Will this PC enough for playing FTB modpacks with the least lag?

[Dave Nathanael]

Hi FTB players!
I have a rather low-average quality PC with me right now, which is:
- 2GB RAM
- Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 @ 2.93 GHz
- 32-bit Windows 7
- ATI Radeon HD 4600 Series

And will soon give it a little "upgrade" (just a little), with adding another 2GB RAM, and install 64-bit Windows 7 (to allow the launcher to allocate more RAM on the Minecraft, right?).

I wonder if my PC will be able to play most of tech modpacks(or any packs that're relatively called "heavy"), or packs like Horizon: Daybreaker , Ressurection, Infinity, etc, or not? Because I'm unsure about my ATI Radeon HD 4600 or my Intel could even handle those packs without lag.
(Because playing modpacks is the only reason I want to add RAM and have 64-bit Win7, if these additions still can't handle the packs, I'll just cancel my willing to have those additions)

If any of you guys knows a bit of knowledge on these hardwares I would really appreciate your opinion and advices about my condition.
Thanks for your attention to this thread!

 

[lenscas]

I am not sure about the CPU and even less about the GPU
I am not sure how much GHz is needed from a CPU, what I do know is that Minecraft is mostly single threaded this means that it will use only two cores, no matter how much you trow at it. Thus if you don't use too much other programs it may run it.

The ram on the other hand at this time will not run anything, adding 2 GB will help somewhat but chances are you end up starving your system. And even though infinity can run on 2GB it can be the case that the garbage collection needs to run very often and thus slow the game and other programs down.

 

[jordsta95]

You may be able to get FTB Lite to work, at best.
You are running 32 bit windows, which means 32 bit java... even vanilla minecraft requests for 64bit

 

[Dave Nathanael]

I am not sure about the CPU and even less about the GPU
I am not sure how much GHz is needed from a CPU, what I do know is that Minecraft is mostly single threaded this means that it will use only two cores, no matter how much you trow at it. Thus if you don't use too much other programs it may run it.

The ram on the other hand at this time will not run anything, adding 2 GB will help somewhat but chances are you end up starving your system. And even though infinity can run on 2GB it can be the case that the garbage collection needs to run very often and thus slow the game and other programs down.

I always close other programs before launching Minecraft or FTB, except if I need to look up some informations on the wikis.

And about the RAM, so do you mean that 4GB of RAM in total will not make a big change or something?

 

[lenscas]

I always close other programs before launching Minecraft or FTB, except if I need to look up some informations on the wikis.

And about the RAM, so do you mean that 4GB of RAM in total will not make a big change or something?

In a way it will, however you can only go up to 2GB allocated to minecraft. but if you close all other programs having only 2GB left for the OS should be enough.

 

[Dave Nathanael]

You may be able to get FTB Lite to work, at best.
You are running 32 bit windows, which means 32 bit java... even vanilla minecraft requests for 64bit

That's with my current PC, but I need to know what if I add 2GBs of RAM into the system and have 64-bit installed later on. I'm sorry if I made you confused :/

In a way it will, however you can only go up to 2GB allocated to minecraft. but if you close all other programs having only 2GB left for the OS should be enough.

Maximum 2GB of RAM on 64-bit OS? I see, then I'll just wait for any guys that knows about the CPU and GPU Thanks lenscas!

 

[lenscas]

That's with my current PC, but I need to know what if I add 2GBs of RAM into the system and have 64-bit installed later on. I'm sorry if I made you confused :/


Maximum 2GB of RAM on 64-bit OS? I see, then I'll just wait for any guys that knows about the CPU and GPU Thanks lenscas!

It is not a max limit because of 64bit its because else you would starve the rest. And running infinity on 2GB will in your case most likely result in worse performance because you only have 2 cores.

 

[jordsta95]

Oh, well if you did that, then you would easily be able to run lite, and most of the smaller packs. Although, I wouldn't count on running big packs, like Infinity

 

[mattp_12]

If you wanted to run big packs, such as infinity, I would add enough ram to get to at least 8 gigs.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

If you wanted to run big packs, such as infinity, I would add enough ram to get to at least 8 gigs.

Just no, RAM will not make any difference, that PC will NOT run Infinity.

 

[Zelfana]

You need a better CPU the most. Any GPU from this century is good enough for Minecraft and 4G RAM is almost enough but Core 2 Duo is getting too old for modded Minecraft.

 

[mattp_12]

Just no, RAM will not make any difference, that PC will NOT run Infinity.

Yeah, what I meant was to basically upgrade stuff :3

 

[Dave Nathanael]

It is not a max limit because of 64bit its because else you would starve the rest. And running infinity on 2GB will in your case most likely result in worse performance because you only have 2 cores.

