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EVE Online & CPU - Building a gaming-only rig
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Cyberea
Omega State
#1 - 2014-12-18 12:07:13 UTC
Hello,

I am planning a home project for myself for 2015 and that is a PC designed purely for gaming and nothing else.

The recommended system requirements suggested on the FAQ page indicate an i7 processor, although the the minimum highlights a dual core processor.

My question is, for EVE Online specifically; Does the client engine make use of more than two cores at all?

I am trying to gauge whether or not it is entirely necessary to purchase the best CPU I can get my hands on or not. I'm not too concerned at the point about future proofing for the next few years, but getting away with stable and acceptable performance maximum setting.

The options I have in cost order seem to be:


  1. Intel i7 4790K Quad Core Processor (4.00GHz, 8MB, 88W, Socket 1150)
  2. Intel Core i5 i5-4690K CPU (Quad Core 3.5GHz, 6MB Cache, Socket H3 LGA-1150)
  3. Intel Pentium G3258 CPU (Dual Core 3.20GHz, Socket H3 LGA-1150)


I have been tweeting about the subject to see what opinions the world has - http://twitter.com/cyberea/status/545537998755201025

This is my first time building a gaming focused machine and I don't exactly need a a pimp-rig with all the latest gear. For instance, a GTX Titan is overkill, and apparently not even geared toward gaming. I originally selected a Titan but after more reading and research I found it wasn't entirely necessary for my usage. So I have selected a GTX 780 TI to take place.

Thank you for any insight, opinions and help on this topic.
B Art Simpson
Shadow Guard Deep Space Enterprises
#2 - 2014-12-18 21:39:55 UTC
Although a single EVE client is primarily single-threaded, it is most helpful when running multiple clients (something that will still be applicable to most EVE users, even after the input restrictions). I would recommendation a minimum of one core per client instance, plus an additional core for background OS and other tasks. If you frequently use more than one 3rd party program (TS, EveMon, dotlan) while playing EVE, I would add another core to this list.

Note that, while not unique, EVE is becoming more rare in the single-threaded game department. If you are building a gaming rig that will play other games, many of them will take advantage of multiple cores. For instance, Battlefield 4 now requires 2, and recommends 4 or more cores.
Selaria Unbertable
Bellator in Capsulam
#3 - 2014-12-22 09:23:58 UTC
If you're building a rig specifically for gaming, it's less about a single component, but more about the interaction of all. You want a good CPU, enough RAM, a good GPU and an SSD (at least for the OS and some of the games/programs).

The i7 is a solid choice imho, you can't do anything wrong with one of those. Get a good mainboard with the best chipset available and add at least 8GB RAM with the highest supported frequency.

For the GPU, I usually choose a middle class graphics adapter. Not the most expensive one, since this is usually the first component you exchange for a newer one if necessary.

As for the hard disks, either a combination of a small SSD for the OS and a few selected games/programs plus a regular HDD for everything else or a larger SSD only. An SSD is probably the only not negotiable component in this setup. The performance increase is just incredibly large compared to a mechanical hard disk, although they are more expensive and usually much smaller.

When choosing components, you ask yourself: how long do you expect to last a single component before you exchange it for a new one? The performance increase of processors and RAM has been quite small in the last years. It's more about decreasing their waste heat and energy consumption now rather than pure clock frequency. The latter has been rather stagnant in the last couple of years.
GPUs on the other hand tend to take on more and more additional game related tasks, like nvidias PhysX engine. The difference here, despite the specific chip, is rather about their configuration, the number of HDMI and display ports (this is where your display setup enters the equation). And of course their fan volume. No one wants to have a starting plane's turbine under the desk, if he turns on the pc or starts a game.

I hope this wall of text is in some way helpful. Fly safe o/
Michael Mach
Arx One
#4 - 2014-12-27 02:46:18 UTC  |  Edited by: Michael Mach
I personally run a GT 760 and an AMD Athlon II X2 270.

Yes, this dinky little thing. http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+II+X2+270

I run two 1080p monitors and two EVE clients fullscreen at max graphics settings without any problems, and it handles tougher games like Battlefield: 4 at high settings without a hiccup either. Moral of the story? Your CPU pretty much has jack to do with gaming performance compared to your GPU.

I will even go as far to say that most of the people with an i7 in their rig don't need it. But, with all things tech, your processor will eventually get obsolete as games require more and more out of gaming rigs - so if you buy an i7 to keep it for a looooooong time, it'll serve you well for the coming years. If you're expecting a massive zomg awesum FPS boost because you picked a quad i7 over an i5/i3 or AMD processor, prepare to be disappointed.

EDIT: I just looked at the "recommended requirements" for EVE Online and those CPU requirements are a joke. By those standards my PC should be crapping itself every time I launch one instance of EVE, let alone two.