CPU

[Raulrct]

Hi to all!!

I am very passionate about Planet Coaster, as most of you will surely be, so I am going to sacrifice myself to buy at least one CPU that can run parks with the map almost complete. I don't ask to play in ultra, I just settle for playing at low-medium quality.

Right now I have an Intel i7 3770, this generation is somewhat old, since it is from 2012, and it does not have 8 cores, so I can barely play large parks without the FPS suffering.

I was thinking of buying the AMD FX-8350, which appears in the recommended requirements of the game, but this processor, at least in my country (Spain), costs only € 62, isn't that ridiculous? For example, the recommended Intel i7 is the Intel i7-4770, which costs € 229, a much more expensive price (because it is a good processor, of course).

This makes me doubt the quality of the AMD, if they are so cheap, maybe when playing this game and being a game that uses more CPU than GPU, is it capable of creating a fire?

I had also looked at the AMD Ryzen 7, which usually go well with this game because they use 8 cores, something that the Intel i7 4770 does not have.

So, what is your opinion? Some of you have these processors that I have named? And how are they run with the game?

 

[Robert Maynard]

I have an FX-8350 (long retired from my gaming PC) - and would not recommend acquiring one as an "upgrade".

I recently upgraded from a 1800X to a 3900X - the 1800X is in my son's PC and is still a decent CPU (albeit outgunned in some respects by more modern 6-core Zen2 based Ryzen CPUs).

 

[Abysinth]

Are you sure it is your CPU and not your GPU? Note that, an AMD CPU will not go into your current motherboard if you have the i7 in there, so you'll need a new motherboard then you will probably need new RAM [2019 RAM will be different to 2012 RAM]

TO start with, check task manager and look at your CPU usage. Download CPUz and GPUz [both free] and check their actual usage and try and determine your actual performance bottleneck.

it is possible that your money will be better spent on a new graphics card.

also, there is a site that will allow you to enter a game, your computer details, tell you what the bottle neck it and suggest what to do/buy, this link is for my favourite game and my current pc:

Hope this helps

http://www.game-debate.com/games/in...dition&ram=16&checkSubmit=#systemrequirements

 

[Robert Maynard]

Are you sure it is your CPU and not your GPU? Note that, an AMD CPU will not go into your current motherboard if you have the i7 in there, so you'll need a new motherboard then you will probably need new RAM [2019 RAM will be different to 2012 RAM]

TO start with, check task manager and look at your CPU usage. Download CPUz and GPUz [both free] and check their actual usage and try and determine your actual performance bottleneck.

it is possible that your money will be better spent on a new graphics card.

Exactly.

From the following, the 3770K is significantly more capable than the FX-8350.

PassMark Intel vs AMD CPU Benchmarks - High End

PassMark Software - CPU Benchmarks - Over 1 million CPUs and 1,000 models benchmarked and compared in graph form, updated daily!

www.cpubenchmark.net

.... a Ryzen 2600X might be a decent upgrade for not too much (although take into account the prices of an AM4 motherboard + DDR4 RAM).

 

[Raulrct]

I have an FX-8350 (long retired from my gaming PC) - and would not recommend acquiring one as an "upgrade".

I recently upgraded from a 1800X to a 3900X - the 1800X is in my son's PC and is still a decent CPU (albeit outgunned in some respects by more modern 6-core Zen2 based Ryzen CPUs).

So, because in the recommended requirements, they put the FX-8350?

 

[Raulrct]

Are you sure it is your CPU and not your GPU? Note that, an AMD CPU will not go into your current motherboard if you have the i7 in there, so you'll need a new motherboard then you will probably need new RAM [2019 RAM will be different to 2012 RAM]

TO start with, check task manager and look at your CPU usage. Download CPUz and GPUz [both free] and check their actual usage and try and determine your actual performance bottleneck.

it is possible that your money will be better spent on a new graphics card.

also, there is a site that will allow you to enter a game, your computer details, tell you what the bottle neck it and suggest what to do/buy, this link is for my favourite game and my current pc:

Hope this helps

http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=441&game=Elite:+Dangerous&popSysReqRAM=16&p_make=Intel&p_deriv=Core+i5-4460+3.2GHz&gc_make=Nvidia&gc_deriv=GeForce+GTX+960+MSI+Gaming+4GB+Edition&ram=16&checkSubmit=#systemrequirements

Because this game needs more a CPU than a GPU, right? In addition, the intel i7 3770 is of an old generation, and does not have 8 cores. Anyway, my GPU is not the best, is the GTX 1050 2GB. I play the game with minimum quality, so if it goes slow it is possible that the CPU cannot process the thousands of visitors that are arriving, I understand that. Yes, I know that I will have to change the motherboard too, but that would be good, since it is from 2012 too. I was thinking of selling the CPU and the motherboard, so as not to lose money.

Anyway, I will do what you say and tell you the result.

 

[Raulrct]

Exactly.

From the following, the 3770K is significantly more capable than the FX-8350.

PassMark Intel vs AMD CPU Benchmarks - High End

PassMark Software - CPU Benchmarks - Over 1 million CPUs and 1,000 models benchmarked and compared in graph form, updated daily!

www.cpubenchmark.net

.... a Ryzen 2600X might be a decent upgrade for not too much (although take into account the prices of an AM4 motherboard + DDR4 RAM).

But I not have the "K" version.


The Ryzen is a good option, I had also thought about it.

 

[Abysinth]

Because this game needs more a CPU than a GPU, right? In addition, the intel i7 3770 is of an old generation, and does not have 8 cores. Anyway, my GPU is not the best, is the GTX 1050 2GB. I play the game with minimum quality, so if it goes slow it is possible that the CPU cannot process the thousands of visitors that are arriving, I understand that. Yes, I know that I will have to change the motherboard too, but that would be good, since it is from 2012 too. I was thinking of selling the CPU and the motherboard, so as not to lose money.

Anyway, I will do what you say and tell you the result.

Oh, I was just suggesting you check where your bottleneck is before spending money on hardware using the free tools available. I know I would be more than a bit irritated if I upgraded the CPU/motherboard and RAM only to find out it was the GPU all along

disclaimer, I've not played Planet Coaster although, I have encouraged the Wife to try it

 

[Morbad]

The FX-8350 does not have significantly more aggregate performance than your i7-3770 and is highly unlikely to be a real upgrade. It's certainly not worth the cost of swapping motherboards, getting a new CPU, and reinstalling the OS to see minimal difference in performance.

Planet Coaster is very CPU heavy and quite well threaded. Some newer processor with as many cores as possible is what you'd want.

But I not have the "K" version.

Without overclocking, the K and non-K versions are virtually identical.

 

[Robert Maynard]

So, because in the recommended requirements, they put the FX-8350?

Probably because the recommended requirements were set quite some time ago.

.... and they are not a guide regarding relative performance of different CPUs.

 

[Raulrct]

Probably because the recommended requirements were set quite some time ago.

.... and they are not a guide regarding relative performance of different CPUs.

Well, I think they should change it, more than anything to avoid creating future confusion. If I didn't ask here, I would have bought the FX-8350, without being aware that it would have been a waste of money.

 

[Raulrct]

Oh, I was just suggesting you check where your bottleneck is before spending money on hardware using the free tools available. I know I would be more than a bit irritated if I upgraded the CPU/motherboard and RAM only to find out it was the GPU all along

disclaimer, I've not played Planet Coaster although, I have encouraged the Wife to try it

Of course, and I thank you for the help! I went to the page you gave me and apparently I don't have a bottleneck with Planet Coaster, but is it completely reliable? Because the GTX 1050 is not one of the best graphics card on the market.

 

[Raulrct]

The FX-8350 does not have significantly more aggregate performance than your i7-3770 and is highly unlikely to be a real upgrade. It's certainly not worth the cost of swapping motherboards, getting a new CPU, and reinstalling the OS to see minimal difference in performance.

Planet Coaster is very CPU heavy and quite well threaded. Some newer processor with as many cores as possible is what you'd want.



