Let's talk about video cards......
 

I fully expect for you all to berate, chastise, and otherwise humiliate me for this question.

Since I primarily want to do iRacing, would it be worth to get a really good motherboard/CPU combo and maybe SLI two cheap video cards so I can still run three monitors and get close to the memory of a 1080Ti? Then later down the line upgrade to either a 1080Ti or 2?

Fanatec has stopped selling their entry level pedal/wheel/seat setup, so that's going to end up costing me a lot more than I originally planned.

I am not sure exactly what your goals are, but my 1070 AMP Extreme Does Oculus, and all my other gaming without any issues in frame rates.

Don't get me wrong a 1080TI is a hell of a card. But Regarding the rest of the system, what is it going to be comprised of? What are your goals with the computer?

If your not doing VR iRacing, I have little reason to think a 1060/1070 wouldn't work fine for you.

iRacing is the main goal, but I'd also like to be able to play some of the more graphic intensive sims (AC, PC2, etc) when I just want something fun. I've though about VR, but I'm hesitant to buy one having never tried one. And I may play the occasional shooter game, but iRacing really the focus.

Mainly just trying to see if there was a way I could be a cheap ass.

You can thank all these miners for the video card prices. This used to be something you could do without having to take out a loan against your 401k.

Lets ask a more important question. What resolution?
I'm assuming 1080p, but are we shooting for 144hz?

iRacing is SUPER easy to run, last i checked. You could run 3 monitors easily with a last generation card. Granted, they may not all be display port... You'd have to run HDMI, which i don't think is capable of 144hz.

Long story short, a 1060 or 1070 would be more than plenty. The 1060 would handle all of your 1080p needs, where the 1070 could do 1440p a lot better.

I'm all for spending money wisely, and it sounds like you don't need a 1080TI damn near 700 dollar GPU.

Since nvidia has disabled SLI on lower end cards. I'd go for a 1080ti out of the gate.

What sucks at the moment is the pricing of video cards, as they're all well above msrp due to etherium mining.

Build an Asus mobo + 7700k Intel platform (Older generation, still relevant).

--Browsing pcpartpicker.com, high end parts--
Intel - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor - $318.89
Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler - $109.99
Asus - MAXIMUS IX HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard - $222.28
Asus - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Turbo Video Card - $719.99

$1371.15
-----------------------------

Of course, you can save a lot of money by going even cheaper with the mobo/cpu combo. As long as it can deliver frames to the gpu, which with iRacing would be what you're looking for.

TLDR - Basically as far a gpu goes, I wouldn't skimp on it. A single 1080ti would be able to do 3 monitors no problem. No need for 2 lower end cards using more power creating heat to get the same output. If a lower end single gpu can do the same, then spring for the lower price.

Like mentioned above, SLI is shit. Youre much better off with a single good card.

If youre interested I have a GTX 1070 "Hybrid" card Im selling. Its a great card because its very quiet (good for an HTPC?) but you have to find room for the radiator somehwere.

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If you are wanting to game at 1080p - 1440p @60--144hz you should be ok with a 1070. My wife uses a 1070 and it struggles a bit to max out a 144hz panel @1080p, but it is not like it runs like shit either. Most games she plays will run around 100fps easy and that is with no overclock on the gpu at all. At 1440p you will not see 100fps in a lot of games on ultra settings.

You guys realize we're talking 3 1080p monitors right. That's a resolution of 5760x1080.
A single 1080 will do 60fps at this resolution on most AAA titles. Some games which are optimized like shit, destiny 2 and pubg probably won't though. You won't be getting enough frames for 144hz.

For good benchmarks and ideas look up 4k videos. The resolution you want to run is very similar and will give you a good idea in terms of what FPS to expect.

Yeah I ran 3 monitors for iRacing 3 years ago on a R9 290. But with AC, for instance, it couldn't keep up on three monitors. I'd like to be able to play those without sacrificing "all the quality" or "all the FPS"

I'm been seriously looking at some variation of this:

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/kCV32...l-gaming-guide

UserBenchmark: AMD R9 290X vs Nvidia GTX 1070

I still think a 1070 would work perfectly fine for you and save you 200 bucks. Hell I think they have a 1070 Ti if you have to have a Ti.

