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I think Farming Simulator can run on the base M4 Mac Mini. That might actually be the cheapest and easiest way to get good performance.
I don’t understand graphics cards.
- Thread starter jhellwig
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Bummer about the power supply. If it's a standard ATX size power supply, it would be an easy upgrade with an aftermarket unit, but considering we are talking Dell, all bets are off.
I got into the home built computer hobby about 25 years ago, and haven't used (other than at work) a store bought since. Built a few gaming computers for my son, also. It's a lot of fun.
If you chase the latest tech, building with modern components, will cost a fair bit. It's overkill for most people, other than maybe gamers. Why build with obsolete components, though? Therein lays the conundrum a lot of us face.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Dell has historically been notorious for doing non-standard stuff. "Back in the day" they had ATX sized PSU's but non-standard connectors. I had to re-pin one for a dell desktop I picked up in the late 90's where the PSU failed.
They also tend to ship with marginal PSU's that prevent future upgrades like what you are planning, which you appear to have already discovered.
IF the motherboard is standard ATX form-factor (IIRC, they eventually switched to standard ATX power connectors) you could move it into a different case with a larger PSU to expand your upgrade options. The power and indicator connections may take a bit of work however, if they aren't labelled (which they probably aren't).
The more I read it looks like the game needs some improvement so it might not be a computer limitation. Lots of people are displeased with 25. Some things is it seem like a step back from Sim Farm. I still like it though.It's a fun game, I have FS22 and will purchase the new when it goes on sale
Someday I might build a computer but for now this free one will work.
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/how-to-jury-rig-an-external-power-supply-for-your-gpu.282048/
If the gpu has its own power connector it’s possible to twin an external PSU
If you like the game a lot, I would recommend getting a PC with a dedicated graphic cards. Once you experience smooth performance and high graphic settings, you will enjoy it even more. Games like these are way more enjoyable with graphic settings cranked up.
Game designers sometimes are lazy. If it runs fine on a new computer without optimization then don't waste your labor optimizing is the reason. Back in the days people have to run with all sorts of optimization like using different polygon counts and texture type from far away or run some weird math to speed up some square root or divide (John Carmack had a *** math equation in the Quake engine I believe that people couldn't understand why it would work but it did).
The reason why today's GPU is expensive is because..... the AI boom, and prior to that the crypto mining boom. GPU has many more transistors and silicon footprint than CPU so they are more expensive, and more power hungry, and faster memory (GDDR instead of DDR, or even HBM).
I think these days the GPU can cost more than a whole PC with just integrated graphics on the CPU. Your farming simulator game probably can run on a used GPU from eBay but if you want to run it on an under powered PC try to reduce the resolution of your display. Say from 3840 to 1080 could reduce graphics need to 1/4.
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I think GPU prices will be a key contributing factor in the death of x86. The only thing keeping that legacy train going is gaming.
I am another guy that deals with GPU but does not really know a ton of info about GPU, my thing is CAD for Engineering projects mainly. My boys on the other hand are into light online gaming.
We just put together a gaming laptop for one of the boys, but quite honestly they find themselves "renting" GPU/CPU bandwidth through gaming website servers or platforms. There is a big one out there for gaming that I cannot recall the name of that many access using something like a "steamdeck". That's about as far as my understanding goes.... Just that an option exists that is very efficient where you utilize outside bandwidth for gaming or tasks, leaving you without having to build an expensive machine to do it. They do this through online gaming platforms but there are also sites where you can rent based on spec, then you are essentially remoting into their infrastructure through your device.
It may be worth researching as an interim or permanent solution.
We just put together a gaming laptop for one of the boys, but quite honestly they find themselves "renting" GPU/CPU bandwidth through gaming website servers or platforms. There is a big one out there for gaming that I cannot recall the name of that many access using something like a "steamdeck". That's about as far as my understanding goes.... Just that an option exists that is very efficient where you utilize outside bandwidth for gaming or tasks, leaving you without having to build an expensive machine to do it. They do this through online gaming platforms but there are also sites where you can rent based on spec, then you are essentially remoting into their infrastructure through your device.
It may be worth researching as an interim or permanent solution.
A Steamdeck is a handheld gaming device that supports some games off a digital distribution platform called Steam. It's basically like a Gameboy and PSP for the PC, they download the game onto the Steam deck and play it on-the-go.
I realize you are not building a PC and yet DIY builder websites have the best information about achieving various levels of performance for specific games. Google this - build a pc to play Farming Simulator 25. Look over the many websites that list components to play the game. For example, Game Force has recommendations for CPU, RAM, Graphics Card, SSD and HDD and much more. Reddit r/farmingsimulator has information and offers an opportunity to ask others how to make your system work better. Graphics cards that offer smooth and optimized game play include NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti or the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. Look up specs for those cards and compare with what you have. However, a good graphics card is not the only component to consider. Check out Game Builds on https://www.logicalincrements.com/ which includes pricing for various levels of performance and defines what each level means i.e., smooth play at various resolutions and graphical settings. Unfortunately, this site doesn't include Farming Simulator.
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I have been building computers since the 486DX4 100mhz era. A bit rusty as of late but what I was always curious of is why they are so expensive compared to the rest of the PC build. And while not all will fail, if you push your video cards really hard, they do desolder and parts do fail on them compared to the rest of the system.
I've noticed the list price is far below the website price on the higher end video cards I like. Manufacturer list price might be $999.99 and New Egg sells it for $2,400
I second RX 580, that's what I have minus gaming. Good cards.
There is minimum, which will not look great and then there are high settings, which for a game like this, graphic quality should take priority over FPS. And this game with high quality graphics settings looks very good.
I would definitely recommend going above minimum.
