Starting to build a gaming pc
Starting to build a gaming pc
So I have deceided to build a gaming pc mostly for racing . I will be using it for other games as well as Battlefield 4 and other shooters. I just purchased the case and power supply . The case is a mid size and the P.S is 600w which is what the computer tech at tiger direct informed would be enough for running iracing on ultra with triple monitor set up. The graphics card I'm looking at is a AMD Radeon 7970 hd minimum P.S for this card is 500w.. not sure what MB or CPU, it will be a AMD cpu . I dont remember which one the tech suggested . I will be using HD tvs for my monitors. I have 2 x47" sides and 1x 60" for the middle. I currently use them for Forza4 . I would like to know if Iracing ,Rfactor and project cars support different size monitors for triple setup.I do know it supports triple monitors but not sure if it supports different size monitors.So any input will help thanks.
Looks like a good build in the works!
as for the triple screen support that a good question? I am sure they do I've seen pics on the web of mismatched screens. Eyefinity I hear is a lot easier to set up than nividia sound, I have 3 of the same screens but one is an older model and. It took a miracle and alot of frustration to get working.....in the end I had to flash my monitors to trick the CPU in too thinking they were the same and so the polarity sync were too......to the day I have no idea how I did it lol luckily there's YouTube!
I think my next build I might do an amd build in a mini box :)
if you need any advice just give us a shoot!
cheers
Yeah if your going to use mismatched monitors AMD is the way to go, Nvidia works best with matched though as long as the sync polarity is the same Nvidia works fine. When I first put my triples together I had one smaller one and I had no issues with any of the sims...Once you have set up the custom resolution and bezel adjustment you just make sure you set the same in the sim and you should be good to go. It has to be said that Nvidia seem to perform best in the world of sim racing for some reason, and single powerful GPU is less of a headache than duel, a lot of issues are reported on SLI cards, though some say the latest AMD drivers have calmed the micro stutter you may still find you get micro stuttering in game.
As for CPU unless you are going to do a lot of video editing, quad core is more than enough for gaming, just get the fastest one you can afford, MoBo I cant recommend the Sabretooth Tuf series highly enough, these are built to survive a nuclear war, look amazing http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/TUF_Series_Products/ But all in all Asus Mobo's are great.
Take what your salesman says with a pinch of salt, I would have upped the PSU to to a 750 watt to give some headroom but you should be okay at 650, and scan the sim racing forums, they will give you the heads up on what folk are building, what works best, I use AMD CPU and a Asus 990 FX MoBo with an Nvidia 670, and on the whole am very happy, okay I would have liked to get a higher spec card, but the jump in price was more than I could swallow. But run most things on high or ultra on the triples.
Memory, as much as you can get, 8Gb is a safe minimum, I have 16 and am never looking for more.
Anyhoo have fun with the build, and like kurupt says we are here to help. The GBR crew are also well versed in sim racing builds and were a great help to me :)
Thanks for the input . I am going to return th PS and get a 750w or maybe a little higher just to future proof. As for th MOBO I am looking at the Sabertooth Z77 tuff series. Question about the different racing sims which would be best to start with and not be so expensive to subscribe. I hear Iracing can get a little expensive.
That's an understatement....for ally the content your looking at $1600 half that if you just do either ovals or roads plus $100 yr membership fee....personally I'd wait till you've got a custom too pc sim racing before diving in it can be very difficult, frustrating and as we found out you just can't slowly purchase content once you leave rookie class they fuck you hard! It will cost you about $150 to purchase content for 1 season....it's a love hate relationship :) but if you got the cash and want the ultimate hardcore that's the one!
as for which to start with....rfactor 1 or race07 depends what type of racing you like...rfactor big hitters are the open wheelers and v8 series where as r07 is a touring car gt game...both companies use to be together than split rf1 is $28 and steam has a simbin ultimate pack on sale for $35 which gives gtl, gtr,gtr2 race07 and all 8 expansion packs which is a great deal!
either or it will more than likely be a mod that's converted over from one another so your really not missing out
as for the gen sims coming later this yr that's really up to you, iam excited for a few titles
mhopefully that helps you out
cheers
Yes very helpful. Thanks! On the sims that you mentioned how are the graphics if set to ultra ? Also are the graphics on this sim games when set to ultra far better than Forza4 or Gt5 remember I have never played a pc game with a high end pc so I have nothing to compare one from the other. I have always been a console gamer. This will be my very first pc for gaming venture.
