Buying Advice: pc for historic sims

[maranx]

Hello everyone.

I am writing because I need some advice and the information is hard to find.

I had an old pc and used it mainly for GTR2-P&G but my graphics card fried. I wasn't completely happy with it as I had some stutter - frame drop when a lot of cars were around at the same time (for example race start at Nordschleife but also small drops at any time).

Its specs were:
- Intel core 2 duo E8500 3.16Ghz
- Ati Radeon HD 4800 series
- AsRock P45DE mobo
- 4gb DDR2
- ssd drive
- G25 wheel

My object is to run some legacy games at max graphics and fps >60 without stutter @ resolution 1920x1080 (single screen)
The games are GTR2/P&G, rFactor and Richard Burns Rally. I believe the first two are the most demanding hardware wise.
I plan to keep using windows 7.

Around the net I only find the minimum system requirements, but not the optimum ones.

I can find used parts cheaply but I don't know what to look for. Ideally I want examples of your setups if you can run these games at the above settings and your recommendation for what to go after. Thanks

 

[callumjtc]

I have a PC with 10GB Ram and a first gen i7 that I can put Windows 10 pro on for £150, and for an extra £80 I could put a better PSU and a graphics card that will be capable enough for you. If you want something newer I can spec a PC up for you

 

[Denis Betty]

I'm no expert, but I used to run rFactor quite a bit and also P&G. I think you should build a bit of headroom in. I run an i5 4690k and used to run it with a gtx970 (which I sold for £100). That combo will easily cope with those games, with a little to spare. You could go for the non-K version to save a little, but the option to OC at a later date is too tempting to miss out on IMO.
I agree that a good PSU is important to protect your investment. Buy decent - a gold rated one - and buy it new.

 

[maranx]

I have a PC with 10GB Ram and a first gen i7 that I can put Windows 10 pro on for £150, and for an extra £80 I could put a better PSU and a graphics card that will be capable enough for you. If you want something newer I can spec a PC up for you

Thanks, but I am in Greece

Denis thanks for your reply. My intention is to build some headroom indeed.
I remember reading in the past that most important for these games is single core speed and that more than 4gb of memory will not make any real world difference.

 

[Denis Betty]

Thanks, but I am in Greece

Denis thanks for your reply. My intention is to build some headroom indeed.
I remember reading in the past that most important for these games is single core speed and that more than 4gb of memory will not make any real world difference.

Yes, and for the ISI based games, you need to run the 4Gb patch to use all of that RAM.

 

[callumjtc]

Thanks, but I am in Greece

Denis thanks for your reply. My intention is to build some headroom indeed.
I remember reading in the past that most important for these games is single core speed and that more than 4gb of memory will not make any real world difference.

If you wanted all new bits then an i3 8350K would be a great option, with 8GB DDR4 RAM. Agree with Denis a GTX 970 would be the GPU of choice

 

[maranx]

Well, these specs are all fine but probably an overkill for what I am looking.

Could I be ok with something as low as an i3-4130 3.4ghz, 4gb of ram and a gtx570 for these games?

(Still it may not be cost effective, I know, but I would like to find out how low can I go)

 

[callumjtc]

An i5 2500K and GTX 750Ti may be ideal, look for a GTX 770 if you can go that far though, 8GB Ram minimum, 120GB boot SSD and whatever hard drive. As Denis said a new PSU is a must, 600W at least Bronze rated will be more than enough. Motherboard will be hard to come by but are about.

 

[callumjtc]

Those specs are too low for a build now playing games, and would struggle with more modern titles, and the 4GB of Ram will kill the system speed

 

[Denis Betty]

Why do you wanna go lower than that? 970 & 4690k will allow you to play AC on medium settings should you choose. There's loads of historic content for AC. You can run HistorX mod on rF1 on mostly high settings. Any lower and you wouldn't really get the best out of your games IMO. If you are intending to buy used parts (apart from the PSU) the price difference is pretty piffling. Again, it's only my opinion, but you'd get better bang for buck if you bite the bullet. It's one of my mantras when I'm spending money - spend a little more than you really want to and go for a little better quality. You'll seldom regret doing that. Good luck in whatever you decide.

Edit: 'd by Callum.

 

[maranx]

The intention was to have a dedicated system for the legacy games.

But yeah , you are probably right. That is why I wrote it wouldn't be cost effective.

 

[callumjtc]

Why do you wanna go lower than that? 970 & 4690k will allow you to play AC on medium settings should you choose. There's loads of historic content for AC. You can run HistorX mod on rF1 on mostly high settings. Any lower and you wouldn't really get the best out of your games IMO. If you are intending to buy used parts (apart from the PSU) the price difference is pretty piffling. Again, it's only my opinion, but you'd get better bang for buck if you bite the bullet. It's one of my mantras when I'm spending money - spend a little more than you really want to and go for a little better quality. You'll seldom regret doing that. Good luck in whatever you decide.

Edit: 'd by Callum.

That system will play AC on the highest setting no OC I'd like to point out! Only difference is I have a 980Ti

 

[Denis Betty]

That system will play AC on the highest setting no OC I'd like to point out! Only difference is I have a 980Ti

Well, I don't remember the details of exactly why, but I never ran it on full settings with the 970 and the i5 running at stock clock speed. It's very possible that I was doing something wrong though.

 

[callumjtc]

Well, I don't remember the details of exactly why, but I never ran it on full settings with the 970 and the i5 running at stock clock speed. It's very possible that I was doing something wrong though.

Possibly the 970 was a big bottleneck? I still play ACC 60FPS+ on my system with all settings high

 

[Denis Betty]

Just looking on Ebay completed listings, it looks like the i5 can be bought for around 55-60 quid if you are prepared to box clever and the cheapest 970s have been going for around 50 quid. I dunno, maybe I'm being flipant with other people's money, but I think you may as well have the headroom than go cheaper than that.

 

[Denis Betty]

Possibly the 970 was a big bottleneck? I still play ACC 60FPS+ on my system with all settings high

Ah, hold on.... sorry. I remember now, I was playing in Nvidia 3d. That's why I need more FPS. Oops, I have a head like a sieve... sorry.

 

[callumjtc]

Just looking on Ebay completed listings, it looks like the i5 can be bought for around 55-60 quid if you are prepared to box clever and the cheapest 970s have been going for around 50 quid. I dunno, maybe I'm being flipant with other people's money, but I think you may as well have the headroom than go cheaper than that.

Being somewhat of a specialist in building new PCs from old Ebay bits (my current and last one both ) you're bang on the money. Any newer is too expensive for the performance given