RAM is good enough at 16GB, but yes, my CPU is a bit on the older side and currently underclocked till I get my new thermal paste. It's an i5-6600K, still not a slouch, but a few years on its back.

Wish that IG finally released a Mac version so I can dump this good ole' PC and go back to my Mac.

Start from your monitor and work back. If it's a 1920x1080 then your specs are not going to be expensive. However if it's a 3840x1600, or 3840x2160, it will cost a lot more.

Originally posted by electricdawn:

I have a 1070Ti and even that sometimes struggles to keep constant frame rates. So I would not say that a 1060 can play the game with everything maxed at even Full HD with constant FPS. Because even my 1070Ti can't.

On oceans and in open ranges, yes, but in areas where you've built a lot, FPS will dip into their 20's sometimes.

What's your CPU and RAM?

I have a 1070Ti and even that sometimes struggles to keep constant frame rates. So I would not say that a 1060 can play the game with everything maxed at even Full HD with constant FPS. Because even my 1070Ti can't.

On oceans and in open ranges, yes, but in areas where you've built a lot, FPS will dip into their 20's sometimes.

a 1060 6GB is all you need.

Originally posted by Requimatic:

Don't make the mistake of getting an i5; I see people with them constantly having issues with performance in games ranging from Valheim to numerous others.

Spend a little extra and get an i7+ that can handle multi-threaded operations. Ideally, something 4 Core/8 Thread, 6 Core/12 Thread.. or better. The 8700/8700K is an outstanding CPU that would serve you well. I use an 8086K, which is essentially a cherry-picked 8700K, and have had zero issues with any game since its release. (Paired with a 1080 Ti)

I cannot stress enough to stay away from an i5 if you intend to game at all. Alternatively to Intel, there are always equivalent or better-for-the-price AMD CPUs which would be more than adequate for this game and others. (And also better than an i5)

As far as falling GPU prices are concerned, whenever you decide to buy one, be SURE you aren't getting a "refurbished" or "re-certified" GPU. Chances are it came from a Crypto miner that dumped their 4+ GPUs on to the market with the hilarious crash of Crypto.

Edit: do a little research, check out benchmarks (Passmark Software specifically has benchmarks of basically everything from low to ultra high end on their website), and make sure that whatever CPU you pick is paired with a good motherboard with a lot of supporting features. I also highly suggest an SSD of some kind, be it SATA or PCI-e nVME.

host PLEASE IGNORE THAT POST^^ this is outdated/not great information

He is talking about avoiding i5s as if they lack the multitasking capabilities of i7 CPUs, which is no longer the case since the release of intel 10xxx processors. This is because intel's processors (i3, i5, i7) are all hyperthreaded now (which was the main selling feature of i7s as they were typically the only ones with hyperthreading). In short, his point about i5s is outdated. This is no longer the case. Would also like to throw in 10xxx processors are sometimes cheaper and more readily available than i7-8700.

I cannot stress this enough look at the current intel CPUs and you will see there is no need to only buy an i7 if you are going for intel
Don't worry about tons of motherboard features if you are getting a non-k processor (you aren't going to overclock). Just make sure it has two pci-e slots, 4 ram slots, m.2 slot, and probably wireless internet/bluetooth (i wouldnt even consider these 'features'; theyre bascially essentials)

AMD is a brand, and again the i5s not being as good is misleading. They have a range of CPUs just like intel where clearly some are better than others.
Overall intel gives better gaming performance while amd can multitask and render faster. Not true for every cpu obviously but that's the gist.

I'd rather go with nvdia GPUs for their software/drivers/overlay but that's preference. Again two different brands making cards which vary in performance and price

My recommendation? Build a half decent intel PC and get a cheap gpu off someone (try to snag a cheap 960 or 1060) that will last you basically forever if you plan on playing valheim (look up 1060 benchmarks for games like escape from tarkov, rust, and warzone for demanding games, you wont be able to max these but will still get 60-120fps on low-medium if thats what youre aiming for). Will cost roughly $920us for the whole pc, upgrade gpu at some point and bam you can now play most games at high/max settings
OR
Build a pc with a ryzen 5 5600G and use integrated graphics for a while. For a long time I was skeptical about gaming on integrated graphics but this isn't bad at all for something to tie you over. From memory building a pc like this is $600 **Cant remember if in USD or CAD, keep in mind there is no GPU**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCbybCYLJog

i have no idea if you will be playing anything more demanding than valheim, your budget, if you wanna futureproof, etc but i hope some of this points you in the right direction

Originally posted by Steely:

a 1060 6GB is all you need.

words to live by, words to game by, words to die over

I built a new pc about 2 weeks ago , went with a Ryzen 5 5600x , asus tuf gaming mobo , a nice case that came with 3 rgb fans and a tempered glass door, a 1tb m.2 nmve drive, 750 watt modular (gold) PSU, an rtx 3050. 16 gb vengeance pro rgb ram 3200. The board supports pcie 4 and has 2 m.2 slots.

Valheim screams at 60-100 fps with everything at max settings. So does pretty much everything else.

