[Solved] I need help: Trying to build a decent Simracing PC (5760x1080@60)

Hello, glad you clicked my thread!

I need some help.
Back in the days i asked a friend of mine to build me a pc capable of running LFS on triples.
A few months later the tech demo of AC was released and i was hooked instantly.
However as the sim got bigger my pc struggled more and more.
(Quadcore duo, hd7970, 4gb ram.)
I wanted to upgrade several times, but everytime i got some cash, something else broke...
I am feeling lost....i dont have any clue where to start.
Do i need an i9 + newest ti gpu ? Probably not.
So i tried to use pcpartfinder, i tried to read forums, i watched geeks on youtube.
Simply put: my knowledge and interrest in pc hardware is very limited and all i learned from that is, if you dont know what you are doing you get the wrong parts that despite fitting, do not work great together. I cant estimate, what the parts are capable of and i do not know which parts from the past years would be good enough, but way cheaper.
I can put the parts together myself, after you helped me choosing them.

Right now i have 1500€. (more if you convince me, that it makes sense to spend more)
My rig is equipped with 3 x 24" screens 1920x1080@60hz (6.220.800 pixels).
My minimum goal is to max out AC(1) grafically and to be able to join any server, while keeping it above 60fps at all times.
Current and upcoming sims should be playable, i dont mind turning visuals down.
I wont be streaming, no video editing, no server, no VR, no other game genres.
My pc is going to be out of sight, so it is ok if it looks ugly.
The sim audio is so loud, that it doesnt matter if the pc isnt the quietest.
I live in germany, so its european pricing for parts.


I hope that you guys can help me configure a setup, that is up to the task, but not over the top.

*EDIT*
Based on the recommendations i ordered:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6x 3.70GHz BOX
MOBO: MSI B550-A Pro, ATX Mainboard, 4x DDR4, max. 128GB, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x USB-C 3.1
RAM: DDR4RAM 2x 16GB DDR4-3600 G.Skill RipJaws V DIMM, CL16-19-19-39 Kit
GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 2X OC
SSD: Samsung 970 Evo 1TB M.2 PCIe
PSU: 850W ADATA XPG Core Reactor ATX 2.4 80 PLUS Gold
CASE: Sharkoon M25 Silent

 

You as a German I would recommend you to read this: Der Ideale Gaming-PC: Spiele-PC selbst zusammenstellen

This is a guide to build your own pc for several budgets. The guide is constantly updated (last was on 6th, Dec., 2020) and has not only one recommendation for each budget but also an alternative.

PS: just read the 1.500€ recommendation and why they did not put the 5600X in it (price too high atm.) but if you can afford it, I would go for a 5600x instead of a 3700x.
If you don't put much into looks you can save some money by buying the cheaper case Sharkoon M25 Silent instead of the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX.
And if you don't need a top SSD like the Samsung 970 EVO 1TB you can save a couple of bucks by going for the Crucial P2 SSD 1TB, M.2 (CT1000P2SSD8)

https://geizhals.de/?cat=WL-1899294
1 Samsung SSD 970 EVO 1TB, M.2 (MZ-V7E1T0BW)
1 AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, 6C/12T, 3.70-4.60GHz, boxed (100-100000065BOX)
1 G.Skill Aegis DIMM Kit 32GB, DDR4-3200, CL16-18-18-38 (F4-3200C16D-32GIS)
1 MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 2X OC, 8GB GDDR6, HDMI, 3x DP (V390-008R)
1 MSI B550-A Pro (7C56-002R)
1 Sharkoon M25 Silent PCGH Edition, schallgedämmt
1 Corsair RMx Series RM850x 2018, 850W ATX 2.4 (CP-9020180-EU)

price for this list right now (without shipping): 1552,39€

 

Heyo!

Let's start with the easiest things:
- Whenever you can reuse some part from your old system, you gain headroom for better new parts for free. If for example you already have a well ventilated case, that's 80-100 bucks you can spend towards better CPU/GPU.
- On the topic of cases: I am a fan of open or meshed cases. Multiple tests have proven that a mesh case will be quieter while holding the same temperatures as a "silent" case or keeps your components cooler when both are at the same noise level.
- NVMe might be the new rage, but few offer a real speed increase over a normal 2.5" SSD. Those that do would likely not fit into your budget. Added to that, it's been shown that game loading times seem to be stuck in the era of HDDs - almost no title sees a benefit with any form of SSDs... This could change in the next 1-2 years, as the new consoles now use SSDs as well. If you find your budget too tight, you can always go the route of small system boot SSD and large HDD for games and files.
- AC1 isn't graphically very intensive, so the bar is quite low there. What I would say if you don't want to go the used parts route, go for the newest generation if you can snatch one up - the performance you get for the price is way better. The only time I'd go for the older generation would be at half off, but prices seem to be stuck due to the scarcity of the new cards. A RTX3070 or 5600 (non-XT) should do your triple-screens with ease. A RTX3060ti probably does fine too, it's comparable to a RTX 2080Super, and mine on a 2k-ultrawide with all ingame-options maxxed is at 140 fps (limited) for 99% of the time.

