• Hi Guest!

    Please be aware that we have released a critical security patch for VaM. We strongly recommend updating to version 1.22.0.8 using the VaM_Updater found in your installation folder.

    Details about the security patch can be found here.

Benchmark Result Discussion

To be honest, this took me three or four days and nearly a hundred tests in total. But after playing this game for so long, I have always been curious about how much improvement different hardware specifications can achieve at different resolutions, and where the budget should be spent most reasonably. Many new CPUs and GPUs will be released in 2025. I hope that through a comprehensive test, everyone can get the maximum performance improvement within a reasonable budget.
4090 is such a monster of a card. I have managed to secure a bargain during the blackwell release drama. I would definitely recommend anyone who plans to upgrade and willing to shell out more then the midrange cards.
 
As of now, the highest temp my cpu has reached is right around 65c under sustained full load. The KS model comes with a small OC from factory and i have the K series (no OC). I would think I'm safe to OC if I wished to do so.
Side note I'm quite happy with my PC overall performance so, likely will not look at any OCing. If I do anything, it will be water cooling my 4090. That thing will reach 90c if I'd let it.
 
There is something wrong with these results.
My old 13900k, no OC, performed slightly better, even after intel bios voltage security downgrades... oh sorry, i mean updates
Benchmark-13900k-patched.png

You don't need to OC 14900k. Just make sure to disable HT in bios, turn on XMP, and properly configure the patch. After that yours results will beat my 13900k for sure.
These were my settings for 13900k:

Right now i'm using 285k. It seems, it's finally getting fixed. At least at up-to-date windows.
Benchmark-20250120-165612.png
 
There is something wrong with these results.
My old 13900k, no OC, performed slightly better, even after intel bios voltage security downgrades... oh sorry, i mean updates

You don't need to OC 14900k. Just make sure to disable HT in bios, turn on XMP, and properly configure the patch. After that yours results will beat my 13900k for sure.
These were my settings for 13900k:

Right now i'm using 285k. It seems, it's finally getting fixed. At least at up-to-date windows.
Thanks for the tip! I did not disable HT.

I'll try it later today and post results.
 
Hello All,

I have recently dove into the virtamate pool and am curious if any upgrades would be beneficial. The upgrades would solely be for virtamate, I don't do any other CPU/GPU-intensive stuff. I do not know if I am overclocking at all either, I'm not the most computer-savvy.

From quick research, I think I can budget for a RAM and GPU upgrade. Or I can upgrade the CPU. The reason is RAM looks kinda cheap and could get 64GB of ram for $200ish and GPU i could probably get a 3060 with 12GB or a 4070 with 8GB. The GPUs are from $300 to $500.

Havent looked too much into CPUs since I'm not really sure what to look for or what spec, I have read single core speed is the most important but CPUs look much more expensive.

Again please let me know if I stand to benefit from a CPU upgrade over the others or just general recommendations.

Thank you!

Benchmark-20250125-054427.png
Benchmark-20250125-042943.png
 
There is something wrong with these results.
My old 13900k, no OC, performed slightly better, even after intel bios voltage security downgrades... oh sorry, i mean updates

You don't need to OC 14900k. Just make sure to disable HT in bios, turn on XMP, and properly configure the patch. After that yours results will beat my 13900k for sure.
These were my settings for 13900k:

Right now i'm using 285k. It seems, it's finally getting fixed. At least at up-to-date windows.

So I disabled HT however, I realized I am running VaM Version 1.22.0.7 I'm seeing that the CPU patch does not work with this version. Decided to benchmark anyway just to see what happens. Minimal improvement over HT enabled. I used the same settings as you did for the patch btw. 14 series and 13 series are nearly the same CPU.
BM012725 1080p 60hz NHT.jpg
 
There is something wrong with these results.
My old 13900k, no OC, performed slightly better, even after intel bios voltage security downgrades... oh sorry, i mean updates

You don't need to OC 14900k. Just make sure to disable HT in bios, turn on XMP, and properly configure the patch. After that yours results will beat my 13900k for sure.
These were my settings for 13900k:

Right now i'm using 285k. It seems, it's finally getting fixed. At least at up-to-date windows.

