Need a Great EQ2 Raiding Video Card

[Zelek]

<p></p><p >Building a box just for EQ2 raiding and I want to start with the video card.<span>  </span>What video card is "built" just for EQ2 to get great performance?<span>  </span>I don't care about any other purpose except for EQ2.</p> <p >Should I just pick the best one off the "EQ2 Supported Video Card" list?</p> <p ><a href="http://help.station.sony.com/cgi-bin/soe.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=12205&p_created=1099868067&p_sid=yLikkyqk&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=1&p_srch=1&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX 3Jvd19jbnQ9MjE0MSwyMTQxJnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz0mcF9 wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1zZWFyY2hfbmwmcF9wY WdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1kZXYgdmlkZW8gY2FyZA!!&p_li=&p_topview=1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://help.station.sony.com/cgi-bi...amp;p_topview=1</a></p> <p >I know this question has been asked a million times in a million different ways.<span>  </span>Searched through the forums without specifics. <span>  </span>I wish the devs would post what cards they use.<span>  </span>Even better if they would say "go buy this card".</p> <p >Thank you in advance - Zelek</p>

[Peogia]

<p><cite>Zelek wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Building a box just for EQ2 raiding and I want to start with the video card.<span>  </span>What video card is "built" just for EQ2 to get great performance?<span>  </span>I don't care about any other purpose except for EQ2.</p> <p>Should I just pick the best one off the "EQ2 Supported Video Card" list?</p> <p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://help.station.sony.com/cgi-bin/soe.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=12205&p_created=1099868067&p_sid=yLikkyqk&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=1&p_srch=1&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX 3Jvd19jbnQ9MjE0MSwyMTQxJnBfcHJvZHM9JnBfY2F0cz0mcF9 wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1zZWFyY2hfbmwmcF9wY WdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1kZXYgdmlkZW8gY2FyZA!!&p_li=&p_topview=1" target="_blank">http://help.station.sony.com/cgi-bi...amp;p_topview=1</a></p> <p>I know this question has been asked a million times in a million different ways.<span>  </span>Searched through the forums without specifics. <span>  </span>I wish the devs would post what cards they use.<span>  </span>Even better if they would say "go buy this card".</p> <p>Thank you in advance - Zelek</p></blockquote><p>That list is mega out dated and obsolete it only lists dx10 and lower cards so they wont run newer and recent games ect</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nvidia.com/object/graphics_cards_buy_now.html" target="_blank">http://www.nvidia.com/object/graphi...ds_buy_now.html</a></p><p>but keep in mind eq2 is cpu dependent and not gpu so no video card on this planet will provide decent frames in eq2 unless you turn the in game settings all the way down or don't pq / raid I have to set extreme performance to do a pq on a 460 or risk the cheap eq2 client will start crashing on me none stop and make me miss out on pq because of faulty programing</p><p>also here is an example of why not to spend $1000's on new hardware</p><p><a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?start=150&topic_id=444036" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=444036</a></p>

[Zelek]

<p>So if I get one of the cards off the top of that list it would be a great video card for raiding in EQ2 right?  Just looking for confirmation from someone what card works good on EQ2 for raiding.  Thanks much <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[TSR-JoshuaM]

<p>Most Nvidia or ATI video cards available at retail today would be more than sufficient and they come in a variety of price points to fit your budget.  As stated above, EQ2 is far more CPU intensive than GPU so I'd even go as far as suggesting a more value friendly video card to spend a bit more on a CPU <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Smirk]

<p>gtx 460 or a 560ti maybe? and get a sandybridge cpu at least, nothing else is worth it at this point</p>

[Peogia]

<p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>gtx 460 or a 560ti maybe? and get a sandybridge cpu at least, nothing else is worth it at this point</p></blockquote><p>Intel's a lil risky right now extreme high prices and there on recall</p><p><a href="http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Identify_B3_Motherboards/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Ident...3_Motherboards/</a></p>

[Smirk]

