Upgrade advice - the more I research the more I am confused - iRacing PC

[NotaTechy]

Thank you in advance for your help!!

I have a desktop PC primarily used for iRacing. I want to use it also once upgraded for my business as a backup to my laptop.

I have the attached specs and believe I need to do a total overhaul. Not sure whether to go with Intel or AMD - will use existing NVIDIA GTX750 2gb

Thinking of the following:
Intel i5 4690
Asus gaming motherboard??
8gb Ram - gaming spec

or

Amd Kaveri A10-7850K x4 Processor Socket Fm2 3.7ghz
MSI A68HM-E33 V2 Motherboard Socket Fm2 Pcie Ddr
8gb Ram - gaming spec

I swapped a laptop for the existing PC and I don't know how to build it myself but I can get some help on that.

Thank you again for your help.

Cheers!

 

[That Guy In The Shirt]

Well if you are using a gtx 750 in your build then you shouldn't get a cpu as good as an i5 4690. I don't know how demanding iRacing is, but regardless of how much processing power it needs, a gtx 750 is not a very powerful gpu. The i5 4690 is an excellent processor and your pc build would be horribly unbalanced if you paired it with a gtx 750. If you would like an idea of what parts would pair well with your gtx 750, check out this site: http://www.logicalincrements.com/

If you want to use your pc for iRacing, according to the game's site you only need a dual core processor, but you're gonna need a better processor than that if you want to run it well. So If I were you I'd get the parts below. If you are from a country other than a US, please let me know so that I can provide a different suggestion. I would suggest upgrading your psu as well, because I find it highly unlikely that the psu in your current build is of good quality unless you bought it off of a knowledgeable person who picked out all of the parts individually. A good quality psu is important for a long lasting build.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Xc9sTW
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Xc9sTW/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($46.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NS Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $186.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-23 19:22 EST-0500

 

[NotaTechy]

Thankyou very much for your detailed answer!! It is very much appreciated.

I was looking at the i5 processor as I would eventually upgrade the GPU but what you said makes allot of sense. You go to a computer store and they want to sell you the best of everything but the balanced system is logical.

I am currently living in the Philippines but my business partner is in Australia so I can get the parts no problem at all. He comes here once a month.

The parts you suggested seem like great value too! I'm going to get a quote done now and it looks like you saved me several hundred dollars.

Thanks again!

 

[red_stapler]

iRacing is very CPU limited, so you generally want to go with a strong CPU that has high instructions per clock. I'd go with the unlocked version of the Intel you were originally considering and turn up the turbo boost a bit.

The GTX 750 will be fine unless you are getting into 3 monitor setups.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

You'll likely want a i5 6600k, gtx950 or 960, and 8-16gb of ram. Ddr4 2133+.

Iracing is current having its engine overhauled, so graphics are going to change and requirements soon.

Use the 750ti until then.

 

[NotaTechy]

Thanks for all for the tips! Much appreciated. I will get some quotes done and evaluate from there.

 

[GorbazTheDragon]

Where are you buying from? That way I can see more specifically what parts have really good prices.

Since AFAIK iRacing is pretty CPU bound I would suggest a skylake i3, low end Z170 board and 16GB of ram. That way you will have good single core CPU performance and decent multi-core too. 16GB of RAM is pretty advisable these days, especially since the prices have gone back down a lot since last year.

That said, if your budget is more open I would push you towards the 6600k so you have an unlocked CPU and don't need to upgrade later when you get a high end GPU.

 

[Pill Monster]

My mate has a 5yr old i7 920 @ 4ghz, 6GB RAM @1600mhz, and a 290. He plays iRacing maxed out on 2x 24" screens and averages 90fps.

Slight overkill though as both monitors are 60hz......

 

[hat]

I'd vote for the 4690(k). You'll probably want the K edition, so you can push the CPU clockspeed. You can't overclock without the K edition. You can spend more money on Skylake for roughly 10% improvement in performance per clock, and some higher clockspeeds when overclocking, but it's a pretty moot point for gaming. Same point with "gaming spec" RAM here. Don't spend too much money on RAM, not worth it. There will be some measurable improvement in benchmarks the better the RAM you get, but you are unlikely to notice any difference during actual use without a benchmarking tool telling you which is faster.

I'd stay away from AMD. You just won't get the performance, or the energy efficiency you can with Intel. On the other hand, it is cheaper, and you'll get good performance still, but their best cpu (FX 8 core) is years old tech, was already beaten by Intel's offerings in its time, and consumed more power than Intel's offering at the time (moreso now).

 

[Pill Monster]

I'd vote for the 4690(k). You'll probably want the K edition, so you can push the CPU clockspeed. You can't overclock without the K edition. You can spend more money on Skylake for roughly 10% improvement in performance per clock, and some higher clockspeeds when overclocking, but it's a pretty moot point for gaming. Same point with "gaming spec" RAM here. Don't spend too much money on RAM, not worth it. There will be some measurable improvement in benchmarks the better the RAM you get, but you are unlikely to notice any difference during actual use without a benchmarking tool telling you which is faster.

I'd stay away from AMD. You just won't get the performance, or the energy efficiency you can with Intel. On the other hand, it is cheaper, and you'll get good performance still, but their best cpu (FX 8 core) is years old tech, was already beaten by Intel's offerings in its time, and consumed more power than Intel's offering at the time (moreso now).

It was only beaten in single threaded benchmarks. In multithreading Vishera was much faster than i5 and in some cases kept up with i7. Check Crysis 3 or FarCry3 benches on pcgamer.de for example.
Not bad considering i7 cost around 3x more.......just a shame single threading and x87 was the order of the day back then.
Piledriver performace got better as the trend swung round to multithreading, especially after AMD got the consoles...

The TDP isn't really an issue unless you spend all day converting video files. @4.7 Vishera draws ~220 watts (actual, not TDP) but that's with 8 cores pegged at 100% in Handbrake...
For normal use i.e gaming or daily desktop you'd be lucky to see 45% max.....if that....

Does well atm considering it's 4 year old tech...

With HT Intel's multithread scaling is about 30%, on Piledriver it's closer to 80%.