PC Specs?

[Laim]

Hey Guys, 

 

Sorry if this is the wrong section to post in,  I've been out of the 7 Days to Die community for a few years now. (Thinking, like 2016 at this rate)

 

I'm looking to get a new PC so I can start playing 7D2D again, but I've been out of PCs for a while now as well (2017) as I moved over to macOS full time.  I've had a look at the specs for the game on the steam page for what they are now, and was just wondering if you guys had any thoughts on if this PC would be able to run the game OK?

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G Processor, Quad Core 3.6GHz

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB GDDR5

Storage: 1TB HDD (Games) + 256 SSD (OS)

RAM: 8GB [will be going up to 16GB or 32GB after a few weeks, haven't decided yet which is why it's being built with 8]

 

I don't know if I'll want to play anything else, but I'm building it specifically for 7 Days to Die so don't really care if it can run things like Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War, Battlefield etc.

 

Thanks and sorry again if not the right section!

[Fox]

That APU will hold you back, but it'll likely run at low to medium settings at 1080p.

 

Ideally, you'd want a 6GB+ GPU and a non APU kind of CPU with 4 or more latest gen cores at high frequency. And yes, 16GB+ ram is highly recommended.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Fox (see edit history)

[Vampirenostra]

What kind of settings are you expecting to get? Such a machine should perform quite fine. If you install 7D2D to your SSD+add 8GBs more RAM and upgrade your GPU to something with at least 6 Gas of memory that should do more than adequate. I'm actually playing 7D2D on a MacBook Pro 2018, it is crappy, but still playable in low res. 

[SylenThunder]

8 hours ago, Laim said:

AMD Ryzen 3 3200G Processor

This has literally zero multithreading support. It will perform extremely poorly for 7 Days. Literally the only Pro for getting this chip is that it's dirt cheap.

 

You would be better of tossing an extra $50 into the pot and getting an R5 3400G. It will lag a little on single-core operations, but supports multithreading quite well. As long as you aren't doing video editing, or something like playing Ark, it should be a good choice for a budget chip.

 

16GB RAM is fine, though with Window bloat and other application bloat these days 32GB is more desirable. Especially if you will be wanting to run mods like Darkness Falls.

[Beelzybub]

9 hours ago, Laim said:

I'm building it specifically for 7 Days to Die so don't really care if it can run things

Even if you're just playing 7 Days to Die, you may have Discord, Chrome, Other players joining you, Mods etc. going on. For that, you'll need a better processor and more ram than you have specced. And, as @SylenThunderalready said, don't get that 3200G no matter what.

[Laim]

Thanks guys,  I was planning to increase the RAM either way was just undecided on 16 or 32,

 

On 7/8/2021 at 10:23 PM, SylenThunder said:

This has literally zero multithreading support. It will perform extremely poorly for 7 Days. Literally the only Pro for getting this chip is that it's dirt cheap.

 

You would be better of tossing an extra $50 into the pot and getting an R5 3400G. It will lag a little on single-core operations, but supports multithreading quite well. As long as you aren't doing video editing, or something like playing Ark, it should be a good choice for a budget chip.

 

16GB RAM is fine, though with Window bloat and other application bloat these days 32GB is more desirable. Especially if you will be wanting to run mods like Darkness Falls.

 

Would you say Intel® Core™ Processor i5-10400F would be any better?

[Beelzybub]

2 hours ago, Laim said:

Would you say Intel® Core™ Processor i5-10400F would be any better?

Much better. Also, it's very easy to find processor comparisons on the internet by typing "cpu1 vs cpu2" into a search. In case it's not obvious,

you would replace cpu(n) in that example with the cpus for which you are trying to get info.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Beelzybub (see edit history)

[Jugginator]

I wouldn't say the r3 3200g is bad for 7 days, it's what I have atm (the others were out of stock at the time and I pulled a "ima wait for the next gen of gpus...."). It may not be the best but that igpu worked pretty well for what it was.

 

After I got my dedicated gpu I'm still using that cpu until I upgrade soon, it can handle a lot of browser tabs/obs/chat and music programs and multiple copies of the game running on diff monitors with stable framerates. Not ideal but it works (I have it forced to run between 3.9 and 4.0).

 

I would say if you're going for an igpu I would stay away from intel, AMDs blow their's out of the water, and they do typically run hotter and use more power. Just my experience. 

 

Oh, and ryzen loves fast ram especially if using the on board gpu, 2x 16gb of 3200 speed ram gave me a significant boost in performance over 2x 8gb 3200 sticks.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Jugginator (see edit history)

[meganoth]

Why are only ryzen APUs mentioned as ryzen alternatives? I feel like the elephant in the room is never mentioned 😉

 

Seriously, if you buy a dedicated GPU (which you should) there is no reason to go for a RxxxG. For the same price as the 3200G you can get a ryzen 5 3600 which gives you 2 more cores (6 core instead of 4core) and a boost frequency of 4.2 instead of 4.0.

 

The ryzen 6 cores are by far the (gaming) bestsellers of the ryzen family for a reason.

