Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: VanceVP on March 23, 2017, 04:58:43 PM
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So when AH when to the new version (AH3) I was one of those without a machine to handle it. I had been able to play AH2 on my laptop, but that went by the wayside with the update to AH3.
It looks like it is time to put together a new desktop that will run AH3 with most of the bells and whistles running for a change. I haven't built a completely new system since the beginning of this century so I have no clue as to what works together and what don't anymore so I am here looking for some expert advice as to whether I have picked components that will play together well and allow me to run AH3 with pretty much every turned on/up.
What I have selected is as follows:
CPU: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113326&ignorebbr=1 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113326&ignorebbr=1)
CPU Fan: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835103099 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835103099)
Mobo: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132713&ignorebbr=1 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132713&ignorebbr=1)
RAM: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156095&ignorebbr=1 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156095&ignorebbr=1)
GPU: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487292 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487292)
Case: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353123&ignorebbr=1 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353123&ignorebbr=1)
PSU: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139051 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139051)
HDD: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822236339 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822236339)
This comes it at $669.86 without shipping or an operating system.
I don't know if what I have selected is overkill so if any of the experts here can suggest anything that can save me a few $$$'s I would appreciate it.
Be advised that the above price includes (2) 4GB RAM modules for a whopping total of 8GB. I have read that this should be more than enough to run AH3 and I went with a 750W psu to make sure that I have enough. If I can get away with less, I don't have a problem with that. Also, AH3 is the biggest thing that this machine will run. We don't do any real video editing or photo editing.
Also, I need some advice regarding an OS. I really liked Windows 7 and am running 8.1 on my laptop. How is Windows 10? Anyone having problems with it? Does it seem to work well with AH3?
Again, I would appreciate any and all input as to what will allow me to play AH3 with most if not all the bells and whistles for a change.
Thanks in advance,
VanceVP
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I put together another part list for your consideration. About $50 bucks more then your original.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DWBsxY
You don't need a 750W power supply. You really don't even need a CPU cooler. I changed the 1050 card to a 1060 3gb. I'm using that card on AH3 and getting 60 frames no problem.
Goodluck!
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I put together another part list for your consideration. About $50 bucks more then your original.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DWBsxY
You don't need a 750W power supply. You really don't even need a CPU cooler. I changed the 1050 card to a 1060 3gb. I'm using that card on AH3 and getting 60 frames no problem.
Goodluck!
Thanks Cav, but do I really need 8 cores?
That seems like overkill to me. From what I have read here on the forums, AHIII runs fine on just 2 cores so I thought I would be in good shape going with a quad-core.
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A quad core is fine for the game. You want the fastest clock rate CPU you can afford.
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A quad core is fine for the game. You want the fastest clock rate CPU you can afford.
Thanks Skuzzy
So the Quad-Core 4.2 GHz Socket AM3+ 125W should be plenty fast or is there something faster I should consider?
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Skuzzy, I'm curious about the value of a CPU that seems overkill relative to the GPU. For example I've been happy with my system suing an i3 6100 and GTX 1060 running a 1440 p monitor. I've run some tests and find that when my frame rates drop below my monitor's max of 75 fps, it looks like the CPU is not maxed out while the GPU is maxed, indicating that the GPU is the rate limiting hardware?
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From all the reading on this subject, the only issue w/ this particular AMD CPU is whether AHIII will run on at least 2 of the cores if not all 4 of them due to the issue of whether this CPU cores can use the high precision timer that AHIII needs to properly multithread across these cores, or just use 1 CPU core of the 4.
TC can most likely answer this question better than most of us.
I hope that it is possible for you.
:salute
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From all the reading on this subject, the only issue w/ this particular AMD CPU is whether AHIII will run on at least 2 of the cores if not all 4 of them due to the issue of whether this CPU cores can use the high precision timer that AHIII needs to properly multithread across these cores, or just use 1 CPU core of the 4....
One of my recent builds is running the AMD FX-4350 Quad-Core CPU and Windows 7 Pro 64.
And...the $79.99 price is excellent bang for your buck.
AH3 is using 2 cores and runs quite well.
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Skuzzy, I'm curious about the value of a CPU that seems overkill relative to the GPU. For example I've been happy with my system suing an i3 6100 and GTX 1060 running a 1440 p monitor. I've run some tests and find that when my frame rates drop below my monitor's max of 75 fps, it looks like the CPU is not maxed out while the GPU is maxed, indicating that the GPU is the rate limiting hardware?
