Is my PC capable for a racing SIM.?.?

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squeakD

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Hi.., I've been a console racer for years (going back to the original Pole Position on Atari). I've also played numerous PC SIMS and love them. Not long ago I got a new computer and was curious if my PC's specs are up to par for PC SIM racing (for offline game play).

Here's my PC's basic Specs:

Type : GateWay (Touch Screen PC) running Windows 7 Home Premium Edition.
RAM: 4 gigs
Processor: Intel (R) Pentium (R) CPU G620 @ 2.60GHz
System Type: 64 Bit Operating System.

**I'd be spending 99% ofr my time racing offline too** I just want to get into the PC SIM racing (even though I do love GT5/Forza).., but regardless I always get drawn back to the title Race Pro (by SimBin) for the 360. I'm ready for the move :)
 
The system is just bone stock. No dedicated graphics card ect. Any suggestions? I know it can get pretty expensive setting up a PC for SIM racing. I already have a DFGT (that I use on my PS3). Will I need to sink a good chuck of change into my current PC just for offline SIM Racing with titles such as GTR Evolution?

The Processor is just under 3.0GHz.., but the RAM is already at 4 gigs.., upgradable to 8.
 
squeakD
The system is just bone stock. No dedicated graphics cards ect. Any suggestions? I know it can get pretty expensive setting up a PC for SIM racing. I already have a DFGT (that I use on my PS3). Will I need to sink a good chuck of change into my current PC just for offline SIM Racing with titles such as GTR Evolution?

The Processos is just under 3.0GHz.., but the RAM is already at 4 gigs.., upgradable to 8.
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Upgrade to 8 GB RAM (I suggest buying 2x4 GB as opposed to 4x2 GB) and plan to spend a couple hundred on a discrete card. You don't need top of the line to run 99% of race sims.

The AMD 7850 is a great card for $250. 2 of these in CrossFire will outperform a 680.
 
II-zOoLoGy-II
Upgrade to 8 GB RAM (I suggest buying 2x4 GB as opposed to 4x2 GB) and plan to spend a couple hundred on a discrete card. You don't need top of the line to run 99% of race sims.

The AMD 7850 is a great card for $250. 2 of these in CrossFire will outperform a 680.
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Thanks! Ugghh I can already hear the wife ripping in my ear about upgrading my PC for this. She just doesn't get it.... :sly:
 
I suggest trying the Simbin demos on Steam and the rFactor trial, but you will need a graphics card. I ran Race '07 on an ATI 4870 and it was perfect, but bear in mind that your PC likely has little more power than it needs so you might have to upgrade the PSU too. I agree that 4GB of RAM will be alright though.
 
neema_t
I suggest trying the Simbin demos on Steam and the rFactor trial, but you will need a graphics card. I ran Race '07 on an ATI 4870 and it was perfect, but bear in mind that your PC likely has little more power than it needs so you might have to upgrade the PSU too. I agree that 4GB of RAM will be alright though.
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Ah, yes. I forgot about that.

Definitely look into a power supply. Do not skimp on it either. Plan on spending somewhere around $100 and look for a 500 W continuous supply (this should be more than enough and will give you a little growing room). Corsair makes great PSU's. The one you have in your PC now (which I am guessing you bought pre-built) is going to be a piece of crap and will not supply enough power with the inclusion of a discrete card.

Also, you may look at adding a cheap $5-10 case fan(s) to increase airflow (GPU will increase heat inside the case). This is just good to do to increase the life of your components and make sure you have no overheating issues.

RAM upgrade is up to you. They're cheap (around $50 or lower for 1600 2x4 GB DDR3) and will only help the performance of your machine. 8 GB is the norm for gaming rigs and I personally don't suggest anything lower. Windows and background applications can take up to 1.5-2 GB of system memory (depending upon what you have installed and running). So, it's your call on that.
 
