The "will my system run iRacing" and technical help thread.

[epic_apri_39]

I'm afraid neither is enough.

How about I add another £50? (Roughly 435 USD)

 

[fatkrakr]

How about I add another £50? (Roughly 435 USD)

Unless you spend about $1000, could be a bit less but not a lot, your probably not going to be happy. Not to say you couldn't put something together for say $600 that will run Iracing, but it wont run it but at minimum settings and probably not keep a steady 60 fps. In the end is $600 worth playing the bare minimum. Only you know that.

 

[smeisinger]

oh, sorry, I didn't get he wants triple screen. That changes everything, of course.

But I think that planning on triple screen without being able to spend serious money is rather pointless. Even more so without having much space, as you've said.

Just start with a single screen.

 

[Kamuifanboy]

Here's something with lower specs, and a lower price. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bWsGK8
If you're looking for something even smaller in size. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rqzDBm

The only issue with these builds is, is that you'd need some way to install windows from a disk. Unless you have a computer where you could plug this Solid State into and install it on first, you'd have to use an external optical drive for the initial windows installation.

Thanks, but that costs too much for me

What sort of price range are you looking for then? It also depends on what other things you are going to be using your computer for. Because if you're planning on playing other things than just iRacing, higher end graphics cards are needed to play on settings higher than what a console can do. If you're only playing iRacing, then that's a different story. But if you're planning on playing other games, as most do, then you'd have to run a higher end graphics card and would almost be better off saving half your money and just get a PS4 or an Xbox One.

And 100% unnecessary. iRacing isn’t more CPU heavy than any other game. Maybe even less than your average Need For Speed as it doesn’t need to simulate computer opponents.

Oh, btw, I guess you already own a Computer? Something which runs Windows 7, 8 or 10? It’s quite likely that it runs iRacing just fine.

Remember, he's asking for 30-60 fps on triples. I really wouldn't suggest him to play iRacing on 30fps as it will really put some strain on your eyes and you'll be sitting there the entire time complaining about it. Also, iRacing's "minimum requirements" suggestions are bogus now. Maybe 5 years ago, those requirements were true, but for some of these newer circuits and cars, it's going to kill your standard old laptop or computer without some nice components. It should also be noted that older PC's will be obsolete in a few months time as everything will go 64bit.

He asked about running triple screen and what was linked to is pretty much what youll need. Could maybe knock off about $250-$300, but that's about it. Now single screen, if that's what hes after, is a different thing.

Exactly.

Im no PC guru or anything and you may not quite need the build Kamui posted up but I think your going to need more that what smeisinger is suggesting. At one point you could get by running iracing on a lesser machine but those days are nearly over. When they go to DX11, which was slated for the next build in March a month away, but now looking like that will be delayed, older machines wont likely be able to run it. For example is my setup. It's about 4 1/2 years old now and it was no super pc when I got it but it was half decent. Back in those days when it was new and iracing wasn't as hard on pcs as it is now I could get 200-250 + FPS with everything turned up on high. Now I can only get 80 FPS or so with everything turned down to low and this is on a single monitor. There's no way I could run triples with what I have now.

As far as your situation goes I not really sure if you can use a flash drive to load iracing off of. Ive never heard of anyone trying that on iracing. With the new anti cheat system having to install on your pc Im not sure you would be able to have it all on a flash drive. Space wise you would be fine but I don't see how its going to load and start up off of a flash drive but I could be wrong as Ive never tried it or heard anybody that has. As far as the ram goes you might be able to get by with 4 gb on the older tracks but newer tracks like nurburgring will be out of the question. I just had to upgrade my ram from 4gb to 8gb this past build for nurburgring myself.

The best bet would be posting up your pc specs and/or posting up a budget if you can get something and people here could find something to fit in your budget. You could also maybe try out one of the one month subs to try and test the waters and see if your pc will run it. Not trying to be discouraging but iracing is much tougher on pcs now than even just 6 months ago and when dx11 comes it will be even more so. Im in the process of building another pc myself.