The ones I've mentioned you might be a bit disappointed at first but keep in mind they were all released before fm3 but the difference between console and pc if you have a good graphics cards you can apply high level of anti alliasing which clears the picture and sharpens it. There's also mods available for rfactor and race 07....I know race 07 has a high def sky mod with clouds that actually move and there was dynamic shadow mod released last week but I have only ran the the sky mod so far...overall there a bit dated, race 07 I find looks and sounds cleaner...the Stock physics and ffb seem similar to me but everyone that runs rfactor use a mod called real feel and claim nothing compares. In all honesty with $100 you can buy all the available sims on the market and test which ones you like best :) once you get setup and become comfortable with the physics and racing with people you won't even have time to look at the quality of the graphics cause you ll be having intense battles and alot of oh shit moments
as for the next gen sims graphically they blow the shit out the consoles and will be on a whole new level
The true advantage of the pc sims is the power of the physics some of the games will rip your arms off and leave you beaten lol. Add to the fact that if you don't like something about the game there'sa 99% chance there's a mod to fix it :)
some advice ill give you that iam sure others will agree with here....
Turn off arcade corner markers cause most leagues won't allow them, and try to lower any assists you might use till your running none
learn the physics and the tracks start slow and work on increasing each lap.
find a thread that gives good setup advice for your wheel for each game and start at a medium setting and raise or lower till it feels comfortable and you can feel what the car is doing
what someone prefers may not be your taste!
you don't need every game :) rfactor and race07 have more than enough leagues going to keep you busy daily till the launch of the next gens
when on forums and a new thread pops up "my new...." Don't read it :). Cause it's always some new fancy sim gear or upgrade to there pc, than 5 other people will buy the same component or one up them....it's a bloody costly addiction lol I've probably spent about $2500-3000 in the past yr...god knows how much Knight has spent he always complains he's tight on money but has bought everything available in the sim racing world :)
Heh, don't drink, don't smoke, never go out and sales!...that is the way I fund this bloody ridiculous hobby LOL.
So yeah Kurupt has covered most the bases, iRacing is a love it or hate it kinda deal, I hate it...but...still run it for GBR club races. Race07 is perhaps the easiest transition Sim from consoles, it is a little easier to jump in and drive than some others. rFactor 1 is the granddaddy of Sims and the graphics are dated, but it is still one of the most used sims out there for good reason, endless mods, hundreds of tracks and a good training ground for full blown sim racing, all free to download once you have bought the program. It can be a bit tricky to set up, but we have all been there and if and when you start on these give us a shout and as I have done before you can be talked through an install. These three will run at full res, full graphics settings and high framerates on what you are building.
Like has been said there are endless addons, wheels, pedals, displays, button boxes...the sky, or your wallet is the only restriction. Be warned a year from now you will have spent more than you intended, but damn, I love it.
Next Gen sims are another story. None are ready, or finished. We all have the one we think will be the next big thing, we all struggle to run them without issues. My favorite is rF2, it has the most features in game, but many are still work in progress. Assetto Corsa, we have one car and one track and it remains to be seen what will happen to it's much lauded triple support and good frame rates once there are many cars on track. Project Cars is Kurupts baby, I have stopped testing it as I have paid for the full game when it is ready and I am an internal tester for another sim and Fanaleds and this takes up more time than I expected. There are others, but the first three are the ones with most people playing and despite their age we all get a lot of fun out of them and are worth every penny.
It is a daunting thing when you first start out in PC racing, many pitfalls can befall you, and there will be tear your hair out levels of frustration, but the rewards are worth it. When I first started I spent more time facing the wrong way than the right, but after a while thing start to make sense and you will be giving advice yourself to someone.
But be warned again, I started with a controller sat in front of my TV...Then I started sim racing.
It really is a daunting and humbling genre to get to grips with.
But all will come together in time.
As stated R7 and rfactor are the best to start with since it gives you access to every track and formula of racing available, so you can find out specifically which kind of leagues would suit you best.
I am still in my first year of sim racing after selling everything (Xbox, PS3, arcade parts etc.) to build myself a future proof PC.
Ill also be posting my budget rat rig shortly since I've newly upgraded from using the dining chair lol.
Be sure to stick around an race with us when you get it all set up.
Ok so I have returned my 650w PSU and purchased a Cooler Master silent pro M 1000 w .That should be a good amount of power if I decide to add a second graphics card? So back to my pc parts check list : Case purchased. PSU purchased. What to buy next? Any and all help is greatly appreciated . I am going to call this build, "2o2Race Build" This is my first attempt in building a gaming pc.
