Hi all
Like so many others I am looking to invest in some better hardware to be able to give a boost to FS 2020 performance.
My PC is around 4.5 years old, and here are the specs:
Intel 6700k CPU
AMD Radeon R9 390
Corsair Hyper X 16GB 2600Hz
500 Samsung SSD
3TB Western Digital Black
I was surprised that it could run FS reasonably well with a mix of medium and high settings. Reasonably well means an average of around 28-23 FPS.
What I am thinking of is to double the memory by getting a set of 16 GB 3000+ mem sticks for a total of 32.
On top of that is an upgrade to a better GPU. However what would that be? I realise the new nVidias are about to drop. Currently I have a 24inch Freesync monitor, which is HD native. It would be nice to be able to get to the next level from HD but otherwise I am still ok with sticking with HD and cracking up Scale rendering if it doesn’t bring the system to its knees.
I am not sure I want to upgrade the full ring just yet.
Would a 6700k with 32BG ram and a newer GPU still do the trick?
Any thoughts appreciated.
Happy flying,
G
I would say first thing to upgrade Is a new GPU. Maybe a 3070 to have the flexibility of having 1440p/4K as an option
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What is the current CPU utilisation % not just overall but on individual cores?
No point getting better GPU if the CPU can’t give the GPU enough to be fully utilized.
Definitely go for 32gb with 2666 to 3200mhz seems to be the recommended speeds according to some PC YouTube channels.
That was a fair system at the time.
If I was you I would wait a bit for the next ASOBO optimisation hopefully dropping this week. Then I would use the settings I am reasonably happy with and find out whether the PC system is GPU or CPU limited.
I could easily be wrong here but I wouldn’t be surprised if you were CPU limited (4 cores, 8 threads) especially since you are running a 24 inch monitor at, presumably, 1080p. If this were the case I would wait until Oct 8 to see what AMD bring to the table with the new desktop 4000 CPUs. If they are any good intel i7 prices might also drop a bit giving you a decent choice between the two.
Don’t know much really about AMD GPUs but I think your current one has 8 gb VRAM which isn’t bad. If you were however GPU limited then I would also wait a bit to see what AMD comes out with with the big Navi on Oct 28. Not long to wait really. The new nvidia GPUs seem great value but AMD usually undercut them a bit so it could be a good time soon for a GPU purchase.
As regards your RAM I think an upgrade to 32 gb could actually work out quite well. In an ideal world though I would be looking at a speed of at least 3200. Dual memory speeds are the thing now so I am not sure whether it would be great to mix your current RAM with that of a higher spec. Equally, i’m not sure whether I would buy 2600 RAM now.
Hopefully a few more knowledgeable simmers than myself will chime in here and also give their views too.
I think a lot of people are looking at PC upgrades at the moment myself included. My CPU is a 4 core, 4 thread i5 7600k so i’m also wondering what to do. I’m going to take my own advice and wait till Oct 8 and then take a view. Can’t do any harm.
Hi
The I7 6700K is a very capable CPU, but is a bit dated as you mentioned. A new GPU will help you getting more stable FPS and fluid graphics, the new 3070 looks promising.
The 6700K have a maximum memory speed of 2133MHz, if I’m not wrong. So, you will need a very high overclocking to get 3000mhz on that. It’s pointless to invest money on memory with more than your 2600Mhz for this setup.
My 2 cents: Pick a new GPU and test, remember to look at your power source too, since the new GPU’s are a bit more hunger for watts. I think you will get a good improvement with more 16GB, look for the same model you have, you can check the part-number of your sticks with CPU-Z, you can find some used kits on good price.
If the results are satisfactory for you, great! If not, the GPU will fit great in a brand new rig in the future.
Best Regards
Marco Constantino
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It all comes down to budget…
How much can you spend on upgrades?
Is a New system more economical?
Can your current motherboard handle bigger cpu? (It’s kind of old)
Can your motherboard support a new graphics card?
Can your power supply handle more drain?
Not intending to say you should not just upgrade but urging you to do some homework first
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I would suggest waiting until the new Ryzen CPUs are released or at least we know more about what they have to offer.
I’m also running a 6700k (4.4 OC), 32G ram @3000Mhz and a 2080 Ti, as you may appreciate the CPU is holding back the GPU. Getting the 2080Ti was an upgrade from my 1070 as I also got a VR headset (Reverb) at the same time. My motherboard and CPU are next on the list for upgrade, but currently holding off.
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Thank you all for the input and suggestions.
All very valid points.
