Making an EQ2 comeback, but need some PC help

[Laedarr]

<p>Hi folks.  It's been about 2 years since i've last played on a consistent bases, and about 1 year since i've played at all.  The biggest reason I left the game was the performance issue. </p><p>While considering making a comeback, i'd like to purchase a new machine so I guess I kinda need some input from you guru's out there.  I want to get a power house of a pc that will run EQ2 flawlessly at the best settings.  I'm willing to spend the money on a new rig that would do this.</p><p>If you were to build/buy the perfect machine to run this game maxed out (shadows and floral would be nice as well) please list the perfect machine so I can look into it and see what I can come up with. </p><p>I really hope that I can get a few responses on this because I miss this game and I know that if I get the right rig, you would have to peel me away from the game with a crowbar!!!</p>

[TSR-DanielH]

<p>Greetings,</p><p>While there isn't a best computer for EQ2, you will probably want to check the following thread:</p><p><a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=444036" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=444036</a></p><p>That thread will tell you what kind of performance you can expect with a wide range of hardware.  If you have any specific questions comparing certain options then please let us know.  It would be hard to suggest something specific with the information you have provided so far, though.</p>

[Laedarr]

<p>I guess if you need specifics I would ask if the performance difference is worth spending the money for a Core i7 extreme.  Does DDR3 make a significant difference in speed?  Whats a better choice of a graphics card for EQ2, radeon or Nvidia?  Ideally, I was looking at something like this.</p><p>Core i7 extreme 975 (3.33)? Or C2D Wolfdale E8600?</p><p>750 watt power supply or more?</p><p>6 GB DDR3 SDRam @ 1333 mhz?</p><p>Windows 7? Or Windows Vista? Or Windows XP 64 bit?</p>

[Laedarr]

<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-style: none;" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Case</strong>(Nzxt Guardian 921 Gaming Tower Case - Black)</span></td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Processor</strong>(Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8600 (2x 3.33GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB))</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Processor Cooling</strong>(Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Memory</strong>(4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module - Corsair XMS2 Xtreme w/Heat Spreader)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Video Card</strong>(NVIDIA GeForce 9800GTX+ – 1GB - Single Card)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Video Card Brand</strong>(Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Motherboard</strong>(Asus P5KPL-CM -- Intel G31 Chipset w/6-channels, Gb LAN, S-ATA 3Gb/s, USB 2.0, Single PCI-E MB)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Power Supply</strong>(600 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Primary Hard Drive</strong>(500 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive)</span></td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Optical Drive</strong>(22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black)</span></td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Flash Media Reader/Writer</strong>(12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong></strong></span></td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Sound Card</strong>(3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Network Card</strong>(Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100))</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Operating System</strong>(Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 64-Bit)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Keyboard</strong>(iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard - Black)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Mouse</strong>(iBUYPOWER Internet Mouse - Black)</span></td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong></strong></span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Speaker System</strong>(iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System)</span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA]</strong>(None)</span></td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong></strong></span></td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td> </td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong></strong></span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong></strong></span></td></tr><tr><td><span ><strong>Ok, this is what I went with, so hopefully this will run EQ2 very smoothly.  Please add any suggestions.</strong></span></td></tr></tbody></table>

[Psyren]

It should run EQ2 smoothly and capable of raiding in Extreme Quality without turning anything down, though I hate how the mobs just disappears in lights when I'm fighting <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> . I remember on Newegg they had OEM copies of Vista 64 bit that had free coupons for Windows 7, which I insta-purchased.

[TSR-DanielH]

<p>That computer should run the game fairly well.  The graphics card isn't the greatest, though, so you could have some performance issues if you use GPU shadows or have the spell effect levels set high. </p>

[Laedarr]

<p>what video card would you suggest?? I would like to keep it at 1gig.  Should I go with the GTS 250 or the GTX 260, or go with a radeon 4870 or 4890?</p>

[TSR-DanielH]

<p><cite>Laedarr wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>what video card would you suggest?? I would like to keep it at 1gig.  Should I go with the GTS 250 or the GTX 260, or go with a radeon 4870 or 4890?</p></blockquote><p>The 4870 is a great deal right now and that would be my recommendation.  A few months ago I would have suggested the GTX260 but some price shifting has made the 4870 an amazing value.</p>

[Laedarr]

<p>Thanks Daniel, I went ahead and swapped that out and now have the 4870 1GB card. </p>

[TygerMeow]

<p>couple points:</p><p>RAM is so cheap right now and dropping all the time. If you are going 4+ (and therefore 64-bit OS) go up to 8GB. Second to video card, RAM is your most noticeable upgrade. Everything from general lag to zoning is better with more RAM, especially if you take advantage of EQ2's limited multi-core support (I've seen my two instances take well over 2 GB each).</p><p>Second def go Win7. I've been working with it for awhile and run EQ2 on my desktop and laptop both Win7. It just runs faster than Vista.</p><p>Oh yeah and go ATI 4 sure. After all the problems I've had with my GTX 295 I'm never buying anything nVidia again.</p>

[TSR-DanielH]

<p><cite>Laedarr wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Thanks Daniel, I went ahead and swapped that out and now have the 4870 1GB card. </p></blockquote><p>I think you'll be happy with that choice.  Please let us know if you need any further assistance.</p><p>EDIT: Regarding what Tyger says above me.  Please keep in mind that the game was designed for x86 systems and will not utilize anything beyond 4GB of RAM.  Having more RAM can help if you like to run several things in the background while playing, but it wont effect the game directly when running Everquest 2 exclusively.</p>

[Laedarr]

<p>I appreciate all the great advice.  I can't wait for my new system to arrive.  I ordered it today from Ibuypower.com so it should arrive between 5-10 business days.  See everyone then.</p>

[TSR-DanielH]

<p><cite>Laedarr wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I appreciate all the great advice.  I can't wait for my new system to arrive.  I ordered it today from Ibuypower.com so it should arrive between 5-10 business days.  See everyone then.</p></blockquote><p>Make sure to come back and post your performance in the appropriate thread once you get the new PC.  It's always interesting to see how different computers perform with the game.  I linked it earlier, but here it is again for reference:</p><p><a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=444036" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=444036</a></p>

[ElsaRat]

<p>They system you have should run the game just fine. Two things that can improve performance: run the game in full screen mode and under Options<img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />erformance:Complex Shader Distance, turn the slider to -1.</p>