Need some knowledgeable advice: worthwhile to update vidoe card?

Hello,

I'm wondering if someone more knowledgeable than I about computer performance could offer some advice on my scenario. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read:

I have a computer at the bare low end of specs for DCS. 6 core AMD processor overclocked to a blistering 3.1ghz. :D 16gb DDR3. Nvidia 750ti. Win 7 64bit.

When I started with DCS a few months ago it actually ran extremely smoothly as long as I didn't load up the supercarrier deck with static models. Recently I've started to see some stuttering (yes, deleted shaders). I get the sense that this is driven mostly by the fact that I'm exploring more complex missions. It was particularly noticeable on mission 5 of the Hornet Cage the Bear campaign (the airfield strike mission); I was seeing freeze-ups of whole seconds. Task manager indicated basically 100% RAM usage; only around 40% CPU load.

There's obviously a limit to the amount of money I want to put into this old computer when I really just need to do a new build at some point, but there are many competing priorities for disposable income right now and a new gaming computer isn't at the top. But one simple upgrade would be the video card. I'm thinking a 1660Ti would be reasonable.

But I'm curious: based on your experience with performance bottlenecks in DCS, would the card upgrade help with this problem? Or is this straight up an issue of not enough motherboard resources (CPU + RAM)? In other words, if a more powerful GPU with more video RAM were available, would that prevent the maxing out of RAM load, or is this a different problem that a better card won't mitigate?

I know it's tough to know exactly what's causing this kind of issue, but I'd be glad for any input. I'm confident most folks on here will have a more informed opinion than I do!

Thanks...

I´ll just wait to ED to renew the core of the game to bring you more performance and see. (Fall 2020-1Q 2021 estimated, but nothing for sure).

Your problem is that your graphic card is a little bit outdated but, if you uppgrade it, then the rest of the system will be bottlenecking your new and shiny GPU.

I´ll suffer a little bit more and see. (And save money in the meantime. Great hardware improvements are very close).

Wait, save more money and upgrade the whole rig.

As Leaderface said above, any new GPU will be bottlenecked by that AMD CPU and DDR3 bandwidth.

If you are seeing 100% RAM usage, that is the first thing you need to address. Any other upgrade will be horridly bottlenecked by the paging that is occurring.

First thing I would do is go to the Startup tab of Task Manager and disable everything you possibly can (restart your computer after). Then, when you play DCS, close anything you aren't using. Discord, browser tabs, etc. Every single thing you close will get you more free RAM. Aim to get your RAM utilization under 75%. If you are still having issues with running out of RAM, you should look into getting another 8 or 16GB. 8GB of DDR3 isn't very expensive, however I would personally put that money toward a new CPU/MOBO/RAM combo.

The Ryzen 3600, Ryzen 3600X, and i5-10600k are really great CPUs for most people. Logical Increments has great hardware suggestions for every budget.

They all "cut the corner" with a "close to the edge" tier 3 PSU.

It's OK! Still OK!

Some additional questions to consider - no need to answer publicly.

Can you monitor VRAM-usage to narrow the problem down?

Would you carry over the card to a new system?

How long will it realistically take until you can switch to a new system?

How much of a financial stretch would a new graphics be?

Is DCS the only application that requires more performance? How long will you stay with DCS?

Started with a GTX760-2 GB back in mid-2014 myself, revisited DCS in 2018 and decided to upgrade to a 1070TI-8 GB after quite some time of getting to know the simulation. A bit too much for my old i7-4771@3.5 and a bit too expensive for my taste. But, I guess that's the nature of that beast right now. The card will most likely be carried over to a new system, which is not planned before late 2021 at the moment.

Realistically the whole thing needed to be sent to the great gaming room in the sky about 5 years ago. Basically any GPU you could possibly buy today is going to be choked badly by that FX CPU (I assume it's an FX chip). So simply upgrading the GPU doesn't make any sense. Similarly, any new CPU you get is going to choke on that budget GPU from 6 years ago, so once again, no luck there. I can only recommend starting fresh. The good news is basically anything is a massive upgrade, so you'd be amazed at what can be done for as little as $500 USD.

For an ultra budget build, I recommend something like this:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 ($100)

RAM: 16GB DDR4 3200 ($100)

Motherboard: B550 ($100)

GPU: used GTX 1070 ($175)

The above requires you to reuse the case, power supply, drives and other odds and ends. I recommend an SSD if possible, a 500GB SSD only costs $50-60 these days. That makes a world of difference in overall system speed, though not necessarily gaming performance outside of load times and stutters.

Thanks everyone for the input. I am thinking of a full build this fall, and was planning on a card that I'd carry over to the new build. The PSU is 650w so pretty sure I'm OK there (for this machine anyway).

Thanks for the Logical Increments heads up, I did not know that site.