PC Upgrade Comments

L

larrydoyle

Senior Member
Interested in opinions about my expectations in upgrading my PCs. Both are about 4 years old now.

I currently run 2 PCs to box (3 sessions per PC). Both PCs are about the same config. They have quad processor 2.66 GHz Intel CPU, duel GeForce 9800 cards, and 4 GB memory.

I've never really been able to run effectively more than 3 sessions on each PC. The constraint is usually memory -- after I have the operating system and other stuff loaded, I have about 2.1GB left for EQ2 sessions. Even running minimal graphics mode, each session eats up about 500-600MB of memory. So, if I go beyond 3 sessions, performance starts to really degrade with the 4th session, and it is not worth it.

I'm thinking of getting a serious gaming PC. Specs of i7 990x 6 core processor with 12MB cache, 12GB of system memory, and duo Radeon 6990 cards with a total of 8GB memory. My hope would be that I could run 6 sessions of EQ2 on one PC effectively without lag and high performance. Does anyone have experience with a similar high-end configuration and have good success?

Thanks for any feedback and comments.
 
Kevinshp

Kevinshp

Well-Known Member
I have a similar comp but running 16 gigs of ram and run 6 np. I set 5 on lowest and one on balanced. Even during a raid.
 
wolfppo

wolfppo

Active Member
I'm running the 2600k processor as Max PC says it is more bang for the buck than the 990 x 6 core, 12 gigs of ram and a single GTX 590I can run 9 instances on one comp max res and never lag.

Make sure your modem and router are newer also as you will notice a difference I use a Belkin 750 N router and new Motorola modem 3.0 using cable dsl.
 
Kannkor

Kannkor

Ogre
Just keep your CPU clock speed as high as possible. Above 3.0ghz, 3.2 or higher if possible. I also would probably do 16gb instead of 12gb if possible.
 
L

larrydoyle

Senior Member
Thanks for comments. I can get to 24GB memory on the config I'm considering. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether one Radeon 6990 card with 4GB would be plenty for what I need (i.e., is having 2 of those cards and up to 8GB of video RAM going to make a difference)? Those cards are supposed to be screaming fast, but I don't want to end up with a video memory constraint.
 
R

Raster

Well-Known Member
I have a i7 920 quad overclocked to 3.7 and 12 gigs of ram. I have SLI 470 GTX's with a 1.28 gigs ram each. I run at 1920x1200 res with 6 clients on this box with little issue. I do need to limit FPS and turn my settings down on my background sessions.

I have considered both the 6core and moving to 24 gigs of ram. My processors are commonly maxed at %85-100 the whole time. I find that when I am zoning a lot or have played a long time I end up at %85 ram usage as well. I use Cleanmem which runs in the systray and cleans up unused memory every 30 mins or so (configurable) and that tends to keep it as low as possible. Theoretically the max ram that a single 32bit EQ2 session can use is 2 gig. I commonly see each eq2 process up to 1.4-1.6 or so. Multiply that by 6 and you are pushing 8.5 gigs of ram for EQ2 sessions alone. I think moving up on the ram would be helpful for sure.

For the processors I have looked at moving to the 2600k but honestly it is not the speed of each processors that is as limiting, I feel, as the number of cores. I have even considering the much cheaper option of the AMD 6cores just to have more cores to spread around. I know others that run with the AMD 6core with a lot of success. Since the AMD Black processors are unlocked you can get a really nice overclock on them and have 6 true speedy cores to split run a session on each.

Video ram is a bit more difficult for me to determine. I run the two cards in SLI with one monitor. I know that EQ2 does not take advantage of that but from the GPUZ it seems that both cards are being utilized for the memory and GPU in this configuration. I have been planning to un-SLI them to force the 6 sessions on the same card to see how it runs but have always rather just play then mess with the configuration. If I upgraded I would go with the 3gig 580's (or 590's I forget) and that would give me some more video memory to play with.

My true hope was to come up with a configuration that I thought could play 12 sessions on one box. Of course since I can currently run 6 with no real problem it would be a lot of money just to say I could.

Whatever you decide I would love to hear how it turns out!

-Raster
 
Kannkor

Kannkor

Ogre
larrydoyle said:
Thanks for comments. I can get to 24GB memory on the config I'm considering. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether one Radeon 6990 card with 4GB would be plenty for what I need (i.e., is having 2 of those cards and up to 8GB of video RAM going to make a difference)? Those cards are supposed to be screaming fast, but I don't want to end up with a video memory constraint.
Click to expand...
My personal general rule of thumb, is try to keep the computer as "equal" as possible. Don't go cheap on any one area, or it'll end up hurting you in the end.

Having said that, I don't do SLI, just haven't seen anything that validates the use of it. However, I run on absolutely bare minimum graphics, including my main screen. If you wish to run it in "pretty" mode.

I haven't priced things out in a while, but adding a second video card to the total package is what, 15-20% increase in price to do it right the first time? You're building a high end machine :)
 
macker0407

macker0407

Active Member
The 6990 is a dual GPU card, so while there might be 4GBof RAM on it, effectively each GPU gets only 2GB. And I've not seen any evidence to suggest that EQ2 will benefit from a dual GPU setup when using an ISBoxer style setup. Certainly the dual GPU gains while running a single session in fullscreen mode are minimal to non-existent.

