Planning new computer for the Aion? Read here!

[Harrison]

Often players ask what new PC is sufficient for the Aion, do we need QuadCore cpu and so on, I hope these questions will be answered for you here.

1. Will Aion use my new QuadCore cpu?
Most likely not, since FarCry engine which is used in Aion doesnt really use more than two cores:

1 vs 2 vs 4 Core is 100% vs 118,9% vs 120,9% at 800x600, and the difference will be lower the higher resolution you will play on.
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 (Quad Core) - BeHardware

2. How much memory will I need?
2GB is sufficient, as FarCry uses about 500MB of memory itself, just add OS and background programs. In Vista total memory used with FarCry is 1,2GB, less in XP.

NEW 3. Whats better - faster or more memory? Like 2x2gb ddr2@800mhz or 2x1gb ddr2@1066mhz.

At lower resolutions (1024x768) faster memory gives about 5% more fps, at higher res difference almost dissapears. For more details: A-data 2GB DDR2-800 Extreme Edition memory

The best bang for the money and more future proof is 4GB of 800MHz, but if you can afford it - 4GB of 1066MHz (or even 2GB of 1066 now and add more later) will be very slightly better Its best just to spend price difference on faster video card/cpu, or even better display than faster memory, IMO.

NEW 4. Will Aion run better on my SLI/CrossFire?
Yes, in most cases it will. Keep in mind its mostly drivers related, and it may take some time for AMD/nVidia to catch up. From price conscious perspective its not worth it getting SLI/CF as any faster single gpu card (like 9600GT, sweet price/performance card) will be more than sufficient for Aion. Unless you play on ultra high resolutions with anti-aliasing, want smooth performance even under heaviest loads, then SLI/CF might be the thing for you - scaling for the FarCry engine is very good.

Perfect parts for various budgets:

~250$
AMD X2 4000+, 2GB DDR2, ATI 3850 256MB (check if in your region 9600GT is similar priced).
Perfectly playable:
1) Up to 1680x1050 with AA 4x/ AF x16, 60+fps
2) Up to 1920x1200 with AA 0x/ AF x16, ~60fps

~300$
AMD X2 4000+, 2GB DDR2, ATI 3870 512MB or 9600GT 512MB
Perfectly playable:
Up to 1920x1200 with AA 4x/ AF x16, 60+fps

NEW ~500$ - sweet high-end performance for affordable price
Intel E8400 3.0GHz, 4GB DDR2, Geforce 8800GTS 512MB
For resolutions 1680x1050 and higher, perfect for 22-24" LCD.
Perfectly playable:
At 1920x1200 with AA 4x/ AF x16, ~100 fps

Anything faster than those parts will help you in massive pvp/pve scenes, otherwise will be overkill. Why I mentioned AMD cpu and video cards? They are cheaper than Intel cpu and nVidia cards, which definately have faster products, just costs more. If you can afford them (like another step up - E8400 3.0GHz, 8800GTS 512) - go for it, just keep in mind the sum of all parts counts, if you buy super fast 9800 GX2 but have an old/small monitor, whats the use? Its better to buy with saved money nice 22-24" LCD

NEW Tip: if you are planning getting computer for Aion and not in the hurry to buy now, wait till Aion is about to be released - you will get higher performance parts for the same price. For example, in 2-3 months next gen ATI cards will be released, which should offer up to 50% more performance for the similar price. nVidia should follow AMD and release next gen (or at least faster G92 refresh) cards too in summer - autumn.

Other:
* Fast hard drive (7200rpm) and some free space (20+GB).
* Large and quality monitor - whats the use of amazing Aion graphics if we cant see them?
* Any quality motherboard (and other parts), nothing worse than crashing PC during the game.
* Good keyboard and mouse, we spend so much time with them that its really makes the difference.
* Comfortable chair (yes! )

Further upgrades, if you can afford it:
1. Faster video card and cpu. The higher quality settings during smooth mass pvp/pve scenes, the better.
2. Aion has an upgraded FarCry engine, and since memory is dirty cheap now, you cant go wrong with 4GB of memory either Just dont forget you'll need 64bit OS to utilize all memory, as 32bit OS will allow you to use about 3GB.

* Disclaimer: Aion has updated FarCry engine, which may slightly increase requirements for the smooth gameplay. With beta testers contributing their results its clear NCsoft will need to polish and tune the game engine, but no doubt they'll try to scale it as much as possible so Aion will be accessible to as many players as possible.

[AznKenshin]

Thanks for the great post, Harrison. I'm sure many will find this useful.

[Otium]

Awesome thread. Thanks a lot!

[Karamazi]

You've killed plenty of hardware forum topics with this one .And it kinda hit me, you can run Aion smoothly on pretty cheap PC. Never realized it before :P
Oh, and thanks of course ;]

[lerick]

Thanks for the system specs info and recommendations.

[Kalean]

I don't mean to rain on your parade, I dislike doing so, but I disagree with some of the info, sorry to say. =(.

a 256mb 3850 will not be extremely gorgeous for 1650x1050 or 1920x1200 resolutions. It does not have enough VRAM considering the amount of different textures for terrain, mobs, characters, and npc's around the realm...You'll end up choking pretty hard.

I'll probably make a thread later with some prebuilt lists based on budgets for everyone...That way it'd be better to get an idea, as well as offer purchasable components that can handle aion with ease for multiple budgets.

