Urgent Technical Advice

[Almac]

Hi All,

A gaming desktop sale is currently on and I saw a Dell G5 series computer retailing for $1,299 down $700 from $2,000. The computer has these specifications;

10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400F processor

Windows 10 Home English

NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 2060 6GB GDDR6

16GB, 1x16Gb, DDR4, 2666Mhz

256GB M.2 PCIe SSD + 2TB SATA 7200 RPM HDD 3.5"

 

Are these specifications sufficient to play size huge campaigns and battles on balanced settings? My current computer lacks the power to handle these maps and I am unable to play a lot of CM campaigns and battles . I'd appreciate insight from other CM users regarding this computer. 

 

Thank you,

Almac

[z1812]

Save up a bit more money and go for something like this. Buy as expensive as you can. Otherwise you will be looking at a new comp again in a couple of years.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-11700kf-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3080-2tb-hdd-512gb-ssd/6455824.p?skuId=6455824

Remember it is primarily the speed of the CPU that governs CM performance.

 

[PIATpunk]

yeah, definitely go for the most expensive i7 cpu you can afford.  And from what I have read, the next engine upgrade may make use of 'modern hardware' so an up to date graphics card may help too.

Edited April 27, 2021 by PIATpunk

[Almac]

Would this computer not be able to handle stock CM content? Like the battles and campaign missions on balanced settings? I appreciate you guys breaking it down for me. I am just looking to make it work and look half decent. All feedback appreciated. 

I have to track down the recommendation z1812 sent as it went to the home page of Bestbuy. How much should I aim to spend?  

[Redwolf]

It'll work fine.

[z1812]

Hi Almac, 

The link takes you to the home page, and then click on the American Flag which will take you directly to the page. 

The computer I am replacing is an i5 which is becoming a bit slow in running more recent software and games. When I bought it about 6 or 7 years ago it was top of the line. Over the years I upgraded the Video card and Ram which kept it reasonable. 

The wise thing to do is buy the best you can possibly afford.

[z1812]

7 minutes ago, Redwolf said:

It'll work fine.

It will work fine..........for a couple of years. Then an upgrade will be required. The i5 is on the way out.

This article is interesting. https://www.pcmag.com/news/which-cpu-should-you-buy-intel-core-i5-vs-i7

[MikeyD]

A short while ago someone quipped that you can run CM on a potato hooked up to a car battery. The usual complaints people have involve running the game on a laptop that's defaulting to the wrong graphics card.

[Almac]

Thanks for getting back to me everyone. z1812 that does look like an awesome computer and I hear what you are saying about the I5. I think that it makes a lot of sense to get it right from day 1, especially given how quickly tech evolves. 

I understand that CPU governs PC performance as you mentioned and taking into account what MikeyD said, I looked at the performance of a laggy level in CM and found that it utilized 5-8% of my CPU 47% of my ram and 94% of my VRAM. Are any of these metrics representative of the game running on the wrong graphics card? Or of some other type of other error? I want to make sure it is the quality of my laptop that is the problem before I buy another computer. 

 

Thanks, I really appreciate your help everyone. 

[Erwin]

Would also definitely recommend at least a 1TB SSD for all your games, plus a 2TB fast conventional HD as a backup.  I have a 1/2 TB SSD on one of my older machines and only got a bit over 80GB left after all the CM2 games plus a few others installed.  

[Almac]

Ok, thanks Erwin, I will take that into account. Good call out. 

 

This is the computer I have right now: ASUS VIVOBook laptop. AMD Ryzen 5 3500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx 2.10 GHz. When I bought it a year ago, I didn't play games,  I just needed it tp run Excel and other valuation software. I bought it to do work and then I started screwing around with games on it. The opposite of work. 

This is the computer I'd like to buy now as mentioned above. Solely to play games. I just put it below for convenience. I think I can work on getting 1TB SSD and upgrading for $250 to I7. But lets just say as is, is the below a major difference from what I currently have. Like will it be a night and day difference? What is the consensus out there. 

10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400F processor

Windows 10 Home English

NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 2060 6GB GDDR6

16GB, 1x16Gb, DDR4, 2666Mhz

256GB M.2 PCIe SSD + 2TB SATA 7200 RPM HDD 3.5"

[Heirloom_Tomato]

8 minutes ago, Almac said:

Ok, thanks Erwin, I will take that into account. Good call out. 

 

This is the computer I have right now: ASUS VIVOBook laptop. AMD Ryzen 5 3500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx 2.10 GHz. When I bought it a year ago, I didn't play games,  I just needed it tp run Excel and other valuation software. I bought it to do work and then I started screwing around with games on it. The opposite of work. 

This is the computer I'd like to buy now as mentioned above. Solely to play games. I just put it below for convenience. I think I can work on getting 1TB SSD and upgrading for $250 to I7. But lets just say as is, is the below a major difference from what I currently have. Like will it be a night and day difference? What is the consensus out there. 

