Best GPU and more: Rig specs for FFXIV

Final Fantasy XIV has been around for quite some time now. Since then, PC tech has already improved, so it means rigs with perhaps what’s considered today as lower-end specs would have no problem running the game. Nevertheless, some specs and settings suit the game better than others.

Here’s how you should tweak your gaming station for you to make the most of your Eorzea adventures.

Beyond the Bare

Even though FFXIV is one of the least requirement-intensive games, its requirement –both minimum and recommended–have increased through the years. This means if you have been using a GPU below the NVidia GTX750–or Radeon R7 260X–it’s time that you replace it. Currently, these are the minimum specs for FFXIV:

• Processor: Intel Core i5 2.4GHz

• Memory: 3 GB RAM (4GB if 64-bit)

• Graphics Card (NVIDIA): NVIDIA GTX 750

• Graphics Card (AMD): AMD Radeon R7 260X

If you noticed, these specs were already attainable during FFXIV’s release. However, back then, this was top-of-the-line hardware. But as tech advanced, then so did FFXIV’s demands. After all, you wouldn’t want your game to look the way it did back when it was first released. So if you’re satisfied with minimum requirements–and therefore minimum performance, you’re already good to go!

As for the recommended specs, they are as follows:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 3GHz

• Memory: 8GB

• Graphics Card (NVIDIA): NVIDIA GTX 970

• Graphics Card (AMD): AMD Radeon RX 480

For the recommended specs, you’ll notice that the GPU models didn’t exist when the game was first released. So if you want smooth gameplay and have enough money or FFXIV currency – we don’t mean FFXIV Gil – for an upgrade, it’s about time that you do.

Playing Your Cards Right

Assuming you’ve kept up with tech developments, you already know that GPUs like GTX970 are no longer cutting-edge like they used to be. Heck, they’re already lower-mid-tier at this point. So even though you don’t really need the latest cards, you might still want to have them if you’re a performance buff. This is because Square Enix wanted players to be able to push the game visuals even further with hardware beyond what the game asks for.

Here are the more recent models and how they affect graphics:

• GTX1060 3GB or RX580 – highest settings at 1080p with 60 FPS

• GTX1070 – highest settings at 1440p with 60 fps

• GTX1080Ti – highest settings at 4k with 60 fps

No RNG for RAM

For the same price of the bleeding-edge GPU in FFXIV’s release, you can now have so much more detail and never-before-reached performance. However, to back this up, you need the best CPUs out there. As a baseline, you now need those that have four or more CPU cores. In this day and age, that’s not exactly difficult to find. And if you buy a Ryzen chip, you’re sure to run the game like a hot knife through warm butter.

Other good options include R5 2600 or an i5-8400. But if you want the truly best performance, you owe yourself an i7-8700K. At this point, you might as well get a GTX1080Ti, as well as a super-reliable power source.

Last but definitely not least would be RAM. As the recommended specs have suggested, you should have 8GB. Going beyond that won’t help, but it’s definitely not a bad thing either. In the end, RAM speed will also depend on your CPU and motherboard. If you’re getting one of the beefier CPUs out there, you might as well get 8GB or more.

Putting together a PC for Final Fantasy XIV can be quite the hard mental work. Thankfully, with this list, you can now spare yourself such cerebral labor. Seriously, just save it for your adventures in Eorzea.