- 321
- Australia
- Cyber77__
I'm using the cooler master HAF XB evo case, heaps of room, awesom airflow and great cable management
Project CARS - Hardware recommendation on PC
- Thread starter rocafella1978
- 524 comments
- 42,494 views
- 321
- Australia
- Cyber77__
- 243
- Belgium
- GT-R-Jona
Hi guys,
I have one more question considering the gpu. The store offers 3 different gtx970.
- Asus strix oc @ 1253mhz
- gigabyte @ 1114mhz
- gigabyte IXoc @ 1076mhz
Are there any important differences between these options? Pricewise they are likewise with the asus in between.
I have one more question considering the gpu. The store offers 3 different gtx970.
- Asus strix oc @ 1253mhz
- gigabyte @ 1114mhz
- gigabyte IXoc @ 1076mhz
Are there any important differences between these options? Pricewise they are likewise with the asus in between.
- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
The clock speeds indicate higher performance but all the 970's I looked into could be overclocked so I wouldn't get too concerned about the clock speeds. Performance wise they should be almost identical at the same clock speeds as far as I know. The thing to look for might be performance monitoring or other features unique to each manufacturer that you might find useful.
the IXoc cooler doesn't seem that good to me, i'd go for the stock one or the asus. If the price is similar just go for the one with higher clock speed, at least it's guaranteed to OC at least at that frequency
- 243
- Belgium
- GT-R-Jona
Went to order everything today! I've edited my original post to what i suggested first and what it became in the end!
I got the gigabyte gtx970 and as processor cooling the Arctic freezer 13CO recommended by the shopowner cause the coolermaster 212 evo wasnt in stock. Hopefully i can enjoy pcgaming now for the coming years!
I got the gigabyte gtx970 and as processor cooling the Arctic freezer 13CO recommended by the shopowner cause the coolermaster 212 evo wasnt in stock. Hopefully i can enjoy pcgaming now for the coming years!
- 143
- Hull
- gibo122
Hi All,
think of getting a pc rig for project cars, how would this one match up
(im a complete noob at pc gaming, im still on an 10year old rig at present which struggles with GTR2)
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/view/Vortex-750-gaming-pc/
Thanks
Andy
think of getting a pc rig for project cars, how would this one match up
(im a complete noob at pc gaming, im still on an 10year old rig at present which struggles with GTR2)
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/view/Vortex-750-gaming-pc/
Thanks
Andy
- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
IMO a minimum of a GTX970 is needed for modern gaming, unless you plan on outputting 720p or can't afford the extra $100-150 for the 970, in which case you probably shouldn't be buying the PC to begin with
i've got a 680GTX and i'm fine on it, pcars runs at 40+ fps with everything on ultra, can easily get it to 60 removing grass and reducing shadows and reflections. I think the 770 is still a valid mid-range card, 970 is the high range best buy
- 321
- Australia
- Cyber77__
- 1,079
- Norway
You need a 64bit operating system to utilize more than 4 GB of RAM. Seeing as others have recommended 8 GB, you need a 64bit OS. A 32bit OS will work even if you have more than 4 GB, but it will be unable to access any of the RAM you paid for that goes beyond 4 GB.
Personally, I see no reason not to just get 16 GB RAM right away.
I use Windows 7 on my desktop and Windows 8 on my laptop. Under the hood, the two are almost the exact same. Many of the more prominent features of Win8 are aimed towards systems with touch displays. It doesn't really matter too much, as long as it is one of those two.
You might need some time getting used to some of the new features in Win8, or you could just download some small applications that make it look and feel just like Windows 7 does again.
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- 321
- Australia
- Cyber77__
Another thing to consider when choosing the OS is that 8.1 will support DirectX 12. Win 7 might not, it doesn't support 11.2 so I wouldn't hold my breath on D12 support. This means if your looking at a 970-980 gpu you really need 8.1 to get the most out of it.
