PC to run iRacing with 3 screens - any recommendations/tips?
Discussion
After years of console racing, I've finally decided I'm going to take the plunge and start sim racing on the pc. iRacing is my preferred choice, but I'm unsure how powerful the pc needs to be to comfortably run the game. As usual, the system requirements on the website don't appear to be asking for too much. (Intel Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2
or higher, NVidia GeForce 7800 / ATI Radeon X1800 or above graphics adapter recommended, 2 GB system RAM, 6 GB free hard disk space)
My wife used to be quite a big PC gamer and regularly upgraded her pc, but last time she did so was about 5 years ago. In order to save me starting from scratch (and justify spending so much on some Fanatec gear!), I was going to commandeer her pc and upgrade the graphics card and processor. It's been many many years since I last got involved with building pcs, so I'm really out of touch with the current standard of components.
Current spec:
Intel core i7 860 2.80 ghz
GeForce 8800 GT
8GB Ram
Windows 7 home premium
(I think the motherboard is American Megatrends if that means anything)
Chap on Youtube posted a video in 2012 showing off a pc specifically built to run iRacing perfectly on 3 screens. His processor and graphics card were an i5 2500k and ATI GT7970. I'm sure pcs in general have moved on massively since then, but has iRacing? Are they continually improving the graphics so your pc needs to be top end in order to run smoothly? Is there a present day equivalent of the above which I should be purchasing?
Pretty sure the current graphics card is miles out of date, but is the processor? Would I get away with running just the one screen for now if I got myself a decent graphics card?
If I've missed anything obvious (hard drives etc), then please let me know!
Cheers guys
My wife used to be quite a big PC gamer and regularly upgraded her pc, but last time she did so was about 5 years ago. In order to save me starting from scratch (and justify spending so much on some Fanatec gear!), I was going to commandeer her pc and upgrade the graphics card and processor. It's been many many years since I last got involved with building pcs, so I'm really out of touch with the current standard of components.
Current spec:
Intel core i7 860 2.80 ghz
GeForce 8800 GT
8GB Ram
Windows 7 home premium
(I think the motherboard is American Megatrends if that means anything)
Chap on Youtube posted a video in 2012 showing off a pc specifically built to run iRacing perfectly on 3 screens. His processor and graphics card were an i5 2500k and ATI GT7970. I'm sure pcs in general have moved on massively since then, but has iRacing? Are they continually improving the graphics so your pc needs to be top end in order to run smoothly? Is there a present day equivalent of the above which I should be purchasing?
Pretty sure the current graphics card is miles out of date, but is the processor? Would I get away with running just the one screen for now if I got myself a decent graphics card?
If I've missed anything obvious (hard drives etc), then please let me know!
Cheers guys
I was in a similar position earlier in the year. 5 year old box upgraded for gaming future proofing (lol!)
1st off, set a budget,
Current CPU Darling is the Intel 5820K (2011 v3 chipset) so you'd need a X99 board etc
(someone will come along in a bit and say but what about Skylake!)
If you want to keep costs down you could go 1150 chipset but if you're upgrading you might as well upgrade properly.
Right, 3 x monitors (do you have these already?) = Hefty Card, depending on what sort of resolutions you want to use even 3 x 1200 monitors will require a bit of fire power and vram. which ain't gonna be cheap.
Just to add to matters, the monitor \ video card industry are just unleashing g-Sync (and the AMD equivalent) meaning much higher refresh rates. These are pretty expensive.
I'd look at getting a budget together and going from there or building up to this beastly 3 monitor rig.
So maybe something that would happily do 4K would be able to push 3 x 1200 at a later date (GTX 980 TI \ AMD Fury?)
I'd also look at shelling out for a new case a decent CPU Cooler and a hefty PSU (just in case you need to run multiple cards as GPU's are hungry).
goes off to look at iRacer...
1st off, set a budget,
Current CPU Darling is the Intel 5820K (2011 v3 chipset) so you'd need a X99 board etc
(someone will come along in a bit and say but what about Skylake!)
If you want to keep costs down you could go 1150 chipset but if you're upgrading you might as well upgrade properly.
Right, 3 x monitors (do you have these already?) = Hefty Card, depending on what sort of resolutions you want to use even 3 x 1200 monitors will require a bit of fire power and vram. which ain't gonna be cheap.
Just to add to matters, the monitor \ video card industry are just unleashing g-Sync (and the AMD equivalent) meaning much higher refresh rates. These are pretty expensive.
I'd look at getting a budget together and going from there or building up to this beastly 3 monitor rig.
So maybe something that would happily do 4K would be able to push 3 x 1200 at a later date (GTX 980 TI \ AMD Fury?)
I'd also look at shelling out for a new case a decent CPU Cooler and a hefty PSU (just in case you need to run multiple cards as GPU's are hungry).
goes off to look at iRacer...
Thanks very much for the replies chaps, very helpful.
One reason I gave up on pc games was the constant need to keep updating to keep things running smoothly!
