Project CARS - Hardware recommendation on PC

Yeratel84
I was considering getting a i7 but after a setback which pretty much halved my budget, I decided to go with a i5, which isn't really a bad thing, considering I'll only use my PC for gaming (no need for HT)...
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Sounds good. Did you still get a 980?
 
DrJustice
Sounds good. Did you still get a 980?
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This... (and I'm more than happy with it so far :D)

Yeratel84
I too have tinkered with my CPU (i5-4690k), but only using auto-tuning option on my MOBO... I have it running @4.3GHz from default 3.5 with no issues at all so might just leave it like that.

As for my GPU, I'll wait until pCARS to see if I need to add to the factory OC (mine's a Matrix Platinum 780Ti)
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crowhop
I7 all the way. I5 works, sure. But if you're building now and want a long term PC, gaming or otherwise, the i7 4790 is the minimum CPU if the budget permits.
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Another sucker to Intel marketing hype ;)

Don't get me wrong the i7 is a great processor, it's just too good for what gaming requires, you'll never (saying never, I mean this software generation)max it out. It's like buying a Ferrari and only being able to drive around your local streets at 60kms/hr. I would save the money now and put it into the GPU, then upgrade the CPU once games start maxing it out (which will be a while)
 
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I don't think money was a big concern to him judging by the build he threw out there. So why not spend it now and not worry about it later. In the long run your gonna end up spending it anyway.
 
ocat1979
Another sucker to Intel marketing hype ;)

Don't get me wrong the i7 is a great processor, it's just too good for what gaming requires, you'll never (saying never, I mean this software generation)max it out. It's like buying a Ferrari and only being able to drive around your local streets at 60kms/hr. I would save the money now and put it into the GPU, then upgrade the CPU once games start maxing it out (which will be a while)
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Have you seen the guy's proposed build? I don't think saving $100 is on his list of priorities.
 
before everyone thinks I am throwing around money...i served overseas for almost 10 years, now leaning back, saved for this system and waited to put a new system together for almost 10 years now!
still running Win2K/ WinNT with Pentium 4 / 1.8GHz and upgraded loooong time ago to 768MB RAM. so now it is time to enjoy the relaxed time and payback for all the years in the sandpits and other pits around the world! :) and I am looking forward to it and can't wait to get my system going!!!
 
rocafella1978
before everyone thinks I am throwing around money...i served overseas for almost 10 years, now leaning back, saved for this system and waited to put a new system together for almost 10 years now!
still running Win2K/ WinNT with Pentium 4 / 1.8GHz and upgraded loooong time ago to 768MB RAM. so now it is time to enjoy the relaxed time and payback for all the years in the sandpits and other pits around the world! :) and I am looking forward to it and can't wait to get my system going!!!
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You've got some catching up to do.:)
 
crowhop
From what I've seen none of the Alienware can handle Project Cars well.
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This might be a good place to ask my question as its kind of related:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...-wii-u-xbox-one.261206/page-392#post-10544145

Basically,
I'm gonna grab a cheap laptop i5 860m to play PCars on (looks pretty much identical to the alpha spec) and from everything I have seen (videos etcmove in post) the Alienware alpha and any other 860m should be able to run 1080/60 med/high.

But lots of people "say" it's not possible but have no evidence?
The 860m appears to be a 750ti and GPUBOSS also verify this.
This is also above minimum spec, and actually falls into recommended spec?

Does anyone have a 860m that they could test Pcars on, because everything I see on YouTube etc shows it hitting 1080/60 ULTRA on games like Dirt 3, Grid 2, Grid Autosport, and hits 38fps in 1080/60 battlefield 4 ULTRA...

All of this leads me to believe that it will indeed run PCars at 1080/60 med/high

There are also videos of assetto corsa at 1080/60 etc..

I don't have a 860m but I have a chance to grab one cheap specifically to play cars on (until my fanatic kit is compatible with consoles) so I was going to buy the laptop just for pcars (as its cheap).. But then someone here said it would play pcars only on LOW with 1 car on screen and no weather enabled.

