[UPDATED] The DOOM System Upgrade Thread

[Plasma Gun]

Touchdown said:

It seems like a lot of people will go for GTX 970. I'm tempted to say 'screw it' and get 980 to have something a bit more stable for more demanding games. Not sure yet. It's awesome we're just 3 months away but from an upgrade standpoint, it kind of sucks - nothing's going to change in that time in terms of hardware.

Sadly, this is true. I don't expect refreshes from either NV or AMD in terms of GPU hardware until the summer at the earliest, with higher end gaming focused cards probably not coming until the fall.

The good news is that the hardware available today is quite good!

[SYS]

I might want to upgrade from SLI 670's to something with more VRAM.
Performance of two 670's is pretty close to a 970 so I'll see benchmarks with a 970 to see what I'll gain first.
980 is out of the question, it's only a small leap from 970 for the price.
Other option is go all out on a 980Ti but NVIDIA's Pascal is just around the corner.

[Plasma Gun]

SYS said:

I might want to upgrade from SLI 670's to something with more VRAM.
Performance of two 670's is pretty close to a 970 so I'll see benchmarks with a 970 to see what I'll gain first.
980 is out of the question, it's only a small leap from 970 for the price.
Other option is go all out on a 980Ti but NVIDIA's Pascal is just around the corner.

If DOOM supports SLI, then you should be fine. If it doesn't (RAGE/TNO did not), then you would be better off selling off the 670s and buying a 970.

[SYS]

I didn't even think of that. I can wait a little longer to find out.

[Plasma Gun]

SYS said:

I didn't even think of that. I can wait a little longer to find out.

Yeah, definitely. I am currently running GPUs in SLI so once the Beta comes out, I'll test and report back if the game benefits from SLI or not.

[Face23785]

So besides upgrading for Doom, I also play iRacing. I've always wanted to upgrade to a triple monitor setup for it. As long as I'm sinking some money into my PC for Doom, I may want to explore that a little. I don't know a damn thing about that though. Can anyone shed some light on what I'd need to run 3 monitors?

[Plasma Gun]

Face23785 said:

So besides upgrading for Doom, I also play iRacing. I've always wanted to upgrade to a triple monitor setup for it. As long as I'm sinking some money into my PC for Doom, I may want to explore that a little. I don't know a damn thing about that though. Can anyone shed some light on what I'd need to run 3 monitors?

Check this out:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/266410/discussions/0/611703709832287659/

Looks like you need the fastest single GPU possible for iRacing.

[Face23785]

Plasma Gun said:

Check this out:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/266410/discussions/0/611703709832287659/

Looks like you need the fastest single GPU possible for iRacing.

If I'm comprehending all that I need to get the 970 or 980, which most people seem to be recommending getting the 970 for Doom anyway. Am I missing something?

[StevieWolfe]

This is what I'm currently building:

MSI Z170A Mobo
1TB Hard Drive
32GB DDR4 RAM
Radeon R380 Graphics Card
Intel Skylake 6700 CPU

Is it worth shit or did I just waste my money?

[Plasma Gun]

StevieCybernetik said:

This is what I'm currently building:

MSI Z170A Mobo
1TB Hard Drive
32GB DDR4 RAM
Radeon R380 Graphics Card
Intel Skylake 6700 CPU

Is it worth shit or did I just waste my money?

Looks good, exceeds recommended spec.

[StevieWolfe]

Good to know then. Dropped damn near a grand, had issues with the first mobo (asus maximus VIII hero), and then had issues with the ram/cpu, so hopefully this final build will actually work. Last few posted, but went into a blue screen loop when trying to install windows 10.

[ReFracture]

My current desktop is of no concern here, but I am hoping that Doom can be scaled down enough (even if it means tweaking ini files to get n64 era graphics and whatnot) to run decently on a GTX 560m and 2.6ghz i7 2630qm.

If not then I'll just have to haul my desktop whenever the buddies feel like getting together.. the 980ti probably wasn't worth it for the performance it gives.. but man does it crush everything I throw at it.

[AirRaid]

Face23785 said:

If I'm comprehending all that I need to get the 970 or 980, which most people seem to be recommending getting the 970 for Doom anyway. Am I missing something?