I rolled back to the same VaM version you did your benchmark on. Redownloaded the patch and put the settings in that you did. I'm getting almost the same results as the .7 version. Not sure what I am missing here...

What do you have in your boot.config file?

Likely just going to redownload the .7 version and enable HT again unless you have any suggestions or maybe something that I've missed.
 
Hello All,

I have recently dove into the virtamate pool and am curious if any upgrades would be beneficial. The upgrades would solely be for virtamate, I don't do any other CPU/GPU-intensive stuff. I do not know if I am overclocking at all either, I'm not the most computer-savvy.

From quick research, I think I can budget for a RAM and GPU upgrade. Or I can upgrade the CPU. The reason is RAM looks kinda cheap and could get 64GB of ram for $200ish and GPU i could probably get a 3060 with 12GB or a 4070 with 8GB. The GPUs are from $300 to $500.

Havent looked too much into CPUs since I'm not really sure what to look for or what spec, I have read single core speed is the most important but CPUs look much more expensive.

Again please let me know if I stand to benefit from a CPU upgrade over the others or just general recommendations.

Thank you!

View attachment 455554View attachment 455553

I cannot advise on CPU vs GPU within your budget however, I can advise on RAM.

I went with 2x32GB for 64GB because I do rendering and 3d modeling. I need the RAM for that work. If you are really only running VaM 32GB would be plenty. I suggest folks only get as much RAM as they NEED due to the following...

RAM comes in speeds and latency. Speed is measured in MHZ and latency is shown as a CL number. For example... I am running 2x32GB 6000mhz with CL30. CL30 is the lowest I could find however, it is not nearly as fast as the 2x16GB kits. RAM can greatly affect your FPS with games. It is part of the reason I'm thinking I am scoring lower FPS in benchmarks and TimeSpy when comparing to others with my same hardware (same CPU, GPU, SSD) but they only have 32gb of RAM. Maybe you can pick up a nice RAM kit of 2x16GB with high speed (must match your CPU) and low latency then with the money you save put it towards a CPU or GPU.

***EDIT***
Your current CPU uses a LGA 1151 socket on your motherboard. If you are upgrading to any CPUs in the last few years you will also need to buy a new Motherboard. Some CPUs have different sockets and you can not simply just take the old one out and put a new one in. The Motherboard must have a socket that matches the CPU you want to install. So, if you go the route of upgrading a CPU, you will also need to budget for a new motherboard.

Here is a summary for Intel
Socket NameYear ReleasedProcessor Families Supported
Socket 71995Pentium, Pentium II, Pentium III, Celeron
Socket 3701999Celeron, Pentium III
Socket 4782000Pentium 4, Celeron
LGA 7752004Pentium 4, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo
LGA 115620081st Generation Core i3/i5/i7
LGA 136620081st Generation Core i7 (Nehalem)
LGA 115520112nd and 3rd Gen Core i3/i5/i7
LGA 115020134th and 5th Gen Core i3/i5/i7
LGA 20112011Core i7 (Sandy Bridge-E, Ivy Bridge-E, Haswell-E), Xeon
LGA 1200202010th and 11th Gen Core i3/i5/i7/i9
LGA 1700202112th and 13th Gen Core i3/i5/i7/i9
LGA 1851~2024/2025 (Expected)Future Intel Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake CPUs

As for my mention of matching your RAM to your CPU here is an example of what your CPU is compatible with:

General specs​

Release date:2015
Microarchitecture:Skylake
Core Name:Skylake-S
Manufacturing Process:0.014 micron
Socket Type:Socket 1151
The Number of Cores:4
The Number of Threads:8
Multiprocessing:Not supported
Frequency:4 GHz
Maximum Turbo Frequency:4.2 GHz
L1 Cache:128 KB (code)
128 KB (data)
L2 Cache:1 MB
L3 Cache:8 MB
Thermal Design Power:91 Watt
Integrated GPU:HD 530
Supported memory:DDR3L-1333 / DDR3L-1600 / DDR4-1866 / DDR4-2133
 
