail, shadow detail, and/or water quality. The 4 GB of ram seems fine, although by the time FFXIV goes live, I'll hopefully be upgrading that.

Good luck