Dedicated Computer for My GC2 with FSX & TGC

[JoeJoeJoeUrBoat]

Need some advice from others who've used TGC and FSX on what computer I should purchase.

I contacted Foresight and they sent me a chart indicating that I should be using these specs for my computer running their software:

- Windows 7 or greater (64 bit required) Works well with Win. 8, 10.
- Minimum i5, recommended i7 (Gen 6) for best performance
- Min spec: 8GB system memory, recommended 16GB for best performance.
- Min spec: stand alone video with 2GB of memory or greater (NO AMD) Must have GeForce 960 or greater... Premium option GeForce GTX 1080

Again, I'm going to be using my GC2 with FSX and TGC. The FSX is advertised as "4k ready". Has anyone used FSX with a 4k projector or TV?

What I'd really like to know is where the areas are where I don't need optimal performance. Is there anyone running TGC out there with an i5 and 8GB or RAM with no problems? And as far as the graphics card is there anyone who gets a good image with something lower than a GeForce 960?

Also, is a desktop computer the better option opposed to a laptop?

There is someone with an Alienware X51 for sale that has a GTX 960, i7 6700K water-cooled and overclocked, 16GB RAM, and an intel maple peak AC wifi with bluetooth 4.0. She's asking $950 CAN for the tower alone ($725 USD). Would this be a good deal?

My last question to anyone out there hitting into a net and using a TV, would you recommend a 4k television? Or is an LED better? I have a 55" one at home thats and 8 series Samsung with 120hz. I also have a 50" Panasonic plasma at home as well that I could use, I figured it might be better for this considering it's 600hz.

Any and all feedback is appreciated! Thank you all in advance.

[TorchRedRob]

That's a good deal on that PC, in my opinion. If it were me, I would get it and then upgrade the video card later to a GTX1060, 70, or 80. If you are thinking you want 4k someday, get the 10xx series GTX over a 9xx series. The 10xx cards have better 4k frame rates than the 9xx cards.

[TorchRedRob]

see also:

http://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-brands-and-types/the-golf-club/79989-minimum-tgc-computer-requirements-that-runs-great

[JoeJoeJoeUrBoat]

see also:

http://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/...hat-runs-great

An immediate red flag for me skimming through this page is that the computer I'm looking at purchasing only has a 330W (19.5W & 16.9A) power supply. Is that a deal-breaker?

[mmlincon]

That PSU is too low. You will want a minimum 650W but what is more important is the output amperage on 12v. I think the latest NVIDIA cards want 42+a. I have a 1070 which runs FSX at max settings with no problem. Well there are some bugs that cause some weird graphics but that sounds to be card independent. IMO the FSX software it not at a level that justifies their price at this time. Foresight is making a mistake putting all there sauce in FSX unless they dramatically improve it. They are already behind the other offerings as far as graphics are concerned and I don't see that changing. I don't know that the textures in FSX would benefit from 4K honestly. I haven't seen it on a 4K monitor so can't say for sure. There are other aspects that are nice about FSX though.

[JoeJoeJoeUrBoat]

That PSU is too low. You will want a minimum 650W but what is more important is the output amperage on 12v. I think the latest NVIDIA cards want 42+a. I have a 1070 which runs FSX at max settings with no problem. Well there are some bugs that cause some weird graphics but that sounds to be card independent. IMO the FSX software it not at a level that justifies their price at this time. Foresight is making a mistake putting all there sauce in FSX unless they dramatically improve it. They are already behind the other offerings as far as graphics are concerned and I don't see that changing. I don't know that the textures in FSX would benefit from 4K honestly. I haven't seen it on a 4K monitor so can't say for sure. There are other aspects that are nice about FSX though.

Would you recommend a custom build then? If I can run FSX in standard 1080p I'm okay with that. I didn't buy my GC2 with FSX or TGC for 4k golfing simulation. I just figured if it had it, why not try it.

In this case with the power supply, is this a matter of 330W not working with TGC, or 330W will have to run too hard to run TGC?

[goatbarn]

It's a matter of 330W not having enough juice to run your PC components, nothing to do with software. Either you have enough juice or you don't. Nothing running harder/easier.

I'd be at 500W minimum. Probably a trusted source like EVGA 550W or something along those lines.

And I'm sure TGC would look amazing at 4k, FSX not so much. If you want 4k, you'd better be upgrading to a 1080 though.

The 960 will have problems running in 1080, definitely in TGC, and probably FSX (from what I hear it has less-than-optimized graphics, is harded on cards than it should be).