Completely agree. My setup is currently 4 years old as well. (i7 3770K, 16GB Memory, GTX 660 Ti) and I'm starting to struggle to get 60fps on high settings without any stuttering on a single screen. I'm a little bit scared to see what is going to happen when things go to DX11. So I think you'd need a 970 minimum to run say medium settings on triples.

 

[epic_apri_39]

Yeah, I forgot to say earlier but I'm not going triple screen now. I'll run single until (Or if) I get the money (And the knowledge of anything computer related).

Thanks for the help anyway, but I can't pay that much money right now.

Edit: I'm also looking for one which can run R3E, (and probably rFactor too) would I need higher end stuff?

 

[swiftwilly]

Yeah, I forgot to say earlier but I'm not going triple screen now. I'll run single until (Or if) I get the money (And the knowledge of anything computer related).

Thanks for the help anyway, but I can't pay that much money right now.

Edit: I'm also looking for one which can run R3E, (and probably rFactor too) would I need higher end stuff?

I had a look, i don't think your PC will run it well enough. Given the Nords build in iRacing it is pretty heavy on the PC...i know a lot of people complaining about stuttering and long load times and even missing the grid to start a race.

I had a SSD, i5 4690k and 980GTX and Nords easily takes me 2 mins to load.

Try just to save up a bit and do the RIGHT build first. Nothing more annoying to do a build and find out that you can't run it. Not saying you should get my rig but at least get a bit more than the minimum specs.

 

[smeisinger]

Yes. Nordschleife is pretty much a game changer. But the good thing is that you don’t have to race it.
I achieved constant 60fps on a track like Spa (rather demanding as well) with my old Laptop.

rFactor (1) is more demanding than iRacing (yes), I didn’t get 60fps there with my old Laptop, but it should run on most cheap PCs you can get today and just as iRacing most likely on the computer you already got at home (single screen).

For rFactor 2 you’d really need a decent computer. I have no experience with R3E.

 

[epic_apri_39]

Yes. Nordschleife is pretty much a game changer. But the good thing is that you don’t have to race it.
I achieved constant 60fps on a track like Spa (rather demanding as well) with my old Laptop.

rFactor (1) is more demanding than iRacing (yes), I didn’t get 60fps there with my old Laptop, but it should run on most cheap PCs you can get today and just as iRacing most likely on the computer you already got at home (single screen).

For rFactor 2 you’d really need a decent computer. I have no experience with R3E.

Alright then, I'll have to run R3E for now until I can afford a decent computer. Thanks for the help anyway

 

[swiftwilly]

Yes. Nordschleife is pretty much a game changer. But the good thing is that you don’t have to race it.

Who wouldn't get it

 

[Kamuifanboy]

Try just to save up a bit and do the RIGHT build first. Nothing more annoying to do a build and find out that you can't run it. Not saying you should get my rig but at least get a bit more than the minimum specs.

I completely agree with this. I'm kind of upset with myself that I spent the extra money to get an i7 3770k when an i5 would have done just as well for a hundred bucks or so less. Also, I kind of wish I had gone with a Micro ATX or Mini ITX size computer as I kind of like the idea of having a compact powerful computer.

@epic_apri_39 I know this is still above your $450 price range, but this is probably the bare minimum I would go with for iRacing considering the new updates coming soon. It should run a single screen at high settings now slightly above 60fps, then when DX11 comes out, I really have no idea. But I would assume that it would still be able to run at medium settings at or around 60fps. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BJMz23

 

[Saidur_Ali]

As far as it says on the computer itself;
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium
Memory: 4 GB
Hard Drive: 320 GB
It also says stuff about Optical Drive and Wireless but I get the feeling OD is pointless to state and Wireless would be giving away details which could leave me hacked.

