Move from console to PC

[Rob_RPM]

Hi all, new here and to PC setup for Sim Racing

I have been on PS4 + controller for years and now want to transfer to a PC setup + rig. I have the rig already and would appreciate some advice for hardware requirements

The transfer will happen gradually so I need equipment which will be compatible with PS4 to start with & then PC later on. (for input devices will therefore go Fanatec CLS/Podium). However, display and PC spec is where I am lost.

I will start with a single display (for use with PS4) which will then be converted to a triple display once I have a PC. I want to make sure that I have 'medim/good' graphical quality, it does not need to be top end. I guess this would be rendering ~100 FPS?

Advice on which monitor(s) to use and the specification on PC required would be appreciated. I currently play Assetto Corsa and also likely to use iRacing, RaceRoom, & ACC on PC

I am time poor and have little PC knowledge so would prefer to purchase a complete machine rather than self build. I woudl be aiming for a mid range budget, I guess ~GBP 2k for screens & PC

Many thanks for you help and looking forward to your advice

 

[Rob_RPM]

Also happy to purchase 2nd hand if there is any relevant equipment being sold. Thanks

 

[DrRob]

Rob,

I am not THE expert on this topic, but currently also upgrading my computer for simracing. I do not own or play iRacing, rF2 or Automobilista. Mostly ACC, a bit AC and R3E. Not knowledgeable on AMD processors and AMD GFX cards, only Intel and Nvidia to some degree. I will leave out any monitor recommendation. Not up to date here.
I will share my 2 cents anyway.

ACC is rather demanding on the hardware. Much more than AC and R3E, so you should keep that in mind. If you play single player, you will need a powerful CPU as physics are player-based for all AI cars, whereas other sims have simplified physics for AI. Or else you will have to limit the amount of AI cars.
That said you can live with a 4 core processor (i5) for MP or SP with 15 AI cars and would need at least 6 core processor (i7) for SP for a full grid, e.g. i7-8700. Personally I am upgrading from a i5-6600K to a i7-9700K as I do SP only.

GFX card depends on the amount of monitors / resolution. No VR, right?
If you want to push out 4K resolution, I would recommend a GTX1070 / GTX 1660TI if you do not want to play on mid/low settings. ACC does not look too pretty on mid/low settings to be honest.
I use a 32:9 Samsung ultrawide 1080p (4K pixels) and am happy with the performance of the 1070 on mostly high/epic settings @4K / 60Hz and 60 FPS locked.
For 100+ FPS you would need to go highest tier cards available today I reckon.

The rest should be of lower importance: State of the art mainboard and PSU, 16GB of RAM, M.2/SSD drive. If you purchase a pre-build PC you will not have that much freedom of choice anyway.

 

[Noahbet]

Hey,

i just upgraded my PC a month ago and i went for AMD.
I've got a Ryzen 7 3700X, AMD RX 5700XT Red Devil, Asus Prime X470 and 32GB RAM.

Mostly i'm playing ACC. But i also Play R3E and rF2.
I Play everything on 3x24" triple screen Setup and everything is running great on max. Settings.

 

[Pedro Azevedo88]

Hello,

I also did the same 1 year ago, but I decided to build mine instead of buying a pre-built one.
I have a Ryzen 2600 paired with a GTX 1080 and 16gb of RAM, which has been more than enough to play everything in highest settings. Only in VR I have to decrease them a little bit.

Now the biggest questions: Intel or AMD and which graphics card.
If your main goal is to play games in your PC, Intel still has the edge. Most of the games don't use more than 2/4 Cores and are more tied to the single core performance which usually benefits Intel due to their higher speeds.
For graphics cards it will depend on your future setup. If you go triple screen, or VR, and want high frames, you'll need to choose a high tier GPU (2070 Super or above). If you only want to secure the 60 fps then something in the range of a 1070/1660TI/RX 5700 will get the job done.

My advice is: for the price you want to spend, and taking into account you want a pre-built system, bet on the one that has the better CPU/MB, since this will ensure that you have a good base for a long period. The GPU, even if down the line is not enough, is something that you can easily change and upgrade.

 

[Noahbet]

Now the biggest questions: Intel or AMD and which graphics card.
If your main goal is to play games in your PC, Intel still has the edge. Most of the games don't use more than 2/4 Cores and are more tied to the single core performance which usually benefits Intel due to their higher speeds.
For graphics cards it will depend on your future setup. If you go triple screen, or VR, and want high frames, you'll need to choose a high tier GPU (2070 Super or above). If you only want to secure the 60 fps then something in the range of a 1070/1660TI/RX 5700 will get the job done.