I'd look at a mobo and CPU....can't do much with out it :)
mobo is up to you, I'd look for something that can be built on to in the future so something that has a total of 2 pci and 2 pcie bus lanes that way it will be able to add a second gpu or high end sound card than use the other 2 for little things like a smaller sound card tv tuner etc.
cpu I don't know much about about amd so ill let knight chip in on that, as for intel you really don't need anything more than a quad core but its always nice to have more power a build for the future to save in the long run. I have a i7 2600 quad core with hyper threading when needing extra juice it mirrors itself and becomes an 8 core.
in theory an i5 2500k or i7 2600k is more than enough...intel released its 3rd gen CPU last fall there's very little difference in performance except for they use less power but have been reported as running a bit hotter. Now if you decided to to go with a newer nvidia card there is one major advantage to getting a 3rd gen intel CPU the bus lanes are capable of running at 32 bit as opposed to 16 bit on second gens so combining a new nvidia card with a 3rd gen CPU ( when it becomes fully optimized) in theory should give you almost double the data transfer rate resulting in better frame rates when gaming....my rule of thumb is always set your graphics levels as high as you can without EVER falling below 60fps...when it goes below you'll notice small stuttering and screen tearing when taking corners .
i learnt the hard way it's best to take your time save a little longer, wait for annual sales/holidays a buy the best that you can afford.
write down a gameplan of what your build goal is....biggest factor is are you going with single screen or triples? Single screen is the cheaper option , triples your going to need premium parts if graphics are a very important! As you put project cars as one of your possible games you'll need ALOT of power for triples. That game is the only reason I built a pc currently with everything on and graphics set to high I can get anywhere from 45 + fps depending on track, just using Fxaa high, when I jack it to ultra with rain and time progression to x60 I get mid 20-30's fps
but keep in mind the game is over a yr away and they haven't even thought of starting the optimization yet so I have confidence my system will run 60fps solid when complete if not ill be looking into a gtx 780 4gb
Welcome to the dark side..gif "160")
Just want to mention, there are some excellent GT mods available for rFactor (Enduracers & the new Blancpain GT3 mod). RFactor is my #1 choice, primarily because that's what all my cronies run. Yes it's getting a little long in the tooth (7+ years), but god damn it sooo much more involving than Forza with the right mods.
Favorite part are functional pits and the option of running full length races. Got a 6 HR race planned for this weekend w/ driver swaps..gif "142")
Is either one of these a good option for gaming?
How is the i5 3570k priced over there?
For gaming its on even par with the and 8 core 8350.
The intel will last will give you enough power to last for many yrs....i7 in Canada start at about $450 that combo pack with liquid cooler & mobo would be close to $900+ so ya that's a good deal.....any of them will be good in all honesty. Like knight mentioned earlier the intel/nvidia combo are currently resulting in the best fps in the sim racing world but in the shooter world I believe amd/ati are the front runner so really depends what you will play more?
look at the two as gold & silver intel as the pricey one amd/ati you can purchase there top of the line stuff for nearl half the cost of intel/nvidia....bonus to ati/amd cheaper performs well seems to be user friendly and you could use the saved cash to put towards a better wheel or other sim gadgets...best immersive add on I bought was a buttkicker gamer 2 :)
iam looking into sim experience as my next upgrade among other things....it never ends :(
I would go with the intel between those two, like I said before 8 core is pointles for gaming. So while I am an AMD fan when it comes to processors, in this case the Intel bundle if best fit for purpose. Though if they do a four core AMD CPU bundle that is worth a look, money saved going towards a kick arse graphics card.
Knight , would the AMD bundle also work even thou its 8 core ? I do want more money spent on a graphics card at least a 3gb graphics card, i will eventually go to triple monitors. I will also play some other types of games besides sim racing my gaming will 70% sim racing and 30% other games. . I also read that using eyeinfinity is easier to setup for triple monitors..
To be honest Nvidia surround is easy too, could talk you through it in a couple of miniuts so don't worry about that. If Sim racing is the top priority then Nvidia is the way to go. I also play other games all in triple screen if supported, all maxed out on my 2gb 670. If you can push to a 4gb you will will be laughing.
Yes the 8 core will work well enough, just overkill, no game as far as I know uses 8 cores but it will not be an issue, that CPU has had some good reviews and I am concidering one myself as I want to get back to some video editing.
Getting in a little late here, but I just got a new PC earlier this year. I didn't build it myself, but had it custom built at Cyberpower PC. In hindsight, I should have built it myself, would have been faster.
I went the AMD/ATI route. Here are the major components of my PC:
CPU - AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6 core
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
Memory - 16GB (8GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory G.SKILL Ripjaws X
GPU - AMD Radeon 7970
Power Sup - Corsair 750W
I have triple 27 monitors running 5760 x 1080 resolution. I play rFactor occasionally and run all the graphics options at max with no problems. I play iRacing almost daily with almost everything maxed out. I put the off track and pit stuff at medium, and turn down the shadows and get super smooth performance.
Heh I don't complain about iRacing, I just don't like it, tried...but it's not my cup of tea, "I got a 2 year subscription and bought every car and track in the game within the first 2 months and spent just over $800"... that my friend is part of it...800! Man that is...well you and I live in different financial worlds. LOL
Everyone should give it a go, no argument there. I am not going to sit here and say I don't like it so you wont. Give it a go, make your own mind up. We all have our favorite sims, we know mine is rF2, but I will be the first to say it needs more cars and tracks, but what there is rocks my boat, even if I am crap at most of them he he.
