Need help with GPU selection

ilkhani

ilkhani
Hi Frontier and fellow space explorers.

I am currently in the process of putting together a new MicroATX rig and I need to pick a GPU solution.
The requirements are that it can run the game at 1080 with high detail, smooth framerates and using DK2.
Brand is not a big deal, but preferably Nvidia for this time.
I am not looking for the best of the best card on market, only one that can do the task outlined above.

I have checked various benchmarks around and it seems the game is running well even on very old cards, but I have not found a benchmark list using the DK2, so if you could suggest a card or two, I would appreciate it.

Thanks.
 

Roscoe

R
DK2 and high detail in the one sentence don't really go together.

I'm running a gtx770 with everything set to low, this gives a very smooth experience, however I feel this is the minimum spec to get a smooth experience. If you wish to start getting better graphics then you are really needing a 970 or 980.
That said the DK2 is limited in its graphics capability so you may not notice too much difference.

One however should keep in mind that the CV1 won't be far away and with its higher res will surely require even higher GPU performance.
 

Jericho

Jericho
Here are my specs:
.
EVGA GTX 970 FTW, with a slight OC.
FX 8350 OC@ 4.5
16GB RAM
SSD
.
I super-sample and then have Oculus quality set to about 65% (AA off, AO off, V-sync off)
All other settings are set to high or ultra (with the exception of shadows, on low).
.
The GTX 970 maintains 75fps most of the time, but I do drop to 65-70fps in stations.
I avoid asteroid belts because I know it won't be a great experience fps-wise.
.
I would hate to recommend any card to you considering the CV hasn't been nailed down yet and have no idea if I'd be over-spec'ing or under-spec'ing.
I will say though that the GTX 970 is a very good value for performance.
.
.
Hope this helps.
.
Good luck with your decision!
 
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iamken

iamken
I recently got the MSI CTX 760 itx. Its a mini atx size GPU with massive performance, it beats a standard gtx 760 in every area. It will also fit nicely in your case, is super quiet (I am yet to even hear it) and it stays super cool even when over clocked. Running ED on max settings 1080p resolution, constant 60fps.

Hope that helps.
 

Soda Popinski

Soda Popinski
DK2 causes a serious performance hit. In order to have a smooth experience in the DK2, you need to be able to run 75 fps.

That said, you need a pretty good card to run it with high detail. I picked up a 970, and it runs OK most of the time, but I get a little bit of judder in stations and asteroid fields. There are a few tweaks, like turn down the shadow detail, occlusions, and one notch back on the Oculus detail did wonders. Also, there seems to be a bug (with the Oculus detail slider), that puts it back to default everytime you start the game - so you need to re-apply the graphics settings to get it back to smooth.

I'm only running a single 970, but may consider going SLI in the future when the CV1 comes out (pretty sure I'll need it).
 

ilkhani

ilkhani
Thank you Roscoe, Jericho, Soda, iamken for all for the replies and information, it was really helpful.
I had set my mind on the 970 and it seems like the right choice now.
Also as some of you mention that the consumer version of Oculus is set to come out this year and then I can go SLI if needed with dual 970s at that point.
Much seems to depend on optimization for Oculus it seems, so most likely we will see performance increase over the year. *crosses fingers* :p

I took a note of the bug with the Oculus detail slider resetting. Thanks.
 

Raptoyd

Raptoyd
GTX 980 if you got 525 - I will be trying it soon on an I7 quad core - GTX980 - 16 GB RAM I figure if that doesn't run it I would be talking a major investment that I don't want to make right now.:eek:
 
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NoiseCrime

NoiseCrime
Jericho said:
I would hate to recommend any card to you considering the CV hasn't been nailed down yet and have no idea if I'd be over-spec'ing or under-spec'ing.
I will say though that the GTX 970 is a very good value for performance.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it was confirmed it will be running at 90Hz at CES 2015 (though that might have just been the current prototype, so maybe prototype != CV1?) however they are still being surprisingly cagey about resolution. Thing is even if they keep it at 1920x1080 the move from 75Hz to 90Hz is a 20% increase in frames per second and as most people with GTX970 tend to agree with optimal settings ( mix of performance and quality) they can just maintain 75Hz for the most part, its unlikely a GTX970 is going to be enough for CV1

That said I totally agree that at present the sweet spot for DK2 and Elite is a GTX970, its what I went for and I'm pretty happy overall. Certainly I didn't see the value in bumping up to a 980 at the current price difference. My outlook is that come CV1, unless it suddenly jumps up in performance demands i'll switch to either sli 970, a next gen card or sli of next gen card, that is once we get some actual benchmarks from people. Overall it just seemed the safest most sensible play to go for.
 

