EVE New Citizens Q&A

Hello All,

First post. Actually, my wife will be the real player. I'm what passes for the IT guy in the household. I joined so I could ask your help in configuring the hardware.

This all started as a plan to build an HTPC but my wife said she wanted graduate from the games she plays on her iPad and Eve Online was perfect. After lurking here and at some other sites for build ideas I got a good deal on a second-hand HTPC with the following bits:

Intel i5 2500 processor (overclockable) I reset it to normal to install the drivers,
Gigabyte Z68 mobo,
16 GB Corsair RAM,
Radeon 7750 1 GB graphics card,
1 TB WD HDD (with another 5 TB between a NAS and backup drive available),
60 GB OCZ SSD,
600 watt PSU,
Silverstone ATX case, plenty of fans,
Ceton Infinitv 4 (no clue how to use that yet),
Logitech K400 keyboard, Rosewill remote, Wifi (although it is Ethernet wired),
Windows 7 Home Premium,

All this will run on a 40” HDTV (not a smart one). Only one client will be running at a time. She would like to get a remote screen and keyboard/mouse so she can play at her business -- which is in a separate building from the house but close enough for good wifi signals. She gets occasional downtime between appointments but not enough to go back to the library where the main rig will be. The whole house is Ethernet wired and there is also a wireless 10/100/1000 router that runs from OK to very good despite some brick walls in between. That might be a discussion for another time.

My main question for now is storage. Between the OS, drivers, anti-virus, browsers and some programs I only have about 22 GB left on the SSD. The spinner is a good one plus I have a nearly empty 2 TB NAS and a 3 TB external drive that could be pressed into service. My research suggests that a solid-state drive is preferred for games but there wouldn't be room on this one plus enough reserve not to clog the system. This will probably be the only game ever loaded on the computer. I could add another SSD, replace the current one with a bigger one or just load Eve Online on the HDD. The graphics card isn't state-of-the-art but overall the machine scores in the 7's performance wise. I might be making too much of this but I'd like to get the hardware sorted out before I start loading all the household media files on the mechanical drives.

Any comments would be appreciated. I realize that I can't return your gracious advice in-kind which makes your interest all the more noble. I'm hoping my wife will adopt Mercurio as one of her characters. Cheers, sh

Your biggest issue will be the connection speed on your network. I wouldn't worry about installing EVE on your SSD. This game is 10 years old, and (depending on your graphic settings) you could easily run 3+ clients simultaneously on that rig, if you wanted to.

Yeah, you'll be fine. Eve simply does not require a lot of machine.

Thanks All,

My wife will have some time off next week to get her account, character(s) and objectives in order. I was tempted to download Eve Online on the new PC but I didn't know if each download was restricted to the original owner or if anyone with a separate account can sign in independently.

Part of my technical exploration has been the idea of upgrading some of the components in this computer. I got a Dell Inspiron 660 last month. It has the same processing power as the HTPC. Evidently, the only/best dedicated graphics card that will work with the undersized power supply is the very same Radeon 7750 in the HTPC. Stick that one in here, get a better one for that box and all's well. That's also why I was thinking about upgrading the SSD in the HTPC because I could put the operating system in this computer on it and also leave both boxes the better. I still may do that someday but summertime projects are starting to creep into the budget.

Again, thank all of you for your help. Luck and fortune in your piece of the galaxy, sh

On a 40" display I would want a video card with more than 1 gig of ram and at least a 512 bit buss width. It would have no trouble displaying eve in high resolution. The 630m on my laptop is 1 gig vram. I have to leave AA low and shadows low.

This thread has some legs! Since my first post I've decided to appropriate the HD 7750 card in the gaming PC to put in this box. It seems to be the best choice for a light-weight power supply. That means the slot opens up for a replacement. I've read about the pros and cons of using an HDTV as a monitor but that's how it is until something changes. One client at a time. 600w PSU that isn't being taxed now. No SLI or Crossfire. Doubt I'll overclock it. I'm using an ATX case but there is up to 11" of room for the card. I'd rather not cut that too close but most cards seem to fit. It has a Gigabyte X68 mobo if that helps.

Right now the GTX 650 ti boost and the 660 (regular) card are in the running along with peer Radeon offerings. Figure $250-ish with room either way. Additional throw-in games are not important. It seems the Amazon and Newegg ratings downgrades are usually quibbling over the games anyway. Saving cash to avoid that is appealing, though.

Thanks for any thoughts on a new card, sh

Settled on this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125443

Comes with Metro which may never be ordered. Benchmarks a shade over double the 7750. My computer has the Intel HD 2500 onboard graphics so it will be a serious upgrade there too. Look for a new explorer among you soon,

Thanks again to all, Ormand signing off