Building a new PC (just for EverQuest)

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Opera, May 27, 2023.

  1. Opera New Member

    Hello everyone,

    I am currently selecting components for a new PC. Obviously almost any PC will run EverQuest fairly well.

    What I am looking for is something that can handle max everything (shadows on guild lobby for example) with the least performance hit.

    I’ve done some googling and can’t find any solid info on which CPU will be able to improve performance on such an old game.

    It’s either the Intel 13900 or the AMD X3D 7000 series. Read somewhere that the bigger L3 cache of the X3D could really help. If there is no performance difference at all in worst case scenario between X3D and 13900 then I’ll go with the 13900.

    Also heard some issues with AMD GPUs and shadows? Is this true? Was going to get an RX 7600 for streaming.
  2. Svann2 The Magnificent

    I think either will be fine overkill. Know that cpu is way more important than gpu for EQ so for graphics you dont need great. Also, get an SSD.
    Hobitses and Nennius like this.
  3. Windance Augur

    It looks like you are fairly flexible with your budget and don't mind dropping $1500+ on a PC. I'm sure either CPU would be great since they are both top of the line.

    The issue I have with either of the CPU's you have listed is the heat they generate. Both AMD and Intel are both pushing their CPU chips really hard in an effort to win the FPS benchmark battle.

    Sustained worked loads where the CPU is at 95+ degrees will make for a shorter life spawn than a CPU that runs at a steady 50-60 degrees.

    There are some sites that show you can actually underclock/under volt the CPU to drop the heat load while retaining 85-95% of the performance.

    Bottom line. Don't skimp out on your CPU cooling and get a well ventilated "air flow" case.

    There have also been some issues with the AMD 7000 + Asus motherboards cooking themselves due to some bad voltage settings. They seem to be mostly resolved now, but , make sure you flash your bios if you go AMD.

    Would love to hear how your build turns out.
    Nennius and Metanis like this.
  4. Skuz I am become Wrath, the Destroyer of Worlds.

    For EQ I would go for as powerful CPU as you can get, but not the very top 1 or 2 since they will be over-priced and not as good bang for the buck.
    GPU depends on what else you play but a mid-range will be fine for EQ and will still have plenty of headroom as EQ improves its display systems (DX 11 etc.).
    SSD - faster the better.

    Vertical mouse should be considered, has a lower chance of damaging your wrist nerves.
    Then make sure you have a good quality & size of desk along with a chair that promotes good posture since ergonmics matter a lot for MMO gaming.
    Hobitses and Metanis like this.
  5. I_Love_My_Bandwidth Mercslayer


    First, the X3D is where you'll want to be for this generation of CPU for any gaming scenario. However, if you're considering the 13900 it does everything really well.

    Second, are you planning to box? What resolution are you playing at? If you plan to box at 4k with all graphics turned up, that RX 7600 won't cut it.
  6. Opera New Member

    Thanks for your excellent replies everyone. I’m aware of the different heat levels generated by all the CPU and GPU out there.

    A few things of note…

    If the X3D is *not* better at handling shadows in lobby than the 13900, then I’m getting the 13900. This is because under this condition I’ll try and passively cool the whole system (Using the very efficient 13900T).

    Under volting and all the other tweaks possible is a bridge I will cross when I get to it.

    I am currently three boxing on three separate installations each with their own m2 drive. I switch windows on the same monitor and use a 4:3 S2133 (1600x1200) as it’s my monitor for retro gaming also. Yes it’s an issue I’ll probably get a better monitor later for EQ.

    Shame to hear the 7600 can’t cut it at 4k but that’s not a deal breaker. If the X3D CPU is better at EverQuest then I’ll get a better graphics card. If not then I’ll convert the 7600 to be passively cooled.
  7. Deux Corpse Connoisseur

    CPU/RAM/SSD contribute to smoothness and fast zoning...if you want to turn on all the eye candy definitely think a dedicated good quality video card with 4gb+ vram is helpful
  8. Windance Augur

    I don't think you are going to be able to get a good comparison of the CPU's and GPU's with respect to how well they run EQ. The EQ community is fairly small. At best you might be able to find some benchmarks to see which is better for different titles.

    For example:

    I have an i7-6700k @ 4Ghz with a NVidia 1070 and it runs well.
    I have an AMD 3950X @ 3.5 Ghz with a NVidia 2070 and it runs very well.

    There is a huge difference between the two machines with respect to how much "other" stuff I can throw at them.


    With respect to your specific questions:

    Intel i9-13900K - 24 core ( 8 P/ 16 E / 24 thread) - 3 GHz / 5.8 boost - $529
    AMD 7800X3D ( 8 core / 16 thread ) - 4.2 GHz / 5.0 boost - $429

    The video has several benchmarks showing both CPU's against different work loads. Sadly they do not have EQ in the lineup so you'll have to use your best judgement.




    ---------------------------------------------------------------

    With respect to AMD vs NVidia GPUs.