But I'm not sure they are right, I think they are guessing?.. How can a card that runs all these games at 1080/60 ultra not run PCars at least on medium or high?...

If that alpha is the same spec, then it should I deed play PCars 1080/60 med/high.
I'd love to find someone with a 860m who could test it. Even SMS themselves should, considering the alpha and the 860m are the basis for a lot of steam machines... And there game is steam os compatible etc...

It would clarify a lot of things for many people.

For example, here is a very old unoptimised build of pcars, running on the 750ti (which the 860m is recognised as) hitting a max 50+Fps and just dipping below 40... So surly, with a better cpu, driver updates, engine optimisation etc this same card (the one that's in the Alienware alpha and this laptop) should at least hit 1080/60 on medium?


The more I did, the more I think those saying that the laptop 860m chip (and by proxy the alpha chip) won't run PCars are downright wrong... Just plain wrong in all aspects.

I'm seeing an overwhelming amount of info demonstrating that it will hit 1080/60 with a mix of med/high settings.

If I had access or the seller had access I would test it myself... I can get access to hardware but not the game :-/
 
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yeah catching up indeed! waited a looong time to get this new system for myself and to treat myself! haha! looking forward to all the sims i can play on this rig, still not 100% but close to that!
@ocat: triples? not sure...lol newbie here and have been out of tech world for some time...catching up! had to research and ask around to understand everything, the only thing not set yet is the heatsink/ fan combination, don't want liquid cooling...so still wondering what i should buy to cool the CPU...
once i have the system and got it to run, will post screenshots, pictures and etc for everyone and run hopefully PCArs and see what FPS and etc it produces and how smooth it runs. fingers crossed!
 
HCK
The more I did, the more I think those saying that the laptop 860m chip (and by proxy the alpha chip) won't run PCars are downright wrong... Just plain wrong in all aspects.
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Those advices are coming from people actually playing the game. On top of that, I already showed you a few benchmarks that show that you how bad this chip will run recent games at 1920x1080. Hell, in this very thread I posted a link to a benchmark of the Alienware Alpha that proves it completely sucks at modern games at 1920x1080!

So why are you saying people are pulling numbers from their ass when you have been given solid evidence multiple times? If you made up your mind already, don't come asking for advice if you just keep ignoring it.

A YT vid showing one car on track in sunny weather means nothing. Framerates are slashed when you put a few cars on track. And I'm not even talking about adding rain or clouds.

If you're fine with hotlapping, then by all means go buy it, but for all other situations, you'll be disappointed.
 
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NLxAROSA
Those advices are coming from people actually playing the game. On top of that, I already showed you a few benchmarks that show that you how bad this chip will run recent games at 1920x1080. Hell, in this very thread I posted a link to a benchmark of the Alienware Alpha that proves it completely sucks at modern games at 1920x1080!

So why are you saying people are pulling numbers from their ass when you have been given solid evidence multiple times? If you made up your mind already, don't come asking for advice if you just keep ignoring it.

A YT vid showing one car on track in sunny weather means nothing. Framerates are slashed when you put a few cars on track. And I'm not even talking about adding rain or clouds.
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Because I posted evidence to the contrary!
Indepth analysis from 860m tests performed by DigitalFoundry including video and FPS on multiple games?
There is nothing wrong with healthy debate or discussion.

There is Evidence in both corners, you can't deny that.
I'm willing to accept the evidence displaying the lower end results, but I am also willing to accept the evidence of the higher end results. Therefore I'm also willing to collect more Information, more sources and perform more tests to see if I can find the truth.

If We as a society were to stop all exploratory investigation based in 1 text from tomshardware (or whatever source) we would still think the world is flat ;)

You should not just believe 1 post and get angry if it's disproved, it's very possible that you are indeed wrong (or your sources are) as everything I can find regarding this 860m chip states it is a 750ti and will indeed run this game at 1080/60 med/high. There are even videos posted above of it running the game in HIGH at 50fps and other videos of that chip running the game perfectly fine...

