Iracing/Gaming Build?

[hallowedhoosier]

Hello,
I am looking to buy a Computer to run iracing/rfactor racing simulators. I want it to be able to run 3 screens. I will also be playing some BF3 on it and some video editing from a GOPRO camera. I am not against building one but every time I put together all the parts and add it up the cost is just not that great. The difference is so little that I would go ahead and let someone put it together and ship it to me. Here is the Computer that I have picked....

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Gamer_Paladin_D887/w/122602

That price includes a monitor..

That is a little over what I wanted to spend ($1400) so is there some changes that I can get away with to make it cheaper? Can I choose a cheaper processor (maybe the 3570K) and or cheaper GPU (maybe the 7850) and still run these things on 3 screens with no problems? Maybe someone knows a cheaper site? Again if there is a way I can put this together myself and save money I would not be against it. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[ddan49]

First of all, CPU means Central Processing Unit... or the computer chip itself (3570k, etc). Just sayin' (had me confused for a bit).

Secondly, I'm just wondering... does this racing simulator use any abnormal components? I don't know anything about it... could you possibly link to some info?Or is it basically just a racing game?

Finally, so are you including the OS? Are you including monitors? I'm assuming you're not on both. Here's what I would do (for a basic gaming build):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($131.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($539.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 950W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1489.88
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Now, this is for overclocking. I took the highest GPU possible to incorporate, but I'd get some more vRAM if possible... I really don't know about that. I'm not sure how much 3 screens would use, but there IS a 4GB version of the 670 out. Costs about the same as a 680! The CPU here has Hyper Threading... I'm not sure if your racing simulator uses that or not. I also included 16GB of RAM 'cause I'm also not sure about how much the simulator uses, and... well, with three screens, you'll be running some more applications I'm assuming.

Oh, basically, this build costs the same but outperforms the one that you'd get with Cyberpower

 

[inzone]

You can change the cpu to the 3570k and the video card to the 7850 and you should be under $1400.

 

[ddan49]

However, *ahem*, mine has an i7 CPU with a 680 GPU

Also, I'm not sure how well the 7850 or even the 7870 would run triple-monitors... the 7850 can barely handle max at one monitor 1080p.

 

[dudewitbow]

regardles although i wouldnt use the 7850 to power 3 monitors at max, AMD's eyefinity setup would probably do better on a budget, as their newer gen cards are all packed with vram from 7850+

 

[hallowedhoosier]

Sorry about the CPU thing!

Here is the iracing website... http://www.iracing.com/

I will need to buy a operating system and I will need to buy the monitors. I will start with just one monitor then add the other two once I have enough money.

The link for the build that I included shows a cost of $1571 but that includes a 27" monitor at a cost of $250 and it includes Windows 7...... http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Gamer_Paladin_D887/w/122602

The eyefinity 3 monitor setup has got some good reviews in iracing so that's why I picked that brand Video Card.
If the 7850 will have problems running those 3 screens then I need to look at others. I might even want to run BF3 on 3 screens if I already have the setup?

Thanks again for the responses!

 

[ddan49]

Oh man! I COMPLETELY forgot about Eyefinity! I'm really sorry... YES, go with like a 7870! Or possibly Crossfired 7850s...

This is the one case where AMD > NVidia

 

[hallowedhoosier]

This is what I am looking to do in iracing....

http://youtu.be/v7bppAvHipM

 

[ddan49]

Whoa. That's a pretty complex system. However, for the build itself, I think you'll be absolutely fine with a basic gaming build. This doesn't look like it's more taxing than BF3.