- 8,439
- Rockay City
With regards to 32-bit vs 64-bit: that shouldn't even be a question anymore. There's no reason whatsoever to install a 32-bit OS, unless you have some archaic hardware or software that needs support.
Get used to what? Installing/starting/uninstalling games is exactly the same in Windows 7 and 8(.1). Besides that, if you're building a new PC for the future, always get the latest and greatest and not previous-gen. This will also save money (a.ka. if you buy Windows 7 and need to upgrade to 8 later, it will cost extra).
- 6,318
- West Virginia
- HBR-Roadhog
- HBR Roadhog
IMO a minimum of a GTX970 is needed for modern gaming, unless you plan on outputting 720p or can't afford the extra $100-150 for the 970, in which case you probably shouldn't be buying the PC to begin with
I have a hard time agreeing with that, the 970 is currently over $300 and the 980 over $500. Last I looked the game recommends a 600 series which should do fine and costs 1/2 the price of the 970.
I have built many gaming systems and have never spent more than $200 on a video card, never had any issues with the cards I decided on and by the time I needed one of those higher end cards the price on them had dropped to the point that I could buy one for less than the difference I would have paid up front and the card is new at that point rather than 2-3 years old.
You can always bump up a video card later and the price will always come down in a short period of time. I would never ever suggest that anyone spend $500+ on a video card for any system unless they just have money to burn and or an extremely high requirement. Most games will not require a card that costs over $200 simply because it will hurt the sales of the game.
My new system FX8350 GTX750, 8gb DDR3, 256gb SSD, 1TB WD Black HHD,Win7x64, should run the game just fine.
- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
The way I'd look at it is, I can spend say $1000 and get your system, or another $200 and get double the performance out of it. I am running games on a 55" monitor and you notice every little imperfection one may not notice quite so easily on a much smaller gaming monitor. I want everything a game has to offer and I want it to run at the maximum performance my tv can handle. I don't want to make comprimises with settings and turn stuff down when for an extra $200 I don't have to worry about that. $1000 vs. $1200 is a no brainer for me, $1000 vs. $2000 I would think twice about.
Of course it's a matter of money and personal preference. If someone doesn't have the money or is satisfied with lower performance or ok with upgrading later, then the 970 isn't for them. For me, I found it hard to resist doubling my gaming performance for what amounts to pennies a day over the life of the system. Upgrading isn't always simple either. The 970 is a huge card for example and doesn't fit in every case. Plus in my case, I would take it into the shop to get it done since I don't know enough about PC's to do it myself. Then it becomes a hassle and an additional expense for removal and installation of the old card. Perhaps for a do-it-yourselfer it's a different equation.
I agree about all the post exept last line. With a GTX750 you won't play pCars on high or probably even medium settings, i've taken a GTX680 for 180€ 6+ months ago, so now it should be easy to find at even lower price. It's almost the same GPU of the GTX770 but with a little more overclocking potential and allows pCars tu run on high settings on 50-ish FPS
is more about using your money more wisely, my rule is to spend about 200€ every year, and it allows you to keep a mid-high spec PC without ever spending 500€ for a single component. I usually get previous-gen high end CPU and GPUS that can be easily found at bargain prices.
for example I wouldn't take a 900 series GPU even if they're the actual best buy simply because they come from the mid-end chip, so better to wait the high-end one and either take a GTX980 for very low price or get a mid-end new gen one, but that's from me already having a good PC running
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- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
If my main concern was wringing the most out of my current investment in some kind of value/$$ spent analysis, I'd be in the same boat. Not to be a massive douche or anything but I'm not really in that boat
I'm a frugal person by nature and am always looking for value but a couple hundred here or there isn't going make any difference in my life. My approach was based on what I wanted first, I'll figure out the cost later. I still chose the parts with value in mind but when I had the rig built it was either buy a mid-range card and play this game and other demanding games on mid to high settings, or spend a couple hundred extra to run everything wide open or close enough. Mid to high might be enough on a smaller monitor than mine but I figured I needed something kickass for 55" or higher if I choose to upgrade soon. I'd rather pay for something better now and hope it lasts longer, and if it doesn't I'll replace it when I have to.
