Another gaming rig suggestions question

[mania]

Hi
Another game/sim computer build question
This is a bit different as it is not for a modern game but
An older F1 sim I have played for many years & just started
Fooling with it again on my laptop which is ok but minimum settings
So would like to build something.

Anyway………..
Since it is a single sim & this box will be used just for this sim
I would like to not spend a lot on it. Or I should say not spend
on things that will not matter.

I am told by folks who run it at higher settings CPU should be 3GHZ min
( they claim doesn't matter how many cores, as this older sim can only use 1 reliably)
Don’t know how true that is

4 or 8GB RAM should be fine but I am not sure which way to go on
CPU/MotherBoard & Graphics card
It is one of those things when I look at prices I get sucked higher & higher
Because it is only xxx more.

But I need to remember it is just a single purpose box
For an older sim. But I want it to run smoothly with full detail.

CPU’s I have been thinking of (each one 1000 baht more than the one before it)
AMD FM2 A4-6320 4.0 GHz 2-cores 2-threads
or
AMD FM2 A8-6600K 3.9 GHz 4-cores 4-Threads
Or go overkill but not sure it would help for an older sim
AMD FM2 FX-6300 3.5 GHz 6-cores 6- threads

Motherboard
FM2 ASROCK FM2A55M-DGS R2.0
or
FM2+ ASROCK FM2A88M EXTREME4+

GFX Card
Basically any 1GB DDR5 card like
VGA ASUS R7 250X 1GD5 or the 250 etc.

Things like memory probably
DDR3/1600 G.SKILL RIPJAWS

Power maybe a Corsair 550x or 650w?

Any alternative suggestions to keep costs down ?
Again just a single purpose to run this sim
& not spend more than I need to.

I have been using JIB's price list to see prices

http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/priceList/

Thanks for any suggestions

Edited July 10, 2014 by mania

[guzzi850m2]

Have you considered buying used gear?

If you only use the PC for that sole purpose I would go that way if I was you.

You should be able to find used grafics cards/motherboards and cpu un Ebay and other places.

Import tax on used items are also much lower or none? Not sure.

[mania]

Thanks Guzzi

Yes I considered it & looked on dealfish etc

But did not see anything good.

I can import parts no problem but price diff is eaten

pretty quick with shipping. Then I have also had mixed results

with import duties ( not on pc stuff though just motorcycle stuff )

[phazey]

Reminds me the fun we had setting up the big screen and force feedback steering wheel at the pub to race the weeks current F1 track - probably the same sim you are talking about too. The landlord at the time even went to construct a wooden F1 cockpit for extra effect, complete with wheels n all.

[keeniau96]

You have very modest requirements by current standards, so should be about any AMD or Intel current lower-midrange mobo and CPU. A key component you did not list, and many make a mistake on, is the PSU. The core of a stable, reliable system is a good power supply. Hard to get a good one for less than 2500 baht, above all avoid those cheap lightweight replacement units. Don't go by the power rating that's stamped on the box, the cheap junk will claim 500W and you may even get such .... for a while. You will need about 400-500W, go for Seasonic, Thermaltake, or another well-recognized make eg. this one: http://jedicool.com/product.php?id=2282

[JSixpack]

http://elitegamingcomputers.com/good-cheap-gaming-computers/

[mania]

A key component you did not list, and many make a mistake on, is the PSU. The core of a stable, reliable system is a good power supply.

Thanks keeniau I actually did list the Corsair 550w or 650w

They run 1690 baht for the 650 here

I think Corsair has a good rep but it has been a long time since I shopped parts

So maybe their rep has changed

[mania]

http://elitegamingcomputers.com/good-cheap-gaming-computers/

Thanks J6 yes I saw that link from your post in another thread.

Good article

I am starting to lean towards a Intel i3 based setup just because I am getting tired of

trying to suss out AMD's sockets & where they are going ...in case I want more later

Simpler to just stick with socket 1150

Edited July 11, 2014 by mania

[JSixpack]

http://elitegamingcomputers.com/good-cheap-gaming-computers/

Thanks J6 yes I saw that link from your post in another thread.

Good article

I am starting to lean towards a Intel i3 based setup just because I am getting tired of

trying to suss out AMD's sockets & where they are going ...in case I want more later

Simpler to just stick with socket 1150

Perfectly rational and understandable. Now, given you said you're on a budget, you might consider for your modest needs a Pentium G3xxx, as your game won't be able to take advantage of the hyperthreading of the I3. G3220, G3240, or G3420. You'll have a clear upgrade path, though for gaming an I5 is all you'll ever need, and I'd go directly there, skipping over the I3. But I'd upgrade the graphics card first and see how things went. Talk about fps and a bigger e-penis are all well and good, but what if you can't tell a difference anyway? (Been an amusing study about that.) I have a budget gaming system and I'm happy w/ how it handles Skyrim.

http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/12282/3/CPU-INTEL-1150-PENTIUM-G3420-3.2-GHz

Some discussion here, can google for more:

http://www.hardware-revolution.com/best-cpu-processor-apu-april-2014-intel-amd/

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/916373-pc/68772079

Edited July 11, 2014 by JSixpack

[Tywais]

A key component you did not list, and many make a mistake on, is the PSU. The core of a stable, reliable system is a good power supply.