Without overclocking, the K and non-K versions are virtually identical.

Ok, that's what I thought, a processor with 8 cores, the Ryzen 7 would be a good option I guess.

The version K, I meant that if you do overclocking, you can notice a performance improvement, even if it is small, but that is not within my reach because I do not have that version.

 

[Guitar_Sly]

At the moment, I would say that your PC is relatively well balanced for what it is. The CPU & GPU combination fits quite well. The problem here is:

Upgrade your CPU to a modern I5/I7 or (a bit cheaper but not notably slower) Ryzen 5 2600X or 3600(X) will give you a massive boost. If you can afford it, think about a bit of future proofing with a Ryzen 7 3700X which is a very powerful CPU for it's pricepoint and you DO NOT need a expensive X570 Mainboard, but just look for "MAX" versions of B450 or X470 Mainboards. Will work well but the issue is, that as soon as you're gone to a new modern platform, your Graphics card will be the bottleneck emmidiately. So you might not be able to use your CPU capabilities to the full potential. For new CPUs in this class, I would recommend at least something like a GTX1060 (or cheaper and a little faster but also little more power hungry: a AMD RX580). More modern GPUs like a GTX1660ti/RTX2060 (and up the shelf aswell) or on AMDs side the surprisingly good RX5700 and 5700XT cards would be a more "optimal" combination.

But then, you will also have to take a look at your power supply. Older PSUs arent capable to handle the new boost behaviours of modern chips anymore. So in worst case, we might talk about a basically whole new system, besides your storage drives and case and other more basic stuff you might have installed already...

Greets,

Danny

 

[wowman]

I'm upgrading right now myself (from an old FX-8350). Build this PC way back in 2012 as well and its lasted this long without any issues (knock on wood until I get the new one built). Moving up to Ryzen 7 3700x (found it online for $329). One reason I picked this is it only uses 65w of power (not clocked) which is extremely low for a CPU of this power. I did opt for the X570 mb, only because after researching many options of both the B450/X470 it was not that much more for the X570. I'm getting a fairly good rated one for $189. Again not really made for overclocking, but should be able to handle it if I ever choose to do so.

 

[Raulrct]

At the moment, I would say that your PC is relatively well balanced for what it is. The CPU & GPU combination fits quite well. The problem here is:

Upgrade your CPU to a modern I5/I7 or (a bit cheaper but not notably slower) Ryzen 5 2600X or 3600(X) will give you a massive boost. If you can afford it, think about a bit of future proofing with a Ryzen 7 3700X which is a very powerful CPU for it's pricepoint and you DO NOT need a expensive X570 Mainboard, but just look for "MAX" versions of B450 or X470 Mainboards. Will work well but the issue is, that as soon as you're gone to a new modern platform, your Graphics card will be the bottleneck emmidiately. So you might not be able to use your CPU capabilities to the full potential. For new CPUs in this class, I would recommend at least something like a GTX1060 (or cheaper and a little faster but also little more power hungry: a AMD RX580). More modern GPUs like a GTX1660ti/RTX2060 (and up the shelf aswell) or on AMDs side the surprisingly good RX5700 and 5700XT cards would be a more "optimal" combination.

But then, you will also have to take a look at your power supply. Older PSUs arent capable to handle the new boost behaviours of modern chips anymore. So in worst case, we might talk about a basically whole new system, besides your storage drives and case and other more basic stuff you might have installed already...

Greets,

Danny

Exactly, that's what I mean. I have an intel i7, yes, but it's old, this is obvious. From 2012 and we are in 2019. In addition, I have seen several benchmarks on YouTube and this game runs much better with an 8-core processor.

The graphic card will be more difficult for me, since the one I have is really new, but as I said, my intention is not to play in ultra. I'm happy playing at medium-low quality.