Edited July 14, 2021 by meganoth (see edit history)

[Jugginator]

2 hours ago, meganoth said:

Seriously, if you buy a dedicated GPU (which you should) there is no reason to go for a RxxxG.

Oh for sure, but given the current market good luck with getting one lol.

[BFT2020]

21 minutes ago, Jugginator said:

Oh for sure, but given the current market good luck with getting one lol.

Or have deep pockets and not concerned about paying a significant markup on ones you find from "third" party sellers

[The_Great_Sephiroth]

The biggest upgrade I ever found for 7 Days was more CPU cores. If you really want a go at it, look at a Xeon-W or Threadripper. Deep pockets mod not included.

[Fox]

13 minutes ago, The_Great_Sephiroth said:

The biggest upgrade I ever found for 7 Days was more CPU cores. If you really want a go at it, look at a Xeon-W or Threadripper. Deep pockets mod not included.

Not true... core performance matters more than core count. Like so many other games, this game realistically still only benefits from 4 core threads. That's why you never see the cpu reach 100% on anything above 4.

[meganoth]

1 hour ago, Jugginator said:

Oh for sure, but given the current market good luck with getting one lol.

Did you check lately? At least in Germany this CPU is available in the usual venues at prices comparable to the 3200G. Especially the availability of CPUs has greatly improved in the last few weeks.

 

Edited July 14, 2021 by meganoth (see edit history)

[Jugginator]

28 minutes ago, meganoth said:

Did you check lately? At least in Germany this CPU is available in the usual venues at prices comparable to the 3200G. Especially the availability of CPUs has greatly improved in the last few weeks.

 

 

I checked newegg and cried a little just now. 1660's going for over 500, 3070's going for over 1000, market is not friendly atm. CPU's sure, but without getting super lucky on a MSRP price you're paying thousands of % of markups, normally for really old cards too. I've got a card now but still for those who don't, it's a struggle. Unless you don't mind paying what would be a down payment on a car for a GPU lol. 

[Fox]

9 hours ago, Jugginator said:

 

I checked newegg and cried a little just now. 1660's going for over 500, 3070's going for over 1000, market is not friendly atm. CPU's sure, but without getting super lucky on a MSRP price you're paying thousands of % of markups, normally for really old cards too. I've got a card now but still for those who don't, it's a struggle. Unless you don't mind paying what would be a down payment on a car for a GPU lol. 

According to LTT, with crypto mining being banned in China or something along those lines, apparently GPU prices and demand for them are expected to drop dramatically. I have yet to see that happen yet, but apparently it's happening. And ya, for the first time in a long time, there's actually a good GPU available at Newegg and not completely sold out like they have been. Obviously not worth the asking price, but it's a start. In my opinion, I think we might see normal MSRP prices for current gen cards next year when a newer RTX series releases. I also doubt many will buy the next generation of cards given how many are being sold right now. I've seen so many ppl buy gaming cards just to play games that APUs could handle just fine... they bought them just because of the demand and hype surrounding them. The moment something becomes rare, everyone wants them. Once that passes, the market will drop dramatically.

Edited July 15, 2021 by Fox (see edit history)

[Jugginator]

16 minutes ago, Fox said:

According to LTT, with crypto mining being banned in Japan or something along those lines, apparently GPU prices and demand for them are expected to drop dramatically. I have yet to see that happen yet, but apparently it's happening. And ya, for the first time in a long time, there's actually a good GPU available at Newegg and not completely sold out like they have been. Obviously not worth the asking price, but it's a start. In my opinion, I think we might see normal MSRP prices for current gen cards next year when a newer RTX series releases. I also doubt many will buy the next generation of cards given how many are being sold right now. I've seen so many ppl buy gaming cards just to play games that APUs could handle just fine... they bought them just because of the demand and hype surrounding them. The moment something becomes rare, everyone wants them. Once that passes, the market will drop dramatically.

 

Yeah eventually I see it too. That and Chia mining it moving drive away.

[The_Great_Sephiroth]

I wish I had a few more GPUs I could get rid of. Hate seeing people ripped off if they need one. I have a GTX 980 Ti and a GTX 970 in the box if that is an upgrade for anybody. Shoot me a PM. My 1070's are sold as soon as I can setup an eBay auction for somebody.

 

Fox, you are correct. I was thinking of the game "Raft". That game can eat cores, even on my 6950X. As for per-core performance, it is why I pay a premium for Intel chips unless the box will be doing something that benefits from more cores, such as 4K60 encoding.

[BFT2020]

I thought about offering mine for free when I upgraded my computer last year, but decided against it (ended up taking it to a recycling center for computers).  In hindsight I should have asked but it was a potato to me.

 

An ASUS GeForce GTX 560TI with a whooping 1 GB.  Yes, I was playing 7D2D up to and including Alpha 19 with that card.  I now got a GeForce RTX 2080 with 8 GB.  The difference has been stunning.

 

You know, nobody asked Liam what his budget is......

[SylenThunder]

21 minutes ago, BFT2020 said:

An ASUS GeForce GTX 560TI with a whooping 1 GB

I was using a similar 650 for min spec testing. With the graphics updates I've switched to the 770. I did have a 2GB 660Ti, but a mishap using the cable for the wrong PSU fried the power circuit on it.