The thing between the 970 and the 980 is, the 980 is maybe 10-20% faster tops, but costs 40-50% more. So the Price/Performance ratio on the 980 is a lot less attractive. The 970 currently holds the sweet spot for price vs performance.

[SYS]

Plasma Gun said:

Yeah, definitely. I am currently running GPUs in SLI so once the Beta comes out, I'll test and report back if the game benefits from SLI or not.

Awesome. If I do upgrade I'll be putting a waterblock on it just like the 670s. It's how I roll :D.

[Plasma Gun]

SYS said:

Awesome. If I do upgrade I'll be putting a waterblock on it just like the 670s. It's how I roll :D.

:-)

I really do hope this game supports SLI and 144Hz refresh, otherwise I'll be a sad panda.

[Doomguy #876]

Plasma Gun said:

:-)

I really do hope this game supports SLI and 144Hz refresh, otherwise I'll be a sad panda.

Yeah, iT6 better support it. I was disappointed that iT5 didn't. Who the fuck designs an engine that can't support SLI?

[MiNaM]

Jet1337 said:

Yeah, iT6 better support it. I was disappointed that iT5 didn't. Who the fuck designs an engine that can't support SLI?

I was surprised how Rage "idTech5" runs much faster with disabled SLI, and was surprised how only one of my two old GTX285's handles such modern tech on ultra easily..

I believe that idTech5 was an underrated successful engine..

[Face23785]

AirRaid said:

The thing between the 970 and the 980 is, the 980 is maybe 10-20% faster tops, but costs 40-50% more. So the Price/Performance ratio on the 980 is a lot less attractive. The 970 currently holds the sweet spot for price vs performance.

The question wasn't about that at all, but thanks for your input.

[kelliegator]

This might not happen until at some point in a distant future but I have been wanting to maybe get a new computer. It's a bit tricky 'cause I'm generally a Mac user but I can imagine maybe building a PC and installing Linux on it instead (I do use Windows at times, but as little as humanly possible).

I've never built a computer before so I'm kind of a newb and have some questions.

My first one is, what would be better? A quad core 4,0GHz processor or a 3,5GHz 6-core processor?

Also, what do you think is important about monitors? If I'd buy a Mac my best choice might be an iMac EXCEPT I'll be stuck with a 60hz monitor and that's kinda bleh.

My plan is either Mac or build my own. And yes, you're entitled to laugh at me because I'm a Mac user. But I am starting to see the light, I guess. >w>;;

[AirRaid]

Well I can tell you if you buy a Mac or run Linux you probably won't be playing this game. I can't imagine running through a virtual machine system like Wine or whatever would produce particularly great performance.

[kelliegator]

AirRaid said:

Well I can tell you if you buy a Mac or run Linux you probably won't be playing this game. I can't imagine running through a virtual machine system like Wine or whatever would produce particularly great performance.

That's not an issue 'cause I'd use dual boot like I use on my current Mac. I still use Windows, just, not a whole lot. But I'd use it for this game and some other Windows only games.

[Plasma Gun]

kelliegator said:

I've never built a computer before so I'm kind of a newb and have some questions.

My first one is, what would be better? A quad core 4,0GHz processor or a 3,5GHz 6-core processor?

Depends on the processors :) Clock speed ("GHz") is just one metric. Performance depends on the quality of the cores in addition to the clock speed. Also, not all software can properly use > 4 cores.

Also, what do you think is important about monitors? If I'd buy a Mac my best choice might be an iMac EXCEPT I'll be stuck with a 60hz monitor and that's kinda bleh.

I'd recommend an IPS panel with some kind of adaptive sync (either NVIDIA G-Sync or AMD FreeSync). High refresh is definitely a plus in my book.

My plan is either Mac or build my own. And yes, you're entitled to laugh at me because I'm a Mac user. But I am starting to see the light, I guess. >w>;;

Why laugh? Macs are great computers, just not really great gaming computers.

[AirRaid]

Aren't there only a handful of IPS panels with adaptive sync at the moment?

I mean I wouldn't disagree as an ideal, but that specific combination of features is going to be expensive as hell.

[ReFracture]

I like my Acer gsync panel.. but TN is just balls.

I've been mighty tempted by this but you know.. $$$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236405

[Plasma Gun]

ReFracture said:

I like my Acer gsync panel.. but TN is just balls.