I understand you put trust in tomshardware, but it's possible that source is incorrect on this occasion.
I can see multiple 860m users, 750ti users running Project Cars in High at 50fps ... Plus it running other games at 1080/60.. Plus.. I just went and checked that Alienware alpha out (even though I'm not fighting its corner or getting one) but there are stacks of videos on that thing on YouTube running games on med/high at 1080/60...

Med/high at 1080/60 is possible on a 860m / 750ti from all the evidence I can see.
If you can show me anything otherwise, I'll listen,.. It won't play some games in ultra, but it WILL play others (older) at u,tra easily, Like Grid 2, Dirt3, Grid Autosport etc...

And it will run many at med/high at 1080/60 and from what I read on tomshardware... They too say that it will run games at 1080/60 med/high... So I'm not sure what the argument is?

It won't run the latest games in ultra 1080/60 - true
It will run older games in ultra 1080/60 - true
It will run the latest games at 1080/60 with a mix of med/high.... TRUE.
Source
DigitalFoundry
Nvidia
Alienware
TomsHardware
PCWorld
And youtubers who post videos of these chips doing exactly that :)

Quote from PCGAMER.COM about the alpha:
"Metro: Last Light, for example, ran at a pinch above 60fps at 1080p on Medium settings"

Quote from EuroGamer.net
"At the silicon level, we've mentioned that the Kepler GTX 860M is a match for the GTX 760 - the graphics card that we chose for our sub-£500 Digital Foundry next-gen PC. It's an excellent GPU that can, by and large, hold a full 1080p60 presentation."

"the specs look almost identical to the GTX 750 Ti on desktop, a card that was very warmly received in its recent Digital Foundry review."

Quote from overclockers.net and VideoCardz.com
"The score of 5339 points in 3DMark 11 suggest we are looking at performance level above GTX 770M. This is somewhere in-between desktop GTX 650 TI Boost and R7 260X. Simply put, it’s a great performance."

These are all reputable sources...

Edit:
Even the TomsHardware review states that this card will net you 42fps in battlefield 4 all settings on HIGH 1920x1080 with 16xAF enabled. THATS DECENT!

Drop that to 8xAF with a mix of med/high settings and you will hit 1080/60 no problem at all! And that's from YOUR SOURCE! AND it'll look better than current gen consoles!

If it can do ALL that, surly it can run PCars if an Xbo and PS4 can too!
 
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ocat1979
Another sucker to Intel marketing hype ;)

Don't get me wrong the i7 is a great processor, it's just too good for what gaming requires, you'll never (saying never, I mean this software generation)max it out. It's like buying a Ferrari and only being able to drive around your local streets at 60kms/hr. I would save the money now and put it into the GPU, then upgrade the CPU once games start maxing it out (which will be a while)
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That was exactly my reasoning (well, that and a unexpected budget drop), which made me go from the lowest i7 to the top i5...
 
@HCK : Like I said earlier, performance greatly depends on # of cars on the grid and use of weather and time progression. By all means, if you feel confident with the 860m, go buy it. But I think you'll be disappointed at the performance you'll get, the visual quality level, or both. That said: it's not an ugly game even at low detail.
 
NLxAROSA
@HCK : Like I said earlier, performance greatly depends on # of cars on the grid and use of weather and time progression. By all means, if you feel confident with the 860m, go buy it. But I think you'll be disappointed at the performance you'll get, the visual quality level, or both. That said: it's not an ugly game even at low detail.
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I agree with this.

@HCK in my opinion, if you're going "on the cheap" for a system to play pCARS, why not the PS4? I don't know what your constraints might be, whether it is peripherals or if you prefer PC gaming, but the PS4 offers the cheapest way to play it at pretty nice settings.

EDIT: nevermind. I just read the post below and the PC build is the way to go for you.
 