[The_Great_Sephiroth]

I originally used a GTX 550 Ti with 1GB. Played just fine back in those days. I still have the card. I also did not realize that the 2080 only had 8GB. I have the Ti version which has 11GB.

[Fox]

On 7/14/2021 at 4:21 PM, The_Great_Sephiroth said:

Fox, you are correct. I was thinking of the game "Raft". That game can eat cores, even on my 6950X. As for per-core performance, it is why I pay a premium for Intel chips unless the box will be doing something that benefits from more cores, such as 4K60 encoding.

Also, Ryzen is trading blows with Intel single threaded wise as well. They're literally neck and neck with each other. AMD does win in overall performance though. Also, good luck getting an Intel CPU that can trade blows with Ryzen given their slow production rate.

Edited July 16, 2021 by Fox (see edit history)

[The_Great_Sephiroth]

Yeah, I've been fed that line before. We have two Ryzens at my big client in town. Turns out Intel is faster. After having two Ryzens with identical issues we relegated those PCs to a less demanding department and ordered Intel systems with similar specs. Intel has no issues with the software the client runs.

 

I also remember when the XP1800+ was way cheaper than the 1.8GHz P4 despite being 400MHz slower. Turns out a wider bus doesn't make up for 400MHz in-game either. I can name a lot of instances like these. I know what people claim and I know what the fake benchmarks show, which don't account for bus width or design, among other things. AMD keeps talking smack (ray-tracing is a pipe-dream, then ray-tracing is common and we'll have it soon, then they finally released it years after nVidia and it is not even 50% as fast) but always fails to deliver in real-world scenarios, but I digress. I do respect AMD for pushing the core limit up, but let's be honest, not many games even use four cores, much less more.

[Fox]

Some software like Adobe Premiere supports Intel more due to popularity... that will eventually change though if things keep going the way they're going. Everything takes time.

 

Gaming wise though, pretty sure AMD is the clear winner when it matters. Old games like CS:GO favor Intel, but who needs 400+ fps?

Edited July 15, 2021 by Fox (see edit history)

[meganoth]

On 7/15/2021 at 5:24 AM, The_Great_Sephiroth said:

Yeah, I've been fed that line before. We have two Ryzens at my big client in town. Turns out Intel is faster. After having two Ryzens with identical issues we relegated those PCs to a less demanding department and ordered Intel systems with similar specs. Intel has no issues with the software the client runs.

 

I also remember when the XP1800+ was way cheaper than the 1.8GHz P4 despite being 400MHz slower. Turns out a wider bus doesn't make up for 400MHz in-game either. I can name a lot of instances like these. I know what people claim and I know what the fake benchmarks show, which don't account for bus width or design, among other things. AMD keeps talking smack (ray-tracing is a pipe-dream, then ray-tracing is common and we'll have it soon, then they finally released it years after nVidia and it is not even 50% as fast) but always fails to deliver in real-world scenarios, but I digress. I do respect AMD for pushing the core limit up, but let's be honest, not many games even use four cores, much less more.

 

Oh, we are back at the Intel-AMD wars.

 

You can always find software that runs better on Intel. Sometimes all that is necessary is that the company of that software uses Intel compilers to do the work. That works very well for 80% of the PCs out there (Intel compilers are very very good, on Intel hardware) and somewhat less well on the other 20% of PCs.

 

That doesn't seem to hold for games though.  Maybe because AMD is relatively popular with private buyers there are relatively few games where it makes a difference. I'm not talking about "tuned" benchmarks by Intel and AMD themselves, gaming magazines (paper-based and online) do real world benchmarks with typical AAA-games. And AMDs recent ryzens (3xxxx and up) are on-par with the best CPUs Intel can field. (And for a time, until Intel released moderately priced 10xxx CPUs, magazines declared AMD the clear winner on all counts)

 

Currently 4 cores are enough except for a few games, but the number of games who can use more are slowly growing. Which is the same that can be said about raytracing.

 

UPDATE: I checked out Cyperpunk 2077 because it is one of the most hardware-intensive games and looked for information on cores used. I found a website that said a current 6 core from AMD or Intel is the best in price-performance and the results indicated that 6 or even more cores are utilized. Then I found an article in german that surprised even me: It said that to run Cypberpunk with high details performantly you NEED at least 6 cores WITH HT and if you want raytracing then 8 or more cores WITH HT are advisable. Furthermore sizable performance increases could be seen up to 12 core cpus (i.e. 24 core with HT) suggesting that Cyperpunk is able to use as many cores as you let it: https://www.computerbase.de/2020-12/cyberpunk-2077-benchmark-test/4/

I would guess this is surely not the only triple AAA game that is able to use any amount of cores already as the time for speed increases through MHZ increase is over and the gaming industry knows that for quite some time now.

 

 

Why are we suddenly talking about GPUs? Yes, if you want ray-tracing or DLSS enhancement, AMD is still a large step and  a medium step behind. In all other cases the current line-up is good enough so I don't have to buy anything from the cutthroats at nvidia.

 

Edited July 16, 2021 by meganoth (see edit history)