Son's PC build... issues with Minecraft...

[Delirious_Nomad]

AsRock Fatal1ty P67 mobo...
i3 2120 CPU
8GB Corsair Vegance RAM 1600
Zotac 560 ti 448 core GPU
5400rpm 2.5 inch 500GB hdd (to save $ I had this one laying around)
Rosewill 750W psu...

I know it isn't the most powerful build but here is the deal...

plays BF3 right where it ought to on ultra 40-60fps...

plays Metro 2033 in the 30fps range as it should...

but you throw Mincecraft it runs up around 200-400fps but... it has some major stutters and freezes to where it actually stops a bit... I have messed with and tweeked the settings inside Minecraft with little to no avail...

but with major graphics games like BF3/Metro 2033 it runs like I think it ought to... which coincides with benchmarks I used to make the build...

thanks in advance...

oh BTW the question is, "is there or what is the weak link with this build?"

 

[birthdaymonkey]

That hard drive is probably very slow. Generally a 7200 rpm drive or (ideally) an SSD is suggested for OS and programs. Is there any chance the slowdown is due to loading?

EDIT: To answer your question, that hard drive is by far the weak part of that system.

 

[Ken g6]

5400rpm 2.5 inch 500GB hdd (to save $ I had this one laying around)

I'm guessing this is the weak link. If so, adding an SSD and installing Minecraft on it would make it faster.

 

[Delirious_Nomad]

i guess I don't really know. it got me thinking that is by far the crappiest drive I could have put in it (but I already owned it)... thinking about a 120GB SSD since he only plays just a couple of games...

 

[birthdaymonkey]

120GB SSD would be a great addition. I'd get a Crucial M4 or a Sandforce gen 2 from a company with a good reputation (Intel, Mushkin, Corsair, et al... probably not OCZ).

 

[Delirious_Nomad]

well thanks for the input, Mushkin 120GB SSD on it's way. I suspected the hdd and am glad for the input.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

You bet. Be sure to report back on how it works out.

 

[PhoenixEnigma]

As a stop-gap measure, you might look into OptiFine, which is a Minecraft mod that adds a couple options that can help - I think one of changes specifically addresses stuttering from hard drive I/O, so it might be worth a look. Not sure if it's been updated for the latest version, but it's usually pretty quick to do so.

SSD is certainly a better long term solution (and you're everyday usage will thank you for it), but no reason not to give the quick fix a shot.

 

[magomago]

wait a minute...
are we really suggesting that what he needs to do in order to play Minecraft is get an SSD?

I don't play minecraft, but I've seen it, and unless its an extremely I/O heavy game, I'm kind of baffled why "SSD" is the answer.

 

[Delirious_Nomad]

hey mahomago it is all good. it isnt required to play minecraft ... i was just curious because of how well it plays everything else. plays flawless on my system which is a little beefier. 2600k GTX 580 SC. I was looking for the weakest link in the build. if Minecraft showed me I have one, then i want to address it. it could have been anything from any number of sources but as long as it wrecked with his/our expirience it needed to be addressed.

plus it is as good as excuse as any to try out a SSD... maybe I want one for my system next. that would be a good thing!!

 

[ManBearPig]

hey mahomago it is all good. it isnt required to play minecraft ... i was just curious because of how well it plays everything else. plays flawless on my system which is a little beefier. 2600k GTX 580 SC. I was looking for the weakest link in the build. if Minecraft showed me I have one, then i want to address it. it could have been anything from any number of sources but as long as it wrecked with his/our expirience it needed to be addressed.

plus it is as good as excuse as any to try out a SSD... maybe I want one for my system next. that would be a good thing!!

maybe you'll wanna test out the SSD on your system first?

 

[NTMBK]

wait a minute...
are we really suggesting that what he needs to do in order to play Minecraft is get an SSD?

I don't play minecraft, but I've seen it, and unless its an extremely I/O heavy game, I'm kind of baffled why "SSD" is the answer.

Minecraft stores the entire volume of data for your world on hard drive and has to stream it to memory when you move between regions. This is much more IO intensive than a typical game world's polygonal terrain.

 

[Delirious_Nomad]

@kazaam nah... I have bigger plans for my SSD solution