[mmlincon]

btw, PSUs are pretty cheap upgrades so I wouldn't make or break a decision based on that. If the system has a standard ATX PSU you will be fine as it is an easy swap if you've done any PC work. If upgrading the video card is "out of your league" then you may want to go custom. You might want to give the PC a try and upgrade if you aren't happy with performance. It should run fine. I had a 970 for a while which worked great. I only upgraded because I gave the 970 to my kid for xmas.

[tlhammond5]

An immediate red flag for me skimming through this page is that the computer I'm looking at purchasing only has a 330W (19.5W & 16.9A) power supply. Is that a deal-breaker?

That's pretty low. I'd go with 500 minimum.

[tlhammond5]

Need some advice from others who've used TGC and FSX on what computer I should purchase.

I contacted Foresight and they sent me a chart indicating that I should be using these specs for my computer running their software:

- Windows 7 or greater (64 bit required) Works well with Win. 8, 10.
- Minimum i5, recommended i7 (Gen 6) for best performance
- Min spec: 8GB system memory, recommended 16GB for best performance.
- Min spec: stand alone video with 2GB of memory or greater (NO AMD) Must have GeForce 960 or greater... Premium option GeForce GTX 1080

Again, I'm going to be using my GC2 with FSX and TGC. The FSX is advertised as "4k ready". Has anyone used FSX with a 4k projector or TV?

What I'd really like to know is where the areas are where I don't need optimal performance. Is there anyone running TGC out there with an i5 and 8GB or RAM with no problems? And as far as the graphics card is there anyone who gets a good image with something lower than a GeForce 960?

Also, is a desktop computer the better option opposed to a laptop?

There is someone with an Alienware X51 for sale that has a GTX 960, i7 6700K water-cooled and overclocked, 16GB RAM, and an intel maple peak AC wifi with bluetooth 4.0. She's asking $950 CAN for the tower alone ($725 USD). Would this be a good deal?

My last question to anyone out there hitting into a net and using a TV, would you recommend a 4k television? Or is an LED better? I have a 55" one at home thats and 8 series Samsung with 120hz. I also have a 50" Panasonic plasma at home as well that I could use, I figured it might be better for this considering it's 600hz.

Any and all feedback is appreciated! Thank you all in advance.

That's a good deal on that PC as long as it's in total working order. If it's used I reformat and start fresh. It should run both systems fine. The i5 will win TGC just fine with 8gb. I don't recommend cutting corners on the graphics card... the card makes a huge difference. As for the TV... I'd spend a little extra and get a projector and screen. If you're spending that much on a GC2 and TGC, what's the extra 1k? Just my .02. Any of those TVs will work though... You'll obviously have a better picture with the 4k.

[JoeJoeJoeUrBoat]

Possibly a stupid question regarding the TGC simulating software. Are you able to design your own courses? I understand you can from YouTube videos I've seen, but they're all courses people play with their character they create. Can you play these courses yourself with a GC2?

Again, silly question. Just making sure it's not just for the TGC you can buy for your Xbox.

[goatbarn]

Yep. You can create courses for play on the sim. You can create it on a PC (non-sim version) and just transfer over the course file to publish from TGC Sim for it to show up on the sim server. If published from the non-sim TGC version, it won't show up for sim play until Protee does a course sync.

[JoeJoeJoeUrBoat]

UPDATE

Decided to stay away from buying a used PC, contacted someone who builds PCs and went the custom route. Here's my build, any feedback is welcomed!

Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor
ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
EVGA Superclocked 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory RAM
Toshiba Q300 Pro 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card
Thermaltake Versa N21
Thermaltake 600w Power Supply
Windows 7

Again, this is going to be dedicated to my FSX and TGC software. No other programs or games will be used on this computer. It's strictly my golf simulating computer.

[Yrrdead81]

Uhm that used pc would crap all over this build. Somebody is taking advantage of you. What is the price for that build?? It looks bad, I wouldn't use a single one of those components in a build today. Maybe three years ago but not today.

[TorchRedRob]

You'll need a better video card than a 770. Get a 970 or better (970, 980, 980ti, 1060, 1070, 1080) Otherwise, it looks good!

[DFDubb]

Yeah that video card won't cut it and is the biggest item we need on SIM computers.

[wbond]

I went from a 770 to a 1070 and it was a huge difference.

[JoeJoeJoeUrBoat]

You'll need a better video card than a 770. Get a 970 or better (970, 980, 980ti, 1060, 1070, 1080) Otherwise, it looks good!

Haven't received my TGC yet, still waiting for my PayPal funds to transfer. Ran FSX on it with this graphics card at 1080p with zero problems. No glitching, no lag, ran smooth as butter.