Thoretical Question (For Now) of What to Upgrade/Replace?

[newbert]

Let's say I wanted to Swap Out whatever hardware PC components necessary to end up with the most kick-ass VR-enabled sim-racing PC at the moment or near future? Which of my present components would need to be changed, and to what exactly? Set budget aside for the time being (within reason of course - I don't have NASA's budget, but I have a fair bit of $$$ to spend). What would you do exactly? Oh - and assume no overclocking and fancy cooling and/or Ram tuning. (Thermopaste and fans only). The simpler the better. This would be for sim-racing (and perhaps flight-simming) only.

My present system:

CPU: i7-7700 (NOT K) 3.6Ghz- This is the max CPU that my presser mothboard can handle.
Motherboard: So obviously this would need replacing, but to what exactly?
RAM: 2x8GB: Also, the max that my present motherboard will take. I figure this needs to go to 32GB, but with what specs.
Hard Drive: 2 TB SSD. I would think this could be re-used, right?
Videocard: Geforce 1660 right now. Would 2080TI be the way to go?

Other hardware which would be re-used: TM PC-Racer; Fanatec Clubsport V2 peds; Samsung Odyssey+ WMR headset.

Right now, this is strictly theoretical. But, who knows? I've done crazy things before....

Any and all ideas welcomed.

Thanks!

 

[Durge Driven]

Right now 9900KS and GTX 2080Ti as you say
You spend this much why use anything second hand ?
Better to sell the lot as running unit

No expense spared would be better to get pro built custom full loops setup with cherry picked hardware

So to build yourself from stock parts
Only one case I think I have the smaller $300AU Phanteks Evol X... I love it

Buy Phanteks Enthoo Elite Satin Black [PH-ES916E_BK] | PC Case Gear Australia

Phanteks Enthoo Elite Satin Black available to buy online from PC Case Gear – Australia’s Premier Online PC Store.

www.pccasegear.com

For me as of today would be 3950X, Gigabyte X570 Extreme motherboard with triple M2

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/46885/gigabyte-x570-aorus-xtreme-motherboard

3 of these Corsair drives so 6TB on motherboard ...no wiring

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/46843/corsair-force-series-mp600-pcie-gen4-m-2-nvme-ssd-2tb

Then a top line iTX AMD 3400G setup ( for streaming or server )
Yes this case holds 2 PSU and 2 Systems

Dual GTX2080Ti with closed looped cooling you have that many places in this case to stick radiators it's silly 4 is no worries

Really custom build would be oodles better

With custom loop I have 2 of those not greedy p

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/44624/gigabyte-aorus-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-extreme-waterforce-wb-11g

P.S.
Have you checked out any of the full custom builders websites that have far more resources to seek
out the best possible hardware ........That is where you get 3DMark record machines

 

[newbert]

......
P.S.
Have you checked out any of the full custom builders websites that have far more resources to seek
out the best possible hardware ........That is where you get 3DMark record machines

Wow! Lots of good info to consider, Thanks!

Do you have a link/links to the full custom builders websites that you refer to?

Oh - and why use anything second-hand? Basically because I wouldn't want to have to re-install all of the software, mods and their supporting apps, etc from scratch! Related to that issue, I assume that the existing drive could be made bootable on a new system with different BIOS, etc, right?

Thanks!

 

[Miguel Batista]

I would keep SSD. As for simple build, I would go with a new CPU. i5-9600k or i7-9700k depending on your budget and a new motherboard. Those CPUs overclock well abd you can push them to 5.0GHz. I know you said no overclock but for VR that high boost speed is really important. Some motherboards like MSI gaming 7 have an auto overclock features which literaly work with the push of a button. Not as good as a manual overclock but they do the job. As for GPU, as high as you can afford bearing in mind that anything over a 2070 Super will yield diminishing returns for the investment. You can keep the ram as well.

Get a decent air cooler for the CPU (like a Noctua one) and you are set.

 

[Denis Betty]

Bert, I see you say no NASA budget, no water cooling and no overclocking, correct?

I had this convo with a buddy, this last few days. He told me that, if I wanna stick with Intel, the next gen is due out in March. He said that the 9600 replacement (10600?) will have hyperthreading, which may be an advantage for AMS2.

The reasons for me wishing to stick with Intel (even though I think they take the Mick, price wise), are 1) stick with what I know (I'm not great with computers), 2) many people on this site, claim that Intel CPUs work slightly better on current gen sims, due to slightly better single core performance. AMD CPUs give slightly better overall performance for stuff like video editing (I think) and other stuff which makes better use of more cores/threads.

I don't know why I'm replying, I know very little on this topic, but at least (I think ) I read the question.

 

[newbert]

Bert, I see you say no NASA budget, no water cooling and no overclocking, correct?

I had this convo with a buddy, this last few days. He told me that, if I wanna stick with Intel, the next gen is due out in March. He said that the 9600 replacement (10600?) will have hyperthreading, which may be an advantage for AMS2.

The reasons for me wishing to stick with Intel (even though I think they take the Mick, price wise), are 1) stick with what I know (I'm not great with computers), 2) many people on this site, claim that Intel CPUs work slightly better on current gen sims, due to slightly better single core performance. AMD CPUs give slightly better overall performance for stuff like video editing (I think) and other stuff which makes better use of more cores/threads.