Most any 3Ghz CPU, or faster, should be fine when coupled with a decent video card.
The graphic engine in Aces High III depends on the video card for rendering everything. In most cases the GPU will be the limiting factor.
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Thanks for all the input.
From all the reading on this subject, the only issue w/ this particular AMD CPU is whether AHIII will run on at least 2 of the cores if not all 4 of them due to the issue of whether this CPU cores can use the high precision timer that AHIII needs to properly multithread across these cores, or just use 1 CPU core of the 4.
If this particular CPU is questionable, which of the AMD (back in the day when I was building systems, I was big fan of AMD both for pricing and performance) CPU's is the best alternative?
How does one go about determining whether a particular CPU will get the job done when it comes to AHIII?
The last thing I want to do is plug in a CPU that is going to give me headaches. And is it safe to assume that aside from maybe a bit of overkill on the PSU, I think I am going to look at a 600w - 650w instead, and maybe look at a different CPU, all the other components should play together well and allow me to play AHIII with most all the bells and whistles?
And finally, no opinions regarding whether Windows 10 gets along with AHIII? I hate having to get used to a new OS? Maybe I will just stick with 8.1 and go from there.
Again, thanks to all who have shared their opinions. I do appreciate it.
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There is nothing questionable about that CPU it's an excellent choice. You picked the best CPU for the money in my opinion. :cheers:
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Windows 10 is still having growing pains so you're better off sticking with 7 or 8.1 64 bit.
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If you like AMD, you can also save some more money by opting for AMD over nVidia GPU - I've seen 4Gb RX 480 cards for as low as $155 on NewEgg. I have an MSI RX480 that gives me a solid 60fps at 1080p using default graphic settings. That includes shadows, reflections, and bump mapping. Game looks great.
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One of my recent builds is running the AMD FX-4350 Quad-Core CPU and Windows 7 Pro 64.
And...the $79.99 price is excellent bang for your buck.
AH3 is using 2 cores and runs quite well.
Good Morning Drane, do you prefer to use your GPU/HDMI connection for Audio from the Video card, verses using the onboard sound from that MSI MB's Realtek Audio? just curious?
I have 2 different builds using the AMD FX-4350 CPU, and have not run into any issues on either build... matter of fact the build I use as my current gaming rig is using the FX-4350 on an ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 MB using 32 GB of Crucial Ballistix 1600MHz DDR3 System Ram (4) 8 GB DIMMS with an AMD Radeon Sapphire Dual-X OC edition R9 270X 4GB GDDR5 256 bit http://www.sapphiretech.com/productdetial.asp?os=Win81_64&Pid=524951DE-D0A8-44F4-ABD9-ABCE79A16F73&tag=download&lang=eng ... using a Crucial MX200 250 GB SSD....the OS is Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
the other build is using the same MB that Drane is using ( this is my Dad's computer, I built for him ) running Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64 bit
As for this CPU using multiple cores in AH3, the 2 I have built are using them.... back during /near the end of closed beta, I noticed that my rig was using all 4 cores interchangeably while at times using 2 cores here and there, switch across all of them... I was not assigning any affinity or prioritys manually for any cores, I just let windows 8.1 Pro do the scheduling/threading/IO, etc...
I like your Motherboard choice, VanceVP, I might have even chose it if it was available when I built this rig...
I would recommend you taking a look at getting either the Black WD Hard Drive if you want to stick with Western Digital........but I recommend you getting a Hitachi deskstar wit either 64 or 128 MB cache or if you can afford it a hitachi ultrastar enterprise drive with 128 MB cache......... you can go either SAS ( 12GB/s ) or SATA III ( 6GB/s ) with not very much difference in the cost... check them out on newwegg..... don't get anything under the 74000 and 76000 series of these HD's..... do your research
in any case, seen and heard about a lot of those WD Blue HD's failure rate
Hope This Helps and have fun building!
TC
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VanceVP, that CPU cooler you have linked to is basically the same thing I am using, mine is a Corsair CA70 ( CAFA70 ) with 2 120mm fans set up in push/pull fashion
using 2 fans, will cover your 1st DIMM slot and you will only be able to use low profile memory ( unless you do a little fabrication to the heat spreader on a High Profile heat Spreader, I did the first time around, no problem )
I ran into this issue regardless if I was building Intel or AMD, on ASUS Full ATX Motherboards
Hope This Helps
TC
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I'm using Windows 10 and have no problems. That being said the only purpose of this new PC is to turn on, play aces high and then turn off.