Raptoyd

Raptoyd
NoiseCrime said:
Pretty sure it was confirmed it will be running at 90Hz at CES 2015 (though that might have just been the current prototype, so maybe prototype != CV1?) however they are still being surprisingly cagey about resolution. Thing is even if they keep it at 1920x1080 the move from 75Hz to 90Hz is a 20% increase in frames per second and as most people with GTX970 tend to agree with optimal settings ( mix of performance and quality) they can just maintain 75Hz for the most part, its unlikely a GTX970 is going to be enough for CV1

That said I totally agree that at present the sweet spot for DK2 and Elite is a GTX970, its what I went for and I'm pretty happy overall. Certainly I didn't see the value in bumping up to a 980 at the current price difference. My outlook is that come CV1, unless it suddenly jumps up in performance demands i'll switch to either sli 970, a next gen card or sli of next gen card, that is once we get some actual benchmarks from people. Overall it just seemed the safest most sensible play to go for.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, great comments if you already have a 970 get ready to add one as long as you have the rest that is probably going to be more than sufficient. If you don't have a card though and you are buying a Haswell processor get the 980
 

ilkhani

ilkhani
NoiseCrime said:
My outlook is that come CV1, unless it suddenly jumps up in performance demands i'll switch to either sli 970, a next gen card or sli of next gen card, that is once we get some actual benchmarks from people. Overall it just seemed the safest most sensible play to go for.
Click to expand...

That is also what I consider to be the most sensible play.
Obviously a single 980 is the way to go if cost is of no concern between a 980 and a 970, but I am thinking that come CV1, both probably will need to be SLI regardless and in that term, if the 970 SLI is enough in performance for CV1, then the obvious cost advantage is the winner here and the 980 SLI would seem like too much money spent on too small a gain.

Much of what we are talking about here is really the initial investment versus longterm gain and that is always the issue with GPUs, because we want good performance at good prices and that seems to be where 970 is at the moment. Obviously if I can find a super amazing deal on a 980 at almost black market prices, then that is the way to go, but that won't happen haha.
 
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cowpoke

C
I would wait until CV1 comes out unless you are OK with just spending a bit extra to be an early adopter. When CV1 comes out you will likely want to build a new computer from scratch.
 

Phier

Phier
Part of me really wants to buy two 980's and SLI them, and another part of me knows thats a stupid waste of money. I'm not sure which side is winning that debate.
 

ilkhani

ilkhani
Phier said:
Part of me really wants to buy two 980's and SLI them, and another part of me knows thats a stupid waste of money. I'm not sure which side is winning that debate.
Click to expand...

Since you are thinking about it, I guess the 980s are winning, but unless you got money to burn, there are far better things to spend that on.
Maybe time to get a better gaming chair? :) Or better yet, save the money aside and then you will be more than ready for consumer version of the Rift.

bonsek said:
I have a micro-atx and I had to buy a larger case for it in order to fit the shortest gtx 970 i could find http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5252#ov

I have to turn off bloom and blur, set shadows to low and run everything on ultra except reflections.
If you want to run DSR graphics for sharper text then SLI is the best performance
Click to expand...

That is actually the same GTX 970 I had in mind, found it on amazon.co.uk.
But the case I am getting is this one from corsair: http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/carbide-series-air-240-high-airflow-micro-atx-and-mini-itx-pc-case
By the dimensions, I think maybe a full sized gpu could fit in there, but unsure.
 

planetrobbo

planetrobbo
I bought a gtx 480 (old card) runs ED perfect full graphics on my Q6600 quad core. It was second hand £55 off ebay. Although it's an older card it's still as powerful as most of the budget/mid range cards.

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http://www.videocardbenchmark.net

I found this website useful btw for checking the relative performance if gpu's. Not an exact science by any means but I found it was a really good guide.
 

Myrmidon

Myrmidon
I'm actually running Elite on an older tower system (Q6600) with a new(ish) GTX760 and the DK2. It runs surprisingly well, even on 'High' settings, (though it is a bit smoother on 'Low'). I went small on this since I feel the best time to upgrade will be when the commercial Rift comes out later this year. Then, I'll get a new mobo, CPU, RAM, GPU, etc...
 
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