Budget is £250 GBP

If you overclock the Q8300 to 3GHz if motherboard supports it, also get another 4GB of RAM and get a graphics card like GTX 970 if your motherboard and power supply support it then you got chance of it potentially running well in your budget. Also upgrade to Windows 10 64 bit.

 

[epic_apri_39]

@Saidur_Ali

So I'm looking into getting iRacing, but before I start, I have two problems; I don't have much money and I don't know a single thing about computers or processors or whatever goes in.

Sorry, I have no idea about anything you said.

I completely agree with this. I'm kind of upset with myself that I spent the extra money to get an i7 3770k when an i5 would have done just as well for a hundred bucks or so less. Also, I kind of wish I had gone with a Micro ATX or Mini ITX size computer as I kind of like the idea of having a compact powerful computer.

@epic_apri_39 I know this is still above your $450 price range, but this is probably the bare minimum I would go with for iRacing considering the new updates coming soon. It should run a single screen at high settings now slightly above 60fps, then when DX11 comes out, I really have no idea. But I would assume that it would still be able to run at medium settings at or around 60fps. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BJMz23

I suppose I'd have to wait a few weeks for getting the money but thanks anyway

 

[Saidur_Ali]

@Saidur_Ali


Sorry, I have no idea about anything you said.



I suppose I'd have to wait a few weeks for getting the money but thanks anyway

In more simple terms, you might have chance of playing iRacing well by buying a graphics card that works with your PC.

Do you know enough to build your own PC or will you be looking at pre-built ones in your budget?

 

[epic_apri_39]

In more simple terms, you might have chance of playing iRacing well by buying a graphics card that works with your PC.

Do you know enough to build your own PC or will you be looking at pre-built ones in your budget?

Pre-built, my craftsmanship skills are shoddy too.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Pre-built, my craftsmanship skills are shoddy too.

Probably be £560 to £700 depending on how good performance you want, single screen or triple screen.

Other option would be buy something like following for single screen gaming for your current PC: £91.70

Would be quite simple to fit following YouTube videos.

 

[Kamuifanboy]

Alright guys, I think the time has finally come for me to upgrade my desktop. I've really been struggling to play some newer games (Battlefront, Assetto Corsa, Project Cars, and even iRacing at times) and I just have a few questions to make sure about before doing the purchasing.

Current Build:
- i7 3770k 3.5Ghz (Boost to 3.9Ghz)
- ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 Motherboard
- 16GB Memory (4 x 4GB)
- Samsung 128GB Solid State and Seagate 2TB HDD
- MSI GeForce GTX 660Ti 2GB
- Corsair 750 Watt Gold Rated PSU
- Asus VG248QE 1ms and 144Hz Monitor

I'm thinking about upgrading my graphics card while at the same time upgrading to a triple screen setup. The triple screen setup would primarily be for iRacing only. Might move into Assetto Corsa if my computer is capable of handling it. Here's the upgrades that I am thinking of getting.

Upgraded Build:
- i7 3770k 3.5Ghz (Boost to 3.9Ghz)
- ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 Motherboard
- 16GB Memory (4 x 4GB)
- Samsung 128GB Solid State and Seagate 2TB HDD
- EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Superclocked 4GB
- Corsair 750 Watt Gold Rated PSU
- Asus VG248QE 1ms and 144Hz Monitor (Center)
- Asus VE247H 2ms and 76Hz Monitors (Left & Right)

