Dedicated Pain Cave PC

Where is the new setup pic??

Just got a new PC - Got the G5 Dell with the following upgrades:

Core i5 10600KF +$98

GeForce 2060 6GB +$147 or Super 8GB +$196

Memory 2x8GB +$98

256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD +$78.40

Only issue I have with it is when running Zwift the Graphics occasionally freeze for a couple of seconds. I suspect something else is “taking priority” but I need to figure it out. I have been recording Zwift races and it is awesome. So much better than my old apple.

Also check out this article on Zwift Insider for more Info - Zwift on PC: The Ultimate Guide to Running Zwift at Its Very Best | Zwift Insider

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@ericallenboyd here ya go! @GPLama was right. Quick trip to the store got me a decent enough Dell. Plug it it, log in, download apps and i’m up and running. I’ll put some more memory in later and maybe an ssd just to make boot up faster, but this works great for now.

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This is when my kids refuse to leave and I have to turn on something for them to watch heh.

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Different things are important to different people. People who aren’t into cycling are probably surprised that we spend so much time and effort on this hobby. :man_shrugging:

I agree that for you, personally, it doesn’t make sense as it doesn’t sound like you find Zwift that entertaining or immersive. I, personally, do and have found the ridiculous detail and extra immersion to be worth it.

There are also ways to not hemorrhage cash while doing it. The article I linked had a budget PC section to optimize lower cost builds. I just found 42in 2018 model year TCL 4k TVs on Amazon for $230. And not everything needs to be upgraded at once. There is no need to upgrade the computer at the same time as TV or streaming devices. But, if one anticipates a 4k TV upgrade, it might be worthwhile to make sure the video card can handle it.

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Sure, I get it. And I wasn’t trying to state my position was superior any way. Just throwing in my 2 cents on my current situation. Please ignore at will. I honestly didn’t even know that Zwift worked in 4k before this thread so was surprised to see how much people liked it just based on how little I personally pay attention.

Glad your setup is making you happy!

Anyone use a Mac Mini for their dedicated pain cave computer?

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What a beautiful paincave! :+1:

I’ve gone extreme. Full gaming rig, RTX Card, 10th Gen Intel, 16GB RAM, and 1TB m.2 SSD. Tacx ANT+ dongle + Bluetooth. Run TR and Zwift simultaneously. Floor fan on a smart switch via smartphone or Alexa. Room also has A/C. TV is “ok” but have a 34” 144Ghz Ultrawide in the pipeline.

I’ve Zwifted on everything from iPhone to iPad to ATV4 and can promise you, once you’ve done a busy Watopia race in Ultra Mode, in 4k at over 60fps you will NEVER go back!

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@GPLama I’m just playing around with OBS, did you ever try and stream TrainerRoad over OBS? I’ve got Zwift working fine, just can’t get TR to show in the OBS window.

Nope. I’ll try add it as a source when I have the time to look at this. There shouldn’t be any reason it doesn’t work with some kind of setting flipped in the right direction.

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yes. works a treat.

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Not sure if this is the best thread for this question or not but here she goes. I want my eye candy (Zwift) to look the best it can while doing my TR work. My current MSI laptop has a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card, and 16GB of memory. How much better can I realistically get Zwift to look if I were to buy a new dedicated pain cave PC with with more modern components?

This may help? I think Zwift was more graphics intensive vs. processor…

Thanks for the reply! I’ve read that article many times actually but can’t figure out if my current PC has “maxed out” Zwift or not. Is shelling out $1000 for a new PC worth it if all I’m going to get is a very minor visual upgrade?

  • What graphics setting are you using in Zwift currently?

From my experience with a desktop PC running similar specs, but a GTX 1070 card, I am right on the limit between the top and next step down graphics settings. I can run at max, but there are some notable stutters at times in large groups.

Hey @mcneese.chad, thanks for replying. I’m using the 4K Ultra settings. Pretty smooth most of the time but I can tell the frame rate is lower in big groups. No real stuttering though.

Based on that, I am not sure you will see a notable improvement worthy of the investment. It’d be one thing to swap a gfx card, but with a laptop that’s not always an option (or at least a bit more effort).

Also, you didn’t mention if you are using just the laptop screen, or porting to another display? Not sure it really factors into the consideration, but high res on a “tiny” screen, even when improved could be a marginal change.

Good insight. And fair point on the display, I’m using a 40” TV mounted on the wall ahead of me.

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Check out the benchmarks of various configurations. Zwiftalizer 2.0

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