About $12-1300 in parts + a copy of win 11. (I didn’t want to go to 11, but all I had easily available. Haven’t had any problems)

I think you're gonna need a GPU. I'm not a hardware expert but I do know that this is a GPU heavy game, not a CPU heavy game. I get about 100-125fps out in the world and about 60fps in my larger bases. in my huge creative builds it can get down to like 40. Pretty good and i'm only running a Ryzen 5 1600 with a 1060 6gb. So you don't need to spend too much but you do need a dedicated GPU. the GPU shortage is over as hell so you should take advantage.

I agree the best option is a pre made gaming computer right now.Shop around and wait for a good deal. I built a gaming rig 6 months ago and it was 1500 $ Canadian because the 3070 was still in short supply. Get a dedicated GPU for sure , the 1650 is about the lowest I would go for GPU and get a good monitor.Cheap memory affects game performance, try to get 3200 Mhz 16 gig and you will be happy. Fast memory gives me about 15% more FPS. Valhiem desperately need optimisation and the devs need to up their game on unity engine, its not a total dog, No mans sky looks good ( gameplay another issue).Get advice from some geek friends, always the best route.

I think the GPU shortage really changed the way how you purchase a decent and fairly cheap computer... *head scratch*

My girlfriend's ex recently got a decent PC with a 5500XT inside for something like $600 at WalMart. He too was trying to game on an aging PC (from around 2007) and asked for some guidance.

These days. most PCs come with an adequate CPU to game on. I would aim for a 6 core if you can swing it. The internal GPUs will be better than that laptop experience, but not too much (in terms of Valheim). I havbe a fairly new 6 core laptop with a decent iGPU and it barely plays Valheim at 20 FPS. If you can find a deal on a PC with pretty much any dedicated GPU, you should be in good shape. This is assuming it's going to be played at something like 1920x1080 or 2560x1080. 1440p and up needs more GPU.

If I google "5500XT gaming PC", I get links that show some 6 core CPU PCs paired with RTX3060 and 5500XT for $650/ $700. Many in that price range only have 8gb of ram so I would upgrade that to at least 16gb (or buy 16gb) or look for systems with at least that much to begin with.

I would say anything with a relatively recent 6 core CPU, 16gb of ram and some kind of video card can be had for your budget and might even be good to go for some time.

Don't make the mistake of getting an i5; I see people with them constantly having issues with performance in games ranging from Valheim to numerous others.

Spend a little extra and get an i7+ that can handle multi-threaded operations. Ideally, something 4 Core/8 Thread, 6 Core/12 Thread.. or better. The 8700/8700K is an outstanding CPU that would serve you well. I use an 8086K, which is essentially a cherry-picked 8700K, and have had zero issues with any game since its release. (Paired with a 1080 Ti)

I cannot stress enough to stay away from an i5 if you intend to game at all. Alternatively to Intel, there are always equivalent or better-for-the-price AMD CPUs which would be more than adequate for this game and others. (And also better than an i5)

As far as falling GPU prices are concerned, whenever you decide to buy one, be SURE you aren't getting a "refurbished" or "re-certified" GPU. Chances are it came from a Crypto miner that dumped their 4+ GPUs on to the market with the hilarious crash of Crypto.

Edit: do a little research, check out benchmarks (Passmark Software specifically has benchmarks of basically everything from low to ultra high end on their website), and make sure that whatever CPU you pick is paired with a good motherboard with a lot of supporting features. I also highly suggest an SSD of some kind, be it SATA or PCI-e nVME.

In opposition to the poster above I say that CPU does not matter as much. MUCH more important is a good GPU.

Internal GPUs do NOT cut it for Valheim!

Do yourself the favor and get a good dedicated GPU. Doesn't have to be anything superfancy, I would always go for something mid-range, so you should spend AT LEAST like 250 300 Euro/Dollars for a GPU, more like 400.

With CPU, a good mid range CPU, whether AMD or Intel is good as well. An i5 is fine, even an i3 is probably enough. Still, I would go for the i5.

I don't take part in the Intel/AMD wars (Apple M1 is better than both anyway). It doesn't matter which one you choose, as long as you're in a certain price range, you will get fairly similar results. Forget benchmarks, you will not notice any difference.

Don't skimp on the motherboard as well, again, good mid-range board is recommended. Don't go too cheap. 16GB RAM is minimum nowadays. M2 ports is needed as well for fast NVME SSDs. You'll need it for the inevitable dreaded world save stutter.

A good gold rated power supply is not that expensive, but is much more reliable than cheap stuff. I have a Corsair 600W PSU and had no problems so far. That's the minimum wattage I would go for.

Yes, all of that together will set you back about 900 Euro/Dollar. Trust me, you will want that.

You buy cheap, you buy twice.

Edit: Just saw that a RX 6500XT from AMD is available for about 180 Euros. For that price, even if it is the lowest of the low, you can probably get nothing better. Anything better will set you back at least twice the price.

Also, do NOT buy any of the GTX 1050 or GTX 1630 series. They're inferior to the 6500XT and cost sometimes even slightly more.

That said, my wife still uses her trusty GTX 1050Ti and has no problems playing the game. So, YMMV.

Well think about what processor you want then check some youtube and see if any of them have playing with intel HD graphics to see how it looks and if you want to play that way.

As long as you have 16gig ram sharing 4 to internal video shouldn't be crippling.