- 6,318
- West Virginia
- HBR-Roadhog
- HBR Roadhog
Well, I do not know where you get this double performance from. Yes if you spend another $200 on a video card you will get better video performance than if you don't but that is just 1 part of the system all the other parts will still be the same and you will not get anywhere near double the performance. To do that you would need to spend another $1000 or possibly a lot more and go with an extreme Intel CPU and MB.
Unfortunately the recommended specs only mention 600 series and do not state which 600 series card so I am not sure where the 750 will rank as it is just about the same as a 660 perhaps a tad better.
btw the system cost me about $800 total.
Of course I could have went with a 970 or higher but I can't see spending that much money on a card that will be 1/2 that price in 6 months or so.
- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
As I said earlier, if a couple of hundred dollars was going to impact me I would have made a different decision. Spending an extra $200 on a video card that will last me for years is not a big deal to me although I understand that not everyone has that freedom. I pay more than that to watch a hockey game sometimes
As a point of reference though, and as I mentioned above, this is what I want to try and avoid by spending a few extra dollars now. This is from a 780Ti user (GPU benchmark 9000) talking about framerates in PCars. The GTX680 benchmarks under 6000 how do you think it will do under the same conditions?:
- 6,318
- West Virginia
- HBR-Roadhog
- HBR Roadhog
Again video is just one part of the system. Without any idea of CPU, ram, OS and such it is hard to say what that means about overall performance.
Another thing that factors into my system choices is that I have more than one system and at some point in the future I will by a better card for this newest system and transfer the card I have now into another system. In the end I will have two decent cards and still not spend more than I would have if I only got the one.
I also am not fond of driving in rain with lights on and heavy reflections so I would likely turn that down anyway.
Another thing that factors into my system choices is that I have more than one system and at some point in the future I will by a better card for this newest system and transfer the card I have now into another system. In the end I will have two decent cards and still not spend more than I would have if I only got the one.
I also am not fond of driving in rain with lights on and heavy reflections so I would likely turn that down anyway.
No, performance depends *almost* only from GPU on any gaming PC, even an old i5 2500k or an FX8300 is more than enough for 99% of games out there. I still have to find a game where i am CPU limited, the ony time it happened to me was back in 2011 when i still had an overclocked Core2duo E8500 @4,8Ghz and it had some problems running pCars coupled with a GTX570 when they put phisics tick rate from 200 to 600hz. I think i won't change my i5 2500k before at least 2 more years, i may upgrade the ram from 8 to 16-32Gb (even 64 for a ram disk) but i don't see any reason to change the CPU (and i still use it at 4,1Ghz when i can reach easily 4,9 with my watercooling loop)
- 321
- Australia
- Cyber77__
here in Australia a gtx 770 goes for about $325, a gtx 970 has about double the performance of a gtx770 but cost around $475 ( approx 50% more ) which = great value. the gtx970 is actually rated as the best performance/$ card available atm. so for the extra $150 i'll take the 970 every time ( and i did
). another point i'll make is that if you buy the better card now rather than in 12 months or so you will have 12 months more of high quallity gaming =
and if you buy another GTX770 for example later down the track when they are dirt cheap you still won't have the same performance as the 970 has had from the start 
so my theory was, get a gtx970 now then when they get cheaper get another one and run everything on ultra for the next 5+ years .here in Australia a gtx 770 goes for about $325, a gtx 970 has about double the performance of a gtx770 but cost around $475 ( approx 50% more ) which = great value. the gtx970 is actually rated as the best performance/$ card available atm. so for the extra $150 i'll take the 970 every time ( and i did
another point i'll make is that if you buy the better card now rather than in 12 months or so you will have 12 months more of high quallity gaming =
FIXED
my point on the 970-980 is thet they're mid-end chips, so probably when next nvidia GPUs come out they'll have more than double the performance of the 900 series, expecially if they finally decide to leave 32nm. So while the 970 is a best buy if you need to buy a GPU now, if you don't really have to i'd say it's better to wait and see
- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
It's always better to wait, and when the new cards come out, a new card that's twice as good as that will be on the horizon. I want to play my games now on high, not wait a year to play them on high so I can save a few $$. Games aren't going to change much in the next year so I likely won't need the computing power of this new high end card anyway. I'll wait until the 970 or 2x970 isn't enough, then upgrade.
