[Ramle]

Hello. I'm dropping into your world for some advice over the inter "tubes"! I am conversant in computer speak, but not a master and I look to those with more info to guide me as I continue to learn.

Ok, so I am considering my options for playing Final Fantasy XIV. I've been told by a friend that it will take a high end computer to run the game. I have to figure out whether my current systems will be able to run the game. If not I have to decide between upgrading (if it is an option) and buying a new system(s).

I am the owner of a several year old Dell system and a newer Dell system (1 or 2 years old?). Taken from my computer properties:

DELL SYSTEM ALPHA (older)

Dell Dimension XPS Gen 3
Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.4 GHz
3.39 GHz, 3.25 GB of RAM.
Video card is Radeon x800 SE
Windows XP Home SP 3

DELL SYSTEM BETA (not as old)

Dell Inspiron 530
Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz
4 GB RAM
Video card is Radeon HD3650
Windows Vista Home Premium SP2

The minimum system requirements for the game can be found at:
http://na.finalfanta...about/game_info

The recommended system requirements for the game can be found at:
http://www.finalfant...ecom/na/pc.html

Assuming I need to replace one or both systems, will the system described in the link below run the game well? It is a system currently advertised / discounted on the Dell website. (I generally have bought Dell in the past, but have been told I should consider buying from newegg.com. Thoughts on using newegg for computer systems?)
http://configure.us....n...s=dhs&cs=19

I am not sure whether the Vision Ultimate or the Vision Black is the better system...though I presume that the Black is given the higher price? (I believe this link will take you to the page where the choice between the Ultimate and Black is made.)

Just in case here is the basic info on the Black system: ($829)

PROCESSOR & GRAPHICS CARD AMD Phenom™ II X6 1035T + ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English edit
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz- 2 DIMMs edit
HARD DRIVE 1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 16X DVD+/-RW Drive

Here is the basic info on the Ultimate system: ($699)

PROCESSOR & GRAPHICS CARD AMD Phenom™ II X6 1035T + ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English edit
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz- 2 DIMMs edit
HARD DRIVE 1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 16X DVD+/-RW Drive

I would appreciate answers to these questions as well as any helpful information or specific suggestions on computers to consider as the replacement system or for upgrading.

Thanks.

(Just as an FYI - my experience with computer components includes replacing a video card once and installing additional RAM memory once.)

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on your alpha com maybe the cpu and gpu is not good enough as for the beta com the gpu may not be good enough.As for the coms u wanna buy i would go for the black system, better GPU, but its just my opinion.

[LordOblivion]

on your alpha com maybe the cpu and gpu is not good enough as for the beta com the gpu may not be good enough.As for the coms u wanna buy i would go for the black system, better GPU, but its just my opinion.

[HungryDuck]

Recommended spec (graphics at least) is quite a bit above the systems you list... CPU on the last systems would be fine, prob even overkill cos I doubt the game will make use of 6 cores but graphics is definitely lacking compared to gtx460....

[Ramle]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Some things that I am stuck on for folks to include in their replies.

What processor are equivalent to or better than the recommended:
Intel® Core™ i7 (2.66GHz) or faster

What graphics card are equivalent to or better than the recommended:
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460 with 768MB VRAM or equivalent

Even within any one company (whether it is Amd, Intel, nvidia, or ATI) the product names are confusing at best to me. Knowing what the equivalent to these products is is beyond me.

In any event, I appreciate the help so far and thanks in advance for the coming replies.

Edited by Ramle, 13 August 2010 - 07:48 AM.

[LordOblivion]

A core i7 920 and a gtx 470

[Ramle]

There are no AMD equivalents or better products?

There are no ATI equivalents or better products?

Thanks again.