Finally got rid of an old laptop (3 or 4th gen Intel) and modded an Optiplex MT into dedicated Zwift machine with some new and some old parts.
Dell Optiplex 7050 MT
Intel i5-7600
MSI GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER VENTUS OC
500GB Crucial P3 Plus PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Windows 11
Installed the latest NVIDIA GPU drivers. New to all the different settings in both NVIDIA Control Panel and other NVIDIA tool (black interface, don’t know the name) it’s a little overwhelming. Back in the days (Quake Team Arena) gaming was a bit easier on the brain.
Did a first proper training two days ago, uploaded it into Zwiftalizer. I can’t include links in this forum.
[Zwiftalizer link deleted]
Like said, it was a training ride, solo, not busy. Just like other people, I care about my FPS’s ;). Looking at the Zwiftalizer recording, does this look normal to you? It goes up and down a lot. Kind of expected more of the system. CPU temp was around 70ºC constantly.
Anything special about these values, taking into account the specs of the system?
I have set the “triple buffering” like described in different topics. Not sure in which of the two NVIDIA apps I should do this though.
That’s what I was thinking.
Motherboard and stock heatsink are without most dust. I cleaned the whole setup before assembly. Gave it new thermal paste too. I have a new copper Thermalright AXP90-X47 cooler on the shelf. Might want to try this one.
You can compare your results with other similar systems by using the Search function on zwiftalizer.com (for example, search for “i5-7600 1660 super”)
Keep in mind that some worlds (like Makuri!) use more CPU, and if you are in a crowded event with a lot of riders that will also increase CPU demands. This will affect frame rates.
I didn’t know frame rates are different between worlds. Good to know. Which world would likely give highest fps? For testing purposes.
I will look and compare other systems on Zwiftalizer. Thanks.
That CPU will be limited in today’s Zwift occasionally slowing for crowds and different worlds. I have an i7-7700 and it slows below 60 fps (I cap at 60 due to TV is 60Hz) in crowds in any world and in Makuri. Typically down to mid-40s. My gpu is the RTX-4060 so I am CPU limited.
To get the best (better) performance need to go to 12th Gen or higher… or M4 Apple mini.
I see other systems with same CPU & GPU with frame rates as high as 102 max and 80 average. These are recent rides in Ultra + 2160 4K in France world. I might be talking some French this evening.
France yesterday, a totally different score. During the ride I personally haven’t seen anything else than 75 fps (Nvidia overlay statistics). I also had my Acer VG270 gaming monitor (capable of 144hz) on screen refresh rate. Also on 75.
I had the display set at V-sync both on and off, no difference, a steady 75 fps.
France is easy on a GPU. Makuri and a couple of other areas will stress the GPU. I think the Jungle is one. Crowds will stress the CPU and will never show over 50% CPU utilization because Zwift does not use all the cores. The Intel instruction set of 12th Gen and newer are much better for Zwift.
