Questions about skin size

Reik Major · Mar 1, 2016

Hy everyone!

I'm not sure about the real difference in performance between 2k and 4k skins or even bigger ones. However I think having only 2k skins on track makes the game run smoother for me. My PC is an i5-4460, 8 gb RAM and a Radeon HD-5850 (1 gb).

Here are my questions:

1. Which part of the hardware is the limiting factor when it comes to skin sizes? RAM or GPU?

2. I think many skins I installed so far have 4k skins. Can I reduce the dds-files easily by myself?

Ryan_Lee · Mar 1, 2016

I dont know a whole lot about the computer performance part, but i can tell you if your having difficulty producing decent FPS then you can change the size of each of the dds files yourself.

You only need to change the main car part, but you will need editing software like Photoshop, open the DDS file in that, go to image size and resize the 4K (4096x4096) down to a 2K (2048x2048). You will need to save it in the correct format as a DDS file though for it to work in the game.

Reik Major · Mar 1, 2016

Thank you!

Could be a bit time consuming to check through all the skins and resize them but better the deleting a nice 4k skin. Will give it a try in one class and check what it helps...

Matheus Machado · Mar 1, 2016

Probably it is the GPU memory that is limiting it. You can reduce the skin sizes with the method mentioned above.

To get a full grid of 4k skins I would say at least 4Gb is a minimum for a stable experience.

Alex Townsend · Mar 1, 2016

I think that's why I'm getting massive frame rate issues with the F3 and the RDGPC skins...
I loaded up 36 cars on Zandvoort earlier and I went from rock solid 60fps to around 43-54

I'm running an i7 3770k 8GB ram and a palit gtx 780 SuperJetStream gpu. So far I've been able to run everything I have pretty much maxed out except AC of course.

What card would run this without issue currently?

Matheus Machado · Mar 1, 2016

Alex Townsend said:
I think that's why I'm getting massive frame rate issues with the F3 and the RDGPC skins...
I loaded up 36 cars on Zandvoort earlier and I went from rock solid 60fps to around 43-54

I'm running an i7 3770k 8GB ram and a palit gtx 780 SuperJetStream gpu. So far I've been able to run everything I have pretty much maxed out except AC of course.

What card would run this without issue currently?

The problem with 36 AI cars was on the CPU mostly. I got a 5 fps improvement by setting everything to minimum. Also, all the RDGPC skins are in 2k.

I could get a max of 55fps on race start and after the field go through T1 (still packed) it jumped to around 80. (i7 4790k and GTX 970 here)

Maybe a titan combined with a intel x series could do the job, but I doubt max settings would give 60fps.

if I set everything to the absolute max I was getting around 40.

Reik Major · Mar 1, 2016

Matheus Machado said:
To get a full grid of 4k skins I would say at least 4Gb is a minimum for a stable experience.

So you mean 4 Gb on the GPU?

Must be a very good card then...

Matheus Machado · Mar 1, 2016

Reik Major said:
So you mean 4 Gb on the GPU?
Must be a very good card then...

Yes, even 2k skins can push a 2Gb card to the limit when dealing with 30+cars.

Also, for triples that values is increased a lot, don't know the exact amount, as I haven't tried myself.

Alex Townsend · Mar 2, 2016

What about adding a second card in SLI? Would that solve it or does it not work like that?

Matheus Machado · Mar 2, 2016

Alex Townsend said:
What about adding a second card in SLI? Would that solve it or does it not work like that?

It isn't simple as that. It depends on the optimization in the drivers and the software itself. I know a few people that run in SLI but I haven't tried it myself.

Alex Townsend · Mar 2, 2016

Hmm. Ok. Thanks for advising. I'm wondering if the new Zotac 980ti would manage. It has 6gb onboard ddr5.... but it ain't cheap...

jlnprssnr · Mar 2, 2016

VRAM doesn't double with SLI. Each card has to hold the same information, as they rotate with calculating frames

jlnprssnr · Mar 2, 2016

Also performance can vary between cards with the same memory size (different DDR type, different memory bandwidth). You can also get most cards in different variants (750 Ti, 960 etc.) with 2 or 4GB. But yes, 1GB with big skins really could cause a VRAM limit. Worth it to check for CPU or GPU limit anyway with guides from Googe.