Thank you for all the info folks. Believe me.., I know all too well the importance of RAM. The computer I'd be using is my Studio PC. I have a home recording studio.., and I'm just barely skating by with 4 gigs on this PC. It takes A LOT of RAM to process studio effects and VST's. I'm already planning on maxing out the RAM just for my studio use.

I would really love to get this PC up to specs for SIM racing. Like it or not.., the wife is going to be ripping me a new one for dropping the cash on it. Oh well.., that's marriage. At least my toilet water never changed to blue after getting married :)
 
With a decent video card, you should be okay to start.

If you want Race 07, I would suggest getting a boxed copy of GTR Evolution, which can be had from Amazon for around $8. This will include Race 07 and will activate on Steam. Then you can add whichever packs you want directly from Steam. Also, get Richard Burns Rally if you are at all interested in rally.
 
SirDrexl
With a decent video card, you should be okay to start.

If you want Race 07, I would suggest getting a boxed copy of GTR Evolution, which can be had from Amazon for around $8. This will include Race 07 and will activate on Steam. Then you can add whichever packs you want directly from Steam. Also, get Richard Burns Rally if you are at all interested in rally.
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Wow GTR Evolution is going for eight bucks! I thought SimBin games gave you the option when downloading to download the "offline version" or via a Steam activation.?.?

Is there a demo version of GTR or Race 07? I'd love to see how my PC's current specs handle the title.
 
hello guys, also i have the same question, but no need for another thread..

will this run a racing sim, i racing, r factor ect and at what settings.

# Intel Core i5-2310 quad core processor.
# Processor speed: 2.9GHz.
# 6GB DDR3 RAM.
# 500GB SATA hard drive.
# Nvidia GeForce GT 520 1GB DDR3 graphics card.
# 1GB graphics memory.
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Premium.

I know F All about PC's so please give me tips or advice on any "upgrades" i need ect.
 
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squeakD
Wow GTR Evolution is going for eight bucks! I thought SimBin games gave you the option when downloading to download the "offline version" or via a Steam activation.?.?

Is there a demo version of GTR or Race 07? I'd love to see how my PC's current specs handle the title.
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Well, honestly at this point I'm so attached to Steam that I didn't consider not using it to activate GTR Evolution/Race 07. After reading about this from the comments on Amazon, there is a non-Steam version but it will install SecuROM.

There is a demo for Race 07 here: http://www.race-game.org/race07/download/demo.htm
 
SirDrexl
Well, honestly at this point I'm so attached to Steam that I didn't consider not using it to activate GTR Evolution/Race 07. After reading about this from the comments on Amazon, there is a non-Steam version but it will install SecuROM.

There is a demo for Race 07 here: http://www.race-game.org/race07/download/demo.htm
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Thanks.., I'll check that demo out to see how my current set up runs with it. If I see smoke coming out the back of the PC.., that should be a good indicator :)

EDIT: Ahhhhh crap! The demo page isn't loading, and I keep getting that dumb "Cannot Display Webpage" message.
 
Finally got it to download. Very interesting.., I got it to run on my current PC set up, and it looks fine. Frame rates appear to be good too. Wow.., I feel like I'm playing Race Pro (for the 360) on my PC. It looks and sounds a lot like it.
 
Hang on, you say it's a touchscreen PC, is it one of those all in one things? If it is you won't be able to fit many GPU's in there. I think you would have to look at a new computer.
 
ENTERSANDMAN13
I know F All about PC's so please give me tips or advice on any "upgrades" i need ect.
Click to expand...

Stick a better graphics card in there and you'd be good to go. In fact, you could probably run a few games with that card, just on low settings.
 
My card is probably the worst card in history on what is pretty much a decent computer.
 