Now for the more complex stuff, because it concerns the platform: You can go AMD or Intel, either way is fine for you. Again AC1 isn't really performance-hungry, so even last-gen CPUs should be more than enough for your case. I'd still recommend AMD though: you either save a bit more on the components while sacrificing a few frames if you go Zen2, or you get one of the new Zen3-CPUs and have the best performance but pay a bit more. Should you buy a Ryzen 5 3600 or a Ryzen 7 3700x at a discount, you still have the option to upgrade to a 5th-gen Ryzen in the future.
Cooling is a bit tricky: the lower AMD segments have a low TDP, but the heat on all chips is concentrated in small areas and fluctuates very fast - random cores going up to 75 °C and down again in the blink of an eye is nothing unusual even just on the windows desktop. AMD includes a cooler in the box with the lower TDP-models which apparently is pretty good. Otherwise, go with a reputable brand who makes a cooler for AM4 socket and you'll be fine. AIOs are the new trend, and they do take the temperature fluctuations better than an air cooler can - once saturated though, there is only a couple degrees between the two, while you'll need to pay quite a bit more for AIOs.
For the mainboard, I'd recommend one with a B550 or X570 chipset, to keep the forementioned upgrade path open (lower chipsets will be hit-and-miss, mostly miss). Choose the one that has the connectors you need or might want to upgrade to in the future and forget the fancy rest - stuff like VRM can only become an issue if you're overclocking or on the high-end AMD chips and/or if you have bad airflow in your case. One side-note: If you want to use onboard sound, I can heartily recommend the Realtek ALC1220 chip/codec - it made me ditch my (aging) sound card, and the clarity is amazing even with high ohm studio headphones.
RAM is a bit easier with AMD too: It doesn't make much sense going faster than 3600 or 3800 MT/s (not a typo, quoted RAM speed isn't MHz). 3600 can be had cheaper, but go at least one step better than the crapshoot that is 3600 CL16. Even on CL15, you'll be getting much better quality chips, and when you decide to tinker with RAM-OC you probably get better performance out of them. 16 GB should be enough for at least a few years, 2 smaller DIMMs are usually better than one big one.

 

@AndyK70 Now that is a good starting point, thank you!
@bbman Thank you!

Case: My case is very basic.
NVMe: I am used to minute long loading times...2,5" SSD seems good enough.
GPU: From what i read, both AC and Unreal seem to like Nvidia more than AMD, so smth. around a RTX 3070
*edit: ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 3070 OC, DUAL-RTX3070-O8G, 8GB GDDR6 680€ atm.*
CPU: AMD is fine.
*edit:
R5 3600 6cores zen2 3,6-4,2/4,0 tdp65w 193€
R5 5600x 6cores zen3 3,7-4,6/4,2 tdp65w 358€ <---
R7 3700x 8cores zen2 3,6-4,4/4,0 tdp65w 295€ *
TDP/AIO: Had to google those, so watercooling+fans or the heatsink+fans that comes with the CPU...if sink+fan is enough, i'd use it.
MOBO: B550/X750 onboard sound is fine, i am not audiophile.
RAM: 16GB should be enough, since i dont stream, edit videos, 3600 to 3800 cl15 or below, 2 pieces 8gb understood. (I wont overclock, unless someone tells me what to do.)

 

Just want to be sure: Do you talk about Assetto Corsa (AC1) or do you talk about Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC)?
The demand for the system is a couple of times higher for ACC than for the old AC (even with with shader plugins, etc.).
I'm asking this, because you posted in the ACC sub forum but you mentioned only Assetto Corsa, not Assetto Corsa Competizione.

And this drives my recommendation...:

If you are going for AC1 you can go for the cheap R5 3600 Zen2 without any problems.
I have the same cpu and it's doing really great even on ACC, but I have a single monitor FHD @60Hz. Having a full multiplayer server (big grid >40 cars) the cpu causes ACC to go down from stable 90FPS to about 60. I monitor the CPU and GPU via OSD (MSI AB + RTSS) and can see it gets loaded. Not all cores/threads but some are at 100% and unfortunately ACC does not make good use of more than 4 cores.
And the point about the 5600X is the single core performance of that new Zen3 cpus. It's astonishing!

So again...:
Are you talking about AC1? Then go with the R5 3600.
Are we talking about ACC? Then take the better option. For 60€ difference I still would go for the 5600x.

