Help with Computer Specs

[jazarahg]

Hi All. Im not good at all of the specification and tech knowledge when it comes to gaming. Can someone let me know if I would need an upgrade or if my system is fine or crappy?? Its not the newest , I bought it in 2013. While the game runs fine.. once my park reaches about 2000 guests and has quite a few rides the game in nearly unplayable from the constant lagging. Any input would be greatly appreciated. The specs are below:

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System Information
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Time of this report: 4/22/2016, 03:31:39
Machine name: JAZARAH
Operating System: Windows 8.1 64-bit (6.3, Build 9600) (9600.winblue_gdr.140305-1710)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Inspiron 5735
BIOS: A00
Processor: AMD A8-5545M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics (4 CPUs), ~1.7GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 7366MB RAM
Page File: 4470MB used, 4366MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.03.9600.16384 64bit Unicode

 

[aDOLPHINjoy18]

http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=23290&game=Planet Coaster
Well not officially from Frontier, it provides a fair idea of what PC you'll need. A quad core i5 or i7, 8GB RAM, and a good GPU.

My white sleek laptop has these specs. I got it new last year:
6th gen Intel Core i5 6200U dual CPU, 8gb DDR3L 1600 RAM, 2GB AMD R7 M360, Windows 10.
And, I'm running into the same problems as you.

So, I decided to order a new desktop from a special New Zealand supplier (I live in NZ). They're awesome I'm just waiting for them to finish building the system and ship it to me. It has these specs:
Intel Core i7-6700k (4 cores, 8 threads, 8MB cache, 4ghz base speed with turbo boost to 4.2Ghz)
Kingston Fury HyperX 240gb SSD (For Windows 10 OS and games)
1TB Samsung 7200RPM HDD
16GB HyperX DDR4 2400Mhz RAM
Sapphire Nitro AMD Radeon R9 390 8GB GDDR5 GPU (memory bandwidth has a high 384GB/s)

I've checked sources like notebookcheck etc, and the GPU/CPU are officially high end (though not the best on the market, it's still High End no matter what other people may think). Even on Intel's website, Intel says the i7-6700k CPU is their flagship processor I think because it can be unlocked to reach about 5Ghz CPU speed.

I've watched YouTube videos and a GTX 980, or a PC with Intel i7 6700k and AMD R9 390 CAN play this game on 1920x1080p High settings easily with 30+ frames per second even with 2000+ peps. I watched another video and the 6700k processor with the AMD R9 390 can play GTA V on Ultra settings in 1920x1080 with a stable 30fps. AMD R9 390 has full Direct x12 support so does Microsoft's Windows 10. Some say Direct x12 is irrelevant. But it isn't. It helps with certain calculations of the hardware to help produce better results. And on The Sims 4 website under GPU requirements, it lists the GTX 980 and R9 390 as 'overpowered'. That clock speed of 1.7Ghz is a bit low. Even my laptop's Intel i5 6200 has a base speed of 2.3Ghz. The AMD Radeon R9 390 has 8GB of vRAM to play with compared to the only 4GB vRAM GTX 980 has. Also, the R9 390's bandwidth is higher than even PS4's GDDR5 bandwidth (384GB/s 8GB GDDR5, vs' PS4's 176GB/s 8GB GDDR5). A GTX 970 or 980 or AMD R9 380 or 390. But if you want to play this game on High Settings 1920x1080 I'd also suggest at least 16GB DDR4 RAM. According to Windows 10 Task Manager, games are CPU intensive, but it pays to have plenty of RAM like 16GB (you can play the game on low settings with 8GB RAM). But if you want to play it on high 1080p you're going to need a good quad core CPU like the i7 or i5, or AMD equivalent.

This sort of hardware I decided to go with will help, especially when Frontier releases more content for this game.

 

[aDOLPHINjoy18]

The 2GB R7 M360 DDR3 GPU on my laptop can play this game on 1080p low settings at 19fps but when the population hits 2000 it goes down to like 9fps or so.
The Intel HD 520 is worse. It can play 1080p low settings at only 1-2fps which makes it unplayable on those settings.
I researched and the R7 M360 only has a bandwidth of 16GB/s.
The AMD R9 390GB (384GB/s bandwidth with a whopping 8GB GDDR5 RAM. is going to own this game alongside the powerful "6th gen" Intel Core i7-6700k quad core super CPU. Well games may not require 8GB vRAM, in 5 years or so time, they probably will require it to play on higher settings.
Just a word of note regarding the GTX 970 4GB GPU, only 3.5GB or it is fast, the last 0.5GB of it is slow memory. I read that Nvidia faced a law suit regarding how only 3.5GB of the 4GB was acceptable. While games may not use 4GB of vRAM, if you play highly demanding games on ultra settings in like 4k, then it's going to use up 4GB vRAM easily. It looks like AMD is trying to future proof with this notion by making the R9 390 with a generous 8GB vRAM. Some say its a gimmick. But it's best to have more memory. It is recommended to have a GPU with GDDR5 RAM not DDR3 RAM. GDDR5 RAM has higher bandwidth than DDR3. I know Microsoft got a lot of remarks why they didn't go with GDDR5 memory with Xbox One. Yet there are still GPU's out there that still only use DDR3.