ParkourVeyron
Meh. Depends on what his budget is. Extra RAM never hurts...
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No, no, and NO! He does not need the extra cost. 4GB is plenty and it's incredibly hard to use more than 4GB. Now, what is the model number of this computer? We will need to know what can be installed in it and if a power supply upgrade is necessary.
 
nick09
No, no, and NO! He does not need the extra cost. 4GB is plenty and it's incredibly hard to use more than 4GB.
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See below:
squeakD
The computer I'd be using is my Studio PC. I have a home recording studio.., and I'm just barely skating by with 4 gigs on this PC. It takes A LOT of RAM to process studio effects and VST's. I'm already planning on maxing out the RAM just for my studio use.
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Yes, for most games you'll probably never use more than 4GB, but it's really nice to have extra so you can use it with other programs. I just did a Minecraft render to see how much I could consume of my 4GB, and it was at 85%.
 
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squeakD
Here's my PC's basic Specs:

Type : GateWay (Touch Screen PC) running Windows 7 Home Premium Edition.
RAM: 4 gigs
Processor: Intel (R) Pentium (R) CPU G620 @ 2.60GHz
System Type: 64 Bit Operating System.
Click to expand...

I noticed you said you have a touch screen system, is it an all in one system or do you have a touch screen monitor? If it is an all in one system, you Sr. are out of luck because most of them don't allow for much upgrades. In that case your best bet is to build a new system
 
ParkourVeyron
See below:

Yes, for most games you'll probably never use more than 4GB, but it's really nice to have extra so you can use it with other programs. I just did a Minecraft render to see how much I could consume of my 4GB, and it was at 85%.
Click to expand...

He said "Home Studio" and not "Gaming". Completely different tasks. 4GB is still plenty for gaming. If he has to get new memory for his "Home Studio" then he will have to.
 
tazj_7
I noticed you said you have a touch screen system, is it an all in one system or do you have a touch screen monitor? If it is an all in one system, you Sr. are out of luck because most of them don't allow for much upgrades. In that case your best bet is to build a new system
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+1


If you have to upgrade your power supply for a GPU, you might as well start with a new pc build. It will last longer (future proofing/upgrades). Also 2 PCs in the house can never be a bad thing since your current pc you said you use in a studio.

Also does your current pc have two PCIx slots, because if not you cant do SLI/ Xfire in the future.
 
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/intro.aspx

Simply the best website ever to grace the internet, especially if you're one of those who forks out £££ on PC games.

*EDIT*

8GB isn't required if you're only going to be playing games, 8GB would be fine if you wanted to play games & keep your video editting software running at the same time but apart from that it's not required & you can put your money towards some other peice of hardware.

Ignore the post above regarding a new PC build, it's common that you have to upgrade your power supply unit as dedicated graphics cards take alot more power than on-board graphics, for example my ATI HD3870 512MB is 7 years old yet it requires 550 watts of power so imagine how much these newer graphics cards are pulling power supply wise, just purchase a reputable power supply with decent wattage & you'll be sorted for life.

Majority of motherboards come with more than one PCI-E slot but one is all's you need if you buy the correct graphics card, SLI/Crossfire is for ultimate gaming machines, spending mass amounts of cash for marginal performance gains, something I don't think you'll be doing anytime soon.

Before I can help anymore I'd really like to get some detailed information regarding your computers current hardware, you have to be careful when purchasing hardware than it doesn't bottleneck any of the hardware you're keeping. I think you'd be pretty pissed if you spent £150 on a graphics card only to find out your CPU can't process the data churned out from your GPU quick enough.
 
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^ New GPU's require less power than older tech. So it goes with newer architecture that outperform older models while consuming less power. I suggest you read and get caught up to date before handing out suggestions on computer builds ;)

Just a general suggestion, If you do not 100% know what you are talking about... Don't. It will do nothing but confuse someone seeking help.
 
Indeed, the GTX 680 draws less than 300W and the GTX 580 before it draws 350W. The thing is all of this will be moot if the PC in question is an all-in-one, but even if it is an all-in-one a full PC can be built for surprisingly little money. That would be a thread for the Computers & Technology forum though.
 

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