Don't have the monitors yet, but plan is to buy 3 x 25" monitors. Not particularly bothered about 4K resolution. I think the current board is X64.
Budgeted for the things I know about, such as:
Wheel and pedals - £1k.
Monitors - £500
Seat, stand, brackets - £410
PC - had hoped could upgrade existing pc's graphics card and processor for around £500-£600. iRacing will be about the only thing which this computer will be used for. What I'm not sure of is how demanding the game is compared to brand new releases. As I say, the 3 monitor set up on YouTube was running off an ATI GT7970, so was kind of hoping a modern day equivalent would handle doing it today.
One reason I gave up on pc games was the constant need to keep updating to keep things running smoothly!
Don't have the monitors yet, but plan is to buy 3 x 25" monitors. Not particularly bothered about 4K resolution. I think the current board is X64.
Budgeted for the things I know about, such as:
Wheel and pedals - £1k.
Monitors - £500
Seat, stand, brackets - £410
PC - had hoped could upgrade existing pc's graphics card and processor for around £500-£600. iRacing will be about the only thing which this computer will be used for. What I'm not sure of is how demanding the game is compared to brand new releases. As I say, the 3 monitor set up on YouTube was running off an ATI GT7970, so was kind of hoping a modern day equivalent would handle doing it today.
I think you're right. Reading a few different forums and the game isn't all that intensive.
Decent graphics card is important for the triple screens, but no idea about my CPU. This guy seems to know what he's talking about, but not sure how recent the article is. Also don't quite understand where my CPU sits in his suggestions. It's quad core I think? http://www.sim-racing.co.uk/sim-racing-hardware/
Decent graphics card is important for the triple screens, but no idea about my CPU. This guy seems to know what he's talking about, but not sure how recent the article is. Also don't quite understand where my CPU sits in his suggestions. It's quad core I think? http://www.sim-racing.co.uk/sim-racing-hardware/
Having a top spec PC isn't really that much of a deal. One of the fastest guys I know has single 19" screen on a desk.
I have triples and I'm still slow!
I think your current setup will be more than enough, maybe treat yourself to a new GFX card. Worst case just turn down the setting slightly, most of them make little of no difference when your racing anyway.
Are you signed up to iRacing yet? What do you fancy racing? Open wheel or GT?
Lots of new stuff due this year, i'm going to try and get back into it again. Let me know when you join.
I have triples and I'm still slow!
I think your current setup will be more than enough, maybe treat yourself to a new GFX card. Worst case just turn down the setting slightly, most of them make little of no difference when your racing anyway.
Are you signed up to iRacing yet? What do you fancy racing? Open wheel or GT?
Lots of new stuff due this year, i'm going to try and get back into it again. Let me know when you join.
Edited by Rick101 on Friday 17th July 19:33
Thanks Rick, I'll let you know. It won't be until sometime next month earliest because the new Fanatec wheel base is being released then.
A lot of my time has been spent playing the codemasters f1 games so I guess open wheel may be preferred, but I may well change my mind after playing. Funny enough, was watching oval pick up racing on YouTube, and as boring as it sounds, it looked quite fun! Definitely looking forward to the step up in realism though.
A lot of my time has been spent playing the codemasters f1 games so I guess open wheel may be preferred, but I may well change my mind after playing. Funny enough, was watching oval pick up racing on YouTube, and as boring as it sounds, it looked quite fun! Definitely looking forward to the step up in realism though.
Main problem you have with your current board is that it is an LGA 1156 board. This was basically the low end budget segment at the time. There really isn't much available for them. Only 2 CPU's above yours in the line up.
Best option is to invest in a decent GPU. You don't need masses of VRAM to run 3 monitors on a game like that. I would say a GTX970, which you can pick up for under £250 and just see how it runs the game. It's not that demanding so should be more than capable enough.
Now if you are going to want to play more recent games....Then it is worth going down the upgrade route and dumping what you have an doing a complete new build.
However, anyone advising a 2011-v3 build just ignore. They really don't offer any advantage gaming wise over the cheaper 1150 based boards. If you were going to start editing video and other stuff on the system.... Then 2011 is a better option. Gaming just needs something half decent as the GPU is far more important now.
If you do decide to go down the new build route, give me a PM an I can help you out. I will advise on what you need, an where best to spend your budget. Rather than say you need to go out and spend £3000 for bragging rights. I mean I have a ridiculously high end build myself, it's not needed for gaming. An is a waste of money for purely gaming.
Mine is used for work hence it makes my life easier. Gaming it is pure overkill.
Best option is to invest in a decent GPU. You don't need masses of VRAM to run 3 monitors on a game like that. I would say a GTX970, which you can pick up for under £250 and just see how it runs the game. It's not that demanding so should be more than capable enough.
Now if you are going to want to play more recent games....Then it is worth going down the upgrade route and dumping what you have an doing a complete new build.
However, anyone advising a 2011-v3 build just ignore. They really don't offer any advantage gaming wise over the cheaper 1150 based boards. If you were going to start editing video and other stuff on the system.... Then 2011 is a better option. Gaming just needs something half decent as the GPU is far more important now.