 

[Digler]

I upgraded from an AMD FX6300 to an I7 9700K oc'ed @5Ghz...with my GTX 970. It will still tank to 15fps with about 30,000 objects, and 3000 guests, on medium parks. I have built a few systems..and what you are looking for, is what all of us are looking for. Do not 'upgrade' to an FX8350, the most you will get is 4Ghz. What you are looking for is the most cpu power with the best video card with the best ram, that you can afford. My GTX 970 is now the bottleneck in my system. I really love this game. I sure hope PZ runs a little better.

 

[Raulrct]

I upgraded from an AMD FX6300 to an I7 9700K oc'ed @5Ghz...with my GTX 970. It will still tank to 15fps with about 30,000 objects, and 3000 guests, on medium parks. I have built a few systems..and what you are looking for, is what all of us are looking for. Do not 'upgrade' to an FX8350, the most you will get is 4Ghz. What you are looking for is the most cpu power with the best video card with the best ram, that you can afford. My GTX 970 is now the bottleneck in my system. I really love this game. I sure hope PZ runs a little better.

15fps with about 30,000 objects and 3000 guests, but in what graphic quality?

 

[Guitar_Sly]

The graphic card will be more difficult for me, since the one I have is really new, but as I said, my intention is not to play in ultra. I'm happy playing at medium-low quality.

To be honest, for a old system (despite that the I7 of the generation you are running was a really good CPU and has aged very well) like this, the 2GB 1050 might have been a reasonable buy, but even on low to especially mid quality settings, it will bottleneck you quickly especially with the amount of polygons in a bit larger parks in PlanCo.

I can see it on my Notebook, which is decently equipped with an I7 7700HK, a 4GB GTX 1050ti and 16GB of RAM + all SSD Storage setup etc... but also here, in some cases even the GPU is already bottlenecking in mid settings in some cases. CPU bottleneck seems to hit around 2500 to 3000 guests, everything other is GPU bound on this system. Now imagine going down to a 2GB 1050 non-ti with a much faster CPU. Rewmember, I'm talking about a power-constrained mobile CPU here.

I don't know at which resolution you are playing but I assume you might want at least 1920x1080. But the 1050 non-ti in combination with a more recent powerful 6 or 8 core CPU seems just really unbalanced to be honest. I'm even stuffing the 4GB graphics memory on large parks.

In comparison, on my video creation PC, on which I also Play Games (in 4K of course, but that aside) im equipped with a Ryzen 7 1700X (I build a Ryzen System immediately after launch, and it was a impressive value build for my usecases) + a Vega 64 8GB Graphics Card, 32GB DDR4 memory and I can go up to the usage of graphics memory around 6.5 to 7.5GB easily in mid to large parks at high settings in 4K. When I go back to 1080p, there are cases, where in larger parks more than 5GB graphics memory gets allocated.

Of course, allocated memory doesn't mean it is all needed but consider that even low-mid range cards like a 1060 or RX570 are available with 6-8GB memory. The 1050 is, to todays standards, low-end entry class. It just makes no sense to pair this card with a powerful CPU for a gaming system.
Of course, more memory would not have a noticable impact in this class, just because the GPU itself would be bottlenecking most of the time, instead of the memory. But I just want to be honest, 2GB graphics memory is basically nothing today, aswell as the capabilities of a 1050. I don't know how much you paid for this card as you say, that it's not that old, buit I see balancing issues here when you are able to spent a few hundred bicks for a new platforn (CPU+Mainboard+RAM) but on the same page, be constrained with a entry GPU and no budget left for a new GPU which fits the new system.

Let me give you a advise:

Instead of a (to be honest) overprised intel 8-core or even a relatively expensive Ryzen 7 - 8 core and keeping the 1050, I would recommend to go for something more balanced overall like this:

Ryzen 5 2600X (If you can afford it, go for a 3600, it's noticeably better but more expensive)
16GB DDDR4 3200 CL14 Memory
RX 570 8GB (https://www.newegg.com/global/de-en/p/pl?d=RX+570&N=101642222 600494828) It's much much faster and more fitting like a 1050
A decent B450 Max Mainboard when going with 3000 series CPU, a non max is more than good enough when going with 2000 series (It's just about bios compatibility from the get go, otherwise you have to do a bios update for ryzen 3000 compatibility when going with non max boards and unfortunately there are not much non-max mainboards which support bios update without a old compatible CPU)


This would be much better than spending more money on a 3700X and pairing it with the 1050. Going down to the 2600X or depending on budget 3600 (non-X will be sufficient) almost gives you the money for the RX570 already and It's a whole other performance level than your 1050.