Oh, well if you did that, then you would easily be able to run lite, and most of the smaller packs. Although, I wouldn't count on running big packs, like Infinity

Just no, RAM will not make any difference, that PC will NOT run Infinity.

Thanks guys for the advices!(just came back from vacation sorry)
Hmm so if it's not about the RAM, am I need to have like quadcore cpu? Or just a better gpu? Which one gives better performances for running bigger packs?

Sorry for alot of question :/ I'm just not sure pf what should I buy later so I don't buy the parts that I wont need..
Thanks!

 

[Henry Link]

With the new 64 bit java 8 multiple cores does help with the garbage collection. However, most of minecraft/ftb still runs on a single core. So the faster you can make the CPU the better. As for RAM I would suggest mininum of 8 GB in the system with around 3 GB to run modded minecraft. The extra mem will reduce the amount of paging windows does to the hard drive. And you will need a 64 bit and a resonable GPU. Do not use built in GPUs.

 

[mathchamp]

Just no, RAM will not make any difference, that PC will NOT run Infinity.

It would technically run with more RAM and a 64 bit version of Windows, but the outdated CPU would definitely lead to single digit FPS in a developed world. So, it will probably run. It just won't run well.

Quad core CPU (assuming you want to keep the same mobo and thus have to buy a similar generation CPU) won't help much since Minecraft only uses 1-2 threads. It will make your computer a bit more responsive though since the other cores would be available for Windows and background tasks. Get Java 8 and the garbage collector will use any extra cores, improving your performance a bit. GPU won't really help much either as Minecraft is heavily CPU reliant. GPU will only bottleneck if you have a strong CPU and a weak GPU (or integrated graphics).


My previous machine was a Core 2 Quad Q6700 (a couple years older than your CPU, but also high-end, so your CPU is probably around the same performance-wise except for number of cores) with 4 GB of RAM and I would run packs such as FTB Unleashed, but framerate would tank to about 5 FPS in a developed world near my home (Optifine would help a bit but not much). And the kitchen sink modpacks seem to keep growing so Infinity could very well be even slower (unless there's been some big optimizations in the intervening Vanilla and Forge versions).

You basically have four options:

• Once you get more RAM and 64 bit OS, if you don't mind low single digit FPS, try a pack like Infinity. I wouldn't recommend it, though. It may very well drive you nuts and force you to abandon your world (or at least your home). My recommendation for such a world would be to have a distributed base. Instead of putting all your stuff in one big home, make lots of little homes scattered around (and even in different dimensions for stuff that runs auto but you don't visit often - excessive dimension hopping will be really slow and use up your RAM though) and abuse the crap out of anything that permits teleportation of self or items (tesseracts, RFTools, PortalGun, and especially Mystcraft for early game). That might get you more FPS than the typical huge bases that most build.
• Start with a kitchen sink pack and disable any mods that you're not interested in or don't think you will use in order to optimize your pack. Just watch out for any interdependencies. Do all this BEFORE creating a world.
• Avoid the big packs and choose one of the packs with fewer mods, such as Lite (which is designed with weaker computers in mind but still has a mix of different mods), or any of the specialist packs as their more focused nature leads to them containing fewer mods than a general pack such as Infinity. If you prefer heavy tech, then selecting a tech pack without the magic mods can allow you to still get a similar amount of enjoyment with better performance, although once you reach a comfortable late-game point, you'll have fewer options for branching out and exploring. Alternatively, try a specialist pack that differs from your usual playstyle (e.g. if you usually go tech first, try a magic pack).
• If you have extra money, just get a new computer.

 

[Dave Nathanael]

With the new 64 bit java 8 multiple cores does help with the garbage collection. However, most of minecraft/ftb still runs on a single core. So the faster you can make the CPU the better. As for RAM I would suggest mininum of 8 GB in the system with around 3 GB to run modded minecraft. The extra mem will reduce the amount of paging windows does to the hard drive. And you will need a 64 bit and a resonable GPU. Do not use built in GPUs.

Ah, so I would not need a quad core CPU after all (with the condition that my PC is used just for running Minecraft and no other programs), but a faster one instead?

It would technically run with more RAM and a 64 bit version of Windows, but the outdated CPU would definitely lead to single digit FPS in a developed world. So, it will probably run. It just won't run well.

Quad core CPU (assuming you want to keep the same mobo and thus have to buy a similar generation CPU) won't help much since Minecraft only uses 1-2 threads. It will make your computer a bit more responsive though since the other cores would be available for Windows and background tasks. Get Java 8 and the garbage collector will use any extra cores, improving your performance a bit. GPU won't really help much either as Minecraft is heavily CPU reliant. GPU will only bottleneck if you have a strong CPU and a weak GPU (or integrated graphics).


