PC Setup Thread - Advice on what works

[RetroDee4Three]

Quote: Originally Posted by jk31

Yeah sure, there was a jump for next gen. But I mean during the gen we have right now, there was no graphical improvement at all.

Close-ups during the game pop more, and alot of the cyberfaces have improved. 2K20 has better lighting overall than 2K18 and 2K19.

However, I agree that on THIS gen, we have not seen graphical improvements year after year. In fact, the best lighting/atmosphere comes from 2K14 and 2K16, and those games also look the best from the actual gameplay perspective (whether it be broadcast view, or 2K view). The body types were also better in 2K16, I think they had 8 different body types they used, now they use 4 or less.

I still play 2K16 and am modding it as we speak. Not only do I enjoy the look a lot more, but the gameplay feels far more sim. The footplanting is the best in the series, and so is the defense. The only defensive complaint I have with 2K16 is the trailer 3 being open a bit much, but you can remedy that by just bringing someone to the top of the key to contest (like you would have to in real life. 2K16 also has the 4 size up system (front, back. Left and right), and the sizeups are easy to break out of. Really adds realism and overall authenticity to the game.

Unfortunately, whenever a new game comes out, probably 99.5% of all people move onto it, and very few stick to playing past titles. I choose to play the games I enjoy, and I refuse to just "move on" if a new game isn't as good for me. I'm creating an Ultimate Classic Teams roster for the PC that will include around 30 new classic teams, and have the default ones filled. I'm making cyberfaces for the roster right now and making teams etc. Its a ton of work.....

Graphically though, the same thing happened on last gen. Go back and look at the graphics on 2K10, followed by the slight downgrade graphically on 2K11, followed by the even further downgrade on 2K12 (looks dull and like it's missing shaders, lighting got worse), followed by an improvement on 2K13.

[OSUXUGrad]

Thanks for this information, very helpful and encouraging for sure! I just got into PC gaming about 3 months ago and one of my biggest concerns was wether my system could appropriately handle sports games like Madden 20 and 2k20. I purchased a pre-build from MC that has a i5 9600k, 16 Gigs of RAM, an RTX 2060 GPU and a 500 GB SSD. Based on your initial post, sounds like I should be able to run them with no problem? You said that the responsiveness was one of the reasons why PC is better, could you explain what you mean? What exactly makes sports games on PC better than on console? I’m trying to convince myself to buy madden 20 and NBA 2k20, which I already own on the Xbox One X, again for PC, lol!

Quote: Originally Posted by RetroDee4Three

Hi all, It seems that most people who play on consoles believe that you have to spend $1000-$2000 on a gaming PC to run this generations NBA 2K games, this is completely false. First, I will list my setup below. NOTE: The only reason I have the RX480 graphics card, is because my brother got it for me for my birthday. I was using the R9 270X followed by the R9 290x, and I was able to play all this generations 2K's (2K15 through 2K19) on highest settings. GRAPHICS CARD: AMD RX 480 PROCESSOR: AMD FX 8150 8-core 3.6 ghz processor RAM: 12GB The rest of my setup: TV: Samsung NU7100 (50 inch) I highlighted the one that I have. Anything under 20ms for Input Lag is considered excellent for a TV, mine is roughly around 13. The picture quality is excellent as well. Anything 0-20 is considered excellent here https://displaylag.com/testing-method/ I've shown this to a few other people, a couple bought the TV (One bought the 50 inch, the other the 43 inch) and they are LOVING the gaming on it. You don't feel any input lag, it's incredibly reactive, and your game looks great. Another myth is that you have to spend a ton on a monitor or TV, this is literally not the case. I got this TV for around $350 on sale, and it's still under $400 online. I maintain a constant 60FPS even through cutscenes, take a look at the gameplay videos below. And, it's pretty awesome playing on a 50 inch screen! Monitor idea if you wanted to go big that way: Acer 48.5 inch https://www.colamco.com/product/acer...RoCQKgQAvD_BwE No, not as cheap as the Samsung, but it's relatively the same size and under $600. CONTROLLER: Xbox one wireless People don't realize how easy it is to use xbox360 or xbox one controllers on PC. They are literally plug and play, the CPU recognizes them immediately, and they plug in via USB. For wireless, all you need to do is spend $18, plug it into your USB slot, and your wireless controller is automatically recognized. https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Xbo...a-568608808999 If you didn't care about the wireless route, you could buy a cheap rock candy xbox 360 controller which works perfectly. You could get one of those for like $20 at wal-mart. How much do you need to spend? Not as much as you think, or people tell you. See this $600 gaming PC? My buddy has it, and can run NBA 2K19 on high. Want one a little more powerful? an upgrade exists for $100 more. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpo...saAgoaEALw_wcB Here is another one right around $600 that you could easily max out 2K20 on. My brother has that graphics card (RX 580), and it's the upgrade to the one I currently have (RX 480) https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron...=operasport-20 Future proofing? Pretty sure you still won't have to break the bank to do that. Yes, you may want to get a slightly better graphics card or processor, but don't go nuts. I remember when we were moving from last gen on PC (NBA 2K14) to this gen (NBA 2K15), the setup that I had worked fine with the transition. I had an AMD R270X card, and a weaker processor than I do now, and I was able to run NBA 2K15 on high, use all mods (The few that existed), etc. Here are some gameplay videos using my current setup. A little background on me. I got into PC gaming in 2013 and I am a contributor over on the NLSC. I mod myself, but also use the many mods by the talented creators who post them. I personally will never be able to go back to console as long as PC versions are available. The graphics, responsiveness (That is a big one), mods, etc... They just do it for me. Even if you had to play PC versions on MEDIUM for setting, the graphics are no worse than consoles (Which is another thing people fail to realize or understand). Let me know if you have any questions!

[RetroDee4Three]

Quote: Originally Posted by OSUXUGrad

Thanks for this information, very helpful and encouraging for sure! I just got into PC gaming about 3 months ago and one of my biggest concerns was wether my system could appropriately handle sports games like Madden 20 and 2k20. I purchased a pre-build from MC that has a i5 9600k, 16 Gigs of RAM, an RTX 2060 GPU and a 500 GB SSD. Based on your initial post, sounds like I should be able to run them with no problem? You said that the responsiveness was one of the reasons why PC is better, could you explain what you mean? What exactly makes sports games on PC better than on console? I’m trying to convince myself to buy madden 20 and NBA 2k20, which I already own on the Xbox One X, again for PC, lol!

Your rig is better than mine in all three major categories. You have a better processor, more RAM, and a better graphics card. FYI - I can run Madden 20 on Ultra at a constant 60 FPS on my rig, you will be perfectly fine with both 2K20 and Madden 20.

On 2K17 and 2K18, I know that some Nvidia cards had some stuttering issues (Not related to the power of the card itself, a game optimization issue for those specific cards). But, I have not heard of any issues for 2K19 and 2K20, and that was just happening on a select few cards anyway.

I feel far less input lag on PC, both my brothers feel the same way. As in, when I hit a button on the controller, it happens instantly on PC, and on console I have a very slight delay. I play both console and PC on the same TV (The one I mentioned), but all my games feel a bit more reactive and feel better on PC. That's what I meant by responsiveness.

Reading up on your GPU, it looks awesome. I honestly don't think you will have any issues whatsoever,

Here is your card vs mine via user benchmark

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...480/4034vs3634

Some of the "FPS" benchmarks don't match up with my real life experience, and I think some of that has to do with processor. I get 60 FPS constantly on Witcher 3, but they say they maxed out at 53 FPS. But that site atleast gives you a baseline on your card vs mine.

[OSUXUGrad]

Quote: Originally Posted by RetroDee4Three

Your rig is better than mine in all three major categories. You have a better processor, more RAM, and a better graphics card. FYI - I can run Madden 20 on Ultra at a constant 60 FPS on my rig, you will be perfectly fine with both 2K20 and Madden 20. On 2K17 and 2K18, I know that some Nvidia cards had some stuttering issues (Not related to the power of the card itself, a game optimization issue for those specific cards). But, I have not heard of any issues for 2K19 and 2K20, and that was just happening on a select few cards anyway. I feel far less input lag on PC, both my brothers feel the same way. As in, when I hit a button on the controller, it happens instantly on PC, and on console I have a very slight delay. I play both console and PC on the same TV (The one I mentioned), but all my games feel a bit more reactive and feel better on PC. That's what I meant by responsiveness. Reading up on your GPU, it looks awesome. I honestly don't think you will have any issues whatsoever, Here is your card vs mine via user benchmark https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...480/4034vs3634 Some of the "FPS" benchmarks don't match up with my real life experience, and I think some of that has to do with processor. I get 60 FPS constantly on Witcher 3, but they say they maxed out at 53 FPS. But that site atleast gives you a baseline on your card vs mine.

Thanks for the info and encouragement, I’m seriously considering getting both Madden and 2k, again Been playing Witcher 3 and ARMA 3 and have been blown away with how smooth it the performance so I guess I should not be surprised about what to expect from Madden and 2k. I’ll pick up one of the two this weekend and report back!

[RetroDee4Three]

Quote: Originally Posted by OSUXUGrad

Thanks for the info and encouragement, I’m seriously considering getting both Madden and 2k, again Been playing Witcher 3 and ARMA 3 and have been blown away with how smooth it the performance so I guess I should not be surprised about what to expect from Madden and 2k. I’ll pick up one of the two this weekend and report back!

Remember, you can play the game up to 2 hours and still return it (Steam policy). Buy the one you want, give it a try on PC, and return it if it doesnt work out.

However, I pretty much guarantee that you will be able to max them out on PC. If you get 2K20, make sure you check out the NBA 2K20 modding section on the NLSC, it will blow you away.

[OSUXUGrad]

Quote: Originally Posted by RetroDee4Three

Remember, you can play the game up to 2 hours and still return it (Steam policy). Buy the one you want, give it a try on PC, and return it if it doesnt work out. However, I pretty much guarantee that you will be able to max them out on PC. If you get 2K20, make sure you check out the NBA 2K20 modding section on the NLSC, it will blow you away.

Yeah, I think I will take a chance on 2k20. Something tells me that I doubt I will want to take advantage of Steam's return policy

Also, is modding difficult? What mods would you recommend? Sorry for all of the questions haha

[RetroDee4Three]

Quote: Originally Posted by OSUXUGrad

Yeah, I think I will take a chance on 2k20. Something tells me that I doubt I will want to take advantage of Steam's return policy Also, is modding difficult? What mods would you recommend? Sorry for all of the questions haha

Using mods is INCREDIBLY easy. And I reccomend looking into the many on NLSC. So many great scoreboard mods exist for ESPN, TNT, as well as a ton of accurate retro scoreboards. Hundreds of face updates have already been made by talented modders to make the players more accurate (hair styles, facial hair etc as well). Courts and arenas that have the accurate sponsors and logos around the arena (and proper looking courts in general) etc etc.

When you get your hands on the PC version, let me know. I'll shoot you a quick tutorial on how to install mods.

[OSUXUGrad]

Quote: Originally Posted by RetroDee4Three

Using mods is INCREDIBLY easy. And I reccomend looking into the many on NLSC. So many great scoreboard mods exist for ESPN, TNT, as well as a ton of accurate retro scoreboards. Hundreds of face updates have already been made by talented modders to make the players more accurate (hair styles, facial hair etc as well). Courts and arenas that have the accurate sponsors and logos around the arena (and proper looking courts in general) etc etc. When you get your hands on the PC version, let me know. I'll shoot you a quick tutorial on how to install mods.

Good deal man, will do! I also just subscribed to your youtube channel, I'm convinced now lol