A better PC for Minecraft, what to get?

[Brian Cherrick]

So taxes will be coming in soon, and I am debating upgrading my computer for MC, and gaming in general. I've heard that Intel i5's, and i7's work well, but overall I am unsure of what to go with. I am looking for a mobo, processor, and video card combo ... for the most part cost is not an option, but I don't want to spend $1000 on a processor either.

Bedazzle me ladies and gents.

 

[Nerd_mining]

I heard that the new "block of wood" is a great piece of tech.

 

[Nerd_mining]

But no it really depends on what you class as a decent computer

 

[Brian Cherrick]

But no it really depends on what you class as a decent computer

I last upgraded my computer about 3 years ago, and while it's decent for MC, and Everquest, I struggle on other games at times.

I want something that can play today's games at 50-60+ fps, on high to ultra settings. Intel is preferred, and I don't wanna totally break the bank doing it.

 

[ChemE]

EDIT: Might as well just post the whole system that I built: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BYnmBm

I love it, silent, uses 40ish watts to run MC at 100 fps, cold boots in 10 seconds (OS = Lubuntu 14.04 LTS), and only cost me $440 shipped. Part Picker throws a warning about the video card being too long and it is very very tight and I had to build things in an odd order, but it did fit without any grinding or cutting.

This is what I went with for a few reasons: Intel Pentium G3220 Haswell Dual Core @ 3.0GHz LGA 1150

1) This computer is really only for playing modded Minecraft
2) Minecraft is not multithreaded so no point paying for extra cores which will sit idle
3) I didn't want to spend more than $500 on the whole computer
4) LGA 1150 is new enough that I can pair it with good but still cheap mobos
5) Uses very little power - it is hot here and I don't like paying for heat only to pay again to move it outside

I'm able to play DW20 1.7.10 v1.0.3 and I never encounter lag spikes of death which is basically all you can ask out of a proc. The video card is a 750Ti which does 200 fps no problem.

 

[Nerd_mining]

That shan't be to hard to find at all, i would suggest going to this website "pcpartpicker.com" found a lot of great parts on there myself and a lot of people there know there stuff

 

[zemerick]

When you say modern games, can you be more specific?

I ask because the 2 games you mention are MC, and Everquest ( which recently had its 25th anniversary, and is from 1999 ). Also, what about upcoming games?

If you just want to play less graphically intense games up to fairly recently, quad core would be good. ( Many games up to now have been dual core, and it's a good idea to leave overhead for OS and other such things when you want good performance. ) Current games are requiring quad core, so 6-core would be a good idea. However, on the Intel side, there is very little choice above quad core, and you would pay for it.

RAM: Nothing less than 16GB for modern gaming. ( Even with MC. My 8GB prevents me from running larger MC packs and Chrome HD youtube videos at the same time. )

SSD is glorious, and the reliability problems are well into the past. Many people install the OS onto one, then their games onto a standard HDD. I recommend the opposite ( obviously if you can, put it ALL on the ssd(s)! ) I boot games/load levels in games/load new areas or textures in games, many orders of magnitude more often than I boot the PC. NTM, when I start the computer up, I usually take that time to do something else like grab a drink. If you want more storage, you can get a 10,000 RPM hard drive for a medium price, medium performance, medium storage.

 

[Brian Cherrick]

When you say modern games, can you be more specific?

I ask because the 2 games you mention are MC, and Everquest ( which recently had its 25th anniversary, and is from 1999 ). Also, what about upcoming games?

If you just want to play less graphically intense games up to fairly recently, quad core would be good. ( Many games up to now have been dual core, and it's a good idea to leave overhead for OS and other such things when you want good performance. ) Current games are requiring quad core, so 6-core would be a good idea. However, on the Intel side, there is very little choice above quad core, and you would pay for it.

RAM: Nothing less than 16GB for modern gaming. ( Even with MC. My 8GB prevents me from running larger MC packs and Chrome HD youtube videos at the same time. )

SSD is glorious, and the reliability problems are well into the past. Many people install the OS onto one, then their games onto a standard HDD. I recommend the opposite ( obviously if you can, put it ALL on the ssd(s)! ) I boot games/load levels in games/load new areas or textures in games, many orders of magnitude more often than I boot the PC. NTM, when I start the computer up, I usually take that time to do something else like grab a drink. If you want more storage, you can get a 10,000 RPM hard drive for a medium price, medium performance, medium storage.

When I say modern, I'm talking Farcry, CoD, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and WoW.

My current PC has 8, and I was honestly thinking of going up to to 16, possibly even 32. Sidenote, it was EQ's 15th .

I was looking at the i5-4690k, has gotten some good reviews. But not sure how it is in regards to longevity. Your thoughts?

 

[zemerick]

When I say modern, I'm talking Farcry, CoD, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and WoW.

My current PC has 8, and I was honestly thinking of going up to to 16, possibly even 32. Sidenote, it was EQ's 15th .

I was looking at the i5-4690k, has gotten some good reviews. But not sure how it is in regards to longevity. Your thoughts?

D'oh. Early morning math error. Yea, 15 years old.

I also find it funny that you list WoW as modern, exactly why I had to ask Judging by the DA:I you mean latest versions of the other 2 as well, which are very current.

Everything I have read/seen on the 4690k is indeed positive. ( I don't have one, so can't say anything first hand. ) It being quad core, it'll start showing if you do anything else with current games ( like FC4 ), but as I mentioned, Intel really has almost no options for over quad core. I've not heard when they plan to add mid-range 6+.

 

[Brian Cherrick]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XKBDTW

That is what I've got so far. No OS yet, only half the Memory, and Video I wanted (was going for dual-sli). I could probably scrimp on the mobo a bit, and maybe the ram, but I desire to go up to 32 and what I have so far gives me the ability to add on later. The 970 has gotten high marks, and dual 970's blows damn near everything out of the water.