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If you want upgrade without much fuss and on a budget I would recommend an amd x3d cpu with a b650 board, for gpu a 4070 or the newer 5070.
Intel is in a special place now, 13th and 14th gen is strong, but no future upgrade option. 15th gen is more for productivity than gaming. Also amd is more like plug n play. Just buy a 6000Mhz CL30 ram and enjoy. 32 or 48GB is recommended since they are single rank and has some oc potential - if you feel like bother with that. Also dual rank ram kits might not perform on the advertised speed in your mobo. Try look for it in the manufacturers site if you have a kit already in mind. But single rabk kits are usually problem free.
As for gpu the new nvidia blackwell series will start to appear in retails in the coming months. That means some folks try panic sell their existing hardware, but thats a mistake. Tough you can find some nice discount due to it on second hand market. If you prefer first hand purchase I would say try getting an 5070 when becomes available.
 
So I disabled HT however, I realized I am running VaM Version 1.22.0.7 I'm seeing that the CPU patch does not work with this version. Decided to benchmark anyway just to see what happens. Minimal improvement over HT enabled. I used the same settings as you did for the patch btw. 14 series and 13 series are nearly the same CPU.
View attachment 455677
The patch will work in VaM 1.22.0.7 if you will install it after VaM update.
It will replace Assembly-CSharp.dll, basically disabling latest security patches and making it 1.22.0.3, but no need to reroll once you at 0.7. Just make a copy of 0.7 dll, and you can switch them with the patch.

My bootconfig.
I have the fixes turtlebackgoofy mentioned in CPU patch thread.
Code:
gfx-enable-gfx-jobs=1
gfx-enable-native-gfx-jobs=1
wait-for-native-debugger=0

Also, i'm using v12 of the patch. You can download it in the history tab. It gave me best performance gains, and i saw many people did the same.

These results were made with just all of this:
- vanilla vam
- z690 platform, with bios updated after cpu voltage patches
- Intel default perfomance settings in bios, HT disabled, RAM DDR5 XMP at 6400
- boot.config as above
- v12 of the patch with the settings i posted earlier
- Windows Power Plan at Ultimate Performance Mode
And thats it. If this won't help, then idk, sorry
 
I cannot advise on CPU vs GPU within your budget however, I can advise on RAM.

I went with 2x32GB for 64GB because I do rendering and 3d modeling. I need the RAM for that work. If you are really only running VaM 32GB would be plenty. I suggest folks only get as much RAM as they NEED due to the following...

RAM comes in speeds and latency. Speed is measured in MHZ and latency is shown as a CL number. For example... I am running 2x32GB 6000mhz with CL30. CL30 is the lowest I could find however, it is not nearly as fast as the 2x16GB kits. RAM can greatly affect your FPS with games. It is part of the reason I'm thinking I am scoring lower FPS in benchmarks and TimeSpy when comparing to others with my same hardware (same CPU, GPU, SSD) but they only have 32gb of RAM. Maybe you can pick up a nice RAM kit of 2x16GB with high speed (must match your CPU) and low latency then with the money you save put it towards a CPU or GPU.

***EDIT***
Your current CPU uses a LGA 1151 socket on your motherboard. If you are upgrading to any CPUs in the last few years you will also need to buy a new Motherboard. Some CPUs have different sockets and you can not simply just take the old one out and put a new one in. The Motherboard must have a socket that matches the CPU you want to install. So, if you go the route of upgrading a CPU, you will also need to budget for a new motherboard.

Here is a summary for Intel
Socket NameYear ReleasedProcessor Families Supported
Socket 71995Pentium, Pentium II, Pentium III, Celeron
Socket 3701999Celeron, Pentium III
Socket 4782000Pentium 4, Celeron
LGA 7752004Pentium 4, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo
LGA 115620081st Generation Core i3/i5/i7
LGA 136620081st Generation Core i7 (Nehalem)
LGA 115520112nd and 3rd Gen Core i3/i5/i7
LGA 115020134th and 5th Gen Core i3/i5/i7
LGA 20112011Core i7 (Sandy Bridge-E, Ivy Bridge-E, Haswell-E), Xeon
LGA 1200202010th and 11th Gen Core i3/i5/i7/i9
LGA 1700202112th and 13th Gen Core i3/i5/i7/i9
LGA 1851~2024/2025 (Expected)Future Intel Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake CPUs

