It's been a while since I posted a build suggestion so I thought I'd update with a new list. This is one example of what I'd suggest for someone looking to build a solid, current desktop that should be very stable and run EQ2 quite well. AMD boards promise better future upgradability but AMD CPUs they simply can't compete core for core with Intel. The Z77 chipset is the newest mainstream chipset for Intel and ASRock is a very well respected manufacturer. This board has a ton of advanced features for not a lot of money. It sports PCIe 3.0, USB 3.0, SATA III, 8 channel audio, and 4 RAM slots for future upgrade potential. It strikes a good balance between performance, features and cost. Comes with a 3 year warranty. EQ2 pretty much hits just a single core (even with multiple core checked in the options) so Ghtz are king. More cores will allow you to run other programs cuncurrently, like ACT or Ventrilo. The i3-3240 Ivy Bridge clips along at a stock speed of 3.4 Ghtz which is about as fast as you can get without over clocking. You can't OC an i3 so if you want to do that, substitute the i3 with a K edition i5 CPU for an additional $100 or so. EQ2 doesn't really hit the GPU very much at all, spending tons on a graphics card will have little noticible impact on your framerates, even if you enable GPU shadows. This build has a good card because you may find time to play other games beyond EQ2. It also sports a lifetime warranty! RAM speeds above 1333 on an Intel system using discrete graphics is arguably a waste of money but benchmarks have shown that minor improvements have been seen up to 1866. 8GB of RAM is currently the sweet spot balancing capacity and price. Hard drive speed is important and the WD Black is about as good as it gets with a spinner drive. This drive has a huge 64MB cache and sports a 5 year warranty. The only way to get better performance would be to either use 2 in a RAID 0 setup or to add a 60GB SSD as a cache drive using the quirky Intel iSRT option. SRT is GREAT when it works, but in my experience it's hit or miss with getting it setup. If you really want an easy SSD cache option I'd suggest the Corsair Accelerator series. People tend to overpower their gaming systems thinking it wont use what it doesn't need. Which is true, but effeciency is at it's peak between 20-80% of the capacity of the power supply. The OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W should be in that range with this build but retains plenty of overhead for future upgrades down the line. Plus it's modular to help eliminate cable clutter. Lastly the case. I've recently used the Zalman Z9 for a gamer tower and was quite impressed with it's build quality. This plus model adds more fans and some windows in the side panel. The extra fan on the side panel will help keep GPU temps down and you'd spend more adding fans to the base Z9 so the plus is the smart buy.
I would toss in a cheap SSD (about 64Gb) and only run EQ2 on it on that system. Much faster zoning and the micro-stuttering one gets from texture loading is virtually gone so your frame rates stay more stable. * Additional note: Would format it as exFat instead of NTFS for better performance and longer life.
I would also suggest adding an SSD. Night and day difference with just about everything you do on a computer. I would suggest that if you go with an i3, forgo the higher speed ram. Since the i3 is not very OC'able, get a B75 chipset mobo (starting around $60 with SATA 6G, USB 3.0, Gb lan, etc) and forget the aftermarket cpu cooler. IMO, a 700w power supply is overkill for a system like this. All from newegg: ASRock B75M-DGS: $61.98 w/tax Core i3-2130 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz: $129.99 (picked a Sandy Bridge to save $20.00) CORSAIR 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (or similar): $33.99 CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 500W: $29.99 after discount and rebate Intel 330 Series Maple Crest 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC SSD: $104.99 This results in saving $120 taking into consideration rebates on both sides. You could still throw in a conventional HDD, a larger SSD, a newer video card, or something. This will give you better overall system performance (via the SSD) for similar or less $$. I don't discount high(er) quality CPU cooling, but I don't think it is needed on a non-OC'able i3. The stock cooler keeps the temps where Intel designed them to be. All this is just an alternate opinion anyway. The i3 makes for a fine gaming cpu, it just doesn't inspire nerds to gush over it.
