Need help on hardware advise

[Heartwood]

So today i put my in game settings to low for the first time and was mildly shocked by how little my fps went up (probably not one bit). It feels like there is imminent need for an upgrade!

Components:
Win 10
Intel i7-6700 CPU 3.40 GHz
16 GB RAM
NVIDIA GTX 960
Samsung SSD 250 GB

Running on 1920x1080 but would like to go bigger (using the 4k tv) in the future.

Thinking that the GTX 960 is the weakest link, i was looking up cards with basic noob knowledge.
The Palit GeForce GTX 1080 Super JetStream 8 GB seems to be one of the cheapest high end cards (554 €), but before jumping the gun on that, i wanted to ask for some advise.

Questions that come to mind are:
1) Should i wait 12 months for the next round of graphic cards, to get the current one cheaper?
2) Is the graphic update the best choice for the presented configuration?
3) Is the Palit 1080 a good choice?
4) Should i go with a cheaper card (still an upgrade to my current one) for now and upgrade the whole system in 12 months? If yes, which would be a good card?
5) Beer in a bottle or a glass?

 

[Printimus]

Current 2.6.3 servers for SC limit framerate as is. Its usually not your PC's end. Wait for 3.0 before you go buying all the hardware.

 

[Heartwood]

Good to know! But i have seen a much smoother game play comming (e.g.) from the noobifier, while watching his videos. I was under the impression, that my system is just not up to the task.

 

[Bambooza]

Questions that come to mind are:
1) Should i wait 12 months for the next round of graphic cards, to get the current one cheaper?

I'd wait unless there is another game that is currently released that needs a better graphics card for. Honestly upgrading your graphics card just for Star Citizen while its in early Alpha is a bit of a waste as there are to many factors involved with game performance to figure out what the bottle neck currently is and if its even solvable by ones PC.

2) Is the graphic update the best choice for the presented configuration?
3) Is the Palit 1080 a good choice?

Yes most games are limited by the graphics card and the 1080 is a very nice choice.

4) Should i go with a cheaper card (still an upgrade to my current one) for now and upgrade the whole system in 12 months? If yes, which would be a good card?

Not sure a cheaper card would give you much of a fps boost over your current system to justify upgrading it. At this point in time I would only suggest you upgrade your graphics card for any other games you are playing that would benefit from it. Hold off on getting a graphics card for Star Citizen until it gets into Beta.

5) Beer in a bottle or a glass?

Are you outside camping, fishing or playing sports? Or sitting around with a table. A glass allows you to experience the full beer experience as it engages your nose and is highly recommended with craft beers. But if you are outside around a camp fire or doing any sort of activity then a bottle keeps the beer safer and can easily be placed in a beer koozie to keep it cool.

 

[Heartwood]

Thanks, Bambooza.
The card would indeed benefit the 3.0 experience, but i see your arguments and feel like they are rock solid atm.
The 5) was filled out in such detail, that the whole "one word answer" idea got blown out of the window. I like a cold bottle of beer.

 

[marcsand2]

So today i put my in game settings to low for the first time and was mildly shocked by how little my fps went up (probably not one bit). It feels like there is imminent need for an upgrade!

Components:
Win 10
Intel i7-6700 CPU 3.40 GHz
16 GB RAM
NVIDIA GTX 960
Samsung SSD 250 GB

Running on 1920x1080 but would like to go bigger (using the 4k tv) in the future.

Thinking that the GTX 960 is the weakest link, i was looking up cards with basic noob knowledge.
The Palit GeForce GTX 1080 Super JetStream 8 GB seems to be one of the cheapest high end cards (554 €), but before jumping the gun on that, i wanted to ask for some advise.

The GTX is the weakest link, yes, there is not a lot difference between low or high setting. You could try full screen with a lower resolution, it helps and doesn't lower the graphic quality too much

Current 2.6.3 servers for SC limit framerate as is. Its usually not your PC's end.

60 fps is really the max I ever heard, 30 - 40 FPS is good playable, 20 - 30 fps can be played but gives problems with aiming, below 20 is crap. Try to get above 30 FPS, that can be archived on the client end.

1) Should i wait 12 months for the next round of graphic cards, to get the current one cheaper?

I don't think that the price will go down a lot in 12 months, better pay a "few" bucks extra and have 12 months pleasure of it.

2) Is the graphic update the best choice for the presented configuration?

Yes it is. I have the 6700k and the CPU gets 40% load, it will hold out for a while

3) Is the Palit 1080 a good choice?

For 1920x1080 it surely is. I use a GTX970 @ 2560x1440 and get 30+ FPS. @6400x1440 I get 15- FPS

4) Should i go with a cheaper card (still an upgrade to my current one) for now and upgrade the whole system in 12 months? If yes, which would be a good card?

You could go for a GTX1070, but they also cost between $350 (6GB) and (that was a 1060) $500 (8GB). You also can wait a few months for the GTX1070 Ti which will be +$500

5) Beer in a bottle or a glass?

Both

 

[Bambooza]

The 5) was filled out in such detail, that the whole "one word answer" idea got blown out of the window. I like a cold bottle of beer.

Drinking beer is serious business and should be treated with the utmost respect and dignity for such a majestic beverage.

Short answer, both.

 

[Toihva]

Questions that come to mind are:
1) Should i wait 12 months for the next round of graphic cards, to get the current one cheaper?

Considering leaks of Volta being about 133% more powerful than Pascal, worth it to wait. 1) If it is then when you upgrade your display and Volta is as predicted or close, you can drive 4k @ 144hz most likely. 2) If it's not as powerful, can easily get a good deal on a used GTX 1080

2) Is the graphic update the best choice for the presented configuration?