<p><cite>Peogia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>gtx 460 or a 560ti maybe? and get a sandybridge cpu at least, nothing else is worth it at this point</p></blockquote><p>Intel's a lil risky right now extreme high prices and there on recall</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Identify_B3_Motherboards/" target="_blank">http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Ident...3_Motherboards/</a></p></blockquote><p>the new B3 rev motherboards are being shipped out to stores so no more risk than buying amd, and you get what you pay for performance wise.</p><p>and last time i checked a i5 2500k system was about the same as a amd x6 system and the i5 is quite a lot faster in games</p>

[Peogia]

<p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Peogia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>gtx 460 or a 560ti maybe? and get a sandybridge cpu at least, nothing else is worth it at this point</p></blockquote><p>Intel's a lil risky right now extreme high prices and there on recall</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Identify_B3_Motherboards/" target="_blank">http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Ident...3_Motherboards/</a></p></blockquote><p>the new B3 rev motherboards are being shipped out to stores so no more risk than buying amd, and you get what you pay for performance wise.</p><p>and last time i checked a i5 2500k system was about the same as a amd x6 system and the i5 is quite a lot faster in games</p></blockquote><p>A quad cant keep up with a 6 core only reason performance is similar/same bouncing around numbers and %'s is because most applications/games ect for the moment wont fully utilize all cores (yet) and quads are massively out dated anyways 6's are out now and 8's are coming out very soon in-fact its a wast of $$$ for anything right now if your building a hole new system because the new chips are suppose to be out very soon</p><p>and about your comment when has amd ever been a risk<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/0a4d7238daa496a758252d0a2b1a1384.gif" border="0" /> kinda curious<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/97ada74b88049a6d50a6ed40898a03d7.gif" border="0" /></p>

[Smirk]

<p><cite>Peogia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Peogia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>gtx 460 or a 560ti maybe? and get a sandybridge cpu at least, nothing else is worth it at this point</p></blockquote><p>Intel's a lil risky right now extreme high prices and there on recall</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Identify_B3_Motherboards/" target="_blank">http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Ident...3_Motherboards/</a></p></blockquote><p>the new B3 rev motherboards are being shipped out to stores so no more risk than buying amd, and you get what you pay for performance wise.</p><p>and last time i checked a i5 2500k system was about the same as a amd x6 system and the i5 is quite a lot faster in games</p></blockquote><p>A quad cant keep up with a 6 core only reason performance is similar/same bouncing around numbers and %'s is because most applications/games ect for the moment wont fully utilize all cores (yet) and quads are massively out dated anyways 6's are out now and 8's are coming out very soon in-fact its a wast of $$$ for anything right now if your building a hole new system because the new chips are suppose to be out very soon</p><p>and about your comment when has amd ever been a risk<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/0a4d7238daa496a758252d0a2b1a1384.gif" border="0" /> kinda curious<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/97ada74b88049a6d50a6ed40898a03d7.gif" border="0" /></p></blockquote><p>thinking like that won't work on the pc hardware market imo, they release upgraded hardware lines what, every 6 months? with smaller upgrades inbetween. though i agree waiting another month or to whenever amd is releasing the bulldozer platform might be a good idea!</p><p>also if you're working a lot with multi threaded apps etc you're better off buying a i7 2600 with HT as it outperforms the phenom x6 anyway. just google some cpu review if you're curious!</p><p>and you were obviously not in the pc hardware scene back in the days when people crushed the cores on amd cpu's left and right <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> (yes i know, but you asked for it <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ). i was mostly talking about the general risk with faulty hardware from both sides though <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Peogia]