To be honest I may hold off getting a full new rig, timing is not right financially and I think it will not get me really where I want performance wise just yet.
I may just do the RAM and GPU to give this old rig a bit more time before I do a full system upgrade in about 2 -3 years from now.
Question is now, which GPU? Oh and I forgot that I have an Asus ROG Maximus Ranger VIII motherboard and a Corsair 850 Watts RM850 80 Plus Gold Gaming Power Supply.
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Here is a test of lots of GPU’s:
They will test the RTX 3000’s as they become available.
You need to run something like MSI Afterburner to tell you what % your CPU, GPU and Memory are running at. Then spend only on what is limiting you. If you are maxed out on CPU or GPU then extra Memory would not give you much.
My system is i9 9900 with GTX 1080 and on 2560 x 1440 High I get 45fps with CPU at 25% and GPU on 100%, so I’m waiting for the RTX 3070, which is all my 500w PSU can handle.
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Not with that relation, his GPU is that old… i had to look it up. 
When he gets your recommended card, yeah then clearly the 4c/8th will hold you on the ground, for sure…
The 3000 series cards will use close to 400 wats alone. Your gonna need a Power supply of at least 700 wats for that card
No not really. If you buy a 3070 thats 220 watts. A PSU of 550 should cover it, but 650 is ideal.
As many others have said, I would wait to upgrade…the new ryzens are coming out and you can see if you want that or you can a lower model for a bit cheaper…Also from the looks of it, the new 3080s and 3090s are shooting up in price (unless money is of no issue) and its just better to wait all together. I saw in my most places the 3080 price is already increased by 150 to 200 dollars…then you might not get one lol…Also, I’ve noticed in my area, alot of stuff is on backorder or the price is increased because of the demand…
Lastly, this game is still buggy and really shouldn’t of been released. I would wait till the patches come out and see how it runs on your PC.
I think you’ll be ok but I would tot up the watts in your components - you want an overhead of 100 watts if possible. The GTX 1080 is 180 watts but in reality I think it uses something closer to 220 I.e. same as RTX 3070. Best of luck 
Fortunately the RTX 3070 is only 220 W and my current card is 180W
I use this site to calculate the watts required:
So I’m keeping my fingers crossed 
Did a little research. It seems different manufacturers are giving conflicting power use for all 3000 series cards. That really makes planning difficult! The Asus ROG series is boasting "up to 400 watts and using three PCIe power connections and the motherboard supplies no power to the card. o.0? But still finding all cards from all manufacturers webpage are indicating 750 watt power supply. So I would expect a less stable system with less than 750.
You will get a boost upgrading the GPU more than the CPU but not to forget 4c/4t will limited you in some areas if you upgrade to a much faster GPU. Even my i5 8400 which is on the recommend is bottlenecking in this sim.
One of the primary goals for my latest system build was two-fold; since the system was built into a heavy desk that is installed in a very quiet room (media room/library) in my home; being completely air-cooled for low maintenance and also very quiet was a high priority. Custom cooling loops would be very difficult to completely drain, so I opted for Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU coolers (The desk contains two separate motherboard systems). They have worked exceptionally well at keeping my CPUs cool.
But in terms of quiet, I went with much larger power supplies than actually needed. The “ECO” mode, or “Zero Fan Speed” mode of many modern PSUs, allows the cooling fans in these PSUs to not spin at all if the power consumed is less than 30-40% of their rated output and to slowly ramp up the speed as necessary. That makes them super quiet.
The first desk system has an i7 10700, with 128GB 3600 XMP RAM and GTX980Ti with a Thermaltake 1200W PSU’ with zero fan speed mode enabled. The second system is a i9 10900KF OC to 5.0Ghz on all cores, also with 128GB 3600 XMP RAM and an RTX-2060 Super with a Be Quiet 1200W Straight Power 11 PSU. It doesn’t have a zero fan speed option but it uses a 140mm Silent Wings fan, and I can’t hear it running inside the desk. (These graphics cards are placeholders for the new systems until the cards go on sale. With luck, stocks won’t be as low as many forecast them to be…)
Although larger PSUs are certainly more expensive, they are currently easier to get during the current PSU shortage, so that might be a consideration.
I know that there are many valid reasons why it might not make sense to overspend on a larger than necessary PSU. But I just wanted to say that there are sometimes reasons that support doing so. My systems are whisper quiet when they are running, which, to me, was worth the extra $.
Well it won’t improve fps but it did significantly reduce the stuttering and gave me more consistent fps.
Was a worthwhile upgrade for me going from 16GB to 32GB
