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[Wiz]

Thought I'd start a thread for useful stuff not specifically related to any certain game.

I'd like to start by mentioning the importance of making sure you're running the latest drivers for whatever video card you have.

If you're using an nvidia card, you should be on driver 337.88  If you're not, you should update.

Also, I recommend downloading GeForce Experience.  This program will notify you as soon as new drivers are available.  It also has something called "ShadowPlay", which is my new favorite way to record the videos I post.  Read about it and get it here - http://www.geforce.com/geforce-experience

Note that GeForce Experience only works with certain cards.  And certain features only work with certain cards too.
Here's a chart that shows what works with what....





Please share any tips or tricks you may have.

[Wiz]

If you're using an AMD card, the latest driver/CCC is 14.4  Go get it if you don't have it.

I don't know shit about AMD cards so perhaps someone here can chime in with some good info.

I strongly agree with Intel chips.  As far a graphics cards, It was best said by GT11.  NVidia seems to be a better all around gaming card, where AMD seems to be more of a specific game/s type card, to be better/equal to NVidia. 

Neither are bad choices and always, always, spring for the best you can possibly afford.  I too have a AMD 7950 as GT11 and love it!  I tend to be biased towards AMD cards, as I have not had issues at all  and can match performance with the same class NVidia's. 

Rek hit the nail on the head...  Always uninstall your drivers first through "add/remove programs", then check that these folders do not exist.  If they do, delete them.

    C:/AMD/support/14-4-win7-win8-win8.1-64-dd-ccc-whql
    C:/AMD/support/14-4-win7-win8-win8.1-32-dd-ccc-whql

Personally, I've never deleted these folders, as they seem to be removed during uninstall, but that may not hold true for everyone.

For the latest drivers, go here...

http://support.amd.com/en-us/download

On the right side, under "Latest AMD Catalyst™ Drivers for Radeon™ R9 200, R7 200, HD 7000, HD 6000 and HD 5000 Series", just click on your version of Windows (32 bit, or 64 bit) and it will bring you directly to the download link.  See pic below..



I would stay away from the beta drivers, unless your comfortable working with computers.  They can sometimes cause issues, that even may require temporarily changing BIOS setting to go back to working drivers.

Edited for info, by Brindle

[Rek]

I think its very important to  remember the following.

 Before installing a new driver, please ensure you have uninstalled the previous driver using the Add/Remove programs option in the Control Panel and also deleted the installation folder for the previous driver. This folder can be found at the following locations:
 

    C:/AMD/support/14-4-win7-win8-win8.1-64-dd-ccc-whql
          
                                 or
  
  C:/AMD/support/14-4-win7-win8-win8.1-32-dd-ccc-whql

[nosoks]

Could I ask a favour here. In the event that gaming pc becomes the best route (an option I dread) would one of you fellas please suggest a spec for said computer.  I really don't know exactly what to ask for

[Wiz]

Sure thing soks.  Give me a day or two and I'll write up something nice.

I can safely say that my post will have an Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU bias, as that's what I've used over the years and have had good luck with both.

Perhaps one of our guys with AMD stuff can chime in with their knowledge.

[GoesTuna11]

Value for money, I'm pretty sure that Intel has the best processors unless you need to go fairly inexpensive.

Don't be fooled by people who say that AMD video cards provide the best value per money.  On average they probably do but you are playing specific games not the average game.  AMD is probably the best card for iRacing but iRacing isn't particularly hard on video cards and Nvidia isn't far behind.  The problem with AMD cards is that they can fall significantly behind NVidia cards in certain games.  Those include Project Cars and rFactor2.

I have an AMD 7950.  It runs iRacing, GSCE and AC very well on triple screens.  It isn't nearly as good for PCars or rF2.  I'm pretty happy with my video card overall but my next card will probably be NVidia.  If you want to go Canadian, I'm pretty sure that AMD cards are still designed in Ontario (AMD bought out ATI which was Canadian).

While triple screens are probably out of the question for many people, I still think that you should try to get as powerful of a video card that you can afford.  The Oculus Rift is the future.  Everyone is going to want the first consumer release. 

[nosoks]

Thanks for input guys, still hoping I don't have to go that way due to my computer ineptitude, but it'll be great to have relative and up to date info to take to the store when/if. I also have trust issues with 3st world techies 

[Brindle]

I strongly agree with Intel chips.  As far a graphics cards, It was best said by GT11.  NVidia seems to be a better all around gaming card, where AMD seems to be more of a specific game/s type card, to be better/equal to NVidia. 

Neither are bad choices and always, always, spring for the best you can possibly afford.  I too have a AMD 7950 as GT11 and love it!  I tend to be biased towards AMD cards, as I have not had issues at all  and can match performance with the same class NVidia's. 

Rek hit the nail on the head...  Always uninstall your drivers first through "add/remove programs", then check that these folders do not exist.  If they do, delete them.

    C:/AMD/support/14-4-win7-win8-win8.1-64-dd-ccc-whql
    C:/AMD/support/14-4-win7-win8-win8.1-32-dd-ccc-whql

Personally, I've never deleted these folders, as they seem to be removed during uninstall, but that may not hold true for everyone.

For the latest drivers, go here...

http://support.amd.com/en-us/download

On the right side, under "Latest AMD Catalyst™ Drivers for Radeon™ R9 200, R7 200, HD 7000, HD 6000 and HD 5000 Series", just click on your version of Windows (32 bit, or 64 bit) and it will bring you directly to the download link.  See pic below..



I would stay away from the beta drivers, unless your comfortable working with computers.  They can sometimes cause issues, that even may require temporarily changing BIOS setting to go back to working drivers.