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NLxAROSA
@HCK : Like I said earlier, performance greatly depends on # of cars on the grid and use of weather and time progression. By all means, if you feel confident with the 860m, go buy it. But I think you'll be disappointed at the performance you'll get, the visual quality level, or both. That said: it's not an ugly game even at low detail.
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I can get one for about £200 on sale pre owned (laptop).
According to all the Info I can find (including the sources you posted) it should run project cars at 1080/60 With a Mix of Medium and High settings.

This would be satisfactory for me, but I'd like to know for sure before I actually buy it.

Remember, my reasoning was not to invest in a gaming rig.I've already build my sim rig at a cost of £2000 for my cswv2 and its rims, pedals, shifter, seat etc... Now I'm looking for something to play on it (other than PS3) while I save for my sim pc and while I can use the PS3 and XBO (when the rim is released) I'd be happy to drop £200 to play Pcars on medium to high IF its 1080/60.

As doing that also gives me:
Grid 2 - Ultra - 1080/60 Confirmed
Grid Auto sport - High/Ultra 1080/60 Confirmed
F1 2013/2014 - High/Ultra 1080/60 Confirmed
Shift 2 - High/Ultra - 1080/60 Confirmed

But the only way to "confirm" pcars is an actual test, but I and the seller don't have access to the game. Hence I came here, hoping that a WMD member has access to a laptop or that alpha (which is not on my list) to see exactly what the 860m could do with pcars.

It wasn't a debate, or I'm fighting its corner, but to hear people say that a 3GHZ Quad Core i5 (4th gen) 750ti (2GB GDDR5) and 8GB ram will only run 1 car, no weather in LOW settings was a bit of a fabrication that seemed a little... Well... Sensational.

It's fair to say it won't do 1080/60 Ultra ... Of course. But From all the evidence from all the sources available agree that this card WILL do 1080/60 Med/High on new games... And I'd like to see if we can confirm that on pcars BEFORE I click "buy it now" as this will be the game I'm primarily buying this little stop gap laptop for.

If that makes sense :)
 
It does. :) Just to be on the clear: when I make an advice, I want to make sure that you'll make the requirements anywhere in the game, so not just when you're hotlapping with fixed sunny weather. There's no doubt IMO that the 860m will pull off 1080p/60FPS at med/high when doing hotlapping. I'm not convinced (based on my own experiences with a 970GTX in combination with an i5-4460, my old PC, as well as experiences of other WMD members) it will do the same when you're running a full grid of cars and weather/time transition. I tried searching for some YT vids that prove me wrong, but to be honest I wasn't able to find any. :(
 
Any chance you could ask the members of WMD to test it out and see what it can do?
If any of them (or their friends/family) own an 860m device, it would be very Interesting to see just how much the 860m can do.

That would definitely help me, that guy above looking at the alpha and likely a few more users or steam machine purchasers.

I know the consoles are optimised, but the last I heard re: PS4 was that SMS were incredibly impressed with how the PS4 was holding up. And as the 860m IS more powerful than a PS4 or an XBO (and they can do 1080/60) I'm thinking this chip must surly be able to match them... Considering it's more powerful (as is an i5 in comparison to the Jaguar cpu).

Obviously, the console code will be optimised for those specific hardware configs, but if a PS4 can do 1080/60 high for £249 but a £500+ pc can't (i5 4590 + 750ti + 8GB DDR3 + motherboard + Case + Power Supply + Drive + Peripherals etc) CANT ..

Then I think it's time that the PC Gamers quit the argument for "I can build a PC that is better than a PS4 for less" stop!

Because in that case, a PS4 will be the equivalent of a Quad Core i7 + GTX 970 + 8 GB RAM + motherboard + case + power supply etc etc etc bring the PS4 closer to an £850 PC!

If so...
That's the reason right there why the console market even exists. Because in that case, I'll wait gir fanatec to release the CSWV2 XBO RIM and not even build a PC as my console will (by these facts and figures) annihilate it?

That's why I think the 860m ... A verified chip that is proven to be more powerful than a PS4 / XBO (DigitalFoundry/Toms/EuroGamer etc all confirm and even display this in video with FPS) should at least match them on this game.