If you do decide to go down the new build route, give me a PM an I can help you out. I will advise on what you need, an where best to spend your budget. Rather than say you need to go out and spend £3000 for bragging rights. I mean I have a ridiculously high end build myself, it's not needed for gaming. An is a waste of money for purely gaming.
Mine is used for work hence it makes my life easier. Gaming it is pure overkill.
Thanks Wozzza.
The plan had been to nick the wife's PC and buy her an iMac in return, thinking that the iMac would cost around £1k. But she's just told me they're nearer double that for the one she wants!
So I'm now unsure. I may well go down the custom build route after all and upgrade hers a little bit.
The pc will purely be used for iRacing, so as you say there's no need to go crazy (fortunately!). I guess if I get the latest type of mother board I will have the option to upgrade over time and happy to go for a decent graphics card. Any rough ball park figure I could get away with paying? Hoping around £1k, but less would be good!
The plan had been to nick the wife's PC and buy her an iMac in return, thinking that the iMac would cost around £1k. But she's just told me they're nearer double that for the one she wants!
So I'm now unsure. I may well go down the custom build route after all and upgrade hers a little bit.
The pc will purely be used for iRacing, so as you say there's no need to go crazy (fortunately!). I guess if I get the latest type of mother board I will have the option to upgrade over time and happy to go for a decent graphics card. Any rough ball park figure I could get away with paying? Hoping around £1k, but less would be good!
FunkyNige said:
Curveball - would an Oculus Rift be cheaper and a better experience than 3 monitors...?
I only heard about these the other day and they do look amazing. And yes, much cheaper than 3 monitors and totally supported by iRacimg too. But turns out they're really not up to scratch yet. Low resolution and find it hard to handle a whole field of cars. Going to be another year or so but definitely the way forward though! Check this out (Skip to 10.20) http://youtu.be/IClKT_UeebU
Edited by Cockey on Saturday 18th July 11:59
ash73 said:
Cockey said:
Wheel and pedals - £1k.
I race with a DK2 on iracing, couldn't use anything else. Vastly superior to using triples in my opinion.
It has no problems with large fields of cars (and that would likely be a GPU issue not an OR issue anyway). It's not low resolution though, it's 1080 like the majority of screens. The issue is that your eyes are so close you get the screen door effect. The consumer version is going to have a higher resolution. You need a good card to drive it, I use a 7970.
Are you already involved in iracing?
It has no problems with large fields of cars (and that would likely be a GPU issue not an OR issue anyway). It's not low resolution though, it's 1080 like the majority of screens. The issue is that your eyes are so close you get the screen door effect. The consumer version is going to have a higher resolution. You need a good card to drive it, I use a 7970.
Are you already involved in iracing?
Bullett said:
I race with a DK2 on iracing, couldn't use anything else. Vastly superior to using triples in my opinion.
It has no problems with large fields of cars (and that would likely be a GPU issue not an OR issue anyway). It's not low resolution though, it's 1080 like the majority of screens. The issue is that your eyes are so close you get the screen door effect. The consumer version is going to have a higher resolution. You need a good card to drive it, I use a 7970.
Are you already involved in iracing?
I'd love something like that eventually, but for now I think I'll stick to 3 screens. From the footage I've seen, I can imagine it really is superior to any type of monitor set up. Definitely something I will look at once the consumer version is available.It has no problems with large fields of cars (and that would likely be a GPU issue not an OR issue anyway). It's not low resolution though, it's 1080 like the majority of screens. The issue is that your eyes are so close you get the screen door effect. The consumer version is going to have a higher resolution. You need a good card to drive it, I use a 7970.
Are you already involved in iracing?
Not involved at all yet. I signed up for iRacing yesterday for 2 years (took advantage of the 50% discount), ordered my driving cockpit and Fantatec gear. Fanatec stuff wont be delivered until early Sept so will have a bit of a wait before being able to begin.
Back to buying a new gaming PC. After a bit more research, I'm going to go for an I5 4690K and Nvidia GTX 970 4GB. Apparently this is more than enough to run 3 screens comfortably with high settings. Done a few searches, and from my limited experience, I'm hoping £880ish for this system (Win 8.1 pro, 120GB SSD) is fair value. Unless I am going to save a few hundred £ building my own, I might pull the trigger on this in the next day or so: http://www.awd-it.co.uk/intel-i5-4690k-4.2ghz-over... (anything more than the above processor and GPU is considered overkill for iRacing only gaming).
Well, welcome to the fold. Prepare to get totally owned when you get going and make your one and only target in the rookies to make it out alive.
There is a long iracing thread elsewhere on here, so any questions ask away.
I'd also take any delivery timescales from Fanatec with a pinch of salt they don't have a great track record in this area. I hope that wrong though as I've just ordered some V3 pedals as well.
There is a long iracing thread elsewhere on here, so any questions ask away.
I'd also take any delivery timescales from Fanatec with a pinch of salt they don't have a great track record in this area. I hope that wrong though as I've just ordered some V3 pedals as well.
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