1. Will this graphics card be able to run iRacing on high settings at or above 60fps? Or should I look into a 980 Ti. SLI is unfortunately out of question as my other PCI port is damaged, although I'll check again to make sure.
2. The Maximum Digital Resolution of this card is 4096 x 2160. Does this mean that I will not be able to utilize all of the resolution on my 3 screens?
3. The graphics card has 3x Display Port, 1x Dual Link DVI, and 1x HDMI ports. I currently run my monitor using a Display port cable. The two new monitors have only 1x HDMI, 1x VGA-16 pin and 1x DVI (Does not specify if Dual Link). Will I be able to run with my center screen continuing on Display Port, then my left screen on an HDMI and my right screen on the DVI cables?
4. Will my PSU be able to handle the graphics card? When I place all of the parts from my build into PC part picker, the watt usage comes out to being 360 Watts, which is plenty for my 750 Watt supply. But, when I did some research on the graphics card, EVGA posts on their website (Power Supply Requirements = 500 Watt Power Supply). Does this mean that I would need 500 Watts plus whatever else is in my computer? Or does this mean that a PSU above 500 Watts, regardless of everything else in the computer, will be enough.

 

[swiftwilly]

1. I run a single Gigabyte 980 G1 overclocked (on top of the factory overclock) and I easily get iRacing on 60fps - max settings. I can only get about 50fps on AC on max settings and aroudn 40 - 50fps on pCars.

However, I noticed your left and right monitors are 76mhz, so you cannot get them to run at 144mhz regardless.

I am not sure what experience you will get with middle monitor on 144 and side on 76 mhz, does it lower all monitors to 76mhz?

I am running 3 x BenQ 144mhz monitors.

2. Will be fine. This is what I use and looking at the specifications they are the same yet it easily does 6000 x 1080 (due to my bezel side on monitors):

http://www.gigabyte.com.au/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5208#sp


3. You can use display port but that does not allow you to get to 144mhz. HDMI will also not get you to 144mhz either. Both have a maximum refresh rate of 60mhz.

I think this all comes down to what you want. I play a lot of FPS and racing so I prefer better refresh rates, so I went with DP to DVI converters to get all 3 of my monitors at 144mhz. These retail for about $80 on amazon or so, I can send you the link when I am home. You only need to buy two since you have at least one DVI port.

4. Yes your 750 is enough as long as you dont plan to OC your graphics card and CPU.

I would personally get 1000 EVGA one as that will allow you to OC your graphic card and CPU, also leaves room for growth if you want to SLI down the track.

750 you cannot safetly overclock and get SLI down the track.

But you don't need to get a better one if you are ok with your settings above. Only if you start playing with your new toys...

 

[fatkrakr]

Instead of buying adapters to get the outputs you want the better choice would be to buy a card that already has those outputs. Most all manufacturers make several cards with same specs but different outputs. 5 minutes of research could save $160 on adapters.

 

[drummermaniac]

Hi guys, do you think that my laptop can run iracing?

-Core i7 720QM
-8GB RAM
-Radeon HD 5850 - 1 GB DDR3 VRAM

Thanks

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I'm thinking of getting iRacing tonight when I get home since membership subscriptions are 50% off at the moment. I'm 100% sure my system will be able to run the game but I'll be (hoping) running the game through an old 2008 year model 32" Samsung LCD TV. Should I expect any issues running the game this way? I mean, playing console games is fine but I'm a complete noob when it comes to PC gaming (and being a Mac user for years now).

 

[TeamCZRRacing]

Thanks, but that costs too much for me

Perhaps something like this would do the trick? It's expensive, but not as expensive as the parts list presented by @Kamuifanboy. ($1,012* vs. $1,300). You could probably whittle it down even more with some more in-depth research.

*=The price listed is $972, but I added $40 because PC Part Picker didn't include the graphics card in its price. A Radeon 5770 can run you about $40 these days, though some are more expensive.

 

[MadRR]

Hi guys, do you think that my laptop can run iracing?

-Core i7 720QM
-8GB RAM
-Radeon HD 5850 - 1 GB DDR3 VRAM

Thanks

Yes it will likely run it but it will be at the minimums. Your specs are right at what Iracing requires as minimums. I think your only issues would be the graphics card as I currently use a 6850 1 gb and I have some struggles sometimes even with everything turned to low. You will likely have to turn more stuff off like crowds and etc to get it to a playable FPS. Only other thing would be with it being a laptop it might get warm decreasing the graphics card performance even more. I would just make sure you have some type of cooler for it or a fan blowing on it at least.