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<snip>
And finally, no opinions regarding whether Windows 10 gets along with AHIII? I hate having to get used to a new OS? Maybe I will just stick with 8.1 and go from there.
Again, thanks to all who have shared their opinions. I do appreciate it.
If you have the option to stick with Windows 7, I would do so. Windows 10 is getting ready to have a major update, and those have never gone well, so far. If you can wait, then you would be better off.
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Good Morning Drane, do you prefer to use your GPU/HDMI connection for Audio from the Video card, verses using the onboard sound from that MSI MB's Realtek Audio? just curious?.....
I use the HDMI most of the time for sound through TV speakers, then switch to onboard for headphones when I need to be quiet. The onboard is used for microphone but that doesn't work real well in AH3 with L3 dropping loads of packets.
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Just tested a GTX 750 Ti with an old dual core E6850, 4 GB RAM, PSU 300W and I' m getting 50-55 fps. It might
get better with 8 GB, plus a better CPU.
-MX-
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WOW!
I really appreciate all the comments and suggestions regarding this build, but now I have a few questions for ya'll.
First, it looks like the 750W PSU is overkill so I think I am going to look at a 600W - 650W. Smart move to save a couple of bucks? I am now thinking maybe something like https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028), https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152065 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152065) or even https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438014 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438014).
Next, seems that the CPU cooler I selected may not be the best move. Will the stock cooling fan keep this CPU cool or do I need to look at a better cooling fan? With the one I selected I do not want to lose a DIMM slot so I may need to rethink this one. What do ya'll think/recommend?
I am now looking at like https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835856006 (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835856006).
I am also wondering if going the 1050/1060 route with the GPU is really necessary. I realize that everyone raves about the 1060, but I think that it may be overkill in my case. Not sure since my old laptop will not allow me to explore AHIII. Is the RX480 worth looking at? Is there a good alternative?
Just a quick note, I am not seeing much worth considering when it comes to AMD video cards at newegg. Am I missing something here?
And finally, what is the difference between the WD Blue and Black? Both are advertised as 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch so I'm not sure what the difference is other than price. What I am seeing is not so hot reviews for the black and I have always had good luck with WD in the past.
Again, thanks so much for all the input and I look forward to this build . . . if and when I get all the components nailed down.
Vance
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Hi Vance,
The GPU may come with a PSU recommendation. For example my GTX 1060 called for a 400 w supply, so I recycled the 400 W PSU out of my old puter for my new build and it's worked fine. You can also use something like this estimator to estimate your overall PSU needs: https://images10.newegg.com/BizIntell/tool/psucalc/
I think you can go with the stock cpu fan if you don't plan to overclock. More knowledgeable folks will likely weigh in on this and other issues. My puter engineer son has a web site that is totally oriented towards home bullds, and you may find it useful, I did but of course I'm biased: http://www.logicalincrements.com/
There is some discussion and performance comparison of GPUS here: http://www.logicalincrements.com/articles/bestgraphicscard
One basic thing to consider for how much GPU you need is how much monitor you're going to drive....eg, on a 1080 p monitor @ 60 Hz you'll likely run AH3 at 60 fps with all graphics maxed out with a GTX 1060, but the 1060 would likely be minimal at best for VR.
I hope this helps!
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On that power supply, I would spend the extra bucks to go with a Seasonic supply.
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And finally, what is the difference between the WD Blue and Black? Both are advertised as 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch so I'm not sure what the difference is :bolt:other than price. What I am seeing is not so hot reviews for the black and I have always had good luck with WD
in the past.
It seems the differences are: 5 yrs warranty in the Black vs 2 yrs on the Blue. Technically speaking have the same design.
-MX-
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Black is a little bit faster, but it also consumes more energy.
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...I am also wondering if going the 1050/1060 route with the GPU is really necessary. I realize that everyone raves about the 1060, but I think that it may be overkill in my case. Not sure since my old laptop will not allow me to explore AHIII. Is the RX480 worth looking at? Is there a good alternative?
