TGC Computer and Graphics Card Requirements

[aja]

I have noticed that there are lots of discussions about computers and graphics cards in separate posts. There seems to be a fair bit of mis-information making the rounds.

It has been written elsewhere but to re-iterate, TGC is very graphic intensive. The number one thing to consider when selecting a computer to run TGC is the graphics card. It must be up to the task of running the graphics intensive software.

ProTee has published information about the computer and graphics cards that are suggested to run TGC. You will find that information here:

http://csc.protee-united.com/hc/en-u...Club-Simulator

With respect to choosing desktop or laptop - desktop systems are almost always better value. Laptops are by nature a compromise due to their size and specialization. Desktops are upgradeable and you can upgrade a graphics card, for instance. With a laptop, you are basically locked in to the configuration that you have.

Further, laptop graphics cards are less capable than desktop versions. The reasons are power, size and cooling.

Case in point: the recommended card for TGC is the NVidia GTX 970. That card comes in 3 flavours. GTX 970ti, GTX 970 and GTX 970m. The 970m is the mobile (laptop) version of this card. The GPU (Graphic Processor Unit) comparison or scoring chart that shows the Passmark G3D grade or ranking for these cards ranks these cards as follows:

GTX 970ti ranked 5th, score 9,190
GTX 970 ranked 7th, score 8,670
GTX 970m ranked 60th, score 4,130

Higher rankings and scores are better. Lower ones, not so much.

You can see from these scores there is a very large difference in the performance of these '970' graphics cards.

The minimum suggested graphics card for TGC is the GTX 670. It's scores are:

GTX 670 ranked 30th, score 5,387

The Passmark score clearly points to the GTX 970m (laptop) as not being up to the task of running TGC smoothly.

The GPU comparison can be found here:

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

Hope this helps to clarify some of the technical requirements for a computer to be able to run TGC

[Bubba22]

Great post Aja!

[Mickey]

Thanks for this. I play TGC with a gtx950. Going to drop another $300 on the 970. Would you advise going all out on a 990 instead of the 970? Is it worth the extra cost?

[aja]

Mario, how does your current graphics card work with TGC? From the rankings it basically meets the minimum requirements published for TGC.

Do you notice any performance issues?

Asking just to understand if the performance is noticeably a problem. I have a GTX 770 which is in the middle of the requirement heirarchy and it runs just fine for my needs.

[Mickey]

It's good, not as good as I hoped given all the glowing reports about TGC graphics. I'm going to buy the 970 or 980i as keither5050 mentioned. Cost is always an issue so it depends on the price difference.

[mthunt]

Thanks for this. I play TGC with a gtx950. Going to drop another $300 on the 970. Would you advise going all out on a 990 instead of the 970? Is it worth the extra cost?

One thing about money is if you can afford it, spend the money. The 970 is a great card and all you need but if you're super flush, go nuts.

[keither5150]

The GTX 970 is the best value. I have a GTX 980ti which allows me to turn up my settings a bit more. The extra money is not really worth it. But if you have lots of money, do the 980ti. Stay away from laptops and macs if possible. iMac = laptop graphics. People with iMacs, you will be well served to buy a $1000 gaming PC.

[Mickey]

Super flush would be a big stretch. 300 is OK. Not sure I'm OK going much beyond 500 for a graphics card.

[mthunt]

Sound decision

[aja]

Read keither5150 s post - the last one in this thread: http://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/...-high-settings

Sounds like the GTX 970 is a good deal. He should know as he has experience with really expensive (my view) graphics cards.

Remember that the market is changing all the time and next month there will be a new 'high end' card.

Oops, he already posted!

[keither5150]

My GTX980ti is a little faster than the first video card I ever bought. Anyone remember Voodoo 3DFX?