I don't know why I'm replying, I know very little on this topic, but at least (I think ) I read the question.

Thanks, Denis. I figure the faster the PC, the lower my lap times will be, right?

Hope to see you on rF2 on Thursday!

Bert

 

[Trebormoore84]

many people on this site, claim that Intel CPUs work slightly better on current gen sims, due to slightly better single core performance. AMD CPUs give slightly better overall performance for stuff like video editing (I think) and other stuff which makes better use of more cores/threads.

yeah that sums it up nicely. Right now Intel if you just game and nothing else. AMD Ryzen 3000 series if you want to do heavy lifting work like live streaming, video editing / 3d rendering etc, (i.e. more cores and threads per SKU value) and game (at 5-10% lower frames than Intel).

In terms of future proofing and mainboards its a bit tricky right now, AMD AM4 makes more sense in the short term for Ryzen 4000 CPU's, and longer term possibly waiting for Intel z490 for 2021 10nm CPU's.

Current AMD: B450, X470, X570, AM4 socket, Zen 3 or Ryzen 4000 is the last generation then AM4 will be end of life (so in understand).
Ryzen 4000 comes out in Q3 this year and said to be 10-17% increase in IPC over 3000. Which will mean it is highly likely to match or even surpass Intel finally on single core performance but also use far less energy.

Current Intel: z390 LGA1151 which supports upto the 9900ks. This platform is now end of life, z490 is next and its new socket LGA1200 possibly released march time this year. Intel usually has 2 generations per socket.

However general expectation is from what I gather Intel 10000 series Comet lake S is going to be a hot mess compared with Ryzen 4000 as well as being a paper launch with no stock available as Cascade Lake X was, as Intel has still not developed a new die yet based on 10nm on desktop so they are just going to pump more power in to its ancient 14nm architecture, and they currently have major manufacturing issues with 14nm.

However its next gen after this in 2021 could be promising and based on 10nm (Ice Lake?) at least, and if that supports LGA 1200 this might be the only reason to get z490 with a cheap CPU but its unknown at this stage.

So its the usual nonsense i'm afraid with no simple answer. I'm sticking to AMD in the hope that Zen 3 pays off.

 

[Alex Townsend]

I'm sticking with AMD now too. Been Intel for years but just can't get away from that AMD bang for buck...
Nvidia RTX2070 Super is doing pretty well but even there, AMD are bringing the 5900xt and 5950xt cards out which are sure to upset the apple cart. Intel is also bringing discreet GPUs to market but so far no real world performance to check and wouldnt think AMD or nVidia would be too worried just yet.

 

[cmiller493]

I just bought a ryzen 5 3600x for $159.99 to replace my i7 4790k. If you go to the iRacing forums they will basically burn you at the stake if you talk about AMD over the i5 9600k lol. I feel like the 3600x at $159.99 is a great value so we will see if that upgrade was worth it lol.

Next up is deciding whether to upgrade my 1070 to either a 2070s or wait until the 30xx cards come out around June.

 

[Alex Townsend]

I just bought a ryzen 5 3600x for $159.99 to replace my i7 4790k. If you go to the iRacing forums they will basically burn you at the stake if you talk about AMD over the i5 9600k lol. I feel like the 3600x at $159.99 is a great value so we will see if that upgrade was worth it lol.

Next up is deciding whether to upgrade my 1070 to either a 2070s or wait until the 30xx cards come out around June.

I just upgraded from a i7 3770k and 1070 to an r7 3800x and 2070s
It is worth it, and if I didn't need the card to sell on for the 3000 series or even a 5900xt then I would have stuck with my trusty 1070 as it was a great card.

 

[Durge Driven]

Sorry newbert here is one such company with 25K EU tower, needs forklift pallet lol

Home - 8Pack - World Record Breaking Overclocker

8pack.co.uk

8Pack | PC Systems & Components | Overclockers UK

Meet 8Pack, a world famous overclocker and part of the Overclockers UK R&D team, who has developed a range of ultimate performance systems and hardware.

www.overclockers.co.uk

Lots of places doing similar

 

[Durge Driven]

On this subject I would like to be able to buy pre-tested DIY kits from manufactures

They could have a proper bench testing frame to also mount radiator for transport
First benches just plug in PSU and GPU

They could offer these with combos of Cooling CPU Mobo memory and SSDs all in 1 piece
Already tested for best O/C and stability and warranty for said O/Cs
Then when ready mount in your case

 

[Durge Driven]

Here is more up to date one for the person has everything
£32,999.99 lool

8Pack OrionX2 Dual System Extreme Overclocked PC - Intel Core i9 10980XE & Intel Core i7 10700K

Intel Core i9 10980XE @ 4.6GHz & Intel Core i7 10700K @ 5.0GHz! THREE Nvidia RTX 3090s...Two PCs - One insane system!

www.overclockers.co.uk

 

[Trebormoore84]

Can think of many more useful things to buy with 30 grand than a single 7980xe and a 9700k. It makes the 20k custom loop system that scan.co.uk sell with a 28 core xeon 3175 and two Titan RTXs look like a bargain.

Also this idea that one single manufacturer will supply an entire diy system with multiple parts from different suppliers all pre overclocked is pure fantasy. There is a reason the risk is entirely on the end user.