The RX 480 is worth looking at in a mid-range system. I think it falls between the GTX 1060 and 1050 in capability and price. Here is a link to a GPUBoss comparison that shows numbers for all 3:
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-RX-480-vs-GeForce-GTX-1050 (http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-RX-480-vs-GeForce-GTX-1050)
There is also the GTX 1050 Ti which might be worth taking a look at. Not sure if there's a 1060 Ti?
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I wouldn't rely on that comparison: It says "n.d." in the Gaming section for the 1060. If I've understood it correctly, "n.d." means "no data". How can you compare gaming performance if you don't have any data to compare with the opponent?
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And finally, what is the difference between the WD Blue and Black? Both are advertised as 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch so I'm not sure what the difference is :bolt:other than price. What I am seeing is not so hot reviews for the black and I have always had good luck with WD
in the past.
It seems the differences are: 5 yrs warranty in the Black vs 2 yrs on the Blue. Technically speaking have the same design.
From my personal experience all WD HD's are good for nothing except maybe a paper weight, having seen friends and family members lose their WD drives from bricking or bad sectors to circuit board troubles.......
I even had (2) WD Raptor 450 GB drives that fouled up on one of my gaming Rigs years back...... so I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, if I was spending their money for them
I wish WD had never bought out Hitachi, but at least they haven't messed with the Hitachi design or name, since they bought them, from what I have tried to find....
Still haven't lost a Hitachi drive yet in any PC or Laptop I have installed them for myself, family, friends or Players....... That is good enough for me
I have a box of WD, Seagate, Maxtor, Toshiba and other brand HD's if anyone needs a bunch of paperweights, Heh!
TC
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Well guys, I appreciate all the comments and suggestions and I have gone through my build list and made some changes that I would like to get opinions on real quick so I can get all this stuff ordered.
The new list saves me a few bucks but allows me to add a SSD to the configuration if it will allow me to play AHIII with most, if not all, the bells and whistles turned on and is as follows:
Case: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353093&ignorebbr=1 (Don't need a gaming case)
HDD: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W019M6559&ignorebbr=1 (As suggested for more speed)
MB: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132713&ignorebbr=1
GPU: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487275&ignorebbr=1 (not sure if this is the best choice for this MB and CPU)
PSU: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095&ignorebbr=1 (downgraded from 750W)
RAM: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231476&ignorebbr=1 (Still at 8GB)
CPU: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113326&ignorebbr=1 (same as original list)
SSD: (dropped for 1060 GPU)
This configuration will run me $654.59 plus shipping and will ultimately be less with all the rebates being offered on many of the components.
I plan on getting going with Windows 7 64bit for an OS and have PS2 keyboards and mice laying around from days gone by.
So what do ya'll think?
Will this configuration get the job done?
Thanks in advance,
Vance
note: modified to reflect dropping SSD and going with a EVGA 1060 GPU
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If you're going for an SSD for speed and use the HDD just as a storage, why bother with the Black?
You know that an SSD won't make your games run any faster, don't you? What it does, it makes your system and programs start faster. So it's a matter of preference.
The 1050Ti is a good card, but you'd have to cut some eye candy down a tad. If you want all bells and whistles, opt the SSD out and use the money saved for a 1060 or better. The 1060 is good enough for a single 1080p monitor @60 Hz, for 4k/144Hz/VR/triple monitors you'd need a better one.
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If you're going for an SSD for speed and use the HDD just as a storage, why bother with the Black?
You know that an SSD won't make your games run any faster, don't you? What it does, it makes your system and programs start faster. So it's a matter of preference.
The 1050Ti is a good card, but you'd have to cut some eye candy down a tad. If you want all bells and whistles, opt the SSD out and use the money saved for a 1060 or better. The 1060 is good enough for a single 1080p monitor @60 Hz, for 4k/144Hz/VR/triple monitors you'd need a better one.
Agreed
Also make sure you go and register each individual component at the component's manufacturers website.... this is a critical step, for warranty purposes
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If you're going for an SSD for speed and use the HDD just as a storage, why bother with the Black?
You know that an SSD won't make your games run any faster, don't you? What it does, it makes your system and programs start faster. So it's a matter of preference.
The 1050Ti is a good card, but you'd have to cut some eye candy down a tad. If you want all bells and whistles, opt the SSD out and use the money saved for a 1060 or better. The 1060 is good enough for a single 1080p monitor @60 Hz, for 4k/144Hz/VR/triple monitors you'd need a better one.