Thanks keeniau I actually did list the Corsair 550w or 650w

They run 1690 baht for the 650 here

I think Corsair has a good rep but it has been a long time since I shopped parts

So maybe their rep has changed

I have the Corsair CS750M semi-modular supply and quite happy with it and they are rated well. Upgraded from a 550W Cooler Master, which are also excellent supplies, due to a high end graphic card added. Would have gone with Cooler Master again but they didn't have the modular/semi-modular in the rating I wanted at the time I needed it.

[mania]

Perfectly rational and understandable. Now, given you said you're on a budget, you might consider for your modest needs a Pentium G3xxx, as your game won't be able to take advantage of the hyperthreading of the I3. G3220, G3240, or G3420. You'll have a clear upgrade path, though for gaming an I5 is all you'll ever need, and I'd go directly there

An excellent point J thanks

Thanks for links too ...going to read now

[mania]

J another Q if I may...

I like your idea about getting just the CPU needed now & since it is

socket 1150 I can always upgrade should I decide later I want to use this

for a more demanding sim.

I am thinking a decent mobo now & not need any changes later

As such what do you (or anyone) think of this as a MainBoard

1150 ASUS H97M-E or ???

Lastly on the gfx card I have been told 1gb DDR3 is fine

This is another area where it is easy to start looking at 2gb DDR3

or 1 GB DDR5 etc.

But sticking with the purpose built budget idea...

I guess if in the future I wanted

more I would upgrade CPU & GFX card to more than those choices anyway

so

Any suggestions in a good 1GB DDR3 card?

Thanks again for any tips/suggestions

Edited July 11, 2014 by mania

[JSixpack]

A key component you did not list, and many make a mistake on, is the PSU. The core of a stable, reliable system is a good power supply.

Thanks keeniau I actually did list the Corsair 550w or 650w

They run 1690 baht for the 650 here

I think Corsair has a good rep but it has been a long time since I shopped parts

So maybe their rep has changed

I have the Corsair CS750M semi-modular supply and quite happy with it and they are rated well. Upgraded from a 550W Cooler Master, which are also excellent supplies, due to a high end graphic card added. Would have gone with Cooler Master again but they didn't have the modular/semi-modular in the rating I wanted at the time I needed it.

Corsair CX500M is a great power supply. The M series besides modular has better capacitors than the non-M, according to an in-depth review I somewhere mentioned on the forum. I suspect it's all you'll need. http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/11460/6/POWER-SUPPLY-CORSAIR-500W--CX500M--80--BRONZE

OP should find a PSU calculator such as http://support.asus.com/powersupply.aspx, plug in the numbers, and see what wattage is needed.

[JSixpack]

J another Q if I may...

I like your idea about getting just the CPU needed now & since it is

socket 1150 I can always upgrade should I decide later I want to use this

for a more demanding sim.

I am thinking a decent mobo now & not need any changes later

As such what do you (or anyone) think of this as a MainBoard

or ???

1150 ASUS H97M-E

Lastly on the gfx card I have been told 1gb DDR3 is fine

This is another area where it is easy to start looking at 2gb DDR3

or 1 GB DDR5 etc.

But sticking with the purpose built budget idea...

I guess if in the future I wanted

more I would upgrade CPU & GFX card to more than those choices anyway

so

Any suggestions in a good 1GB DDR3 card?

Thanks again for any tips/suggestions

For your current purposes, a last generation mainboard would be fine, even an H81.

http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/13132/4/MAINBOARD-1150-MSI-H81M-E33

The 97s are not much more than the 87s now, however. And the sound is better on some of them. I'd probably save by going Asrock:

http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/14093/4/MAINBOARD-1150-ASROCK-H97M

http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/13496/4/MAINBOARD-1150-ASROCK-H97-PRO4

These have PCI slots. Sometimes PCI-E cards are harder to find in Thailand. M has onboard graphics too--could be a backup if your card ever dies.

The board market is so competitive that they're all pretty good, though lately Gigabyte has emerged slightly more reliable. Of course you can always get a lemon anytime.

