Convince me to buy a PC for AC

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Hodgelike

Hodgelike

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Hi all,

Been on my mind for months to buy a PC to play AC since I have a decent rig. However, I enjoy driving FM4 because of car/track choice, the engine sounds & replays plus it's good on the wheel.

I have watched lots of AC on you tube to which it all looks nice but what could I expect from AC to make me really go for a PC.

Cheers !
 
All you need to know summed up into one gif.

kqgxeg6.gif


That's obviously sarcasm, but really the mod support etc. is really what makes this (and other sims for that matter) so awesome
 
20832
All you need to know summed up into one gif.

kqgxeg6.gif


That's obviously sarcasm, but really the mod support etc. is really what makes this (and other sims for that matter) so awesome
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Lol

OP, just read the main threads. If that doesn't convince you nothing will.
 
20832
All you need to know summed up into one gif.
Click to expand...

Perfect.

I thought I had seen just about every console/PC war gif and jpg in existence, first time I've seen that one though. I shall add that to my collection.


Hodgelike
Hi all,

Been on my mind for months to buy a PC to play AC since I have a decent rig. However, I enjoy driving FM4 because of car/track choice, the engine sounds & replays plus it's good on the wheel.

I have watched lots of AC on you tube to which it all looks nice but what could I expect from AC to make me really go for a PC.

Cheers !
Click to expand...

I think the biggest positive for me is not just the physics, feedback, or anything like graphics, sound, cars or tracks, but the sheer freedom of modding. If you have the know how, you can basically do anything your imagination desires.

Though you need the knowledge and software to physically model tracks and cars, most other things are actually pretty simple to do, often requiring just a minute of your time to adjust a few lines of text in some .ini files, easily done in Notepad. Want to do an engine swap, drivetrain swap, throw in a turbo, lower the car etc? It's super simple. Don't like the sounds? You can make you own in a program called FMOD. Want to add more liveries/skins to a car? Just about anyone could do it really.

Then you have career mode. Not enough races or not the classes of cars you want in it? You can create your own entire career mode if you so wish. Not happy with the graphics? Tweak them anyway you want, you can create your own Post Processing effects by tweaking just a few numbers. Want to race Go-Karts against sports cars, a semi truck, a rally car, a NASCAR and a Formula 1 car on a dirt or snow track for whatever reason? The game won't restrict you at all. Just chuck them on to the grid and hit the go button.
 
Just to be clear, most of those ^ options aren't available within the game itself, you have to go into root folders and edit files. If you have the know how and confidence to do all of that, you can do it. If you don't, it is a bit overwhelming and you have to be careful not to break things.

Out of the box, AC gives you good physics/FFB, a decent amount of cars, a couple handfuls of tracks to drive them on, some basic "career" races that are somewhat reminiscent of Gran Turismo's "careers", and a very basic online multiplayer system. You have to do a lot of modding to get more out of it, but you can mod it into the game you want (to some extent). But you'll probably find a lot of common things from Forza to be lacking or missing right now. It continues to get regular updates though and will only get better from here.
 
Content and ease of access are not its strong point, GT6 (and i'm assuming Forza too) provides a much larger world to enjoy. But with that said I'd recommend you get a PC for AC, and it will open up the possibility to try many other titles too.



Oh and that is an awesome gif @20832
 
Would also depend on what kind of money you wan't to spend on a PC , AC is a resource hungry little bugger :lol: dependant on how much eye candy you wan't of course ;)

But.......there's 3 more years of development ahead and i honestly think my PS3 an PS4 will be buried in dust by then :p , it really is another leap regarding handling , very sublime .
 
@Hodgelike regarding the modding, you can just download all of the content, unzip, and copy paste it into the AC folder for free tracks or cars. That's all there is to it. For example i just downloaded the '88 classic track pack and have a great rendition of the old Imola to race on now :drool:.

Apart from that, the game is beautiful in full 1080p and the physics are miles better than anything you can get on consoles, each car has it's own character. Also with a wireless keyboard and a HDMI cable you use your pc just like you would with a PS4/Xbone.

And last but not least having a pc opens up games like Stockcar extreme, raceroom and PCARS and you can use any wheel you want with it.