[EX_stream_tuna]

I like https://pcpartpicker.com as a place to total up the cost of the things you shop for.  They link to many online stores, but even if the shop you are purchasing from doesn't link in to this site, I believe it lets you put the price of the item into your total.

It is nice because it has compatibility checker.  If you pick a certain chip, for instance, it will only let you pick a motherboard that works with it.

A few more things to keep in mind.

A graphics card can be as much, if not more than a whole brand new, current gen gaming console, but obsolescence isn't as quick as many exaggerate.  If you buy a top of the line card now, it will be average in a couple years, and shitty by comparison, in a few more years.  In a few years you would simply need to turn graphics settings down on some of the newest games.  Single screens should be no issue for a long time.

PC's can be used for so many other things, that if you need to justify cost, just remember that you can use PC's for just about any creative idea you may have, or help with your business and personal finances.

If you have other requirements, don't just build a PC for gaming, but to work for you on all fronts.  If you're like me, you don't need the best GPX card that's out, but just a couple levels lower than "Best", and get along fine in most situations.

[Wiz]

Expect to pay around $750 for something that will have some lasting power.  Obviously, you can go much higher than that, and will get more lasting power the more you spend up front.  But $750 will get you going quite well.

You could probably get going spending less than that, but I'd bet you'll want to upgrade after a month or so.  So spend the money up front.  Trust me on this, I know.

I originally bought a $100 graphics card.  It was ok, but I quickly realized how awesome PC sims were, so I wanted more.  So I bought a $170 graphics card.  It was better, but when these newer sims starting hitting the market, I wanted more.  Now I have a $225 graphics card.  If I had bought the $225 one from the get go, I'd have saved myself $250.

I'll assume anyone thinking about going PC, is doing so because of the wheel compatibility thing going on with PS4.

So the question you need to ask yourself is this.....

Do I want to pay $750ish for a decent PC and use my existing wheel?

Or do I want to pay $900ish for a PS4 and a new wheel if this compatibility thing goes sour?

No matter what, if you're on the fence I'd wait a little while longer to see how this wheel issue shakes out.



A lot more to come...

[Wiz]

but obsolescence isn't as quick as many exaggerate.  

I have to agree with this.

It's not like it used to be.   I've had my $225 graphics card (EVGA GTX 660) for almost 2 years.  I bought it in September 2012.

It's still working great and has plenty of power to run AC, iRacing, rF2, GSC and will be able to run these game for quite some time.

I'll admit it struggles with pCARS a bit, but it is playable with medium settings.  pCARS is a very demanding game so it is expected.

Let's say I stick with AC and it's the only game I play.  If my card runs it fine now, it's fair to say it will run fine for the entire time I decide to play the game.  I played GT5 & 6 for the better part of 3 years.  So let's say I play AC for 3 years from this point forward, that would mean that graphics card lasted me around 5 years total (Sept/2012 to Aug/2017)  That's not bad for $225.

[GoesTuna11]

but obsolescence isn't as quick as many exaggerate.  

I have to agree with this.

It's not like it used to be.   I've had my $225 graphics card (EVGA GTX 660) for almost 2 years.  I bought it in September 2012.

It's still working great and has plenty of power to run AC, iRacing, rF2, GSC and will be able to run these game for quite some time.

I'll admit it struggles with pCARS a bit, but it is playable with medium settings.  pCARS is a very demanding game so it is expected.

Let's say I stick with AC and it's the only game I play.  If my card runs it fine now, it's fair to say it will run fine for the entire time I decide to play the game.  I played GT5 & 6 for the better part of 3 years.  So let's say I play AC for 3 years from this point forward, that would mean that graphics card lasted me around 5 years total (Sept/2012 to Aug/2017)  That's not bad for $225.

This might be changing with VR.  The current DK2 runs 1080p and 75Hz.  To get a smooth experience your card has to render two scenes of 960x1080 at least 75Hz.  CV1 is rumoured to be 1440p and higher than 75Hz.  There is some thought that VR really needs 4k at 120Hz.  That's pushing out 8x the number of pixels of a single 1080p 60Hz monitor.

[Rek]

One of you smart guys should put together a start up PC build. Something with a few years down the road in mind. Just a kind of bench mark build.

[AgentWD40_FL]

Theres something to be said for spending $900 on a PS4/Wheel ..... and NEVER have to worry about drivers, frame rates, etc. etc.
Throw the disk in ... and it works. The games made for PS4 are programmed to work perfectly with the console ... not the other way around, where games for the PC are made for top end/certain hardware.

I've been this whole route with PC gaming. Spend $1000 minimum initially, and now your sucked in and forced to upgrade hardware to get something to work.
Not to mention the gaming/sim time lost trying to increase framerates, etc or all the other nuances that go along with it.

Just trying to show the other side of this.  I wanna game ... not screw with my PC.  IMHO .... the best bang for the buck is a PS4/wheel.

[EX_stream_tuna]

Theres something to be said for spending $900 on a PS4/Wheel ..... and NEVER have to worry about drivers, frame rates, etc. etc.
Throw the disk in ... and it works. The games made for PS4 are programmed to work perfectly with the console ... not the other way around, where games for the PC are made for top end/certain hardware.

I've been this whole route with PC gaming. Spend $1000 minimum initially, and now your sucked in and forced to upgrade hardware to get something to work.
Not to mention the gaming/sim time lost trying to increase framerates, etc or all the other nuances that go along with it.

Just trying to show the other side of this.  I wanna game ... not screw with my PC.  IMHO .... the best bang for the buck is a PS4/wheel.

true, especially if gaming is all you want to do on it.  But part of what I was saying is that PC's can do so much that if you have any hobbies that can be enhanced by it, or professional endeavors, then it is a lot easier to justify the cost.