<p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Peogia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Peogia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>gtx 460 or a 560ti maybe? and get a sandybridge cpu at least, nothing else is worth it at this point</p></blockquote><p>Intel's a lil risky right now extreme high prices and there on recall</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Identify_B3_Motherboards/" target="_blank">http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Ident...3_Motherboards/</a></p></blockquote><p>the new B3 rev motherboards are being shipped out to stores so no more risk than buying amd, and you get what you pay for performance wise.</p><p>and last time i checked a i5 2500k system was about the same as a amd x6 system and the i5 is quite a lot faster in games</p></blockquote><p>A quad cant keep up with a 6 core only reason performance is similar/same bouncing around numbers and %'s is because most applications/games ect for the moment wont fully utilize all cores (yet) and quads are massively out dated anyways 6's are out now and 8's are coming out very soon in-fact its a wast of $$$ for anything right now if your building a hole new system because the new chips are suppose to be out very soon</p><p>and about your comment when has amd ever been a risk<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/0a4d7238daa496a758252d0a2b1a1384.gif" border="0" /> kinda curious<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/97ada74b88049a6d50a6ed40898a03d7.gif" border="0" /></p></blockquote><p>thinking like that won't work on the pc hardware market imo, they release upgraded hardware lines what, every 6 months? with smaller upgrades inbetween. though i agree waiting another month or to whenever amd is releasing the bulldozer platform might be a good idea!</p><p>also if you're working a lot with multi threaded apps etc you're better off buying a i7 2600 with HT as it outperforms the phenom x6 anyway. just google some cpu review if you're curious!</p><p>and you were obviously not in the pc hardware scene back in the days when people crushed the cores on amd cpu's left and right <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /> (yes i know, but you asked for it <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" /> ). i was mostly talking about the general risk with faulty hardware from both sides though <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /></p></blockquote><p>Thats really pricey for a slower cpu</p><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffffff;">Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz</span></span></h1><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071&cm_re=i7_2600-_-19-115-071-_-Product" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...5-071-_-Product</a></p><p>vs</p><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffffff;">AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition Deneb 3.6GHz</span></span></h1><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103923&cm_re=975-_-19-103-923-_-Product" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...3-923-_-Product</a></p>

[Smirk]

<p><cite>Peogia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Peogia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Peogia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Smirkna@Runnyeye wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>gtx 460 or a 560ti maybe? and get a sandybridge cpu at least, nothing else is worth it at this point</p></blockquote><p>Intel's a lil risky right now extreme high prices and there on recall</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Identify_B3_Motherboards/" target="_blank">http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/Ident...3_Motherboards/</a></p></blockquote><p>the new B3 rev motherboards are being shipped out to stores so no more risk than buying amd, and you get what you pay for performance wise.</p><p>and last time i checked a i5 2500k system was about the same as a amd x6 system and the i5 is quite a lot faster in games</p></blockquote><p>A quad cant keep up with a 6 core only reason performance is similar/same bouncing around numbers and %'s is because most applications/games ect for the moment wont fully utilize all cores (yet) and quads are massively out dated anyways 6's are out now and 8's are coming out very soon in-fact its a wast of $$$ for anything right now if your building a hole new system because the new chips are suppose to be out very soon</p><p>and about your comment when has amd ever been a risk<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/0a4d7238daa496a758252d0a2b1a1384.gif" border="0" /> kinda curious<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/97ada74b88049a6d50a6ed40898a03d7.gif" border="0" /></p></blockquote><p>thinking like that won't work on the pc hardware market imo, they release upgraded hardware lines what, every 6 months? with smaller upgrades inbetween. though i agree waiting another month or to whenever amd is releasing the bulldozer platform might be a good idea!</p><p>also if you're working a lot with multi threaded apps etc you're better off buying a i7 2600 with HT as it outperforms the phenom x6 anyway. just google some cpu review if you're curious!</p><p>and you were obviously not in the pc hardware scene back in the days when people crushed the cores on amd cpu's left and right <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" /> (yes i know, but you asked for it <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" /> ). i was mostly talking about the general risk with faulty hardware from both sides though <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /></p></blockquote><p>Thats really pricey for a slower cpu</p><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffffff;">Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz</span></span></h1><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071&cm_re=i7_2600-_-19-115-071-_-Product" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...5-071-_-Product</a></p><p>vs</p><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #ffffff;">AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition Deneb 3.6GHz</span></span></h1><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103923&cm_re=975-_-19-103-923-_-Product" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...3-923-_-Product</a></p></blockquote><p>did you just say the 2600k is slower than a phenom 2 x4 or is it too early in the morning for me? <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/...-2100-tested/20</a></p><p>just becase the amd cpu has a higher mhz value doesn't mean it's actually faster, you'll have to look at how much work per clock cycle the cpu does etc. the i5 2500k and the i7 2600k are both way better choices for eq2 if you want pure performance and don't mind the price, which isn't that high compared to how fast they actually are, imo!</p><p>it all comes down to how much he want to spend on the pc though but i'd deffo wait and save up and get a decent setup once and for all</p>