I'm thinking of getting iRacing tonight when I get home since membership subscriptions are 50% off at the moment. I'm 100% sure my system will be able to run the game but I'll be (hoping) running the game through an old 2008 year model 32" Samsung LCD TV. Should I expect any issues running the game this way? I mean, playing console games is fine but I'm a complete noob when it comes to PC gaming (and being a Mac user for years now).

You can run pc games fine on a tv as I ran Iracing on my older 32 inch Samsung for awhile, but you will be at a slight disadvantage because of the refresh rate. Tv's don't have as fast a refresh rate as pc monitors. You can run it in game mode on the tv if it has one and that will help out some at least.

Perhaps something like this would do the trick? It's expensive, but not as expensive as the parts list presented by @Kamuifanboy. ($1,012* vs. $1,300). You could probably whittle it down even more with some more in-depth research.

*=The price listed is $972, but I added $40 because PC Part Picker didn't include the graphics card in its price. A Radeon 5770 can run you about $40 these days, though some are more expensive.

I honestly haven't looked at your build but I would advise going with more of a graphics card than a 5770. I use a 6850 1 gb card like I mentioned earlier and it only runs everything on low at around 80 fps at best in races. The current build I'm looking at doing will run about $1,100 depending on which case I go with.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/MadRR/saved/sp6H99

 

[epic_apri_39]

Perhaps something like this would do the trick? It's expensive, but not as expensive as the parts list presented by @Kamuifanboy. ($1,012* vs. $1,300). You could probably whittle it down even more with some more in-depth research.

*=The price listed is $972, but I added $40 because PC Part Picker didn't include the graphics card in its price. A Radeon 5770 can run you about $40 these days, though some are more expensive.

Still too much I'm afraid.

 

[TeamCZRRacing]

Still too much I'm afraid.

Well, like I said, you can bump the price down quite a bit. Maximum PC does budget builds every month that should still be well capable of playing iRacing. You might do some Googling and give those a look.

 

[swiftwilly]

As a guy who does a lot of PC upgrades like once a year, I'd say if you are that budget tight, you should wait.

We've all been there, nothing like buying a budget PC, play iRacing, love it, and regret not waiting to buy a better graphics card etc.

I've been there, I mean let's see:
1. First time I got into iRacing I went the minimum graphic card requirements. Loved the game, ended up a year later selling that graphic card for a LOSS and upgrading to a much better card.
2. Bought a single screen for my cockpit, 42" and only later realised how important triple screens were. Now I wasted an entire TV and ended up spending more because I got triples
3. Did not realise how important sim gear was, went with a Fanatec CSP v1 set, now I regret it because Fanatec reliability is terrible (just google it) and now I am looking at getting HE pedals. So I wasted even MORE money.

Lesson?
Do it once, do it right. Do not go "budget". Instead, go to your friends house who has iRacing, play it. Do you like it? If so, get the right gear from the get go.

Don't have the money? Just wait. iRacing isn't going to go away anytime soon. Waiting 1 year or even 2 years seriously isn't going to kill you. But it will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

 

[epic_apri_39]

About what I was asking earlier, I was looking into it again and found a PC that someone had left in an older subforum

http://www.ukgamingcomputers.co.uk/eos-i5-gaming-pc-p-117.html

Will this run iRacing? It's well within my budget.

 

[Kamuifanboy]

About what I was asking earlier, I was looking into it again and found a PC that someone had left in an older subforum

http://www.ukgamingcomputers.co.uk/eos-i5-gaming-pc-p-117.html

Will this run iRacing? It's well within my budget.

Will definitely run iRacing on a single screen. Should be able to manage high settings as well. I'd put the extra 30 pounds into gettings 8GB of RAM though. 4GB is fine, but the system will run much smoother with 8GB. Note that the 479 Pound price tag does not include a Windows Operating System. So you'd have to pay for that. Which puts your total to around 876USD.