[Anuxinamoon]

Good post for nubs <3

Oh and by fast HDD dont you mean 10,000 rpm or higher? 7,200 rpm is pretty standard nowerdays ^^

Hey Kalean Maybe we should get that new nvidia card by msi that has 2gb mem on it xD

4096x4096 textures plox!

[Harrison]

Originally Posted by Kalean

a 256mb 3850 will not be extremely gorgeous for 1650x1050 or 1920x1200 resolutions. It does not have enough VRAM considering the amount of different textures for terrain, mobs, characters, and npc's around the realm...You'll end up choking pretty hard.

3850 is listed as THE cheapest from the best cards, and while I totaly agree memory size is important, lets not forget gpu speed is way more important than memory size. For example, 3850 256MB will be much faster than 2600XT 512MB or even 8600GTS 512MB.

3850 256MB tests in FarCry:
1680x1050 with 4x AA and 8x AF - 77fps, nothing to sneeze about:
Sapphire HD 3850 Review » Page 5 - Testing ( Setup,Benchmark FarCry) - Overclockers Club

To sum it up, if 3850 256MB price range is all you can get, there is no better card. If you can afford better - 3870 512 and 9600GT 512MB are just 50-100$ away. It all depends how much one can spend and there is no need to look down to those who cant afford faster products, even 3850 256MB is offering amazing price /performance ratio, especially in older engines like FarCry.

[Shade]

AMD X2 4000+, 2GB DDR2, ATI 3870 512MB or 9600GT 512MB
Perfectly playable:
Up to 1920x1200 with AA 4x/ AF x16, 60+fps

Yeah, umm, no.

[Harrison]

Originally Posted by Anuxinamoon

Oh and by fast HDD dont you mean 10,000 rpm or higher? 7,200 rpm is pretty standard nowerdays ^^

I use Raptor with 10k for games, but its noisy and too expensive to advise for anyone with price conscious mind 7200rpm is perfectly enough, just slightly longer load times.

[Kalean]

The cheapest 3850 is 130 dollars for a 256mb model. With the 512 coming in at 150, the 9600 GT can ALSO be had for 150.

You have one major flaw in your calculations, if you are comparing GPU clock speeds of a 3850 and 2600 series...that proves my point. Clock speed for gpu's are only compared in apples to apples comparisons...You can't compare two gpu's of different architectures in terms of performance via clock speed. PLUS...GPU speed means NOTHING if their isn't enough video memory for it to calculate all those textures...It will bottle neck and be held back by the lack of memory..Which is what happens when you take 256 mb cards into a 1650x1050 or 1920x1200 resolution...The ABSOLUTE maximum res I recommend for 256 mb cards is 1280x1024...no higher, at that point, the performance loss becomes huge...

Also keep in mind, this is going to be a UPDATED Farcry engine, you can't just run farcry and take off 15 frames and get an average...Farcry will not have NEARLY as much textures in terms of terrain/characters/mobs/npc's. You need to understand that MMO's have a VAST amount of textures unlike farcry, which used the same tree textures repeatedly..We are talking about TONS of armor textures, each with different colors on dyes, weapon textures, character textures for each character customization (which is MUCH more intricated now). I could go on and on...The fact is, Aion is NOT Farcry with repetitive textures...This is an MMO...Which are far more graphically demanding.

It's not for no reason that MMO's always tend to use older graphical engines compared to going a Crysis like approach going over the edge....MMO's are VERY demanding on resources when they are released, they take textures to a whole new level..and in order to compensate...They must use older engines in order to make sure the game play is smooth. Even those who spent a lot of money on a rig for Lineage 2 know what I'm talking about...it would come to a crawl during castle sieges and in town loading....256mb at those resolutions you stated is NOT enough....Now don't take what I'm saying as a insult or anything. I'm just trying to point this out for you.

In terms of your raptor comment, 10,000 rpm raptors are ideal for full world rendered MMO's. We've all probably run into scenarios where you're running down a path, then the system hiccups and freezes for 1-3 seconds, with a sudden explosion of textures popping up in the distance with a mass load of terrain, characters, and mobs. This lies in the fact that 7,200 rpm hard drive access times can't access the data quickly enough considering we are on magnetic storage technology. A 10,000 rpm raptor drive will increase the access time due to its faster rotations per minute, this will allow the hard drive to locate and pull up the files quickly, which will there by eliminate the load times in towns and scenarios as I explained above...SSD drives would be the holy grail, considering their access times, digitally stored information = no seek times =P...So the access tiles are literally nil. But for those who are on a budget and building a rig for a full world rendered MMO...A raptor drive is a tasty treat, although 7200 rpm drives are still more then capable, they just will fall into the same line of issues as I stated.

I'm actually on a 150 gb raptor right now =P...I'll never go back....But I will go to a SSD once prices come down ^_^.

[Fishy McFish]

The smarter choice in video cards would be the 9600GT. It performs better than the 3850, and is slightly below the 3870(until AA is enabled). Same price and better performance makes it a no brainer decision.

[Momo]

As someone who plans to get an upgrade to play Aion (and knows next to nothing about stuff like this) this thread is a really useful starting point - thanks a lot Harrison.

Kalean, I am looking forward to that thread with the prebuilt lists ... *wink wink* 8D

[amica]

Originally Posted by Kalean

I'm actually on a 150 gb raptor right now =P...I'll never go back....But I will go to a SSD once prices come down ^_^.

Forgive my ignorance, but what does SSD mean? Is it solid state drive (don't kill me)? If it is, my brother kept telling me to make me make him buy one for me with at least the 64GB one, but when I looked at the price, I almost died -.-. Will it really help on better gaming though?