 

[Raulrct]

To be honest, for a old system (despite that the I7 of the generation you are running was a really good CPU and has aged very well) like this, the 2GB 1050 might have been a reasonable buy, but even on low to especially mid quality settings, it will bottleneck you quickly especially with the amount of polygons in a bit larger parks in PlanCo.

I can see it on my Notebook, which is decently equipped with an I7 7700HK, a 4GB GTX 1050ti and 16GB of RAM + all SSD Storage setup etc... but also here, in some cases even the GPU is already bottlenecking in mid settings in some cases. CPU bottleneck seems to hit around 2500 to 3000 guests, everything other is GPU bound on this system. Now imagine going down to a 2GB 1050 non-ti with a much faster CPU. Rewmember, I'm talking about a power-constrained mobile CPU here.

I don't know at which resolution you are playing but I assume you might want at least 1920x1080. But the 1050 non-ti in combination with a more recent powerful 6 or 8 core CPU seems just really unbalanced to be honest. I'm even stuffing the 4GB graphics memory on large parks.

In comparison, on my video creation PC, on which I also Play Games (in 4K of course, but that aside) im equipped with a Ryzen 7 1700X (I build a Ryzen System immediately after launch, and it was a impressive value build for my usecases) + a Vega 64 8GB Graphics Card, 32GB DDR4 memory and I can go up to the usage of graphics memory around 6.5 to 7.5GB easily in mid to large parks at high settings in 4K. When I go back to 1080p, there are cases, where in larger parks more than 5GB graphics memory gets allocated.

Of course, allocated memory doesn't mean it is all needed but consider that even low-mid range cards like a 1060 or RX570 are available with 6-8GB memory. The 1050 is, to todays standards, low-end entry class. It just makes no sense to pair this card with a powerful CPU for a gaming system.
Of course, more memory would not have a noticable impact in this class, just because the GPU itself would be bottlenecking most of the time, instead of the memory. But I just want to be honest, 2GB graphics memory is basically nothing today, aswell as the capabilities of a 1050. I don't know how much you paid for this card as you say, that it's not that old, buit I see balancing issues here when you are able to spent a few hundred bicks for a new platforn (CPU+Mainboard+RAM) but on the same page, be constrained with a entry GPU and no budget left for a new GPU which fits the new system.

Let me give you a advise:

Instead of a (to be honest) overprised intel 8-core or even a relatively expensive Ryzen 7 - 8 core and keeping the 1050, I would recommend to go for something more balanced overall like this:

Ryzen 5 2600X (If you can afford it, go for a 3600, it's noticeably better but more expensive)
16GB DDDR4 3200 CL14 Memory
RX 570 8GB (https://www.newegg.com/global/de-en/p/pl?d=RX+570&N=101642222 600494828) It's much much faster and more fitting like a 1050
A decent B450 Max Mainboard when going with 3000 series CPU, a non max is more than good enough when going with 2000 series (It's just about bios compatibility from the get go, otherwise you have to do a bios update for ryzen 3000 compatibility when going with non max boards and unfortunately there are not much non-max mainboards which support bios update without a old compatible CPU)


This would be much better than spending more money on a 3700X and pairing it with the 1050. Going down to the 2600X or depending on budget 3600 (non-X will be sufficient) almost gives you the money for the RX570 already and It's a whole other performance level than your 1050.

I think I will do what you say! But AMD are not reputed to have cheaper components? Everything and that the CPU you recommend me has low temperatures, even with the serial cooler, Planet Coaster is a very powerful game and maybe playing long hours can break the AMD CPU?

I have seen that this processor has 6 cores. Planet Coaster if it has 8 cores, isn't it better? Or is the improvement in performance minimal?