Switching from Console to PC, Specs for iRacing & ACC?

[BaileyRacing]

Hi Folks,

i’ve been playing on Xbox since FM4, but have felt for a while that I wanted something more ‘serious’ than console gaming could offer. I especially want to get away from the ‘rammers’ that consoles tend to attract (which is what draws me to iRacing, in particular).

I enjoyed elements of ACC on console, but the framerate and lack of UDP really held me back from enjoying that. Finally, I feel like the xbox is stopping me getting the most out of some of the kit i already have - buttkicker, t-lcm pedals etc.

However, I haven’t built a PC in over 15 years, and am a Mac user. So, despite reading plenty and watching various YouTube videos, I’m still not entirely sure what is good or bad in component terms for what I want to do. In graphic visual terms, I’m coming from an Xbox One X, and would ideally prefer similar visual performance (or better).

I’m currently using a 50” 4K TV, which for now I plan to stick with (small steps, etc!). The TV, I believe, can only manage a max of 60fps, if that matters in GPU terms. Eventually, I’d look to move to triples, but that and everything that goes with it, is definitely outside my budget for now.

I know I’ve picked a really bad time to make this switch, so I’m limited to pre-built options (which, lacking recent experience, suits me anyway).

Within budget and availability, these two options are open to me;

Option 1:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G PRO
Memory: 8GB Vengeance LPX 3200MHz
GPU: GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6GB
Power Supply: Corsair 550W CV550
Motherboard: ASUS PRIME-A320M-K

Option 2 (20% more expensive than Option 1)

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz (2x8GB)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
Power Supply: Corsair 550W CV550
Motherboard: ASUS PRIME B450M-A II

My question is two-fold; Firstly, how would either of these perform in iRacing & ACC, when compared to what I’m used to on the Xbox? Secondly, would I have any upgradability limitations in future (once pricing and availability becomes more sensible)?

 

[BaileyRacing]

Stock of Option 2 was rapidly depleting, so I went ahead and ordered it before I lost out. The GPU alone is selling on eBay for 80% of the price I’ve paid for the whole system - madness!

 

[robt100]

I'm here a bit late, but thankfully, you made the right choice out of the two! Although its 20% more in price, I reckon it'll be more than 20% in performance! Being a B450 board also means the possibility to upgrade to the 5000 series AMD CPUs later on. The PSU seems a bit close to the mark with a 3060, but I may be wrong. It will be under warranty so you're all good

 

[Neilski]

Stock of Option 2 was rapidly depleting, so I went ahead and ordered it before I lost out. The GPU alone is selling on eBay for 80% of the price I’ve paid for the whole system - madness!

I have no personal experience with AMD chips (at least not since the Athlon days!) but I don't think you'll regret your purchase. The 3600 is a good CPU and the 3060 is also (in my view) pretty solid for price/performance.

 

[BaileyRacing]

Thanks both! I was worried I may have rushed into it, but I’ve seen so many people lose out lately that I really didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. Due to arrive monday, and fingers-crossed I’ll get my first taste of iRacing soon after!

 

[AmazingReflex]

You made the right choice out of the two. PC is the way to go for sim racing, no doubt about it.

I have a 9900k and the 3600 is about 14% down on the 9900k on single thread apparently.

My PC performs great on ACC.

You have good RAM speed and a decent GPU and the future possibility to upgrade your CPU to a 12/24 CPU later if needed.

I suspect you will be able to run at 1440p and get around 100 FPS at a nice quality level after a few tweaks here and there.

As stated by RobT100, the 550W PSU is just getting over the line with capability. If you upgrade your GPU / CPU you will most likely need a bigger PSU but that's for another day...

 

[BaileyRacing]

Thanks, @AmazingReflex - The balance between something that is 'good enough' for now, while affording me the option to upgrade when prices and availability become more sensible was the most important consideration for me at this stage.

My screen will only manage 60fps for now (another upgrade in the pipeline!), and frankly, if I can get ACC running at decent quality & 60fps, I'll be overjoyed - I really enjoyed that on the Xbox but the framerate was appalling.

 

[Bigfella65]

I would go with option 2, thats close to what Im running now.

 

[BaileyRacing]

I would go with option 2, thats close to what Im running now.

I did, and having been using it for almost 2 months now, I’m overjoyed with how well it’s performing for the price. Although I bought ACC and signed up to iRacing the day it arrived, ACC hasn’t had much of a look in. Running iRacing at 4k, with only grandstands in low detail (albeit I had it limited to 60fps because thats all the screen I have can do).

Very much wish I’d done it much sooner!