I will keep my laptop for everyday needs, and have the desktop I ordered for PC gaming.

 

[cerealfruitcakes]

Currently the game is very CPU heavy (this will change as it's optimized for GPU's later). They currently recommend checking out Elite Dangerous' specs (their other game) as a comparison since Planet Coaster isn't optimized yet,
CPU: 2ghz processor
Memory: 4gb ram
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 / ATI Radeon HD 4870

 

[simemo]

Processor: AMD A8-5545M (4 CPUs), ~1.7GHz

This is going to be a problem, ignore GPU specs, no point talking about 'GTX this' or 'AMD R something else' if the heart of the system is weak. Simulation games are ALL about the CPU, its not the flashy graphics but the thousands of different things it has to do behind the scenes that cripple even the most powerful systems.

Think of a game like Call Of Duty. The game has to process you, several AI and maybe a few vehicles. the GPU does the rest. In this you have 1000's of people walking about that ALL need individual reactions, pathing, satisfaction and other factors to be modeled, etc.

This can be demonstrated very easily, if you FPS is going down, pause the game and then see the difference. All the rides, people, buildings, etc. are still there and you can now fly around with lovely smooth frame rates, the difference is the CPU has stopped calculating all the movements and economic factors because the game is paused.

Oh and for the record, I have an AMD Radeon HD6950 1gb card. It's a mid range card at best and over 5 years old now and yet I can play this with over 2000 people at over 20fps. The reason is my beefy AMD FX6350 cpu running at 3.9ghz.

 

[MrBob101]

Jesus this will be fun. I'm rocking 4.5Ghz. WOOT WOOT

 

[The Judge1]

My system is a bit older then most and I have no issues running the game @ 1080p

I even run a less then optimal i3 and have had no issues with lag on high settings.

This is with 2.6k peeps in the park and a decent amount of theming.
I've noticed the only time I did lag was when I had rides placed where peeps could not get to them just to boost numbers. Thinking that was because the pathfinding AI was trying to find a way to them over and over again. once I either connected the rides to path, or just removed them all together, the lag was gone.

I think the recommended system specs are just that "recommended". My dual core i3 (while running 70% load) can manage 2.6k peeps without issues.

 

[aDOLPHINjoy18]

A number of factors do come into play when it comes to how well games perform. It isn't just the GPU, it's also about the CPU and how much system RAM you have. Laptops are going to perform poorly when it comes to games. There isn't enough space for ventilation too. But the upsides of having them are they have a battery they may look cuter and compact and they're good for school or work and can take with you on holiday or travel.
I actually ordered a custom PC via a special NZ company. I should get it within the next week or so. It has these specs:
- 6th gen Intel Core i7-6700K CPU
- Sapphire Nitro AMD Radeon R9 390 8GB GPU
- Kingston Fury HyperX 240GB SDD with Windows 10 Home 64bit
- 1TB Samsung 7200rpm HDD
- HyperX 16GB DDR4 2400Mhz RAM
- Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth
- Installed on a crossair 300r case
- Courier signature required, and 18 month warranty
It's a very customed system I ordered from 1stwave technologies in NZ. It cost me NZ$2,520 max. When you compare all PC's selling in all retail stores throughout NZ, at that price range, they just DONT compare to the specs I ordered with this system. So please US/UK peps, don't say $2,000 is too much. I think even Australians would be wowed about the price and specs too.

 

[msebastiancbr]

AMD A8-5545M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics (4 CPUs), ~1.7GHz

This is a huge problem for this game or for most games. These are the initial specs that Frontier released for this game:

•OS: Windows 7 64bit or newer
•Processor: Intel Core i5 -2300, AMD FX-4300 or better
•Memory: 8 GB Ram
• Nvidia GTX 560 / ATI Radeon 7850 Graphics card with 2GB of Graphics Memory or better
•DirectX: Version 11

Your system is running off of the manufacturers built in graphics and your processor speeds are way down. You can use this site (http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri) to see what you are lacking for the game, but to ever be able to play this game properly you will need a major computer upgrade. Here are my specs for my PC:

MSI Gaming M7 motherboard
Intel i7 6700k (Overclocked to 4.6 GHz)
32GB G.Skill TridentZ 3200 DDR4
MSI GTX 980 Ti Graphics Card (Overclocked)
Corsair Neutron XT 960GB SSD x2
Corsair H100i GTX Liquid Cooler
Corsair AX1200i Power Supply
ASUS VG248QE Monitor w/ 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. Also has G-Sync upgrade

You can have an amazing system but if you don't have a monitor that can support the high end graphic card then you will never reach full potential. You would not need to build this extreme unless you do a lot of gamming like me. But if you don't want to have to upgrade every year or two I would recommend getting at least a i5 6600k and a GTX 970 graphic card. I may get some hate thrown my way but stay away from AMD products because their top of the line processors run extremely hot and are outdated compared to Intel CPU's. Their top of the line graphics cards are also still not up to the challenge of a mid-level NVidia graphics card. On the plus side for AMD their products are cheaper and would run this game with no problem with a FX 8350 CPU and a R9 390X GPU.