Yes sir, I do know that. I was thinking that it would be nice to have my system boot up in the blink of an eye instead of a minute or two, but since I am pretty much building this system to play AHIII . . . I think I am going to go with dropping the SSD and looking at a 1060 card instead since I only have a 27" monitor.
Vance
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Vance, just for clarity, the physical size of your monitor doesn't matter at all in terms of the load for the video card. The resolution matters, i.e. the total amount of illuminated dots called pixels. A 5" smartphone, a 15.6" laptop screen or a 60" tv all stress the GPU similarly if the resolution is the same. And yes, you can get all three and a bunch in between as 1920x1080, also called 1080p. That's a little over 2 million pixels. 27" monitors are also available as 2560x1440 (1440p) which makes almost 3.7 million pixels - almost double the load! Simple math but very easy to forget.
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Vance, just for clarity, the physical size of your monitor doesn't matter at all in terms of the load for the video card. The resolution matters, i.e. the total amount of illuminated dots called pixels. A 5" smartphone, a 15.6" laptop screen or a 60" tv all stress the GPU similarly if the resolution is the same. And yes, you can get all three and a bunch in between as 1920x1080, also called 1080p. That's a little over 2 million pixels. 27" monitors are also available as 2560x1440 (1440p) which makes almost 3.7 million pixels - almost double the load! Simple math but very easy to forget.
Did not realize that, but considering the monitor came from Walmart for about $125 6-8 months ago, I think I'll be lucky if I get a resolution near 1080p. :D
I guess I will need to dig into the monitor and find out what kind of resolutions it is capable of. I doubt that it will make much difference with my weak, old eyes. Hell . . . if it ain't big as a barn . . . I can't see it anyway. LOL
Vance
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The easiest way to figure out the native resolution of your monitor is to right click on the Desktop and choose Change Resolution. The highest value available is the one. It even says (recommended) for it.
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The easiest way to figure out the native resolution of your monitor is to right click on the Desktop and choose Change Resolution. The highest value available is the one. It even says (recommended) for it.
Thank you, sir.
If this monitor isn't one with super high resolution, can I still get AHIII to work with most of the bells and whistles to work on a lesser GPU? I am now assuming that with high res viewing I would need a GPU like the 1060 or better, but what about lesser res viewing?
Vance
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If your monitor is 1920x1080 or less, a GTX 1050Ti is a pretty good video card. Disabling Post Lighting and Environment Mapping should give you 60 FPS in most situations. The former adds lens glare and other "unnatural" effects which look good on films, the latter is the greatest resource hog in the game because it has to duplicate the surrounding pixels on every shiny surface.
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Honestly though if you are spending the money to build a new system, it seems a shame not to spend the extra $$ to get a card that can produce a solid 60 fps at AH's default graphic settings (which I believe include all POST lighting effects, shadows, bump mapping, reflections, etc) - at the most common gaming resolution of 1080p. To me that seems like a reasonable target performance. If you find you don't like lens glare, bloom, or reflections, etc, you can always disable them individually. Environment mapping also has a sliding scale I think between 0-4.
I think the 4Gb RX 480 and the 3Gb GTX 1060 can both handle this for around $200, plus or minus $10-$25 depending on the brand you get and the deal you find. The next step up would be the 6Gb 1060 at around $250 or so, depending on the same factors of brand and whatever rebate or special might currently being offered.
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http://dealnews.com/c113/Computers/Upgrades-Components/Video-Cards/
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Since I really have no clue about AHIII, I am relying on input here to help guide my buying decision(s) and based on what Bizman has to say, 'Post Lighting and Environment Mapping should give you 60 FPS in most situations. The former adds lens glare and other "unnatural" effects which look good on films, . . ." I would not be the least bit interested in the Post Lighting feature now or ever so I am now at odds over whether to spend the extra $100 for the 1060 card vs. the 1050 model.
Oboe, normally I would agree with you on spending a few extra $$$'s to get top of the line, but in this case I am not sure that spending an extra $100 for a 6GB card that will run a feature that I doubt I would ever want or use is a good move.
What I am concerned with is that there will be future updates or versions of AH that a current 3GB or 4GB card will have to be upgraded to play the game. So again I am at odds as to which GPU makes the most sense and is cost effective for me at this time and for the near future.
