video cards : a query in 2 parts

[wonkoabnrml]

greetings fellow interweb funseekers  

 

hope everyone here is doing well 

 

just an old man seeking some joy before im no longer on this floating rock and that is mostly centered around getting in as much VP as possible 

 

purchased a cabinet but was never quite as it should be , most especially audio with some dodgy parts ...never thought id solve it but miraculously found an absolute magnificent human who rebuilt his own and was happy to be helping me (ie doing 98% of it) ...got some new betterer solenoids (shoutout to cleveland software design) and audio and still to get shaker ..also upgraded ram ...i had already upgraded the video card so currently has a 3060 12gb card with 32gb system ram + ryzen 5 26003.4ghz ..... 

 

so my questions about the budget sir ...sorry simpsons reference ... anyway my question relates to video card and whether nvidia being the ONLY best choice is still correct ? is raytracing even needed / noticeable for VP ? are the drivers really that much more stable for VP ? ..... and to that end  would radeon 9060XT 16G or nvidia 5060TI 16G card be a noticeable upgrade or just proof that i have more dollarydoos than sense ? ...im in australia so card prices are even worse with distance tax ....meaning radeon is a much more attractive option ...unless it isnt ? 

 

and second part of this equation (its all maths right ?) is there anyone who has had an nvidia card and switched to radeon or vice versa and any actual or potential issues in doing so ....apologies for ignorance + hope you are nicer / more helpful than most of those on reddit or most other sites ...although either way hope todays a high score one for you (just remember they cant all be high score days ) 

[deadmanworking]

Hey mate, great to hear your cabinet is working well again, regarding upgrading: 3060 12gb is already a very solid choice, in fact I recently upgraded to that one as well (coupled with a 5600x which gives me steady 240fps on 1440p ).. in your case upgrading only the GPU will probably not give you that huge of a leap without also switching out the CPU as you will be massively held back by it. 

Are you targeting 4K at high frame rates? What's your monitor setup?

Regarding AMD vs Nvidia, seems the technical gap isn't that big anymore but from what I'm hearing in some configurations unexplicable issues still arise in AMD setups, especially in Future Pinball. 

[wonkoabnrml]

thanks so much for reply ...just targeting smooth gameplay for as many tables as possible (mostly flawless addams family and a few others)  ..... table screen is 4K capable theres a usb for DMD and another lesser quality (just not 4K but still decent ) for top screen videos and such (i know it has a term i just cannot recall it as sleep is often a distant memory) 

 

i didnt think the GPU would be worth upgrade without CPU and if both will give me some pretty solid quality smooth ball rolling tables then i will be fine ...i doubt id notice much of a difference really , especially DURING gameplay ...wheres the ball gotta get the ball hit the shot and adapt like a mofo  

 

so perhaps in a year or 2 if i still have the table i might go to a 5600 + 5060 i guess , i mean the numbers seem to match up ...and computers = inexplicable chaos and yet also explicable order , much like life in general  

[deadmanworking]

What frame rate are you targeting? What Hz is your playfield running at? 

[wonkoabnrml]

no real target framerate ....its a samsung TV for play field ...4k @ 60hz i think is maximum ...finally got some tables running and all seems much smoother than my previous iteration so hopefully it was just a fresh install of everything that will get some smooth ball rolls and table loads .... although either way ill probably upgrade CPU to 5600x as its pretty cheap really and in a few months maybe the 5060TI will come down a smidge making it worthwhile to do both together

so should i be looking for 60fps to match screen output ? and any tips for improving performace ? 

[deadmanworking]

If your screen only can do 60Hz, you don't need to target higher fps than that and your current setup should work for most cases? Try setting up according to the frame pacing FAQ, your 3060 should be capable of that..

And then you should probably spend your budget on a higher Hz OLED screen then find a 5070x to match the 3060, if you're aiming to go up to 5060TI you should choose the next CPU but that upgrade only makes sense if you want to run 4k on significantly higher fps. Also keep in mind that at some point the BGFX version will be released and that will give huge performance boosts, so weaker systems will profit a lot. If I were you I would not upgrade at the moment and first tweak your existing setup (which is already a lot better than what I had for a long time) 

[wonkoabnrml]

thanks so much ...very helpful for a dead man  ....and i hesitate to ask as you have already been so exceptionally generous + kind with helpful and insightful knowledge so pardon my ongoing ignorance ....not sure what you mean by find a 5070x to match the 3060 ? ...was only looking at 5060ti as price isnt as horrid as others and seems significantly better than the 3060 and i doubt id ever need to upgrade again 

 

... would just CPU upgrade be worth it and then video card when i do monitor ...just that if i go the next steps it will need new power supply aswell so was thinking doing power supply and CPU now and then video card and monitor later on ......and lastly not sure what BGFX is ...but im guessing an update to the backend workings of VPX or future pinball or PUP ? if so cannot wait ....i genuinely appreciate the sage wisdom within , i just love upgrading stuff 

[deadmanworking]

Sorry my bad, i meant: find a 5700x to match the 3060 - so upgrade the CPU from your 2600 to a 5600x or 5700x which matches generations with the 3060 12GB GPU. 
5700x with 32GB RAM and 3060 12GB is the setup I decided on after a lot of price and specs matching with the help of Gemini, for me it's that generation's sweet spot.

If you'd upgrade to 5060 generation you'd be better of choosing the 7600 or 7800 CPU architecture while you're at it and use corresponding RAM and SSD tech as well. But that would be at least 4 figures more in expenses I reckon. 

(the above setup cost me 250€ for the GPU and 350€ for the mobo/cpu.)

Yeah in your case I would upgrade the CPU, keep the 3060 and look for an OLED to match, you won't need 240Hz, 165 or even 120Hz is such a substantial step up from 60 regarding fluid gameplay. 

 

And yes BGFX is a new architecture for VPX, decoupling physics and graphics and the performance gains are huge. So you'll get some more mileage out of your hardware when that comes out, currently still in beta. 
 

[wonkoabnrml]

cool beans .... i genuinely appreciate you as a human being taking time from your day to help a nobody from nowhere , and all without any hint of ego which is the hardest part of the equation to master , so kudos 

 

also im "stuck" on AM4 ...so 7600/7800 doesnt seem possible 

 

so you dont think the 5700x would eventually work with a 5060ti ? 

 

ive also double checked and playfield is 43inch samsung ua43tu8000w which says in specs page via samsung that it has 100hz motion rate ...however i thought it was 60hz as thats all that nvidia control panel told me was possible .... so im guessing i need to tool around with settings somewhere to get the 100hz happening 

[deadmanworking]

No worries I spent a lot of time balancing budget and gains.. 5700x will work with 5060TI yes. If it's the 16GB version you'll have good performance for frame rates 120fps and maybe even up to 165 in 4k. 
With the 3060 now you should first try installing the latest Nvidia drivers and Samsung monitor drivers to unlock the 100Hz, then test if your current GPU can make it work with your current software setup!

[ludovids]

That "100hz motion rate" is like some motion smoothing bs (which you should turn off) and the true refresh rate is 60Hz. See if rtings.com has recommened settings for your TV.  You will want to set TV's input name you are using to "PC" to minimize latency / input lag.