As for my mention of matching your RAM to your CPU here is an example of what your CPU is compatible with:

General specs​

Release date:2015
Microarchitecture:Skylake
Core Name:Skylake-S
Manufacturing Process:0.014 micron
Socket Type:Socket 1151
The Number of Cores:4
The Number of Threads:8
Multiprocessing:Not supported
Frequency:4 GHz
Maximum Turbo Frequency:4.2 GHz
L1 Cache:128 KB (code)
128 KB (data)
L2 Cache:1 MB
L3 Cache:8 MB
Thermal Design Power:91 Watt
Integrated GPU:HD 530
Supported memory:DDR3L-1333 / DDR3L-1600 / DDR4-1866 / DDR4-2133
Thank you, this was very well put together and more than I expected.

I will upgrade the motherboard and buy RAM that matches my CPU.

I have a m.2 SSD that my current motherboard has no slot for and thinking of loading vam from here.
 
If you want upgrade without much fuss and on a budget I would recommend an amd x3d cpu with a b650 board, for gpu a 4070 or the newer 5070.
Intel is in a special place now, 13th and 14th gen is strong, but no future upgrade option. 15th gen is more for productivity than gaming. Also amd is more like plug n play. Just buy a 6000Mhz CL30 ram and enjoy. 32 or 48GB is recommended since they are single rank and has some oc potential - if you feel like bother with that. Also dual rank ram kits might not perform on the advertised speed in your mobo. Try look for it in the manufacturers site if you have a kit already in mind. But single rabk kits are usually problem free.
As for gpu the new nvidia blackwell series will start to appear in retails in the coming months. That means some folks try panic sell their existing hardware, but thats a mistake. Tough you can find some nice discount due to it on second hand market. If you prefer first hand purchase I would say try getting an 5070 when becomes available.
I am not opposed to the second hand market and prefer it.

I just worry anything second hand might have issues that arent disclosed.
 
Thank you, this was very well put together and more than I expected.

I will upgrade the motherboard and buy RAM that matches my CPU.

I have a m.2 SSD that my current motherboard has no slot for and thinking of loading vam from here.
I'm not sure what your budget is or what your current setup is but, it may be more cost effective and convenient to buy a prebuilt so you don't need to try to part and piece something together.

There are decent prebuilts for under $600. Here is a random one I found for $579. I'm sure if you looked, you could find better ones.

@Newegg:Cobratype Canebrake ES Gaming PC - AMD Ryzen 3 4100, RTX 3050 6 GB, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, 500 GB NVMe, Windows 11 Home - Gaming Desktop https://www.newegg.com/p/3D5-000D-00209?tpk=1&Item=3D5-000D-00209

I'm just thinking if you're planning to upgrade your CPU, you need a motherboard. You also mentioned you want to upgrade your RAM too. Once you start adding up all 3 items you may be in the $500-$600 range anyway. Additionally, you will need to make sure your new motherboard is compatible with your PC case. You mentioned you're not too tech savvy so, I was thinking an "easy button" of a prebuilt might be better for you. If you shop around you may be able to find a refurbished prebuilt with a nice CPU and GPU for a nice price. You may even want to wait a month or so until the RTX 5090s start selling. May help lower prices
 
Last edited:
@hrnedup69 You really should look at a platform upgrade. Unfortunately this means motherboard, cpu, ram at the minimum and maybe even a power supply. Like someone said you should probably just look at picking up a second hand system that you could get a nice discount on.
If you got a microcenter near you could get one of their motherboard/cpu/ram bundles for a really good price if you know how to build a pc. Something like this would be an affordable nice upgrade. Without knowing any budget hard to suggest, but this would be a nice current gen setup that doesn't break the bank. Probably wouldn't need to upgrade psu as well.
https://www.microcenter.com/product...-gskill-16gb-ddr5-6000,-computer-build-bundle $329 for a 9600x, b650, and 32gb ram (+$40 for a nicer motherboard, but not required).
Then you could just grab the new 5060 when it drops in a month or so for $300ish if they are actually available lol. This would be all current gen hardware.

 
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