 

I am aiming at AC-1 maxed out.
If there will be AC-2 (one can dream, right?) i would like to be able to upgrade as needed/ build a new PC once its settled.
ACC and other future titles using the Unreal- Engine, as well as Rf2, Automobilista2, rally games, Kartkraft, should run at lowered settings. As long as its fluid i dont care too much about visuals.

The help from simracers like you and bbman is of high value.
I only raced on my potato pc for the past 6 years, so it is hard to tell, how much punch it takes to run newer sims. If i was a gamer, then i would have a better feeling for these things.
The fact that you can not estimate the performance hit, these three screens will cause is also problematic.

My Potato is able to max AC-1 + sol out on one screen, in solo practise mode.
Spectacular when you are used to race online with disabled shadows, no Apps, no smoke, min. settings.
To run ACC on epic settings on 1080p triples against many AI above 60fps, it takes a rtx 3080 + R9 3900x.

 

Then go for the 3600 but take the B550 Pro Board. When time is come you upgrade to the Ryzen 5000 series without any other need than the new cpu.
And if 16GB RAM by that time isn't enough anymore, that mainboard has 4 slots for RAM, so plug in another two RAM sticks and there you go.

 

I'm sorry, I have to correct myself: I was confusing the latencies with the 3200 MT/s speed level. CL 16 is standard with 3200 MT/s, where everyone and their grandmother blindly throw in all their (rebadged) sticks that pass the test. As such, the quality differs greatly. Higher speeds are harder to attain, which is why the bulk of 3600 DIMMs is CL 18 and sticks with speeds up to 4000 MT/s (not recommended if you don't want to tinker in BIOS) are creeping up to CL 20. The chip quality on higher speeds is generally a bit be

3600 MT/s is most widely available and should work out of the box with any 3rd or 5th-gen Ryzen CPU without problems. CL16 should net you DIMMs of good quality, if you find a deal on 3600 CL 15 or 14 all the better. If you find a faster set with the same latency, you can go for it too - but there is the possibility that you'll need to micromanage your settings in BIOS should you get a CPU with below average memory controller.

 

Have to disagree with that. In most videos I've seen a regular SATA SSD will destroy any HDD in many titles. Granted, the performance will be similar – as in you'd only have to wait 3-6 seconds extra – in some games (Death Stranding, Borderlands 3, The Division 2, Far Cry New Dawn).
But then there is a bunch of games where you have to wait quite a bit longer: Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, RDR2, The Outer Worlds, Assassins Creed Odyssey, Metro Exodus, Watch Dogs 2, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Battlefield 5.
In short, get an SSD for games and save money by opting for a "regular" SATA SSD instead of PCIe gen 3 or 4.

 

@AndyK70
I guess I should buy the best i can afford right now, so i choose 5600X.
@bbman
Thanks for further insight. 3600MT/s CL16 or lower, got it.
@Whitestar
Just like Andy you are well known for your efforts in helping guys in here, thank you for doing it!
I am glad that you are on triples, like i am. The fact, that you didn´t say a word about the planned config looks like you would have suggested the same?
Are there any triple related recommendations/hints that you could give?



These things swirl around in my head:
Would i gain any performance from buying two 16GB sticks now, rather than having 4 x 8GB if i buy 2x8GB now and then another two later? Are four used slots better or two?
Is the price for a rtx3070 going to drop after the holidays, as there are only few places where they are in stock right now?
Where do you guys buy your windows-keys?

 

Some users on tech forums reported better (memory benchmark) performance with 4 memory sticks compared to 2 with same specifications on Zen3.

I hope so
But who knows for sure?

 

I have to warn you, you're treading deep waters here... The memory controllers of earlier Zen-Generations had problems with running dual rank memory as fast as single rank, so people tended to shy away from four sticks (bigger DIMMs were still exotic and/or tended to have their own problems with compatibility). Zen3 apparently gains an above average uplift from going dual rank. The difference between four single-rank 8 GB DIMMs (making it two ranks per channel) or two dual-ranked 16 GB sticks (also making it two ranks per channel) is apparently marginal - with a small edge to the two bigger sticks, but that never got fully explored in independent testing. Confused enough now? Good, TL;DR: go with what you like better or get cheaper, you won't feel the couple Nanoseconds difference anyway.

 

Good choice. I just upgraded to that one as well.

I think Andy and bbman were pretty much spot on, so I didn't really have anything to add in addition to that. Well, apart from the HDD thingy.

Can't really think of anything off the top of my head, unless there's something specific you are wondering about.

