Swtor>I

[Guest]

I need the absolute cheapest CPU and graphics card combo that will get me playing swtor!! Is their anything at all that will beat this AMD A8-3850? Keep in my that bad boy is both a CPU and GPU for $129.99 and free shipping.

 

[jaguarskx]

I don't play SWTOR so I don't even know if the Radeon HD 6550D is good enough to play the game. That graphics core is basically a little slower than a Radeon HD 5570 which is not really considered a gaming card. However, it does meet the minimum graphics card requirements.

http://www.swtor.com/info/faq#171060

If you are looking for an all-in-one processor then you may want to consider the Llano A8-3870k ($140) instead which allows for better CPU overclocks. Based on what I've read the graphics core can also be overclocked, but it is a bit more complicated than overclocking the CPU core.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106001&Tpk=a8-3870k

Regardless of which Llano APU you buy, it is in your best interest to buy DDR3-1867 SDRAM because the RAM speed directly affects the performance of the graphics core.

However....

On a limited budget I recommend the Pentium G850 for $90 + Free shipping and a Radeon HD 6670 for $55 (after rebate) + shipping, for a total $145 excluding shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116397

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102952

The Pentium G850 is based on the Sandy Bridge core and even though it's 2.9GHz core speed is the same as the A8-3850 and A8-3870K, the Sandy Bridge architecture is more efficient which means the G850 will have better overall processing power. The A8-3870k will probably have to be overclocked to around 3.5GHz to equal the performance of the Pentium G850.

The Radeon HD 6670 is on average about 12% more powerful than the Radeon HD 5670. The Radeon HD 5670 is around 45% - 50% more powerful than the Radeon HD 5570. As I stated before, the Radeon HD 6550D graphics core is a little slower than the Radeon HD 5570.

 

[jaguarskx]

The combination of the Pentium G850 and a Radeon HD 6670 should give you far better performance in any game that an overclocked A8-3870k can deliver. Whether that performance is enough to make SWTOR enjoyable depends on the resolution you play at and whatever you consider accepted frame rates to be.

 

[Guest]

Best answer selected by marcustheadore.