Unfortunately, based on the Post Lighting feature that Bizman brought up, unless someone has input to the contrary, I will probably end up dropping the extra $100 for the 1060 card just to be on the safe side. It sux having not kept up with the technology all these years, not being able to make an informed/educated decision based on my own knowledge and having to rely so heavily on the opinions of others.
Regardless, I really appreciate all the input I have received on this proposed build.
Vance
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I can try to make some screen shots showing the difference between POST effects on and off, if that would help Vance.
Can't get to it until later on tonight though.
I think you're gonna love the game which ever way you go. A 4gb MSI GTX 1050ti at Newegg is $135 after rebate. The MSI's 3GB 1060 is $190 after rebate, and Sapphire has a RX 480 for $175. So for an extra $40-55 you can have the option to run POST lighting effects at a solid 60fps.
I'm not sure how important a 6GB card is if you're playing at 1080p, I think DaddyAce got the 3GB 1060 and he seems very happy with its performance...
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I can try to make some screen shots showing the difference between POST effects on and off, if that would help Vance.
Can't get to it until later on tonight though.
I think you're gonna love the game which ever way you go. A 4gb MSI GTX 1050ti at Newegg is $135 after rebate. The MSI's 3GB 1060 is $190 after rebate, and Sapphire has a RX 480 for $175. So for an extra $40-55 you can have the option to run POST lighting effects at a solid 60fps.
I'm not sure how important a 6GB card is if you're playing at 1080p, I think DaddyAce got the 3GB 1060 and he seems very happy with its performance...
Oboe, if you feel inclined to try the screen shots, I would be happy to look at it and take it into consideration.
As for loving the game, when I got started with Air Warrior years ago, I did love the game. I wasn't real thrilled when AW died, but learned to love AHII when I got into it, but then they started messing with the game. I guess it was an attempt to make it better, but, in my opinion, all they were accomplishing was taking a lot of the fun out of it. I was really into gv'ing and towards the end of AHII it was taking forever to drive out to find a fight and then unless the red guys could get it completely camped, the fight petered out pretty quick. I am hoping that AHIII will be better and maybe with not having to play with just the bare basics I will change my opinion. This is why I have been so hesitant to invest in a new rig. I may be just throwing away good money on something that isn't all its cracked up to be any more.
And finally, the costs you have quoted vs the $250 for a 6GB 1060 card, which is what everybody has been raving about and recommending, is what I am wrestling with. I guess I will figure something out so I can order all the components sometime tomorrow and maybe I can have them by the end of the week.
Again, thanks for your input and opinion. I do appreciate it.
Vance
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Hi Vance,
Here are un-retouched full-sized screen shots of default graphic settings with POST options on and off. The first 2 shots have POST on. I also disabled V-sync so you can see what kind of fps the RX480 can push at 1080p. You can see I gain about 8 fps by disabling POST and setting Environment Mapping to None, but in both cases I'm well-above 60fps. Btw I think the GV game has improved in AH3 more than the air game. The finer mesh on the terrain means more and smaller elevation changes, and the trees seem much more realistic, and the wind blows the tree branches and grasses.
(http://i.imgur.com/CJv10dR.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/jK8qOnu.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/eKFSBVZ.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/zNlbYpO.jpg)
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..... if you're playing at 1080p, I think DaddyAce got the 3GB 1060 and he seems very happy with its performance...
True, and I'm running a 75 Mhz 1440 p monitor on it now (A 1440 p monitor has about 3.7 million pixels vs the 2.1 million pixels of a 1080 p monitor, so the 1440 p monitor demands quite a bit more GPU power to produce the same frame rate).
Vance I haven't seen the resolution of your monitor. That is a key piece of info with regards to the performance you can expect. If your monitor is 1080 p I suspect you'll be more than happy with a 3 GB 1060, and likely happy 'enuf with the 1050. I recall Skuzzy remarking something to the effect that AH3 at low settings was much more visually pleasing than AH2 at high graphics settings. BTW, I built my puter earlier trying to hit the sweet spot with max performance for the $, and was also relying on advice from this community and my son, and am happy I hit it 'bout right.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy the learning process as I did. :salute
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Thanks oboe. The screen shots do in fact look good - very realistic in fact, but how realistic the game looks is not nearly as important to me as how well the game works. Does it run smoothly? Is it set up to be fair across the board? Is it fun to play?