If NOT then the above must apply. A PS4 running PCars on high at 1080/60 = at least an £850 PC!
That's an advert for a £249 console right there, and verification of that entire market! The console peasants will love that news, but the PCMR will not be best pleased :)
 
Nvidia just announced the GeForce GTX Titan X. $1,000 is going to get you 3,072 Maxwell CUDA cores and (a ridiculous) 12GB of GDDR5 memory. Not cheap...but they say you can game at 4K in just one single card.

Any thoughts of this card and how could this apply to Project CARS? (Biggest dud is the lack of double precision compared to the older Titans...but it's not necessary when using Project CARS)

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-titan-x
 
rocafella1978
yeah catching up indeed! waited a looong time to get this new system for myself and to treat myself! haha! looking forward to all the sims i can play on this rig, still not 100% but close to that!
@ocat: triples? not sure...lol newbie here and have been out of tech world for some time...catching up! had to research and ask around to understand everything, the only thing not set yet is the heatsink/ fan combination, don't want liquid cooling...so still wondering what i should buy to cool the CPU...
once i have the system and got it to run, will post screenshots, pictures and etc for everyone and run hopefully PCArs and see what FPS and etc it produces and how smooth it runs. fingers crossed!
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The noctua NH-D15 is a top cooler that equals some of the water coolers, pretty well the best available. Just check it will fit your case and clear your ram :)
 
HCK
Any chance you could ask the members of WMD to test it out and see what it can do?
If any of them (or their friends/family) own an 860m device, it would be very Interesting to see just how much the 860m can do.

That would definitely help me, that guy above looking at the alpha and likely a few more users or steam machine purchasers.

I know the consoles are optimised, but the last I heard re: PS4 was that SMS were incredibly impressed with how the PS4 was holding up. And as the 860m IS more powerful than a PS4 or an XBO (and they can do 1080/60) I'm thinking this chip must surly be able to match them... Considering it's more powerful (as is an i5 in comparison to the Jaguar cpu).

Obviously, the console code will be optimised for those specific hardware configs, but if a PS4 can do 1080/60 high for £249 but a £500+ pc can't (i5 4590 + 750ti + 8GB DDR3 + motherboard + Case + Power Supply + Drive + Peripherals etc) CANT ..

Then I think it's time that the PC Gamers quit the argument for "I can build a PC that is better than a PS4 for less" stop!

Because in that case, a PS4 will be the equivalent of a Quad Core i7 + GTX 970 + 8 GB RAM + motherboard + case + power supply etc etc etc bring the PS4 closer to an £850 PC!

If so...
That's the reason right there why the console market even exists. Because in that case, I'll wait gir fanatec to release the CSWV2 XBO RIM and not even build a PC as my console will (by these facts and figures) annihilate it?

That's why I think the 860m ... A verified chip that is proven to be more powerful than a PS4 / XBO (DigitalFoundry/Toms/EuroGamer etc all confirm and even display this in video with FPS) should at least match them on this game.

If NOT then the above must apply. A PS4 running PCars on high at 1080/60 = at least an £850 PC!
That's an advert for a £249 console right there, and verification of that entire market! The console peasants will love that news, but the PCMR will not be best pleased :)
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From what I can see the 860m is based of the 750ti which is 2gb. The issue lies in the fact that you from I can read will have a laptop. This means to help with heat mange no the card may not be as powerful. In any case 2gb makes it look alright but you won't get 60 fps with a grid of cars. Personally I would wait till you can afford a proper gaming PC not a laptop.
 
ryandtw
Nvidia just announced the GeForce GTX Titan X. $1,000 is going to get you 3,072 Maxwell CUDA cores and (a ridiculous) 12GB of GDDR5 memory. Not cheap...but they say you can game at 4K in just one single card.

Any thoughts of this card and how could this apply to Project CARS? (Biggest dud is the lack of double precision compared to the older Titans...but it's not necessary when using Project CARS)

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-titan-x
Click to expand...


Hmm... I think I'll wait until a better card comes around... :lol:
 

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