Advice required - which PC would you choose (if any)?

[JohnScoonsBeard]

Hi

I know we used to have a thread talking about recommended spec etc when the game was in development but I couldn't find it.

I currently have Project Cars on PS4 which I'll still be using most of the time. I am looking at getting a PC. I want it for Project Cars, Project Cars 2 testing (yes, I'm on WMD2), Elite Dangerous, Star Citizen (and probably the likes of Assetto Corsa etc). I am hoping those of you who know enough about PCs could comment/recommend. I will also want to do some video editing although that is perhaps lower on the priority list. I'd like to be able to play at the highest settings. I may consider an Ultra HD monitor or Ultra HD TV if the PC was up to it (4K). I'm not sure my wife would entertain triple screen and with that in mind I may want to be able to run an Oculus Rift in the future.

I'm not really technical enough to build a PC of my own. With that in mind my wife can get the following deals through work.

Are they worth it or would I get better value elsewhere?

HP ENVY Phoenix 860-000na Desktop PC
£949
Windows 10 Home 64
Latest Intel® Core™ i7-6700 processor with 16GB DDR4 memory with 128GB SSD and 2TB storage
Lightning-fast 128GB SSD and 2TB SATA storage
Customisable LED lighting and Bang & Olufsen audio
Advanced graphics with AMD Radeon R9 380 4GB

HP ENVY Phoenix 860-008na Desktop PC
£1349
Windows 10 Home 64
Latest Intel® Core™ i7-6700 processor with 16GB DDR4 memory
Stunning graphics with NVIDIA GeForce GTX980Ti
Customisable LED lighting and Bang & Olufsen audio
Lightning-fast 128GB SSD and 2TB SATA storage

HP ENVY Phoenix 860-007na Desktop PC
£1099
Windows 10 Home 64
Latest Intel® Core™ i7-6700 processor with 16GB DDR4 memory
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (4 GB GDDR5)
Customisable LED lighting and Bang & Olufsen audio
Lightning-fast 128GB SSD and 2TB SATA storage

HP ENVY Phoenix 860-091na Desktop PC
£1799
Windows 10 Home 64
Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7-6700K with 32GB DDR4 memory
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (6 GB GDDR5 dedicated)
Advanced liquid cooling and customisable LED lighting plus Bang & Olufsen audio
Lightning-fast 512GB SSD and huge 3TB SATA storage

Thanks for any help
"JohnSchoonsBeard"

 

[FuriousDemon]

Any of these CPU and RAM options would work.

For SSD you want to have as much as possible, at least 512 GB, if you want OS + Apps + Games on it. If you want SSD for OS and games and some other apps on the big 1TB+ HDD, then you could maybe get away with 256GB, but it's going to be tight.

For Oculus Rift or 4k, you will need GTX 980 ti or more. Most likely 980ti will be barely enough, considering you want to keep the PC for 3+ years. Maybe wait until end of the year for new Nvidia cars, which should be 30% or more powerful, hopefully.

 

[JohnScoonsBeard]

Any of these CPU and RAM options would work.

For SSD you want to have as much as possible, at least 512 GB, if you want OS + Apps + Games on it. If you want SSD for OS and games and some other apps on the big 1TB+ HDD, then you could maybe get away with 256GB, but it's going to be tight.

For Oculus Rift or 4k, you will need GTX 980 ti or more. Most likely 980ti will be barely enough, considering you want to keep the PC for 3+ years. Maybe wait until end of the year for new Nvidia cars, which should be 30% or more powerful, hopefully.

Thanks. Thats very helpful.

 

[FuriousDemon]

Just curious, how is pCARS 2 going. Any major features to get excited about? Hopefully there's a bit more realistic scope of work this time from the get go. I think that's what made pCARS 1 a bit of a bug fest. Not enough time and resources cause the project was too big.

 

[Blood*Specter]

JSB

I have a three year old ENVY Phoenix 800-060. See my signature for specs. It is basically another component hanging of my AV Receiver. It really came alive once I added the new GEFORCE 980 Super Clock GPU in September.
My Phoenix is stock except for my 980SC. Beautiful graphics. However if you are doing development and intend on having 4K level graphics, this is what I've found:

If you can afford it GTX 980ti SLI is a good way to go. However if that does not fit in your budget I would stick with the GTX 980 SLI. The GTX 980's are more power efficient but you will need a 750W tier 1 PSU.

The GTX 980 SLI will max out on 1440P with a very high fps. Really good for 4K.

If you don't mind spending more on the PSU and you have air flow and temps under control the R9 Fury is epic.
But the Furry AKA R9 390X will require a 1,100W PSU.

 

[JohnScoonsBeard]

Just curious, how is pCARS 2 going. Any major features to get excited about? Hopefully there's a bit more realistic scope of work this time from the get go. I think that's what made pCARS 1 a bit of a bug fest. Not enough time and resources cause the project was too big.

I honestly don't know. I haven't had the time to look yet. Obviously there's some stuff we can't tease yet anyway and remember, even if something is being worked on there's no guarantees it will be in a final release. It's just the way of things. Features get dropped or downsized in all spheres of software development.

Once SMS are happy for something to be shown those of us on the forums will be able to share stuff. Of course I won't be able to until I've got that PC sorted out or the PS4 has a test version available.