I'm willing to bet that in games like PC2 and AC he'll see 20-30fps with a 1070. iRacing will run all day at 60+ though.
Hell even a gtx1080 is going to struggle getting you to 40fps in modern AAA titles.

What CPU are you getting, 7700k at least i hope?

Well I was thinking about the build I linked just a few posts up.

But I'm not married to Intel, I was mainly considering it since they tend to be more efficient power wise (so less heat and noise).

Heat being the real concern, with a rig, 3 monitors, wheel, etc they put off a ton of heat. And while it won't be a big deal over the winter, the room in the house I'm using as my office/gaming room has the worst airflow in the house.

What's your time-frame to purchase a new video card? The upcoming Volta GTX 2000 series is something to consider: https://www.pcgamesn.com/nvidia/nvid...specifications

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nVidia cards are definitely the kings of efficiency at the moment. The new AMD cards put out some major heat for less performance.

ETH miners are overclocking the 1070s and simultaneously lowering their target power. The cards are pulling like 110 watts at full load. The 1080s have a new type of memory in them that doesnt work as well as old GDDR5 so they are not being used for mining, but I would bet graphics performance per watt is just as good if not better than the 1070. Get one of the non-reference-style cooler cards and you will be happy with the sound level.

There is also the 1070 Ti coming out soon, which is nearing the performance of the 1080 but it rumored to have locked down clocks.

I'm still a few months from doing anything. But trying to do my research ahead of time, this time.

First thing I will buy will likely be the rig set up itself, I'm leaning toward this one:

https://www.mainperformancepc.com/pr...aming-cockpit/

But that's why I've slowed down, since Fanatec discounted their entry level stuff, I'm seeing that rig/monitors/computer/wheel and pedals is going to be approaching $4k.

I vote you ditch the 3 monitor setup, get 1/2 monitors, and get VR. Its waaaay better for immersion than the 3 screen method, and would cut your costs down significantly I think. Just food for thought I guess.

Edit: I say this because you could build something that feels good to sit in/drive in, but doesn't have to look pretty with 3 monitors since you wont be looking at any of it anyways. Plus head tracking is Epic.

^^ I haven't done much research on head tracking but last I checked it still needed some work. I'm totally interested though. Do it!

Intel CPUs are running way hotter than the new ryzen stuff. Even with a delid they aren't as good.

​​​​​​Though you need all the IPC you can get.

I'm really curious about VR in regards to SIM racing, but I'm hesitant to jump in without having tried it first.


Oh really? Tell me more! I'm all for spending money away from the big dogs.

I'm also trying to decide on a graphics card. I'll be running a Ryzen 5 on a Gigabyte AB350 Gaming 3 MoBo. I'll be picking up a VR headset on Black Friday, and I also have a 23" 1080p 60 Hz monitor. Current plan is to use VR for iRacing, potentially other racing games such as RFactor 2, or Assetto Corsa, likely some VR FPS' like Onward. 2D on the 1080p monitor would be PUBg, don't really play anything else yet, but that's mostly because I've never had a PC that can run anything worth playing. I could see picking up GTA V, not really sure what else. Since I've only played console games, and PC games on ultra low graphics, I don't really have a frame of reference of what I'll want. If I don't get a new monitor, then the VR will be the most graphics intense viewing. I'm not sure if I'll have the desire to upgrade the monitor, or if I'll just be hooked on VR games.

RX 580 8GB (~$280-320)
1060 6GB (~$260-280)
1070 (~$420)
RX Vega 56 (~$460)

AMD vs. Nvidia would be settled if I had or planned getting a Freesync/GSync monitor, but that's not currently in the plan. From what I've read, I think I'd be happy with anyone of these for the Oculus, and they're all a good bit over minimum specs, and on par or better than recommended. I'd like to spend less money, since I have other expensive hobbies, but I'm also willing to upgrade if it means I'll enjoy it more. AMD is a lot more power hungry, but I haven't worked that out to whether it's enough energy cost to be factored in over a few years. It also seems like Nvidia is more fool proof and works good out of the box, and AMD stuff sometimes needs playing with or updates to make it perform to it's potential, but once that has happened it often surpasses Nvidia for the cost. I was hoping to try out Oculus setups on different GPU's to see the difference for myself, but all the stores use high end stuff so it looks the best. Do you think I'd be disappointed with an RX 580? If I chose it and was happy with it, how many years would it take games to surpass the RX 580's capability?