AMD caught up really good this year.
My RX 5700 XT get the Job done aswell, in some games its above the Level of a 2070 super.
I chose AMD because of the price-performance.

 

[GEO147]

Very important to check when buying your PC that the GPU supplied has three display ports if you want to run triples. Gigabyte, EVGA, MSi tend to have 3xDP (perfect). ASUS only have 2xDP and 2xHDMI (not good).

You want all 3 monitors to be sunning via display port ideally. Things like freesync and gsync will only work correctly in this configuration.

Letting you know in advance as many have made this mistake and learned the hard way, myself included.

 

[Pedro Azevedo88]

AMD caught up really good this year.
My RX 5700 XT get the Job done aswell, in some games its above the Level of a 2070 super.
I chose AMD because of the price-performance.

I confess that I don't have yet a good perception of 5700XT performance, but my comment was thinking mainly in VR and 1440p Triples.
Either way, AMD is catching up both Intel and Nvidia pretty quickly, and in terms of Price-Performance is the best one right now, no doubts.
For a pre-built system, I don't know exactly the current offer in the market, but I think it's still more oriented to Intel/Nvidia.

 

[robt100]

@Rob_RPM Well, the good news is, looking at what people have suggested and your budget, pre-built will fit perfectly (looking at roughly AMD 3600, 16GB DDR3600, 2070super or 5700XT, M2 boot drive, old HDD style main drive, plus all peripherals 27" monitor, keyboard, mouse etc).

Seems to come in between £1500 and £2000 depending on where you go for it.
Self-build (or a friendly RD member) would cost closer to £1300-1500 for the £2k system (incluidng a 144hz panel rather than 60hz). Which would then leave a nice bit of budget to go eith all-out on controllers, or buy the other two montiors to go straight to triples!

 

[Rob_RPM]

Hi everyone,

just wanted to say a big thanks for all of the responses that I got, I really wasn't expecting so much advice and support - as a newcomer it seems that you have a great community here.

I am a complete newbie to PC specification and there are so many parameters and so much terminology to understand - I will still need to do a fair bit of research to actually do justice to your responses and understand them properly.

Since posting I have found overclockers.co.uk & other PC configuration build platforms that I would be more comfortable using (as I would not need to complete the actual build myself)

If anyone has used these services and can share a link to a configuration which meets my needs that would also be a big help!

I would also be very likely to use VR in the future - if this means spending a little more now to future-proof this possibility then that would be my preference

Thanks once again for all the advice and support!

 

[GEO147]

Building a computer is simple it really is. Like LEGO. You should go on Youtube and watch some build videos. Look up a guy called Corey Holzman and see if there are any build videos he did that you could copy exactly with same case and parts so you literally do exactly what he does with the video playing.

 

[Pedro Azevedo88]

Using the website provided this is the build that I came too (monitor included).

There are many small things that will also depend on your taste, like the case/monitor for example. But I think this is a good compromise and future proof if you want triples and VR in the future.
Just my opinion

 

[Rob_RPM]

Using the website provided this is the build that I came too (monitor included).
View attachment 333303

There are many small things that will also depend on your taste, like the case/monitor for example. But I think this is a good compromise and future proof if you want triples and VR in the future.
Just my opinion

Hi Pedro

Many thanks for taking the time to create the specification, this is really appreciated. It looks like you were using the overclockers site - do you have the link that is provided when you build a specification?

Then I could simply put into the browser to populate. If not no problem

Thanks once again

 

[Rob_RPM]

Building a computer is simple it really is. Like LEGO. You should go on Youtube and watch some build videos. Look up a guy called Corey Holzman and see if there are any build videos he did that you could copy exactly with same case and parts so you literally do exactly what he does with the video playing.

Thanks for your reply. I have had a look at building and am confident that I have the technical capability (As it is so simple! ) However, I think for the extra GBP ~100 I would rather have the additional security of someone experienced doing it, just in case it ends up going wrong/ not working. Plus it saves me some extra time

If there is ever a v2 or future upgrades then I would consider doing it myself once I am a bit more comfortable with the technology

Cheers!

 

[Pedro Azevedo88]

Hi Pedro

Many thanks for taking the time to create the specification, this is really appreciated. It looks like you were using the overclockers site - do you have the link that is provided when you build a specification?

Then I could simply put into the browser to populate. If not no problem

Thanks once again

Sure!

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...basketId=30623538#t=a5b2c5d6e2fYi6k;m)o3r9t3F)

 

[robt100]

@Rob_RPM Have sent you a PM, check your inbox