- 6,318
- West Virginia
- HBR-Roadhog
- HBR Roadhog
According to the chart I just looked at the GTX750 is the best performance per dollar of any nVidia chip right now and the GTX750TI is second best which is the one I bought. The 970 offers a little more than double the performance but almost triple the price. Still of the high performance chips it is rated the highest on value of the nVidia chips but behind the 750, 650 and 660 chips.here in Australia a gtx 770 goes for about $325, a gtx 970 has about double the performance of a gtx770 but cost around $475 ( approx 50% more ) which = great value. the gtx970 is actually rated as the best performance/$ card available atm. so for the extra $150 i'll take the 970 every time ( and i did
The 770 would be a poor choice as both the 760 and 780 offer better value and the 780 offers better performance as well.
another point i'll make is that if you buy the better card now rather than in 12 months or so you will have 12 months more of high quallity gaming =
I would not buy a 770 now or later. I did buy a 750TI now and may very well buy a 980 later. The game is not even out yet so I would not be enjoying that high quality gaming for a while yet
- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
Exactly. Pay an extra $200 for the 970 and double the performance. It's a no brainer if you can afford it and aren't on a tight budget.
- 321
- Australia
- Cyber77__
The gtx750's are not sli compatible so I think they are a poor choice because to upgrade you need a more expensive card anyway so if you add the price of the current 750 to say a 770's price in 12months time I estimate you will end up paying the same amount as just getting the 770 now. This will give you 2x performance now and the ability to sli later for an even larger performance gain.
- 1,433
- Northern Ireland
Hey everyone,
I got a question about performance but from the other end of the spectrum: I just have a convertible laptop with a modest i5 processor and Intel's trusty integrated graphics (HD 4400 I think). Now I know what you're thinking but the thing is recently I've been trying out more modern games on it and I'm honestly surprised how well it handles. For example I bought Grid Autosport last month and at 1080p, ultra low settings I get buttery smooth framerates 80-90% of the time! (and compared to PS3 games on a big TV it still looks pretty darn great if you ask me.)
So I'm wondering now if my baby would be up to handling the holy grail - I planned to get a PS4 sometime in the future but I'd quite like to jump straight in on PC if I knew it could run respectably (on the lowest of settings at the lowest of resolutions if need be, I don't care how crap it looks!).
I'm guessing no one here has such simple hardware so what I wanna ask is, for people who own both Grid Autosport and pCars, how does your performance compare between the two on similar settings? It really is the only good reference point I can use. Does pCars have a lot of graphics and resolution options at the lower end too?
Thanks!
I got a question about performance but from the other end of the spectrum: I just have a convertible laptop with a modest i5 processor and Intel's trusty integrated graphics (HD 4400 I think). Now I know what you're thinking but the thing is recently I've been trying out more modern games on it and I'm honestly surprised how well it handles. For example I bought Grid Autosport last month and at 1080p, ultra low settings I get buttery smooth framerates 80-90% of the time! (and compared to PS3 games on a big TV it still looks pretty darn great if you ask me.)
So I'm wondering now if my baby would be up to handling the holy grail - I planned to get a PS4 sometime in the future but I'd quite like to jump straight in on PC if I knew it could run respectably (on the lowest of settings at the lowest of resolutions if need be, I don't care how crap it looks!).
I'm guessing no one here has such simple hardware so what I wanna ask is, for people who own both Grid Autosport and pCars, how does your performance compare between the two on similar settings? It really is the only good reference point I can use. Does pCars have a lot of graphics and resolution options at the lower end too?
Thanks!
