EVE General Discussion

Actually the first thing you should do is setup a budget because computers are just like racing. How much you got depends on how fast you can go.

Eve will run on about anything that isn't a decade out of date. I run a client fine on my "server" which is just an e4400 (12 bucks ebay) OCed to 2.7ish ghz (OCed 1066 FSB) with 4gb of ddr3 and an intel GMA x4500 integrated GPU for graphics. 500GB SATA for games/OSes along with various older IDE drives. Runs SWTOR rift and even terra well at various graphics settings. Runs eve pretty well on medium settings at 1280x1024. When running games I boot it into a 32bit XP install.

My main machine is years old but still working fine it's an e7200 OCed to 3.2ghz with 4gb of ddr2 (OC 1600mhz) an asus xonar sound card a 5770(1gb) OCed by a bit with a speedy 1TB drive for system/games. Runs eve on high settings at 1920x1200 and 1280x1024 (dual monitor setup). I usually run one client on each screen in window mode but sometimes I'll run a third with the settings for that client set to memory. Runs win 7 pro 64 bit.

I highly recommend you consider getting a sound card if you are an audiophile or if you run a very good stereo/headphone setup. I output my computer into a vintage stereo receiver with the A channel powering two floor standing three way speakers with 12" woofers while the B channel feeds a signal into an old(talking 90s A/B regulated) PPI powerclass PC2150 amplifier which powers an alpine type R 12 in a sealed enclosure. The PPI amplifier is powered by a 650 watt PSU that I rebuilt myself with some upgraded components. Switching from on board sound to the asus Xonar was like night and day when it came to frequency response (flatter and extends farther) and overall music itself sounds much more alive and punchier.


I build computers to supplement my repair income and I can honestly say right now Intel has the bang for the buck over AMD but NVidia and ATI are neck and neck. Ignore the folks that pops in to scream how NVIDIA RULES ATI SUCKS or vise versa because they are just mindless fanboys not interested in helping you get the biggest bang for the buck but instead are invested in their "team".


EDIT : I've ran eve on about every machine I build as part of my testing. I've ran it on everything from one of the new pentium G series processors to an ivy bridge i7 (triple graphics card beast) along with a varied mix of graphics cards and I can say solidly that ATI cards preformed just as expected with Eve and I NEVER noticed high temps when running eve. So I have no idea what is up with all the fanboys in this thread but they aren't helping. Now as for the ones that mentioned temperature issues I'd suggest you either buy a better case or make a habit to thoroughly clean your computer at least once every two weeks.

If you lack money but have time go AMD + ATI - used to use it for quite some time when I went to to Uni and was chronically short on cash.

After that, I soon switched to intel/nvidia as I lacked time and motivation to investigate random crashes just to save a few bucks. No problems ever since and I'd never go back gain.

- If you're poor, have a basic clue and plenty of time, go AMD.
- If you have some clue, a little money surplus and little time/nerve to fix issues, go intel (Windows).
- If you don't have a clue, don't care about money and want your system idiot-proof, go intel (Mac OS).

I've never heard anything good about running eve on a MAC OS.

Just sayin.

I am part of that group that hate compatibility issues, so I subscribe to the more common setups are the safer ones rule. CCP have made it very clear that they side with NVidia, and more people seem to run Intel. I also believe Windows 7 is the most common OS. The only issues I have had are minor graphical ones probably from my GT 8800 which is about 6 years old, and I most likely will replace it with a 560 which is a very popular card.

If you're using an nvidia card then part of it's processor is used up calculating the physx so in the end you're either sacrificing some CPU or some GPU cycles. Just because NVidia is involved doesn't mean that suddenly physx runs for free. I've known people in the past who used an old nvidia card just for the physx (the difference wasn't worth the effort). People have already been proclaiming all over this thread that eve doesn't hit the CPU very hard at all. So think about what you're trying to argue for a moment. Only a fanboy(girl) wouldn't know how something as basic as Physx works.

Harder? How? Do you actually know how little of a difference physx makes? Have you developed with it? You're advocating that you're making it harder on yourself even if you're buying the superior performing card because it doesn't have a nvidia label? Really?



EDIT : At this very moment on my main machine I'm running dual clients one on each screen at high settings in the captains quarters and EVE is only using about 70% CPU combined for both accounts(total CPU usage is about 80%). On the secondary machine with the settings on medium it's using about 55% of the CPU.. CQ being the heaviest hitting aspect of this game as when I'm in space it's not uncommon for cpu usage to drop to below 15% for each client (sits about 30% total). I'm running CPUs and in one case a CPU with integrated graphics that are several generations out of date and I'm still not using the CPUs to their max.


CCP would never be so dumb as to make the game unplayable with ATI cards. That's a simple fact of the gaming and business worlds.


EDIT 2 : I forgot to make fun of your comparison of a general usage CPU with 4 cores to a cuda GPU which uses parallel optimized cores. IT's like comparing apples to oranges. All cores are NOT created equally and anyone with a passing knowledge of the computer industry wouldn't buy into marketing hype where a higher number is ALWAYS BETTER!!!


EDIT 3 : Due to poor choices by AMD the biggest bang for the buck across the spectrum of CPUs is Intel. Even a low end sandybridge i3 will eat a phenom II x4 BE up until you start seriously OCing. The new FX chips are completely overpriced and under-effective. Hell even the sandybridge G series pentiums will eat pricier AMD CPUs in benchmarks. AMD is being completely dominated by Intel and it's a sad statement about the company when it's old generation Phenom II x4 black editions (when they can be found) are still being used over their new FX chips.

It's too bad too because AMD used to be the one you'd look for when you were looking for bang for the buck.

This thread is tells the tale of how a humble question from a confused player turned into a massive epeen contest.

I'm running eve on a ~350€ laptop with the following settings:

AMD C60 / AMD Radeon Mobility HD6290 / 4 GB DDR3 RAM / Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

I can run 1 client smoothly with all graphics settings high without aa, 2 clients runs okay with low graphics setting. I doubt it can run two client in major fleet battles, but if you are just mining or running missions it does a decent job.