Personally, I would much rather play an arcade style game if it runs smooth and I enjoyed playing the game as opposed to something that tried to give me the feeling of being right in the thick of things. This is just my opinion and I know that the younger players may completely disagree with me, but it is my opinion that matters to me.
That said . . .
DaddyAce, I saw your thread about your build and followed it for some time and it gave me some pretty good insights as to what I was going to do with my build. With my monitor, the max resolution is 1920 x 1080 so it would appear that I can get at least 1080p. I don't have any expectations of going with a new television just to play the game and I would not even consider 4K so I have to base my decision on which GPU to go with based on 1080p.
Being an old fart and stuck in the past is a real PITA some times. LOL
As for the GPU, I guess I need to give all of my options a second look and take all opinions into consideration since I am really out of my element when it comes to all the tech stuff involved with choosing a new video card.
Again, I appreciate all the comments and opinions that everyone has offered. I think I will be ordering all the components later on today and then getting it all put together when it arrives. And I will let ya'll know how that works out. LOL
Vance
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Sure thing. I have only seen one instance where it doesn't run smoothly - there is an additional large airfield now, and if you stray over this type of field, when the AA opens up on you, frame rates drop to the 10s or 20s. Not sure if its because the town is closer to the field, or there are more AA guns, or what. But I stay away from this type of field.
I forgot to mention, the new clouds are fantastic - air fights in and among the clouds are awesome, and they don't seem to have an impact on my FR. Smooth as butter there. One time I was able to use the clouds as cover and do a classic bounce from the clouds onto a lower FW190, and it was so much fun! Wish I could remember what a/c I was flying. Might've been a P-40E; I try to fly that often.
The ground war seems to have more trees so spawn camping is more difficult I think - but I don't GV enough to have much of an opinion on that.
The gameplay has not really evolved beyond AH2 - no new capabilities or weapons systems that I can think of. A new Iowa-class battleship has been created but has not appeared in the MA yet. Anxious to see that in game and see whether HTC has accidentally unleashed the Death Star upon us...
Bottom line- I think it is as fun and fair as it ever was, it just looks a whole lot better. I was out for about a year and came back to help test the Beta, and after I had a few weeks experience with that I could not even look at the old AH2 any more.
Good luck with your build, looking forward to seeing you up!
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... . . .
DaddyAce, I saw your thread about your build and followed it for some time and it gave me some pretty good insights as to what I was going to do with my build. With my monitor, the max resolution is 1920 x 1080 so it would appear that I can get at least 1080p. I don't have any expectations of going with a new television just to play the game and I would not even consider 4K so I have to base my decision on which GPU to go with based on 1080p.
Being an old fart and stuck in the past is a real PITA some times. LOL
As for the GPU, I guess I need to give all of my options a second look and take all opinions into consideration since I am really out of my element when it comes to all the tech stuff involved with choosing a new video card.
Again, I appreciate all the comments and opinions that everyone has offered. I think I will be ordering all the components later on today and then getting it all put together when it arrives. And I will let ya'll know how that works out. LOL
Vance
Hi Vance,
I should have been more clear, 1080p is shorthand for the resolution your monitor has, so you have, in shorthand, a 1080 p monitor. So if you go with a 1060, a cpu that performs as the i3 6100 or better, I think you can expect to have all graphics setings maxed out on your monitor, and have a consistently smooth gaming experience on AH3, most typically running 60 fps with current maps. With 1050 you may be turning things down some, and frame rate will more often take a hit when you're flying near cluttered ground, a lot, going on, nerar big airfields etc. But even if you have to turn things down AH3 will still look pretty cool.
Hey, I was born in 49. :old: My formula is stay physically active and exercise my brain with learning new things and challenges such as flying in AH3. You're doing it by diving into designing and building your own puter. :aok
Good luck bud! :cheers:
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True, and I'm running a 75 Mhz 1440 p monitor on it now (A 1440 p monitor has about 3.7 million pixels vs the 2.1 million pixels of a 1080 p monitor, so the 1440 p monitor demands quite a bit more GPU power to produce the same frame rate).