When purchasing a video card. Try to find a model that is overclocked or superclocked. This will give you about 5-10% better performance for about the same cost. Don't worry about longevity, The overclocked and superclocked versions usually have better coolers to help with the extra heat. Do your research on how loud they are as well. Better to have a better cooler rather than a louder faster fan. I am partial to EVGA GTX 970 and 980ti. They make a model with ACX 2.0 cooling which is crazy quiet and cool under load. Also, they usually use SC and OC rather than the full word on the box or in their description. I use Memoryexpress.com for my parts. If you don't live in Canada, you can still use their site to check out specs and models. Tomshardware.com is a good source to compare all computer parts.

[jjkoolman]

Does any know if TGC for Skytrak will work with a desktop pc running to GeForce GTX 770's in SLI? I thought I remember reading somewhere that SLI wasn't supported, but that was awhile ago. I purchased a gaming desktop off of craigslist back in Nov. '15 in anticipation of TGC with Skytrak and would like to know before I pull the trigger on TGC. Thanks.

[aja]

SLI is still not supported. Nothing's changed on that front to my knowledge.

I have the GTX 770 and am happy with how TGC runs. Then again, I have a 1024 x 728 projector and don't have a clue what the FRAPS are (or whatever it's called).

Also use the ProTee sensor so this may not be directly comparable.

[Mickey]

I've read all about video cards and asked around about 'over clocking'. From my own reading and correspondence with protee - the best card to run TGC at very high settings, without spending c$1,000 on the 980ti, is the 970. No matter how much I love sim golf, I can't bring myself to spend 1,000 on the 980ti. The 970 is about C$450 on Amazon if anyone is interested.

[jjkoolman]

Thanks guys... I was afraid that SLI was still not supported, but the computer was to good to pass up 5 months ago when I thought TGC was right around the corner. Hopefully I can just take the cards out of SLI and TGC will run ok on a single 770, but i'm not really sure how to do that! Google will be burning up with searches!

[aja]

You'll be laughing all the way to the bank if you have a spare GTX 770. Probably get a little bit of money when you sell it.

[keither5150]

Sell both of them and get a GTX970. There will be plenty of videos showing how to remove a video card on YouTube. Make sure that the computer is unplugged and you are not carrying a static charge. The short ribbon cable joining the two comes off by pulling up. Near the base of the video card there will be a little tab that you have to compress so the card can be removed. If the video you are watching doesn't show that, move on to the next one. Also if the guy in the video is not smart enough to put the computer on it's side, move on to the next one. Maybe watch 2 or 3 videos before attempting this. Good luck

[goatbarn]

You buy these things on places like newegg or tigerdirect or ebay you'll save a lot on that. I have a 970 that I think I picked up for $225 US.

Retail is for suckers, says Kramer.

[Vincent_Vega]

Just wanted to add my experience with a GTX 960. Got my PC put together last night, here are my specs: i-5 4460, 8 GB Ram, GTX 960 4GB SC. I was able to get a consistent 50-60 FPS on the 5 or 6 courses I tested on Steam. I had trees at 1,000/500 and details at 1, I even tested trees lower and I didn't notice a huge difference in graphical details lost. The big setting to me in terms of FPS is "Depth of View". Having that on cost me around 10 FPS. The game performed much better when I turned it off. Anyway, just wanted to provide some information to anyone that might be wanting to save a few buck over the 970 and up. I wouldn't hesitate, the game looks great and runs smooth on a 960.

[Emptyshotgun]

I have the 960 as well, runs TGC great.

[Godfather]

This is good news. The graphics card requirements scared me off from buying TGC (and now the rebate is gone). Anyone else have experience with running cards below the recommended? I'm running a GTX 750 Ti and it runs E6 and PG perfectly fine. I'm only running a 720p projector, which helps.

[Psw757]

This is good news. The graphics card requirements scared me off from buying TGC (and now the rebate is gone). Anyone else have experience with running cards below the recommended? I'm running a GTX 750 Ti and it runs E6 and PG perfectly fine. I'm only running a 720p projector, which helps.

I am kind of wondering the same thing.

I really would prefer to run a laptop but am not willing to spend 2-3k on a crazy gaming one. There are plenty though with a gtx 970/980m and am wondering if these