Thoughts?

 

[zemerick]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XKBDTW

That is what I've got so far. No OS yet, only half the Memory, and Video I wanted (was going for dual-sli). I could probably scrimp on the mobo a bit, and maybe the ram, but I desire to go up to 32 and what I have so far gives me the ability to add on later. The 970 has gotten high marks, and dual 970's blows damn near everything out of the water.

Thoughts?

I haven't done it in quite awhile, but when I did SLI it was often a headache. I still see it a fair bit in forums as the source of problems for games. I don't recommend it, unless you plan to do high resolution gaming. ( 2560x1600 at a minimum, though a 970 could handle that very well too, so probably not even until 4k. ) It also doesn't take long for a single cards to pass up the older SLI cards. So, in a few years, you could just change your 970 for a single newer card to keep ahead of the games, using the same money you would have spent on the second card. If you plan to do 4k though, yea...you'll NEED SLI.

 

[Brian Cherrick]

I haven't done it in quite awhile, but when I did SLI it was often a headache. I still see it a fair bit in forums as the source of problems for games. I don't recommend it, unless you plan to do high resolution gaming. ( 2560x1600 at a minimum, though a 970 could handle that very well too, so probably not even until 4k. ) It also doesn't take long for a single cards to pass up the older SLI cards. So, in a few years, you could just change your 970 for a single newer card to keep ahead of the games, using the same money you would have spent on the second card. If you plan to do 4k though, yea...you'll NEED SLI.

What would you build keeping what I want in mind? I don't need to have SLI, but I do prefer 32 GB if at all possible, though I don't want to go under 16.

Can you throw one together?

 

[krakenite]

If i can recommend one thing, get yourself a small SSD put your minecraft and other game files on. It really helps to shorten the rather lengthy game and world load times.

 

[PierceSG]

Damn I need to add more RAM and upgrade my puny 560 TI to a 970. :/

I can only average a mere 40 fps. Peaks at 60 odd and can sometimes dip slightly below 25.

 

[Vasa]

EDIT: Might as well just post the whole system that I built: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BYnmBm

I love it, silent, uses 40ish watts to run MC at 100 fps, cold boots in 10 seconds (OS = Lubuntu 14.04 LTS), and only cost me $440 shipped. Part Picker throws a warning about the video card being too long and it is very very tight and I had to build things in an odd order, but it did fit without any grinding or cutting.

This is what I went with for a few reasons: Intel Pentium G3220 Haswell Dual Core @ 3.0GHz LGA 1150

1) This computer is really only for playing modded Minecraft
2) Minecraft is not multithreaded so no point paying for extra cores which will sit idle
3) I didn't want to spend more than $500 on the whole computer
4) LGA 1150 is new enough that I can pair it with good but still cheap mobos
5) Uses very little power - it is hot here and I don't like paying for heat only to pay again to move it outside

I'm able to play DW20 1.7.10 v1.0.3 and I never encounter lag spikes of death which is basically all you can ask out of a proc. The video card is a 750Ti which does 200 fps no problem.

I like your build. Its cheap and not bad at all. And i like that small case.

 

[ThatOneSlowking]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XKBDTW

That is what I've got so far. No OS yet, only half the Memory, and Video I wanted (was going for dual-sli). I could probably scrimp on the mobo a bit, and maybe the ram, but I desire to go up to 32 and what I have so far gives me the ability to add on later. The 970 has gotten high marks, and dual 970's blows damn near everything out of the water.

Thoughts?

I would say get rid of the cooler. Stock cooling is fine on the 4690 in my experience unless you plan to overclock. And I would reccomend trying to save for a 980 if you want to do 4K anything. .5 gigs of VRAM on the 970 have a preformance drop.

 

[Brian Cherrick]

I would say get rid of the cooler. Stock cooling is fine on the 4690 in my experience unless you plan to overclock. And I would reccomend trying to save for a 980 if you want to do 4K anything. .5 gigs of VRAM on the 970 have a preformance drop.

Could always ditch the cooler. I was honestly thinking about the 980 at first, but most of the articles I was reading touted 2 970's, especially if going above 1080p. I don't plan to overclock though, and I am still debating the 4690 vs i7-4770k.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/1.html

The above is an interesting read, especially games like AC IV, Batman: AO, BF3, BF4, D3:RoS, and a score of others.

Thoughts?

 

[ThatOneSlowking]

Could always ditch the cooler. I was honestly thinking about the 980 at first, but most of the articles I was reading touted 2 970's, especially if going above 1080p. I don't plan to overclock though, and I am still debating the 4690 vs i7-4770k.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/1.html

The above is an interesting read, especially games like AC IV, Batman: AO, BF3, BF4, D3:RoS, and a score of others.

Thoughts?

For the CPU stick with an i5. For gaming the i7 is a waste of cash, but if you are doing renderring, video editting, or anything that uses hyperthreading get the i7. Also, what resolution is your monitor?

 

[Brian Cherrick]

For the CPU stick with an i5. For gaming the i7 is a waste of cash, but if you are doing renderring, video editting, or anything that uses hyperthreading get the i7. Also, what resolution is your monitor?

Max on my current monitor is 1920x1080, but the monitor I plan on getting (not listed on part picker) is 3840x2160, though I am debating dropping to a 2560. No editting, or rendering being done. This is solely to play games.

 

[ThatOneSlowking]

Max on my current monitor is 1920x1080, but the monitor I plan on getting (not listed on part picker) is 3840x2160, though I am debating dropping to a 2560. No editting, or rendering being done. This is solely to play games.

Then stick with an i5. I would say SLI 2 970s as well.