Howdy! I played EQ from 1999-2003 and am looking to come back. I've got my account recovered, which was easier than I thought it would be, but I'm now trying to find a machine that will run it without issue. I'll be running just one toon. I like the idea of a Mini PC or laptop. Any of you PC gurus mind helping me out? I was looking at this Beelink Mini on amazon, seems to be plenty, but just want to make sure its not too much. Beelink Mini Pc GK55 Windows 10 Pro 8GB LPDDR4 128GB SSD Intel J4125(4C/4T 4MB Cache Up to 2.7GHz), Mini Computer Supports 4K Dual HDMI Output /2.4G+5G WiFi/2.5" HDD Extension/Dual Gigabit Ethernet It's funny thinking back to how I had to trick out my old Gateway PC just to run EQ in college. This little mini seems to be so much more than I had back then. Any tips, tricks or advice would be awesome. Nostalgia has got me hard, I cant wait to revisit Norrath. Cheers! TC
I've always been wondering if those things could play EQ, but never wanted to drop the like 200$ on them to find out
Mini PCs are not good for gaming or multimedia. The problem is that they have only one storage medium slot, no DVD drive and often a very loud active cooler. Basically nobody does need them as you can get an office PC with a mini tower for just 150-200 more bucks, but with a much better CPU, alot more storage space and modification options. So get at least a mini or midi tower with an AMD Ryzen quad core CPU and 16GB DDR4 RAM which will work for the next 10 years. Make sure that you use a modern ATX case with a silent power supply like from be quiet that does not block the CPU cooler by case design.
where does a DVD drive come into the picture? most people haven't used them for like a decade now... on that note 4GB ram enough storage for windows + EQ (128gb fine sine win10 being finicky with updates) and a ryzen 2500U can play EQ just fine... Intel CPU's with less "gpu" then that I would not consider playable.... EQ can still run on a toaster... for now... more ram and a better gpu is obviously better get a Ryzen 5300G 5600G or so and 16GB ram, an asrock x300 case and a 256gb sdd and you are set with a sweet "rear" EQ gamer
A DVD burner can be still very helpfull today and they do cost about nothing. Of course an external USB connected burner can also be a solution but they are more expensive. 4GB RAM can work for one box but with a second box there can be a memory problem already. Most browsers do require huge amounts of memory today and websites do also get more stuffed with memory intensive stuff like videos. This is why 8GB are the standard today but in the near future it will be 16GB or even 32GB. When I bought my last computer upgrade kit in 2008 it had 2 GB RAM. This was ok for Windows XP back in the days but 4GB where only 3GB were useable by XP without modifications worked alot better. Today I use 8GB (even more is possible depending on the mainboard) on a 32 bit windows OS where Microsoft employees and others do say that this is impossible. Which is a lie.
Make sure you have enough memory & graphical processing (e.g. a real video card). Burdi is spot on. The other poster's response regarding a laptop is a little misleading in that many instead say it runs badly on laptops (because laptops commonly don't have dedicated GPU/graphics cards). When people actually say EQ doesn't do well on laptops, they're generally referring to how just having a CPU with integrated graphics can yield some rough results (e.g. very bad frame rates even on 1999 potato settings). If you try integrated graphics, aim to have at least 16 gb of decent speed ram because your integrated graphics will likely be using your system ram for the rendering. (Unlike a video card that has it's own RAM for the GPU.) But, to OldTime's point. I sometimes play EQ on a computer that's about 12 years old with only 8 gb of RM and an older (~6 years) entry level nVidia gtx video card, runs fine but FPS gets choppy if I try boxing on it. (So an old PC like OldTime said will be fine for now, just make sure it has a real graphics card.)