As for a vid card, this would do:

http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/12798/17/VGA-XFX-R7-240A-CORE-EDITION

Low power requirement, good reviews. Realize that any low-end card will be greeted by sneers here as on the forum we mostly have enthusiasts who play modern games w/ significantly higher requirements. For a budget card to get you into that league, you're looking at minimum of something like: http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/14067/17/VGA-MSI-GTX750

You can read some recs here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-2.html

Vid cards are often cheaper abroad and you might pick one up next time you're out. Easy to carry.

[mania]

Thanks J

Funny you mention the exact mobo that I looked at as an alternative
I think I will go that way with the MSI H81M-E33 now that you have also picked it out.

Thanks for the video suggestion that R7 240
would be fine I'm sure
I also had looked at the MSI GT730 & they seem similar except that R7 is

the newer slot I guess? Close enough in price so probably R7 if more current

I think I am pretty close now & thanks again for your tips/suggestions

[JSixpack]

I also had looked at the MSI GT730 & they seem similar except that R7 is

the newer slot I guess? Close enough in price so probably R7 if more current

I think I am pretty close now & thanks again for your tips/suggestions

Same slot. R7 lower profile (takes up only 1 slot, not 2), less power needed (only 400W PSU recommended), and better reviewed. The MSI isn't well known--more of a crap shoot, I'd say.

[giggleooza]

Have you looked at PCPartPicker? Usually I use that to give myself something to start with, and then change different things so that they are more to my liking. Here's another that is very informative if you're still not sure about what motherboard your getting. http://toptengamer.hubpages.com/hub/Top-AMD-AM3-FM2-Motherboard .

[BudRight]

You have chosen the FM2 socket which are APUs. You do not need a discrete graphics card with that.

Rather than purchasing a discrete graphics card, buy the best APU available and the fastest memory you can find, since the performance of these APUs is strongly limited by the shitty memory bandwidth of DDR3 RAM over a 64bit memory controller.

That, or pick a low-end Haswell dual core and a discrete card with any sort of system memory.

[Jdiddy]

Whats the game, its release date and what resolution are you planning to play it at?

Forget those multicore AMD chips, a 3ghz twin core pentium would beat that 6 core AMD 3.5ghz easily, only modern AAA game titles use multi cores and AMD chips at the moment do less work per clock cycle

A 1GB modern video card would beat a 4 year old 1.5GB video card too, its not just about memory size, also onboard graphics have come along way, same with onboard sound

Edited July 14, 2014 by Jdiddy

[mania]

Whats the game, its release date and what resolution are you planning to play it at?

Forget those multicore AMD chips, a 3ghz twin core pentium would beat that 6 core AMD 3.5ghz easily, only modern AAA game titles use multi cores and AMD chips at the moment do less work per clock cycle

A 1GB modern video card would beat a 4 year old 1.5GB video card too, its not just about memory size, also onboard graphics have come along way, same with onboard sound

The sim is GP4 released in 2002

I use to run it on a overclocked 300 celeron many years ago

All of that creators ( Geof Crammond ) GP sims ( GP2,3&4) were way ahead of their time in

computer load etc. But a very nice sim with a good drive model & setup ability not arcade-ish like

most sims. Also this sim has a large community with folks making updated tracks etc each year to

mimic F1 tracks exactly, realistic power, liveries etc.

I did end up going the twin core pentium route ( G4320 3.2ghz) I should be done this week as I am just waiting on a SSD

drive as I wanted faster load times & the 120gb Hyperx Fury was on sale

Also agree about the new gfx cards with 1GB of DDR5 sound great but I did go with a 2gb DDR3 card as it was

cost effective & way more than this sim needs already

For me onboard sound is fine since I use earphones anyway

Thanks

Edited July 14, 2014 by mania

[Jdiddy]

Sweet, you'll love the SSD

Your rig is obviously overkill for the game but it's all good, i bet you'll start using it for other stuff in the future

[JSixpack]

Sweet, you'll love the SSD

Your rig is obviously overkill for the game but it's all good, i bet you'll start using it for other stuff in the future

Yes. This rig's pretty cheap w/o sacrificing quality, easily meets the OP's initial requirements but leaves plenty of headroom--both as-is and via hardware upgrades.

Edited July 15, 2014 by JSixpack

[mania]

Sweet, you'll love the SSD

Your rig is obviously overkill for the game but it's all good, i bet you'll start using it for other stuff in the future

Yes. This rig's pretty cheap w/o sacrificing quality, easily meets the OP's initial requirements but leaves plenty of headroom--both as-is and via hardware upgrades.

Yes it was not expensive at 13,800 baht although I did decide at the last minute to go with the Corsair 500w 80+ modular

power supply. Mainly because I had not heard of the cougar 500w ST they suggested. I agreed then came home & did some searching

for reviews & saw quite a few bad ones. So I switched to the Corsair which gets great reviews that added 840b/$26

So 14,700 baht total which seems really good for this box given what I have inside

Thanks again J as it was your post that got me thinking straight about the CPU etc.