iRacing dedicated PC coming

[billy]

Ordered an AMD x4 with 4GB and an NVidia 240 graphics card. 470 bucks plus a 500W power supply and a hard drive I had around.

[f2000keith]

What brand motherboard did you go with? My sim PC pooped on me so I think I'm going to need to build a new system as well. I need motherboard, processor, graphics card, and RAM.

[billy]

Palit NE5T240SFHD01 GeForce GT 240 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814261056
Standard Return Policy
$117.99
ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131595
Standard Return Policy
$79.99
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR10664GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227289
Memory Standard Return Policy
$105.99
AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX620WFGIBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103706
CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
$99.00
Thermaltake Element T VK90001N2Z Black SECC/Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811133087
Standard Return Policy
$74.99

[f2000keith]

What OS is planned?

[billy]

XP likely, maybe 7.

[HawkBat]

If you are going to be going with that size card, i would say go to at least 650w power supply. I am running 500w on my system right now and with any upgrade 650w is the minimum I am looking at. And I would say run windows 7 since you will have direct x 11, and will give a longer life out of the system.

[billy]

The 240 is a low power card, the 500 should be ok. I was going to get a 4890 ATI card but the 240 is good enough for now. I'll do Windows 7 cheapest edition I think.

[JimLill]

I built a new PC and used an Antec case and PS. I few more $ but very solid stuff and quiet too

http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NzIw
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=Mw==

[billy]

What did you put inside it?

[JimLill]

What did you put inside it?

Nothing high perf at this point but wanted enough "umph" for the future.

[Doug Carter]

iRacing... meh.

[HawkBat]

I have the Antec P180b case and it is really good at muffling the sound of all my go faster bits.

A rebuild is in order for me soon, need to win the lottery.

[billy]

Case arrived just now, guts must be coming tomorrow.

[f2000keith]

Since my old system was giving me a headache with the "System CPU failed" error and not POSTing I ordered new guts for my rig. This should get me through rF2, COD MW2, and warding off those pesky zombies in L4D2.

SAPPHIRE 100283-2L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

[f2000keith]

iRacing... meh.

Troll

[tifosi]

Hey Keith you bought the same motherboard and processor that I used in my new build!:clap:

[f2000keith]

Get it built yet? I'm hoping to have the parts arrive tomorrow so I have something to do over xmas.

[Matt Newcombe]

Keith I built a budget system this fall with a Phenom II X2 550BE (unlocked to a quad and overclocked to 3.6 GHz), same memory and same graphics card - it works like a champ pushing pixels to a 23" monitor!

[tifosi]

Get it built yet? I'm hoping to have the parts arrive tomorrow so I have something to do over xmas.

3 hours from start of assembly to beginning of os install. I got a radeon 5770 too.

[billy]

5770 graphics card, very posh :)

[f2000keith]

There were far too many options and it's hard to predict how the gaming world will go and if they'll ever utilize multi-core systems across the board. I figured I'd be safe going with something that has the best of both worlds. I looked at the x2-550BE x3-720 and figured that I'd just spend the extra $60 and go with the extra cores instead of having to deal with the possibility of not having them unlock. I'm not sure if I'll try to OC or not since I'm not sure the demise of my current system was attributed to that even though I didn't overclock by more than 10%. Hope it POSTS on the first shot!

[Warpedcow]

I'm not sure if I'll try to OC or not since I'm not sure the demise of my current system was attributed to that even though I didn't overclock by more than 10%.

Did you monitor temps/voltages routinely?

Did the computer crash a lot before it finally died? If not, then probably nothing OC-related caused it to die.

I've had one of my Intel Core 2 Quad 2.8ghz running at 3.4-3.5 ghz for about 16 months, all four cores maxxed running WCG if I'm not gaming. Stable as a rock. Zalman air cooled, runs around 70C on each core. Helps keep the living room warm in the winter haha.

[f2000keith]

I didn't monitor temps and voltages routinely, but I did set thresholds in ASUSProbe to alert me if something was off. No lockups either leading up to it. I had a new video card for a couple of weeks (ATi 3850) coming from an NVidia 6800GT before I got the "System Failed CPU Test" at boot. Now, no matter what I try (swapping out video cards, power supply, etc... It won't post for the most part. The first time it happened, I reseated the processor and put the thermal grease on and it worked for another week or so. After that, nothing worked. It gives me any excuse to upgrade I guess. It was a 2.6C and a P4P800-Deluxe mobo. I've used it for the last 5 years or so.

[mrepka]

... I've used it for the last 5 years or so.