I made the move a month ago and haven't regretted it one bit.
 
mister dog
...with a wireless keyboard and a HDMI cable you use your pc just like you would with a PS4/Xbone.
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This is exactly what I do, and other than knowing it's a PC with a 'controller' of its own, I couldn't tell the difference, I still get my simplicity with extra freedom thanks to PC accessibility.

Coming from, what the majority of sim-racers may still consider, a 'sim-cade' title, there could be a learning curve to overcome for you, as you un-learn almost everything Forza has trained you to think 'is' fast or 'makes' things fast. If you're after a greater simulation you may already be aware of this, but if you're just after graphics & content, consoles may be a better option for you.

Ultimately the only thing that'll convince you (besides that awesome .gif), is yourself. Check out the various threads here, exercise your Google-fu, do some research on what you want from a PC, see if you'll want a new monitor too - or if your current tv will handle the graphical transition to your needs, etc-etc.

I joined around the beginning of March, and I could keep going, but my lunch-break is almost over, peace :D
 
Great replies gents. I think part of me is a little worried of the whole "PC" thing in terms of downloading & copy/paste files etc as I have only ever used consoles.

Simulation is what I hanker for really & with the replies you have offered, AC sounds like my cup of Tea for sure. I reference FM4 too because it seems really well suited to my GT2 wheel. Would be running through 42" TV.

I guess it's all about choosing a suitable PC but that's a whole new topic with my initial though of getting an off the shelf PC World item but recently found someone who can build to spec. My budget is around £700 max
 
Hodgelike
Great replies gents. I think part of me is a little worried of the whole "PC" thing in terms of downloading & copy/paste files etc as I have only ever used consoles.
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Child's play don't worry. Good thing about the internet is that there's an answer to any question you might have + if it's AC specific there's enough addicts on GTP too to help you.

Like i said i just joined the master race a month ago, and everything is running fine.
 
Hodgelike
Great replies gents. I think part of me is a little worried of the whole "PC" thing in terms of downloading & copy/paste files etc as I have only ever used consoles.

Simulation is what I hanker for really & with the replies you have offered, AC sounds like my cup of Tea for sure. I reference FM4 too because it seems really well suited to my GT2 wheel. Would be running through 42" TV.

I guess it's all about choosing a suitable PC but that's a whole new topic with my initial though of getting an off the shelf PC World item but recently found someone who can build to spec. My budget is around £700 max
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Please please stay away from PC World there bloody idiots , get one built , save loads of money and still have something that will be way better than the compromised versions you'd get in the high street .
 
Taking your advise Harley45. I think for someone who knows very little about PC's, PC World ads make them sound quite attractive.
 
Just looking on PC Specialist & used the easy step guide for gaming PC inc GTX960 graphics card for £668 inc VAT & Del.
 
Harley45
Please please stay away from PC World there bloody idiots , get one built , save loads of money and still have something that will be way better than the compromised versions you'd get in the high street .
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getting one built would mean hed get totally ripped off, watch a few videos on how to build them, takes about 30 minutes to do. thats how i did mine.
do a bit of research and use http://pcpartpicker.com/ to find the best prices, feel free to consult other members about your hardware choices as well.
 
Yeah a GTX 970 intel system is the best you can do for around £700 all new.

With Windows 10 becoming free for XP users you could get that down to £600 like Saidur_Ali has posted with the no OS build. Those ebay GTX 970 builds would cost you about the same to build yourself, so very fair prices. Usually prebuilts are a ripoff and cut corners on power supplies.

Since you know someone who can build it, its just the parts or go for one of those like Saidur_Ali posted which will cost you the same to build yourself.

Only small problem is with those on ebay are the i5 4460 and H motherboard. You can squeeze in a 4790k and Z97 motherboard for not much more if you build it yourself or somehow get the OS for free and 4790k/z97 easy comes under £700. i5 4460 is still very good and popular right now, good for a newcomer who just wants get into PC gaming and no fuss but you're right in the middle budget wise to either save a few quid or spend a bit more.

At this time of posting past the GTX 970 there isn't much to choose as the 980 is £400+. Normally savings on OS etc could be past on to get a slightly better GPU which would make more of a difference than going for a better CPU. Since not much can be done on the GPU front, personally I'd go 4790k or i7 for more performance outside one game and overclocking/longevity than a i5 4460 H mobo. Also AMD has some new cards coming out soon which might shake the prices up or not, sometimes they just maintain the status quo and the wait is for nothing.

An intel 4460 GTX 970 rig for around £600 without OS is really good for gamers these days compared to 5years ago.
 
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TwinTurbo LM
Windows 10 is available as a free upgrade for 7 & 8, you still need to buy the OS.
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And XP users. You can get a legit copy of that or use from a friends old PC in the attic or whatever, rub some brains cells together and save £70, Jesus. Also some possible news recently is that MS will allow pirated copies to get upgraded, not that I'm suggesting that route.

I edited my original post to say XP.
 
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chromatic9
And XP users. You can get a legit copy of that or use from a friends old PC in the attic or whatever. Also some possible news recently is that MS will allow pirated copies to get upgraded not that I'm suggesting that route.
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I haven't heard of it being free for XP, just 7 and up.
Edit: Source
 
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Kurei
This is exactly what I do, and other than knowing it's a PC with a 'controller' of its own, I couldn't tell the difference, I still get my simplicity with extra freedom thanks to PC accessibility.
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Another living room PC user here. 👍 Works extremely well with a wireless keyboard, wireless Xbox 360 controller (the Xbox One controller is also available or will be available shortly wirelessly BTW, so would recommend newcomers this one instead) and a Razer Naga Epic (wired/wireless) mouse (expensive, but it has the same polling rate both wired and wireless). Using G27 + WSPv2 for my racing needs.

chromatic9
An intel 4460 GTX 970 rig for around £600 without OS is really good for gamers these days compared to 5years ago.
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Yup, the bang for the buck is amazing. You're right about the motherboard though, even though you won't need a Z97 unless you are overclocking, it has support for both the latest Haswell as well as the new Broadwell CPU's, so it's more future proof.
 
I made the switch about 3 months ago. From PS3/GT6 to PC and mainly AC. It is simply amazing, the realism I feel. Taking a GT3 race car through the 'ring, is the best drive ever for me, it is scary as hell. Only you can decide if you want to make the jump to PC, but be warned: once you go to PC, you will not want to go back. @Johnnypenso is also a great resource for help. If you would like help on a new PC build, you can check out mine in my sig, runs AC butter smooth on max graphics.
 
Arixant
getting one built would mean hed get totally ripped off, watch a few videos on how to build them, takes about 30 minutes to do. thats how i did mine.
do a bit of research and use http://pcpartpicker.com/ to find the best prices, feel free to consult other members about your hardware choices as well.
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If he can build it himself yes it'll save on the build / mark up fee's by the vendor .

To be honest it's not rocket science to build one yourself it's all colour coded .
just the cable routing to sort out . Only thing i really make sure of is to go overkill on the power supply , just for piece of mind .
 
Hodgelike
PC ordered guys from PC Specialists :) in a week or so I shall be on AC. Cheers for all help... bet I will have more questions in time.

Ade.
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You an me both when it comes to questions :lol:

have fun with your new PC 👍

What spec did you settle for ?

Oh an I hope you'll be running a 64 bit operating system ;)
 
Harley45
You an me both when it comes to questions :lol:

have fun with your new PC 👍

What spec did you settle for ?

Oh an I hope you'll be running a 64 bit operating system ;)
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This is the spec... I used the jargon free spec builder

AMD FX-8320 Eight Core CPU (3.50GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)
PCS DOMINATOR 6806B BLACK CASE
ASUS® M5A97 LE R2.0 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 960 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
 
Hodgelike
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 960 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
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Hope that GTX 960 is up to it. :nervous: The video card is probably the most important component and that model only gets mediocre benchmark ratings (5,998 compared to the 970's 8,635. http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+GTX+960). If you want 60fps (and you do, trust me) be prepared to turn the graphics quality down and race with less-than-full grids. Might need to stick to a single screen too.
 

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