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GSPro V2.5.3.38 PC Performance Test Results

Published on September 4, 2024

Article Overview

GSPro is a popular golf simulation software option which has touted itself as being compatible with a large number of launch monitors. In addition to this, it offers a very high number of courses with both official courses as well as courses designed and published for play from the community itself. The wide choice of golf course options does create some inconsistencies in performance which we will touch on.

GSPro Tee Off Course View

Getting Started

If you're considering GSPro golf simulator software, you either own, or are considering purchasing one of many of the officially supported launch monitors (or one of the unofficially supported launch monitors) that are able to use the software. GSPro is loved by many for its versatility in launch monitor use, often allowing its owners to retain their favorite software and set of courses while switching from one launch monitor company to another. Additionally, its massive list of courses, both modeled real world courses, and its whimsically outlandish user made courses, continues to grow to provide endless entertainment for its users.

With this endlessly expanding portfolio of courses comes inevitable problems with consistency of performance for the user's computer. Some courses are designed by creators who have done this so often that they now take commissions to create courses both fantastical and real world. Others are made by pure amateurs who just love making outlandish courses in their spare time. Each course type can wide ranging implications on the type of performance you can expect in your simulator.

In general, GSPro is a piece of software that has been around for some time, meaning the platform has matured, and there haven't been any major graphical updates that push newer hardware to the limit, allowing it to run quite smoothly on a wide range of computer hardware.

Our Testing Methods

In testing the software performance of GSPro, we set out to get an accurate test of what is actually being used within the software. We chose five of the most popular golf courses on the top played list at the time of this article: Cabot Cliffs, DPC Sodgrass, Georgia Golf Club, Kapula Plantation Course, and Whispering Pines.

We tested each of these courses on both 1080p and 4k resolutions, as well as 4 different graphics intensity settings on our three currently available prebuilt computers from SurfThing. We'll be sure to highlight what to expect from most demanding course down to the least demanding courses, and how you can plan your computer hardware accordingly.

First, we will give you the overall averages for both 1080p and 4k to give you an idea of what to expect in most situations for both of these common resolutions.

General Overview of the Numbers

If you wanted a TLDR of this article, here it is: if you plan to run your system with a 1080p display (TV, Touch Screen, Projector, etc.) then you will pass the playability test with flying colors on Nvidia's entry level video card the RTX 4060.

For those looking to operate in 4K, the data gets a little more nuanced if you are hoping to crank to ultra settings and still get the most immersive experience and computing performance. As a general rule of thumb, we recommend you stay above 60FPS (frames per second) for whatever graphical setting you choose. The reason for this is because anything below this drops below your display's refresh rate, and reductions in performance can be noticed as stuttering in ball flight and other anomalies often referred to as "screen tearing". Now, that being said, an additional general rule of thumb in the gaming industry is that if you stay above 30fps, you avoid the worse of the worst of these visual disturbances. Hence, if you wish to run the software in 4K on the RTX 4060, you can have a passable experience on ultra settings, but your mileage may vary. In the following graph, you'll get concrete numbers of what this may mean for you.

Tale of Two Courses

There can be a large variety of reasons why one course can have a significantly different performance than another, many of which have simply to do with the choice of 3D models used for the various rocks, trees, and other landscaping across the course. The many different choices available to courses has created the two different graphs that we see above for the same software, same computer, and same graphics settings, but performance levels that are in some cases more than 50% for on course than the other.

For Georgia Golf Club, one of the favorites on GSPro, the average performance on Ultra 4K settings settles in at 30FPS. Depending on your tolerance for occasional ball flight stuttering with visual tearing and screen disturbances, this may be fine for you, but we would recommend either reducing the graphics level if you don't mind a little less visual fidelity, or step up your hardware level if you wish to max out the graphics settings in 4K on all courses. The good news is that just the next step up in system video card hardware (RTX 4070) puts you in a great spot for a smooth experience across all courses on 4K ultra.

Conclusion:

On a positive note, if you were considering GSPro as a software option for you, this article did not need to be very long to get the idea across. It is a piece of software that has had a long time to mature and stabilize into an easy to run, and entertaining experience on a large list of available PC hardware on the market. Be sure to reach out to our golf technology specialists here at SurfThing if you have any further questions about system compatibility as you put together your dream simulator!

SurfThing computers are built and tested with Golf Simulation Software specifically in mind. Our in depth testing has helped home users and business owners decide which computers to run in well over 3000 simulators nationwide. SurfThing performed its testing on all PC models manufactured by SurfThing at the time of the article release, helping customers know exactly the kind of performance they will get on currently available computer hardware.