Racing Rig Advice

Paul Jeffrey · Aug 23, 2016

Hey folks,

I'm looking to upgrade my PC for a newer machine at the end of the month, and I've pretty much decided on the following spec (as advised by my local computer shop). Now let me be honest, I know pretty much zero about PC's and what not, so I'm basing the decision on other peoples advice

Now obviously I'd expect the computer guy to know his stuff, but I'd appreciate you racing sim guys casting your eye over it and seeing if you think it would be up to the job of running our many fine sims

I'm trying to achieve some pretty high settings in all the games, but my main go to sim is rFactor 2 and occasionally AC too. I run triple monitors.

The specs are:

Intel Core i7-6700K,
Nvidia GTX 980ti
Asrock Mobo
32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR4-2400 RAM,
500Gb SSD,
4Tb HDD,
DVD RW,
650w Modular PSU (SVGA), Cooler
Master CM Storm Trooper USB3.0 XL ATX Case,
Windows 10 x64

So, do you think it should be up to the job?

Cheers folks!

Paul Jeffrey · Aug 28, 2016

Cheers for the responses folks

I'll take a look at those videos / links etc right now!

As for responses to earlier questions:

The mobo is an Asrock and the power supply SVGA, which is gold rated (whatever that means).

Cheers

Wicked · Aug 28, 2016

Your graphics card will be your largest influence in performance most likely ,thats 980ti should be well sufficient to run all the sims out atm.

For CPU, I am not too sure how well our sims take multiple cores. If it scales well , a i7 might provide benefits with large grids like the ones you described. If it only scales of IPC or Single thread speed (the speed of 1 single core) then there will indeed be no noticeable difference between the i5 and the i7. I am not sure which is the case. I recently upgraded from a 4.6ghz i5 2500K(4 cores 4 threads) to a 3.8ghz i7 5820K (6 cores 12 threads) and I can say I have been seeing much difference in my sims. They all run great.

I am scratching my head at how you are spending 1500 pounds if you dont get a new GPU, maybe I'm rusty on prices but I have a gut feeling that should be less, good 100 pounds less for sure.. There is pretty much no point in getting more than 16gb ram for gaming, so I'd advice you scale that down to 16 and if that proves to be not sufficient for some miraculous reason you can always add 2 more 8gb sticks (yes you can do that it's easier than building a lego kit

)

I just quickly put together a list, and it comes out at around 1100 pounds for something I roughly did, would be 1200 with the i7. http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/x9bTnn
Either way ,I just recommend you build it yourself. You are a simracer after all which means DIY is already in your blood. There are 5 year old kids building PCs

so I'm sure you'll manage, good way to know whats in your system and get familiar with it, and it will also make sure you never get shafted by somebody

(PS I am just assuming you aren't building it yourself because of you saying "I know pretty much zero about PC's and what not" Feel free to correct me if the assumption is wrong)

Paul Jeffrey · Aug 29, 2016

Cheers @Wicked for the tips, you are indeed correct in the assumption I'm not building it myself!

I should also have said earlier, the build cost is £1250 plus VAT - making it £1500 payable. Stupid VAT...

Again thanks for taking the time out to have a look man, appreciate it. Think I'm going to do some further digging around see what I can find out about doing it myself. That list you have created will be exceptionally helpful.. thank you

Raitsa · Aug 29, 2016

I built this brand spanking new sim PC 2 weeks ago.
I saved a lot of money compared to the prices here (in Finland) by ordering parts from Germany, from mindfactory.de.
Parts arrive in about 5 days to your door.

Wicked · Sep 2, 2016

You are very welcome
@Paul Jeffrey , Like I said I just put together a list quickly (I do this very often haha) you could shave a bit here and there to cut the cost, powersupply is pretty overkill for example.
I'll have a closer look this weekend and see if I can fine-tune it some more and do a write up with why I chose for certain components over others.

Good that you are considering building yourself, it's a great experience and very satisfying. Not to mention it gives you a huge advantage in case anything breaks. It's pretty easy, I've been building PC's since I was 12, done so for a couple of years now as a 'side job' for the people who request so

If you need any tips, advice or help with building picking parts or whatever. Feels free to shoot me a message. I always highly enjoy the articles and news you round up on the site so I would be more than happy to help out where I can

edit: some words

HRE · Sep 2, 2016

Paul

Intel Core i7-6700K (K means u can overclock it,its a more expensive cpu,but they also run higher ghz stock,so u get higher speed and u don't have to overclock it,generally people buy the k series for overclocking)

Motherboard - MSI H170 Gaming M3( Great Budget board,locked to 2133 ram,which is fine in my opinion)

Nvidia GTX 1080 (U can go for the 1070,it's a very powerfull card,but try and get the 1080)

16gb 2133mhz (8gb x2) RAM, is all u need. (U can always buy some more later on,another set of 8gb x 2, If u want the 2400 ram,the motherboard needs to be a 2400 supported motherboard. Most motherboards have 4 slots that can support the 32gb,so getting 8gb sticks is 100%)

500Gb SSD (That is perfect size)

4Tb HDD (U dont need this,1tb max can work or u can put your old hard drive in)

DVD RW,(Dont need it,drivers are online as mentioned)

650w Modular PSU( A great quality PSU is very important,and u don't need anything above 850w,u can choose between 650 and 850,depending on price and quality,seasonic and evga is my brands i like,modular is a must as it will make all your cables look neat,gold and bronze rated means power efficiency,gold is obviously better,but bronze is also fine)

Master CM Storm Trooper USB3.0 XL Case (Case is up to u,have a look at what u like,i'm using the fractal r5)

Windows 10 x64

The biggest factor is your graphics card,the 980 ti is old'ish now(still a great card),and the gtx 1070 is new and performs great,if u have the money a 1080 is the go to card. The motherboard is what is in your budget, and u need a cpu cooler. Either a fan or liquid cooler like the corsair H110,u dont need the best of the best,a midrange fan cooler can do the job just fine.