    AMD has a better value but we've seen reports about texture issues recently. I suspect daybreak using using mostly NVidia GPU's in their development and testing, so you might be better off going NVidia.

    With that said, the GPU market is fairly saturated and several media outlets are saying we can expect major price cuts as the vendors try to sell off excess stock.

    The NVidia 4000 series is currently over priced compared to the AMD 7000 series.

    NVidia GeForce RTX 4070 - $600
    AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT - $625

    The AMD RX 6950 XT leads the RTX 4070 in nearly every benchmark.



    If you are looking to go for a ~ $400 part then the advice was to look at the previous generation 3060 Ti instead of the 4060.
    minimind likes this.
  9. Waring_McMarrin Augur

    One thing to remember is they are planning on upgrading to DirectX 11 in October which may have an impact on how Everquest utilizes the GPU and CPU in general.
    Opera, Fanra, minimind and 2 others like this.
  10. Captain Video Augur

    With that kind of juiced-up hardware, you'll need a backup power source for when you inevitably trip the circuit breaker. A hamster cage with the biggest wheel you can find should suffice.
  11. Ravanta Suffer Augur


    That concern over heat is complete nonsense. First of all, in everquest any new cpu will barely be running at all with everquest going, even during a raid with whatever common EQ things they have running in the background. They would have to do something hilarious like transcode video while playing EQ at the same time before the system would even think about going over 65c unless they are in Nevada in August, they have their windows shut with no AC, and the oven is on.

    Personally on my 7800x3d even if I'm recording a raid at native res in OBS at 60 fps (with EQ running at over 120fps) overall utilization is barely even worth mentioning.

    PS: Shadows in everquest are horrible. Why anyone would want to use them is beyond me.
  12. Vewdue Elder

    When I built my last PC a couple years ago, I went with the Intel 9900k. I mainly went with this due to the higher overclocking potential. I think the AMD chips are starting to catch up in that area, but I think you can still push the intels to higher speeds. I managed to get the 9900k up to 5.3 ghz. I turned it down a little bit for every day gaming, but it was stable at those speeds if I really wanted to run it at that.
  13. Windance Augur

    Go back and re-read the post. I did NOT say EQ and OBS would generate those kinds of workloads.

    I also provided 3rd party posts explaining the issues relevant to both of the CPU/GPU's the OP had selected.

    I will still maintain that both AMD and Intel have been too aggressive with where they are setting the red line with respect to thermal limits on their top of the line CPU's in an effort to win the benchmark wars.

    Will a single EQ session + OBS get close to those targets? Not likely. Should the OP be aware of the issues, yes.
  14. Kaenneth [You require Gold access to view this title]


    For whatever reason, the character select screen will max out a CPU core.
  15. Ravanta Suffer Augur

    So? That's not even true, nor is it consequential. My preferred core averages at 4746MHz (max is 5050) at character select and the max that core has ever hit in a whole night of raiding was 55C.

    Their title was right in the subject line

    (just for Everquest)

    Even doing more intensive tasks such as encoding (which my cpu is not even best suited for obviously) temps are nowhere near this stupid fearmongering that windance is talking about. Windance, just because you watched a few GN videos doesn't mean you have an understanding of the topic. You're missing the forest for the trees, no actual user sits there and stresses a CPU for hours on end for fun.

    For crying out loud we even have someone in here saying "lol, faster gigahertz" on a cpu from 2018 in a thread where the OP has specifically said (just for everquest)

    Opera, any modern desktop cpu will laugh at Everquest. That's the reality.
  16. I_Love_My_Bandwidth Mercslayer

    Is this still a thing? EQ instances being run from dedicated folders/drives?

    I remember it being a thing when 5400rpm, small buffer, spinning platters were all the rage. Once I moved to solid-state (let alone the mind-blowing speeds even run-of-the-mill modern M.2 NVMe SSDs are achieving) I have never had any issues with running even 12 instances of EQ off the same install. I normally 6-box.

    Am I crazy for not running dedicated folders? :eek:
  17. Moraeulf New Member

    I 3-box on my smartwatch and it does just fine.
    Metanis likes this.
  18. Svann2 The Magnificent

    TI-85 here.
    Metanis likes this.
  19. Windance Augur

    Actually, I *AM* one of those people who do periodically push my machines CPU usage to 90-100% capacity.

    I never said the OP would hit those thresholds with EQ and OBS.

    Perhaps you should re-watch the GN videos and/or re-read the posts.

    If anything I think the OP would be wasting his money going with such a high end CPU for "JUST EQ + OBS" because both by 5yr+ CPU/GPU and even older 7 yr+ machine handles that load fine.

    "fearmonger" would be linking to the various videos/posts showing the AMD 7800 X3D chips burning out.

    Thankfully those issues have been identified and are being resolved so I didn't bring up.
  20. Nennius Curmudgeon

    You too?