GPU memory needs are very dependant on how you plan to run the sessions. If they're all at minimum detail, ~1.5GB will be enough for 6 sessions. A single max texture resolution session will chew up ~700MB of VRAM on it's own, which will push you over the 2GB mark with 6 sessions even if the rest are minimum detail.

The highest memory single GPU card you can currently get, without getting a workstation graphics card, is a 3GB GTX580.

If this is purely for EQ2, then there really isn't much reason to spend an enormous amount of money on the system. While some here like to shit on AMD, a Phenom X6, 16GB of RAM and an appropriate graphics card depending on your session config(1.5-3GB of VRAM) will be fine for your needs.
 
Kannkor

Kannkor

Ogre
Raster said:
For the processors I have looked at moving to the 2600k but honestly it is not the speed of each processors that is as limiting, I feel, as the number of cores. I have even considering the much cheaper option of the AMD 6cores just to have more cores to spread around. I know others that run with the AMD 6core with a lot of success. Since the AMD Black processors are unlocked you can get a really nice overclock on them and have 6 true speedy cores to split run a session on each.
Click to expand...
CPU core speed is VERY important for EQ2.

Here's the issue, EQ2 doesn't do multicores, so anything running on the EQ2 process is forced to 1 core. ISXEQ2, and any scripts running, are all piled onto that same core, since it's part of the same process.

I ran some tests on a 2.6, 2.8, 3.0, and 3.2 ghz processor all running a single session of EQ2. While they weren't "benchmark" tests, they did show very clearly how important core speed is. Good example is: I had an AMD quad core @ 2.2ghz. Running ONE session, as soon as I got into a raid with the bot running, it basically took and shit and FPS took an incredible hit. I loaded 1 toon on each of my computers, in the same raid, etc, and compared the FPS. At 3.0ghz my FPS took a pretty large jump, and then at 3.2, it just maintained it's FPS better.

Ideally, you want 3.0 or higher, and you want your cores to be > or equal to how many EQ2 sessions.
 
L

larrydoyle

Senior Member
Thanks for all the feedback. Below is what I ended up with. I did not have a factory option for the GTX580, so we'll see how the 6990 does and adjust from there.

Overclocked Intel Core i7 990x Extreme Six Core Processor (3.73 GHz, 12MB Cache)
24GB Triple Channel 1333MHz DDR3
4GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6990
1TB RAID 0 (2x500GB) SATA II (3Gb/s) Solid State Hybrid, 7200RPM

This is an Alienware Aurora ALX model. I know ... people are gonna shit on Alienware and tell me I could have constructed a custom machine easier. But I have a gaming laptop from them that has done fine, and I just wanted to get something fast and easy.

Anyway, after I get it and work with it, I'll update this post with how it is going and/or get more advice :)
 
B

blackee

Senior Member
I have an aurora alienware (about a year old). I was very frustrated that it took 6 weeks to be delivered. Dell kept changing the expected ship date on the day it was supposed to ship. So, be patient and expect the worst!
 
R

Raster

Well-Known Member
A little confusion I think Kannkor..

CPU core speed is VERY important for EQ2.
Click to expand...
That is a very true statement.

Here's the issue, EQ2 doesn't do multicores, so anything running on the EQ2 process is forced to 1 core. ISXEQ2, and any scripts running, are all piled onto that same core, since it's part of the same process.
Click to expand...
Also a true statement if looking at 1 instance of EQ2. The thing is with ISBOXER (and also with some other tools) you can assign your EQ2 instances to run on different cores. I have mine setup so:

Core 1+2 (with hyper threading core 2 is really core 1's logical hyper threaded core) for EQ1 session 1, which is usually the one I drive the others from.

Core 3+4 EQ2 Session 2

Core 5+6 EQ2 Session 3 and Session 5

Core 7+8 EQ2 Session 4 and Session 6

So I am spreading the EQ2 sessions around the cores and allows my first controlling session to be given its own core so it runs smoother.

If you do not use something to assign the cores then Windows will assign to different cores all on it's own and it does a good job of it. The only drawback to letting them auto assign is that your first core will be double loaded rather then the last core. Windows just runs down the list of cores then starts back at the top. So you would have Core 1 + 2 for sessions 1+5 of EQ2. That will make your first session more laggy since it is running two sessions on the first core.

So for one session Multiple cores do not help much.. but for multiple EQ2 sessions it helps a lot. That is why, I believe the 6 core chips are the way to go for running 6 (or more) sessions.

-Raster
 
Kannkor

Kannkor

Ogre
I think we agree on everything Raster.. :)

I was merely stating that once you pick the number of cores you want, don't go cheap and get something with a low clock speed or you will just harm yourself.
 
M

Multicharacter

Senior Member
If any of you have a job that involves selling electronics be sure to check and see if the company you work for is eligible for Intel's Retailedge. They have a summer and winter deal each year, and you can get things like a i7-2600K for $99. AMD has a similar program over on Retailaccess and they like to bundle videocards with processors there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom