Define this please.
I wouldnât buy that, itâs far too expensive.
If this is just for Zwift, then the best value options are a 4th gen i3 or 12th gen i3. Everything in between ends up poor value by comparison. The only question is whether youâre content with the frame rate dropping to around 30fps in group rides and Makuri, or would want 60fps as often as possible. If the dips are fine, save the money. If not, spend it. An i3 is enough in both scenarios, donât be tempted by higher range CPUs that have little extra benefit.
On the GPU side, again it comes down to whether youâre okay with the frame rate dipping in the gameâs most demanding areas or not (Watopia jungle, Titans Grove, Makuri). If 30fps lows are okay, then a 970/1060/1650 Super is fine. Theyâll do 60fps in 4K and Ultra detail most other places when not CPU limited. If you want to ensure 60fps at all times then the minimum is roughly a 1080Ti/2070/3060. Yes, I realise how ridiculous that is, but you can thank Makuri for it.
You only need 8GB of RAM and a 120GB SSD, anything more is a waste of money unless youâre doing other things with the PC.
i built a pc for ÂŁ180 that will run this game in ultra (not 4k but i went with a 1050ti so what are you gonna do, there are higher spec Ti options that even a proprietary PSU could handle) at 60fps and probably most other games too on his advice, and ÂŁ120 of that was the graphics card which i believe are now selling for up to ÂŁ200 used on ebay. dave knows very well what he is talking about
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So you are spending more that double the amount with the assumption that it may get better.
I would then rather spend $600 on a PC that outperform the M1 now and can upgrade in two years when prices get back to normal.
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hmm that system has an RTX2070 - as far as I can tell those are around 1000 on their own or am I not looking in the right place? so thats only another 300 for the computer. Is an RTX2070 a good choice? When I start googling for 12th gen, I just get 2K-3K computers coming up without any decent graphics card, mostly dell and fitting a decent powwer supply into a dell seems fraught - I did it once but had to do a fair amount of dremmeling. Iâve got a house to move into on wednesday afternoon, so would really like to start getting the computer bits tomorrow - is it worth me going to best buy, not my favorite by any means, but I am not sure where else to go other than online? as always thanks for all the advice.
Iâm not in the US, but have a look at Cyberpower/Ibuypower. Best Buy is fine for individual parts (GPU aside!) but Iâm not sure regarding any prebuilts they may sell. As mentioned youâd probably be best buying the PC and graphics card separately. That way you could at least look to buy a used 1050 Ti or something to keep you going for now.
Reason that 2070 Super build is too much money is because a 2070S is massively overkill for Zwift (and $1000 for one is crazy), and itâs got a bunch of other bits you donât need. For example youâre paying a ton of money for the overclockable i5, enthusiast motherboard and liquid cooler when a $100 12th gen i3 beats it.
so - [HP - Pavilion Desktop - Intel Core i3 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Natural Silver] $399 - and Iâm not sure about the 1080Ti and âkeep my going for nowâ - is this going to drop frames? I would just as soon spend some money now and not have to upgrade later or at least for a year or two - looks like around 600 for a preowned 1080TI - but Iâm up to 1K already then - seems like paying an extra 300 for the Mercari even though its over spec might not be that big a deal right now.
Can I ask a really stupid question. What is the big push for 4k.
At this point GPU prices are crazy this is something that will go back to normal at some point. Running a gtx 1060 will give you good experience in ultra (edit 4k). Then Later upgrading to a rtx gpu.
The 1060 is fine for 4K anyway.
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I wouldnât buy a used 1080 Ti either. 
Is there not a Microcenter you can get to?
O yes you are correct. The reason why I run ultra is because of streaming and discord.
Will edit my post.
yes⌠its on the other side of Denver from me which is a royal pain - but obviously can be done at the right time of day and traffic - but again, hours of my time - vs pushing a button and just getting this system for 1300 and it will keep up with zwift for a few years. Money aside, would this Macari system run zwift flawlessly? I just donât think I can be arsed with running around getting bits at this time in my life! I have to build a new house!
It will run flawlessly in terms of Ultra and 4K and wonât ever run out of steam from a GPU perspective, but itâll need the CPU overclocking to around 5GHz prevent the frame rate tanking in a group ride. And itâs $1,300 on a used PC, which is almost all the way to something new and far better.
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I mean, I absolutely wouldnât buy this personally but itâs similar in price, brand new and better for Zwift: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1660372-REG/msi_mpg_trident_3_11tc_069us_i5f_3060_itx_16gb.html
Or something like this: Gaming RDY SLMRG206 | iBUYPOWERÂŽ
I want to stress, these are silly money. But specifically for what you want, then thereâs a huge premium right now.
For a couple hundred more: iBUYPOWER Gaming Desktop Slate5MR 236i Intel Core i5 12th Gen 12600KF (3.70GHz) Z690 Motherboard 16GB DDR4 1TB HDD 500GB NVMe SSD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 240mm Liquid Cooler Windows 11 Home 64-bit - Newegg.com
The 12th Gen i3 prebuilt is unobtainium as far as I can tell.
I would also check CraigslistâŚin Austin there are a couple of interesting late model PCs that are worth a look.
Edit: Daveâs Ryzen is pretty goodâŚ
Edit2: iBuypower does now have i3 12th gen in their configuratorâŚ
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Itâs only just been launched, thatâs why. In time itâll be in loads I suspect, value-wise itâs ludicrously good.
He is looking for this weekendâŚ
Personally I would look at i5 and higherâŚI buy computers for the long haul. I have an Alienware Aurora R1 from 2008 (i7-980 & nvidia 260) that I still use. (I checked for ZwiftâŚwatching in Watopia was 15-20 fpsâŚa bit slow).
The 12th gen i3 performs similarly to even i9 CPUs from previous generations, and nobody would say those werenât futureproof. Zwift basically runs on one thread (the i3 has eight), so buying i5s and above with loads of cores and threads is unnecessary spend unless the game is completely overhauled.
not sure if this got thru, but the b&h photo one is an i5 - I think you said it would need to be overcloced to 5Ghz or something, is that true? or would it just run as is? I like that one, I can pay for it over a year interest free with b&h as I buy stuff from them frequently - so seems a good deal for me as long as that i5 is going to provide the single thread power it needs?