Here is a build that I just put together that is not only cheaper, but it is better in almost every part, and is fully upgrade-able in the future.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kRkcQ7

- Same Processor
- More compact motherboard
- More Ram
- Less Disk Space, but if you're only using it for iRacing. Then a 250GB solid state will be plenty and you'll load into races much faster.
- GTX 960 has about 150% better benchmark scores than the 750Ti
- Thermaltake Core V21 is a cheap but awesome case with lots of space for it's tiny size
- More power for future updates to your PC. that 400W won't get you much further in the future.
- Windows OS included.

 

[Roush_fan_99]

Will definitely run iRacing on a single screen. Should be able to manage high settings as well. I'd put the extra 30 pounds into gettings 8GB of RAM though. 4GB is fine, but the system will run much smoother with 8GB. Note that the 479 Pound price tag does not include a Windows Operating System. So you'd have to pay for that. Which puts your total to around 876USD.

Here is a build that I just put together that is not only cheaper, but it is better in almost every part, and is fully upgrade-able in the future.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kRkcQ7

- Same Processor
- More compact motherboard
- More Ram
- Less Disk Space, but if you're only using it for iRacing. Then a 250GB solid state will be plenty and you'll load into races much faster.
- GTX 960 has about 150% better benchmark scores than the 750Ti
- Thermaltake Core V21 is a cheap but awesome case with lots of space for it's tiny size
- More power for future updates to your PC. that 400W won't get you much further in the future.
- Windows OS included.

The only thing I might add is don't count out the R9 380, it can be found for roughly the same price and has more memory, and higher bandwidth but lower clock speed. A 4GB 960 is not recommended as the bandwidth isn't high enough to really take advantage of the extra 2GB. The 960 has HDMI 2.0 for 4k @ 60Hz, the 380 has HDMI 1.4 for 4k @ 30Hz. but if you aren't running 4k (not recommended with these cards) then 1.4 is just fine.

 

[MadRR]

Since this thread has kinda turned into a technical thread I'll add a little info for some people out there looking for a budget video card.

Last Friday during a test session my screen started to just go all crazy going in and out then went all gray. I had to manually restart my pc and when it came back up it had blue lines all over the screen then it went black when Windows tried to start. So after little over 4 years of service my 6850 1gb card crapped out.

I have been planning on building another pc but I just haven't been able to commit the funds right now. I posted on the Iracing forums for some suggestions and I ended up going with the evga 750ti 2gb superclocked. It was $120 on newegg with free shipping and a $20 rebate. So far I'm pretty satisfied with it. I just use a single 27 inch monitor and I was getting around 80-90 fps in races with everything on low and stuff like the track marbles off with my 6850 and now I can run about everything on high and most everything turned on and getting 130-150 fps with other cars on track. I haven't had a chance to get in a race yet only a practice with other cars so I want to see how it performs then with the settings I have but even at Nurburgring by myself I would only get 50 fps with stutters at some parts like where the GP track combines and now I get around 100 fps and its smooth in those spots.

I would recommend this card for anyone on a budget looking to spend around $100. It's a small card around half the size of my old 6850 and only needs a 300 watt power supply.

 

[John Brandow]

Hi guys. First post. Ive been a long time console guy who just made the jump to Iracing and RaceRoom. I just picked up an old heavy built PC for a great price and need to do some upgrades.

Currently it is
Windows 7 64bit
Intel core 2 duo e3800
8GB dual channel
Pair of 512 mb geForce 9800
500gb not solid state
Stryker II extreme
Single 32 inch
Thrustmaster tx

I want to triple 24 or 27s
Im not going cheap so will do stuff in stages.

Should I go graphics card first then CPU then solid state drive? Can the 2 duo drive triples?

THANKS!