My previous machine was a Core 2 Quad Q6700 (a couple years older than your CPU, but also high-end, so your CPU is probably around the same performance-wise except for number of cores) with 4 GB of RAM and I would run packs such as FTB Unleashed, but framerate would tank to about 5 FPS in a developed world near my home (Optifine would help a bit but not much). And the kitchen sink modpacks seem to keep growing so Infinity could very well be even slower (unless there's been some big optimizations in the intervening Vanilla and Forge versions).

You basically have four options:

• Once you get more RAM and 64 bit OS, if you don't mind low single digit FPS, try a pack like Infinity. I wouldn't recommend it, though. It may very well drive you nuts and force you to abandon your world (or at least your home). My recommendation for such a world would be to have a distributed base. Instead of putting all your stuff in one big home, make lots of little homes scattered around (and even in different dimensions for stuff that runs auto but you don't visit often - excessive dimension hopping will be really slow and use up your RAM though) and abuse the crap out of anything that permits teleportation of self or items (tesseracts, RFTools, PortalGun, and especially Mystcraft for early game). That might get you more FPS than the typical huge bases that most build.
• Start with a kitchen sink pack and disable any mods that you're not interested in or don't think you will use in order to optimize your pack. Just watch out for any interdependencies. Do all this BEFORE creating a world.
• Avoid the big packs and choose one of the packs with fewer mods, such as Lite (which is designed with weaker computers in mind but still has a mix of different mods), or any of the specialist packs as their more focused nature leads to them containing fewer mods than a general pack such as Infinity. If you prefer heavy tech, then selecting a tech pack without the magic mods can allow you to still get a similar amount of enjoyment with better performance, although once you reach a comfortable late-game point, you'll have fewer options for branching out and exploring. Alternatively, try a specialist pack that differs from your usual playstyle (e.g. if you usually go tech first, try a magic pack).
• If you have extra money, just get a new computer.

With my current machine, I am playing Unleashed in a public server and it runs quite well with two digit FPS, but it is a public server so my base follows the rules on the server, limiting 16 power-generators per chunk, etc. I also do not have quarries on the Overworld, but in a Mystcraft age instead. No SS spawner, just the regular one. Not sure how much is you refering by "developed" since I have not reach that stage yet.

Also I am not sure about the meaning of a kitchen sink pack, but I do have already messed around trying to create and modify a new or existing packs, just to try whether the pack will run well on me or not.

Well, if what I will need is a reasonable CPU then I might change my budget plan and consider to buy a new CPU, so the budget isn't too strict but I will not buy high-end stuffs, just the things that allow me to play heavy tech packs with acceptable framerate.

Thanks for your advices!

 

[lenscas]

Ah, so I would not need a quad core CPU after all (with the condition that my PC is used just for running Minecraft and no other programs), but a faster one instead?



With my current machine, I am playing Unleashed in a public server and it runs quite well with two digit FPS, but it is a public server so my base follows the rules on the server, limiting 16 power-generators per chunk, etc. I also do not have quarries on the Overworld, but in a Mystcraft age instead. No SS spawner, just the regular one. Not sure how much is you refering by "developed" since I have not reach that stage yet.

Also I am not sure about the meaning of a kitchen sink pack, but I do have already messed around trying to create and modify a new or existing packs, just to try whether the pack will run well on me or not.

Well, if what I will need is a reasonable CPU then I might change my budget plan and consider to buy a new CPU, so the budget isn't too strict but I will not buy high-end stuffs, just the things that allow me to play heavy tech packs with acceptable framerate.

Thanks for your advices!

A kitchen-sink pack is a pack that has very few config changes and has a bit of everything.
With developed he means a world where you have a lot of machines and autocrafting.

 

[Dave Nathanael]

A kitchen-sink pack is a pack that has very few config changes and has a bit of everything.
With developed he means a world where you have a lot of machines and autocrafting.

So it means the packs with little or no optimization on the config side? Ok I get it

I've been playing with having a thought in mind that use the optimized one or the more-framerate friendly one while using something for its feature and function. Like transfer node and pipes instead of BC pipes. If that really gives a reasonable effect on the game then probably that's why I get pretty good framerate on the server.

 

[lenscas]

So it means the packs with little or no optimization on the config side? Ok I get it

I've been playing with having a thought in mind that use the optimized one or the more-framerate friendly one while using something for its feature and function. Like transfer node and pipes instead of BC pipes. If that really gives a reasonable effect on the game then probably that's why I get pretty good framerate on the server.

It really depends and BC pipes shouldn't give that much of lag.

 

[mattp_12]

It really depends and BC pipes shouldn't give that much of lag.

I always thought they lagged because they are see through, at least more than ender io pipes or opaque itemducts, or transfer pipes.