Safe to say the world of PC Sim racing is rich and varied, there is a sim for every taste. Ink mate your heading off on a voyage of discovery, and one one of the most fun things you can do with your clothes on...
Thank you for that info Knight about the Nvidia surround,do you know if it supports different size monitor setup ? I have a center 60" and left and right 47". I may still stick with AMD being that its cheaper . The graphics card I plan to get is the same one on Troys build and that card alone is 300.00 or higher. Than again I may change my mind , I'm not buying cpu or mobo yet, my next purchase will be a solid state drive and harddrive then a dvd/ blueray player burner if there is such a thing . I also need info on a good sound card one with optical connection. I have Astro A50 for headphones(wireless) and it requires optical connection for Dolby digital 5.1surround. I would also like to connect the pc into my home theater 11.2 surround system if thats even possible. So can play iracing and other sim games with 10,000 watts of audio power.
For what u have in screens I'd go with an ati gpu....mismatching is a hassle on nvidia I have experience. As for a sound card I'd leave that out at the moment a good mobo will have pretty high quality sound cards built in with up to 7.1 surround.
As for iracing ill continue in the iracing thread later so this thread stays on track with your future build :)
Yeah if your monitors are mismatched that is when ATI seem to deal better, if they all have the same polarity then Nvidia is as simple to set up irrespective of monotor sizes but if not, or your not sure go ATI.
Don't think that MoBo has optical out, but sound cards are a mine field, if you are going to output to a high quality sound system I would tend to go for an external, the inside of a computer is a noisy environment for stray rf and while it is unnoticeable at the kind of volumes we have in headphones or most PC speaker systems, stick it out to a high end audio system and the cracks start to show, for an example I stick an mp3 on my computer or mp3 player and it's okay, pass it through my class A stereo amp and speakers and it sounds awful, so you are looking at spending a few quid here, My music workstation has a £800 audio card with all the I/O's and AD/DA converters on break out boxes...now you don't need to spent that kind of money, but you are looking at a couple of hundred. Creative Labs have been in the game a long time, and their higher end stuff is worth a look.
Now on saying go external I have been having a look at the better internals and they are screening quite well, one or two are completely enclosed so maybe that is less of an issue than it was. This caught my eye http://www.amazon.com/HT-OMEGA-CLARO-Channel-Sound/dp/B006U9OML8/ref=sr_...
I will try Iracing but I am not spending that kind of money for any game. For hardware upgrades yes, for additional content no. Of course I have not tried any at this time and maybe just maybe I may buy a car or 2 and some tracks just maybe. Time will tell . So for now I will take my time building "THE ULTIMATE 2OLD2PLAY GAMING PC IN THE WORLD!" and cross the buy gaming content when I cross that bridge. This is coming from a guy that once said OH! I like $200.00 5.1 all in one home theater system. Jump to present time I've spent over 15,000 on my 11.2 home theater system. Thanks again for all of your input,keep it coming ,"NUMBER 5 NEEDS MORE INPUT ! "
LOL that must be one hell of a sound system, there are so many things that you can add to a PC Sim rig. Wheels, shifters, displays, button boxes, Simvibe, motion...the list goes on. So hearing where your sound system ended up I can't wait to see where you may go with your race rig.
I already have a Csr Elite wheel, G27 pedals with a Perfect Pedal mod for the brake pedal also thrustmaster shifter T8 something something. I also have 3x Buttkicker gamers (tranceducers) and finally my DIY racing rig with a Ractive racing seat. You can see it on the left of this post I use it as my avatar. I use ot for Forza and someGT5.
Here's some good deals on radeon 7970 & a wicked deal on the 7990!
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Category/VideoCards
It's a Canadian company so if you live in the states you'll save even more with the conversion rate
if that deal on the 7990 pops up again I might jump on it! For that price it's the same as a gtx 780 but with alot more more power apparently it's even faster than the Titan.
in reality I don't need a new gpu but the main reason I built a pc was for pcars and I want it running at 60 fps on ultra, hopefully if it all goes to plan sales from the game will buy that new gpu :)
atm I have 3 identical monitors problem is 1 of them was built a season before the other 2 and has a different polarity and windows updated something last Christmas that causes all new gpu drivers to crash when installing and if it does install I drops my resolution in half when setting up triples and I can't for the life of me figure it out? So I think ill opt for the easy solution and go with an easy to work with and more powerfull ati :)
Heh yeah but these are mid level kit, there are muuuch more expensive toys out there, but only for PC, not consoles. So stuff you would not have even thought about before will sooner or later cross your path. There are rumors of a new wheel with a totally different approach to design that I am waiting on with interest. my guess is it will be at least twice the cost of my Elite. Pedals the same, I love my CSP v2's but there are better out there.