I would be extremely grateful if someone could help me by helping me construct the best possible computer for UE4.
Now, I won’t be able to afford everything, but my approach is this:
I want to come up with the ABSOLUTE BEST, then dial it back down according to budget. If nothing else, to compare the best components out there with what I can afford. I am not computer illiterate, but some of the nuances get lost on me. For instance, what is the best processor/GPU money can buy right now? Thank you!
You’d be better off setting a budget first. There are video cards over $4,000 but that doesn’t make them good for running UE4.
I’m using a relatively inexpensive card, GTX 750ti, at $150. I have no problems running UE4 in a large 2 screen setup.
Nice! Well, you’re right. How about, what is the best computer for UE4 for around $1,000??
I really need help with this because I’ve bought and returned 2 computers now that ended up totally sucking, even though I thought they would be good. I need something that is legit, specifically made for running UE4 optimally. A million thanks for any help!
Build your own computer from places online. If you’ve never built a computer or have no idea how to build one, try getting a barebones kit on websites like www.tigerdirect.com or www.newegg.com
If you want to build something that can handle UE4 decently well, then I suggest getting an intel i7 quad core processor. Probably something like a 4670 and up would do you nicely in the long run which is fairly well priced and can handle most anything you throw at it.
For a graphics card, I would get an nvidia geforce 750ti minimum to run it smoothly. If you can spot the extra cash for a 770 then I would because it’ll last longer and will allow you to do more within a level before seeing the chug of you computer. Especially when you’re dealing with high amounts of polygons and particle systems.
The motherboard can be your preference of size but it has to have the same socket type as what your CPU has. So choose what CPU you want based on price and then sort the motherboard by the same socket type and choose one with decent reviews.
Then take a look at what RAM speeds your motherboard supports and what the limit is per slot (ex: Max 4GB per slot x4 = total of 16GB of RAM). I would suggest having minimum of 8GB or RAM to be honest. 16GB of DDR3 will do you just fine. No need to get anything super fast, something around the 1600Mhz range should be perfectly ok for this.
After that, all that’s left is your power supply, hard drive, and case to get your bare minimum working. If you already have a decently new CD-ROM then I would just re-use that one. Or just pick up a cheap CD-ROM unless you use it regularly for stuff (I don’t which is why I have a $20 one in my computer lol).
Hope this helps!
Thank you very much, very helpful answer. I have build a computer in the past, and plan to maybe do so with this as well. I will certainly take your suggestions into consideration.
Try this, maybe add a better video card,but I know a 650 can run UE4 fine though. The artist on my UE4 game has a 650 and he has not had problems with it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220381
Ask on the LinusTechTips forums… they build computer for fun and know the benefits of cost efficiency and performance
I wanted you to know I built a computer based on your suggestion, for about $1,100 - and it runs complex UE4 scenes on Epic quality at 120fps!! I couldnt be happier. Thank you!
Talking about a 750ti or a 770, I came across a affortable system with a 760ti inside; that’s perfectly between a 750ti and a 770, you would say! Now I’ve been reading on the internet that a 760ti card is actually performing less than their earlier 680 model?! I believe Epic made both UE4 demo’s run in real-time on
See… I allready have a 3 years old Alienware Aurora (PCI-e 2.1 and a AMD Radeon 6870) and a quite new Alienware M14x laptop at home (2GB 650M GPU) , which, according to the forums, both don’t seem to be a very good option to smoothly develop in UE4!
Thought of adding the Alienware X51 to my Alienware collection, but in an X51, the 760ti seems to be the top GPU option! Upgrading later seems to be out of the question, since the X51’s PSU is limited (330 watt and 2x 6-pins connectors)!
Is it just safe to go for the 760ti?! Or am I gonna be in trouble along the way?!
The main difference between the 750Ti and the 760 is power consumption, the 750 only uses 60 watts and does not need an extra power cable, you lose that when going up to a 760 but don’t gain the performance gains of the 770.
Supposedly right now, the best card, power for the money is the 770. But, in an older pc, or if your on a budget but need a card. The 750Ti is proving very capable for me running UE4. I often have 2 instances of the editor open, one with the ShooterGame or some other example, and then 1 with my game project. No issues.
Thanks !
More and more I’m thinking of selling my ‘old’ Aurora to go for an Aurora with an i7-4930K and a 770 GPU!
Would there be a significant difference between a 2GB 770 and a 3GB 780, or should I just settle for the 770, since you said, at the moment, the 770 is a best buy, power for the money?!
If money’s not an issue for you, then get the more powerful card. That will use more power and generate more heat so you need a larger power supply and better cooling to use it in a stable system. You might want to make sure you have more ram and a better SSD prior to upgrading from the 770 to a 780.
When buying that new Aurora, I was thinking about a 16GB 1600Mhz RAM to start with. That PC has a 875 watts PSU and I would go for a 256GB 6GB/s SSD, in the first place.
Still… when the X51, with an i7-4770, a 760ti, 16GB 1600Mhz RAM and a 256GB SSD + 1TB 5400RPM SATA 3GB/s can be considered as being a decent system for smoothly developing in UE4, than I keep this option still open! With that X51, I’m pretty much above the bare minimum, am I not? Those 750ti and 760ti cards can handle serious amounts of polygons and particles as well, or… ?!
To finish off… is a 680 seriously performing better than a 760ti?!
The 680 is a top end card. The 760 is a mid level. Look at the tens digits for where the card lies performance wise. The hundreds place is for series.
Power consumption and heat are real concerns with video cards and need to be taken into consideration when comparing them.
That’s a simplified explanation, but useful.
The 750Ti is a newer card than the 760 and it’s main advantage is power consumption and price, with only slightly less performance.
Many thanks for all your info, explanation and patience, !!! I really appreciate this!!!
That info about the performance and series of cards, I didn’t know; that says more about me, ofcourse! 
Get a balanced system for what ever your price is, only go up to a top end card if all the rest of the system is also top end, like 32gig ram etc.
There is a thread here by what Epic get’s for there devs. It’s a top end system for $2,500. I can’t find the link though. Hate the search on this forum.
Since I kind of decided to go for a complete new system anyway, can anybody advice me… should I go for Windows 8.1 or still Windows 7?!