Maybe look at grabbing another SSD in the 500GB range

3) Is the Palit 1080 a good choice?

EVGA is the one to get. Overall good design, excellent CS and if you sell your card you can transfer the warranty.

4) Should i go with a cheaper card (still an upgrade to my current one) for now and upgrade the whole system in 12 months? If yes, which would be a good card?

If you can find one, 570/580/1060 or so. Pay attention to Newegg Black November for some great deals.

5) Beer in a bottle or a glass?

Bottle.

 

[Lorddarthvik]

TLDR.:

1: yeah, you could. I wouldn't cos I play a lot.
2: yes, very
3: I'd buy Gigabyte (cheaper) or EVGA (supposedly better?)
4: 1060 6gb should do, but if you don't play much, wait
5: beer in me!



Pretty much as everyone else said, SC 2.6.3 is limited beyond the client side so don't shop with that in mind.
Shop with 3.0 and other games in mind. Also, have you checked how single player Arena Commander runs? I got well over -40fps even on my 750ti depending on the situation, which mean it was perfectly playable. I had 120fps on my 1060 even but I guess you wouldn't believe me lol.. I think it was bugged, usually it's around 90 if I recall correctly. That is a way better benchmark for the game then multiplayer at the moment. Also one time when I lost connection to server in PU it bugged out and didn't quit for a while and FPS was through the roof, 70-80 fps with my gtx1060... then it promptly crashed to desktop ofc :D So yeah, your fps will vary heavily in SC depending on the server.

There are rumors that in a year we get better cards, so waiting might be worth it! SC should be up to 3.1 by then at least, so...
In case you want to enjoy other games at 1080p while you wait, try to get a cheap 1060 6gb. It should run everything, and I mean every single AAA title that came out in the last few weeks around at least 40fps on Ultra on your machine. It does on mine and I only got an i5 4670k (stock clock) with 16gig ram. It was the best investment I made for my pc in the last 3 years, and if the games are ported properly, it should run everything on 1080p on high/ultra for a while yet. If you want future proof for 2 years or less, or in case you switch to 4K, feel free to spend 3x that on a gtx1080 :D

EVGA is supposed to be a good choice, never had one myself. Gigabyte is more available and cheaper around here and both my cards and mobo seems to work fine yet so I would go with that. Also, both my workplaces have em and in the last 6 years they still work fine. Realistically it will be just as good as EVGA or any respectable brand. The word Palit reminds me of Paleolithic, which in turn reminds me of paleo diet, which is the biggest bullshit in diets since ever really. So I would not touch a card that reminds me of such level of bullshit. But the cards might be perfectly fine or even better then EVGA, I have no idea lol :D

You should not need a full upgrade for a couple of years yet with a new graphics card upgrade. Choose you next card depending whether you have another 1000 bucks to spend on a 4k gaming monitor. You might soon find out that the 4k tv's refresh rate is way to low for gaming, and want to get a proper monitor... Just keep this in mind when deciding.

 

[Sirus7264]

The GTX is the weakest link, yes, there is not a lot difference between low or high setting. You could try full screen with a lower resolution, it helps and doesn't lower the graphic quality too much


60 fps is really the max I ever heard, 30 - 40 FPS is good playable, 20 - 30 fps can be played but gives problems with aiming, below 20 is crap. Try to get above 30 FPS, that can be archived on the client end.


I don't think that the price will go down a lot in 12 months, better pay a "few" bucks extra and have 12 months pleasure of it.


Yes it is. I have the 6700k and the CPU gets 40% load, it will hold out for a while


For 1920x1080 it surely is. I use a GTX970 @ 2560x1440 and get 30+ FPS. @6400x1440 I get 15- FPS


You could go for a GTX1070, but they also cost between $350 (6GB) and (that was a 1060) $500 (8GB). You also can wait a few months for the GTX1070 Ti which will be +$500


Both

i can confirm my alienware has a gtx 960 also it will cause performance issues in combat as you will drop enough fps to miss alot of shots. i suggest getting a 1060 and wait it out the 1060 will hold you over for awhile and not break the bank. it runs about 306 usd new. no need to get it new find a used one from a reputable person on ebay. its to bad i cant just upgrade my video card gotta love laptops

 

[BluePilote]

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/

 

[Michael]

buy ships now get hardware later.

In other words i wouldn't invest money into hardware now just for SC. I'm pretty sure this game will take at least 2 more years of development until it is in a "playable" state. If you think you want to play other games go on the gtx 1080 should handle all current games pretty well. If you're thinking about 4k gaming in the near future wait a little bit more. (GTX1080 TI might be something to consider)

At the moment my GTX 970 can handle SC "well" at lowered graphic settings at 1980x1080. Maybe you can put your hands on a used 970/980 so you can wait a couple more years.

 

[Amon Morell]

buy ships now get hardware later.

In other words i wouldn't invest money into hardware now just for SC. I'm pretty sure this game will take at least 2 more years of development until it is in a "playable" state. If you think you want to play other games go on the gtx 1080 should handle all current games pretty well. If you're thinking about 4k gaming in the near future wait a little bit more. (GTX1080 TI might be something to consider)

At the moment my GTX 970 can handle SC "well" at lowered graphic settings at 1980x1080. Maybe you can put your hands on a used 970/980 so you can wait a couple more years.

I have a 970 myself and i can confirm that it can handle SC at medium settings with no problems.
I wont upgrade my PC this year because there is no real need for that.
I will save my money and buy a new PC next year when the new generation of hardware comes.

 

[Heartwood]

Thak you all! That was some great input.

I will likely get a cheap upgrade for 3.0 soonish. Rest will go into small or medium ships this year.

May you all be blessed with the ultimate aurora, giving you a chance to not explode after crashing/"testing" into another ship!