This stuff is rather complex but in short: Don't buy RAM separately. Always buy in packs because that means that they have been tested together. So go for two 16GB sticks now. That'll also give you the advantage of dual rank, and will supposedly be just about as fast as 4 x 8GB.
Or, as Hardware Unboxed say in their video, you could just go for (cheaper) 2x8GB 3600 CL16 mem as you might not ever notice any difference in games whichever of these options you go for – it will depend on the game itself and several other factors.
See their video here:

You can skip to the Final Thoughts chapter if you want a fast conclusion.

 

Great, now i need to order that stuff (if available) and put it together.

 

Isn't it exciting? When I am at that point where you are, I am always like a little child right before X-Mas... oh, wait...

 

Today I ordered:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6x 3.70GHz BOX
MOBO: MSI B550-A Pro, ATX Mainboard, 4x DDR4, max. 128GB, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x USB-C 3.1
RAM: DDR4RAM 2x 16GB DDR4-3600 G.Skill RipJaws V schwarz DIMM, CL16-19-19-39 Kit
GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 2X OC
SSD: Samsung 970 Evo 1000GB M.2 PCIe
PSU: 850W ADATA XPG Core Reactor ATX 2.4 Netzteil, 80 PLUS Gold
CASE: Sharkoon M25 Silent

I will report back, once the system is running.

 

With only one 1920x1080 display, ACC on epic + 29 AI there is no problem.
AC on single screen, Nordschleife in the winter afternoon, 32 different car models, all maxed + csp, it still made 200+ frames.

Building it took a bit longer than usual.
There are a lot of good tutorials out there, but it takes time to find the ones that answer the specific questions.
For example: Is that pad under the cooler thermal paste? Which slots for the ram are the right ones.
Should i use two cables 8-8 + 8-8 from psu to gpu, or the one that splits at the end into 2x8 pin?
Why am I so stupid?...one display cable wont be enough for triples. Where is my windows license code?
Why is the screen black, after enabling xmp profile and how am i supposed to revert that setting if i cant see what i am doing?
Why is the bios battery covered by the Gpu?
Why are ACC and AC feeling so bad...stability control enabled.

Today i am going to carry the missing data, like game settings, joytokey profiles, etc. over to the new system.
Trying to get the ram to work on the correct speed, configuring windows.
When the cables arrive i will try to give a more detailed report about the performance.

 

Do you experience any frame spikes resp. small stutters while playing acc on epic with 29 AI? I‘ve also built a new pc over the last month which should be on a similar level than yours, but i experience every few seconds a small frame spike snd it really ruins the immersion. While playing free practice everything is butter smooth with fps > 100, but when i do races against the ai i start to get those stutters every 3 - 15 seconds. The fps stays more or less stable, it really just hangs for a millisecond or so. When i lower the ai opponents to around 15, the stutters disappear. It doesn‘t matter on which graphic settings, i even have the impression that it‘s worse on lower settings. I‘m now troubleshooting for three weeks and can‘t solve it. as it‘s not there in free practice and it disappears with reducing the number of ai opponents i suspect the problem to be cpu related (or motherboard). I‘ve got a ryzen 5600x running on a asus tuf x570 gaming pro (wifi). It‘s actually overclocked to 4675mhz through ctr 2.0. could it really be that the 5600x is the bottleneck? Other components are a gigabyte rtx 3070 eagle oc (slightly oveclocked to 1875mhz), 2x16 gb of 3200mhz (cl16) ram, a gigabyte aorus gen4 2tb nvme and a seasonic gx 750w psu. All benchmarks (3dmark, userbenchmark.com, unigine superposition, etc.) and analysis tools (aida64, crystaldiskmark, etc.) show results in the expected range. Also other games (ac1, raceroom, control, fs2020) run fine (well, fs2020 is a bit choppy, which is also a very cpu heavy game, so there is a bit of a similarity).

any advice from the techexperts here are appreciated!

 

I also built a computer for simracing and my system has an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X and I have got 3200Mhz CL16 Ram, GPU is a Radeon RX 5500XT 8GB (currently switching to RX6800). Regarding the ram I was curious how the speed would affect my setup with FullHD. Out of the box it runs with 2400Mhz and there are two XMP profiles one with 3000Mhz CL15 and one with 3200Mhz CL16 (which I use). I tested all 3 settings in FullHD and the FPS was the same all over the 3 settings. I tested with the settings from the GPU benchmark thead. I could have tested in 720p, but since FullHD is my daily setup I wanted to see what difference eventually I can get.

 

xmp profiles only adjust the frequency multiplier + main timings. The sub-timings are generally way off (bios default settings for a specified frequency) and degenerate the overall perfromance (mainly on lower end memory controllers).

To notice any gain from memory overclocking you must tweak the sub-timings , maybe even the main timings, manually.

edit: you have to be cpu-bound to notice any perfromance increase anyway