Vance I haven't seen the resolution of your monitor. That is a key piece of info with regards to the performance you can expect. If your monitor is 1080 p I suspect you'll be more than happy with a 3 GB 1060, and likely happy 'enuf with the 1050. I recall Skuzzy remarking something to the effect that AH3 at low settings was much more visually pleasing than AH2 at high graphics settings. BTW, I built my puter earlier trying to hit the sweet spot with max performance for the $, and was also relying on advice from this community and my son, and am happy I hit it 'bout right.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy the learning process as I did. :salute
Question for DaddyAce - you can see that may video usage from the screenshots is 935M ~ 1110M. That's at 1080p, 1920x1080. Just curious, what is your video usage at 1440?
Thanks!
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Hi oboe,
Just did a quick check offline in DX 11: about 913 M in tower, 935 M on runway, and 954 M in hangar. But this is just a measure of how much VRAM the game is using, in my case a little less than 1 GB of the 3 GB available. This is the one main reasons I went with the 3 GB 1060; really don't need the extra 3 GB VRAM.....although in the case of the 1060 6 GB version, the processing part of the card was about 10 % faster, but at a cost of about 25 % increase in price. It 's the processing part of the GPU that renders the graphics display, and keeps the image changing and moving....hope this helps! :salute
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Question for DaddyAce - you can see that may video usage from the screenshots is 935M ~ 1110M. That's at 1080p, 1920x1080. Just curious, what is your video usage at 1440?
Thanks!
Hi All,
Unless I'm wrong here, when you're looking at the amount of mem used in the game HUD, that is the amount of system mem that is cached for the game to use to run....not what the graphics card is caching within it's own mem to hold the finished graphics frames...where the monitor resolution would affect this.......unless the graphics card's mem buffer is being overrun at which time the swap file will come into play, which will be set up in system mem.
Using my numbers from my box as an example, the game will use anywhere from 935Mb to 1024Mb of system mem as reported thru the game's HUD. But thru the MSI AB graphs where I'm monitoring the graphics card's mem amount being used at a res of 2560x1440, I'm seeing anywhere between 1235Mb to 1512Mb of graphics mem being used, depending on the map\activity being used at any given time.
FYI.......................... ..
:salute
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So I pulled the trigger and ordered all the new parts for my new rig. Total cost ended up at $756.02 with shipping and extended warranties. According to egghead's website, I should have the parts in 4-7 days.
And just FYI . . . I ended up going with the EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SSC video card.
Once I get the parts in, if I remember it, I will start a new thread showing my progress.
In the mean time, since it has been years and years and years since I put a machine together, is there anything I should be aware of? Anything special I need to consider?
I am assuming that everything still goes together basically the same way it did back in the 80's and 90's?
When I get the parts in, I will probably be back looking for more expert advice on putting it all together and getting it optimized before even downloading AHIII.
Thanks again for all the input, suggestions and comments regarding this new build. I do appreciate it.
Vance
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Hey Vance, looks like a good choice! Like so many things now a days there's you tube videos to help assemble your puter: You'll find a quick one if scroll down a bit on on this page, then a little more in depth one that follows the first one: http://www.logicalincrements.com/
Thanks for the clarification Pudgie, I bet you're right and I suspect Skuzzy will verify.
:salute
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Thanks DaddyAce
I will be sure to look into it, but I suspect things haven't really changed that much since I use to build on a regular basis.
Vance
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As it says in the link DaddyAce posted, it's like Lego's but for adults. It describes the procedure so well I believe many people have used that phrase without knowing how widespread it is - myself included!
Yet one hint: Lately the cases have become much more cable management friendly, there's lots of padded holes in the back plate and plenty of room behind it. As you may well remember, back then cable management usually meant a bunch of cables the size of your fist, tied tightly with cable ties. It wasn't long ago that I reorganized a shop built system built the old skool way. Needless to say the owner was stunned to see all the empty space through the side panel window!
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As it says in the link DaddyAce posted, it's like Lego's but for adults. It describes the procedure so well I believe many people have used that phrase without knowing how widespread it is - myself included!
Yet one hint: Lately the cases have become much more cable management friendly, there's lots of padded holes in the back plate and plenty of room behind it. As you may well remember, back then cable management usually meant a bunch of cables the size of your fist, tied tightly with cable ties. It wasn't long ago that I reorganized a shop built system built the old skool way. Needless to say the owner was stunned to see all the empty space through the side panel window!
I noticed the improved cable management when I was looking at the new cases. And you are absolutely right . . . back in the day you could sure go through a LOT of plastic wire ties. LOL