I've been mighty tempted by this but you know.. $$$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236405

I am using an ASUS PG278Q with a TN panel and it looks great. TN might not have the contrast/colors of a really nice IPS panel (I would buy the IPS PG279Q today if I didn't own this monitor), but a good TN panel still looks excellent & you get very nice response times. Excellent for fast paced shooters.

[ReFracture]

Plasma Gun said:

I am using an ASUS PG278Q with a TN panel and it looks great. TN might not have the contrast/colors of a really nice IPS panel (I would buy the IPS PG279Q today if I didn't own this monitor), but a good TN panel still looks excellent & you get very nice response times. Excellent for fast paced shooters.

Whoops the linked one is a TN. The PG279Q is what I meant.

I'm currently running an Acer XB270H and by TN standards there isn't really anything to complain about that isn't inherent to TN panels in general. G-Sync is amazing.

I find the difference in response times to be negligible compared to the improvement in contrast and colors.. but the reality is I don't think I'll ever be 'satisfied' with a monitor until I can play Doom 3 and Thief: The Dark Project and have black be black.. not a dark gray that washes out details unless you crank the brightness and ruin the picture quality in general.

I had a depressing reminder of how much better CRTs were in that respect a few years ago with my monitor died and I had to use my old CRT while waiting on warranty. I took the opportunity to play through the aforementioned games and it was a great experience.

But returning to reality then yes, a good TN panel is very serviceable and responsive. It isn't like the terrible LCDs from yester-decade. I have no regrets with my purchase.

[Plasma Gun]

ReFracture said:

Whoops the linked one is a TN. The PG279Q is what I meant.

I'm currently running an Acer XB270H and by TN standards there isn't really anything to complain about that isn't inherent to TN panels in general. G-Sync is amazing.

I find the difference in response times to be negligible compared to the improvement in contrast and colors.. but the reality is I don't think I'll ever be 'satisfied' with a monitor until I can play Doom 3 and Thief: The Dark Project and have black be black.. not a dark gray that washes out details unless you crank the brightness and ruin the picture quality in general.

I had a depressing reminder of how much better CRTs were in that respect a few years ago with my monitor died and I had to use my old CRT while waiting on warranty. I took the opportunity to play through the aforementioned games and it was a great experience.

But returning to reality then yes, a good TN panel is very serviceable and responsive. It isn't like the terrible LCDs from yester-decade. I have no regrets with my purchase.

Indeed. One day OLEDs will make it to the mainstream in PCs and we'll have nice, deep blacks once again :)

[ZeroTheEro]

Processor: Intel i5-3570
Operating System Version: Windows 7 (64 bit)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630
Memory: 8146 Mb
Motherboard: ASUS P8H61-M PLUS V3

I know that right now my specs are a little underpowered, but is there any Nvidia GTX900 and above cards that are mITX sized? It's a little cramped in my casing.

[kelliegator]

I'm a bit embarrassed to ask this but let's say money isn't a factor; how would one of these beasts do with Doom or other modern games?

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/specs/

The reason I ask is because while I want to run Doom and other modern/current games, longevity is important since these Macs generally aren't upgradable (at least not as easily as PCs). So would this be worthwhile or would a standard PC built from scratch be better in terms of longevity and others factors, aside from price?

I'm thinking ahead so "overkill" isn't a factor unless the hardware is TOO advanced to run modern games, since one of you guys pointed out that some modern games can't run on over 4 cores.

Also worth noting, when you buy one of these things you can upgrade some things like hard drive space, RAM, and graphics cards but it costs extra of course.

[DoomUK]

ZeroTheEro said:

is there any Nvidia GTX900 and above cards that are mITX sized? It's a little cramped in my casing.

In you're sticking with Nvidia, there are plenty of 960s and 970s that are perfect for small form factor builds:-

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5252#ov
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5476#ov
https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/GTX970DCMOC4GD5/
https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/GTX960MOC2GD5/
http://www.inno3d.com/products_detail.php?refid=184
http://www.inno3d.com/products_detail.php?refid=175
https://www.zotac.com/us/product/graphics_card/gtx-970

That's not a comprehensive list, but you get the idea. There are options from AMD too, though I don't know a thing about AMD cards and I couldn't advise you on what to look for. As always, make sure your PSU is able to handle a GPU upgrade.