10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400F processor

Windows 10 Home English

NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 2060 6GB GDDR6

16GB, 1x16Gb, DDR4, 2666Mhz

256GB M.2 PCIe SSD + 2TB SATA 7200 RPM HDD 3.5"

Here is the difference between your current PC and the new one you are looking at.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-i5-10400F-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-3500U/3767vs3421

CM needs good single core performance, check out the difference between what you have now and the new one.

A GTX 2060 will run CM very, very well. I have one and have ZERO complaints. I can play any and all of the largest scenarios just fine. 

[Almac]

Hey, 

Thanks for confirming, I checked out your link. It is like double the performance in most categories. That gives me confidence it is a good buy. Thanks for the personal testament as well. 

One more thing Heirloom, what settings do you play on? 

All you guys are great, I appreciate your help. 

Thank you,

 

 

[Heirloom_Tomato]

@AlmacI have a 55" tv as my monitor, I play in 2k and have all the settings on the game maxed out.

Here is the closest I can come up with for video card comparison.

https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare/GeForce-RTX-2060-SUPER-vs-Radeon-Vega-3-Mobile/4117vs3871

Edited April 28, 2021 by Heirloom_Tomato
video card info

[Almac]

That is so bad ass. 

[Redwolf]

Your prospective new PC will perform just fine.

Just a question since it is a Dell? Is it a small form factor PC?

If yes that is bad news both for upgrading and because those small power supplies can break and are expensive to replace.

[z1812]

Whatever you buy, I wish you success with your new purchase. Most important of all...............have fun.

[BornGinger]

18 hours ago, PIATpunk said:

And from what I have read, the next engine upgrade may make use of 'modern hardware' so an up to date graphics card may help too.

Where exactly did you read this? As far as I know Steven or anyone else from Battlefront hasn't mentioned anything about specifications required for a CM3. And nothing has been mentioned about there going to be a new game engine although many here have hopes of one.

Edited April 28, 2021 by BornGinger

[Sgt Joch]

Hi,

that computer is just fine for CMx2. It is good value for the price.

certainly, if you build your own, like many of us here, you will get more bang for the buck and more upgradeability, but it will be more expensive. A upper tier CPU will cost around $500, MB $400 and better graphic cards than the 2060 are impossible to get  currently at decent prices because of crypto-miners.

I have wanted to buy a RTX 3060/3070 for close to a year, but not a 2 or 3 times MSRP.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Sgt Joch

[Redwolf]

9 minutes ago, BornGinger said:

Where exactly did you read this? As far as I know Steven or anyone else from Battlefront hasn't mentioned anything about specifications required for a CM3. And nothing has been mentioned about there going to be a new game engine although many here have hopes of one.

Steve said that engine 5.x will be about modern hardware. Which you could assume means multithreading.

However, 6 cores (like in the i5 discussed here) will still be fine. Most threaded games use 4 cores or less. An 8-core probably won't run CMx2 5.x any faster than the 6-core.

[Bubba883XL]

23 hours ago, Almac said:

Hi All,

A gaming desktop sale is currently on and I saw a Dell G5 series computer retailing for $1,299 down $700 from $2,000. The computer has these specifications;

10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400F processor

Windows 10 Home English

NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 2060 6GB GDDR6

16GB, 1x16Gb, DDR4, 2666Mhz

256GB M.2 PCIe SSD + 2TB SATA 7200 RPM HDD 3.5"

 

Are these specifications sufficient to play size huge campaigns and battles on balanced settings? My current computer lacks the power to handle these maps and I am unable to play a lot of CM campaigns and battles . I'd appreciate insight from other CM users regarding this computer. 

 

Thank you,

Almac

try and get a RTX3080 GPU if you can, i also hear amd and ryzen are ahead of the game in terms of processor power

[Bubba883XL]

2 hours ago, Sgt Joch said:

Hi,

that computer is just fine for CMx2. It is good value for the price.

certainly, if you build your own, like many of us here, you will get more bang for the buck and more upgradeability, but it will be more expensive. A upper tier CPU will cost around $500, MB $400 and better graphic cards than the 2060 are impossible to get  currently at decent prices because of crypto-miners.

I have wanted to buy a RTX 3060/3070 for close to a year, but not a 2 or 3 times MSRP.

This is not so true in these day and age, at least if you wish to game sometime soon, GPU and the like are in mass shortage. and then IF you find any, even older models. they are usually marked up stupidly due to the shortage. so i think if you A) don't want a delay...B) and want key components of your choice, pre build is awesome for everyone now as they keep the price fair and aren't marking up the cards at all..

[Bubba883XL]

2 hours ago, Redwolf said:

Steve said that engine 5.x will be about modern hardware. Which you could assume means multithreading.

However, 6 cores (like in the i5 discussed here) will still be fine. Most threaded games use 4 cores or less. An 8-core probably won't run CMx2 5.x any faster than the 6-core.

that is true, saw it on this forum somewhere, sounds promising.

[37mm]

21 hours ago, Heirloom_Tomato said:

Here is the difference between your current PC and the new one you are looking at.

Geez... I really need to start thinking about upgrading my i5-2400