Brand New System For AH3 - Need Expert Advice Before Buying

[VanceVP]

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

[Bizman]

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.

[VanceVP]

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.

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

[Bizman]

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.

[VanceVP]

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

[Bizman]

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.

[oboe]

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.

[flyndung]

http://dealnews.com/c113/Computers/Upgrades-Components/Video-Cards/

[VanceVP]

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

[oboe]

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...

[VanceVP]

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

[oboe]

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.

[DaddyAce]

..... 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.   

[VanceVP]

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

[oboe]

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!