It's time :)

I'm looking as well, the PC I'm currently on I built almost that long ago, and I've been talking about building a new one for months now.

[Doug Carter]

Troll

Yeah, because you are SUCH a big fan of iRacing... LOL.

[billy]

I got it all working now. I'm driving a 32" LCD TV using HDMI @ 1280 x 800 x 32. That gives me a 100fps occasionally falling to 95fps depending. iRacing seems to use two cores as far as I can tell. I see two cores at 50% and two at 15-20% when playing the game.

I'll hook it up to the 55" TV I'll be using when the basement gets cleaned up tomorrow.

[billy]

Just tried it with my 47" 1080p LCD set and I got around 70fps @ 1920x1080. I turned shadows off and it jumps to 130fps. Easy trade off for a much higher frame rate. I think at 1280x800, I'd get over 200fps now, enough for a triple monitor setup at that resolution.

[Warpedcow]

Just tried it with my 47" 1080p LCD set and I got around 70fps @ 1920x1080. I turned shadows off and it jumps to 130fps. Easy trade off for a much higher frame rate. I think at 1280x800, I'd get over 200fps now, enough for a triple monitor setup at that resolution.

What refresh rate are your LCDs running at? Most are only 60hz = 60 FPS. Turn on vsync and triple buffering to avoid image tearing. Might as well turn shadows back on too since you're not seeing those extra frames anyway.

[f2000keith]

At what AA and AF are you able to get away with in most games? I'm not sure if it's a concern or not, but is the response time important in a racing sim? I also picked up a Hanns-G 28" LCD, but it's got a 3ms delay so I should be good. It's something to consider when people want to connect to TVs and projectors.

[mrepka]

At what AA and AF are you able to get away with in most games? I'm not sure if it's a concern or not, but is the response time important in a racing sim? I also picked up a Hanns-G 28" LCD, but it's got a 3ms delay so I should be good. It's something to consider when people want to connect to TVs and projectors.

I would think that delay would drive a person nuts and make it undrivable? I know those sort of delay times do when I'm doing home recording, ever try to keep time to something when what you play come out the speakers 3ms later? It's near impossible

[billy]

All quality settings in iRacing are on, 16 x AA and full shadows for 100fps @ 1280x800. Shadows off gives 140fps at 1080p

My 55 inch TV won't display a VGA signal at 1280x800 so thats a problem. Looking around at large screen TVs now, I saw no issues AT ALL on my 32" and 47" LCD HDTVs BTW. Response time be damned.

[Warpedcow]

All quality settings in iRacing are on, 16 x AA and full shadows for 100fps @ 1280x800. Shadows off gives 140fps at 1080p

You might want to try shadows on at 4xAA or 8xAA, depending on if you're CPU or GPU limited that might be faster and look better.

[Warpedcow]

I would think that delay would drive a person nuts and make it undrivable? I know those sort of delay times do when I'm doing home recording, ever try to keep time to something when what you play come out the speakers 3ms later? It's near impossible

Here's some great articles touching on input lag:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3591&p=2
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3601&p=1

Basically, a standard 60hz LCD is about as bad as you can get. There are some 120hz LCDs available, and most decent CRTs can do 100hz or better at reasonable resolution. Mine does 1600x1200@100hz.

Also note that human response time to visual stimulus is 200-280ms.

Monitor response time actually has little to do with it:
http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/video/inputlag/baddisplay.png
The refresh rate has a much bigger overall effect, as does controller input.

Real world tests are here on page 6:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3601&p=6
With a 60hz LCD and various games, it's 50-130ms lag. It's far LESS lag with a good old CRT at a higher refresh rate.

[billy]

I ended up stealing the 47" set for iRacing and bought a Dynex 32" 720p LCD at Best buy for the TV role. For 300 bucks, it's pretty good.

[HawkBat]

I hate you all, Now I have to do a new build. My problem is that I should get a laptop for school also, but want to keep a dedicated gaming rig too. Any tips on good priced lappys these days?

And are you guys getting your products from newegg or some secret place?

Also anyone know of any jobs in the chicago area? shoveling snow can't pay for much these days.

[billy]

I bought everything from newegg. Tomshardware has a 630 buck gaming PC part list which I wish I'd seen before buying my setup :(

[jstecher]

Yeah, because you are SUCH a big fan of iRacing... LOL.

Your both a bunch of girls. iRacings for real men.

[gantmaniac]

Your both a bunch of girls. iRacings for real men.
I tried to tell you all that quite a while ago! (http://www.trackpedia.com/forums/showpost.php?p=43321&postcount=44) Since Feb 08, I have been sold!

[billy]

:cheers: