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New PC advice for noob


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Hello!

I need some advice for a new PC build. As the title indicates, I am very new to forums and fairly new to DCS World.

I haven't tried to play DCS for a few years and I only have a few aircraft modules and the NTTR map. Basically I started purchasing these on impulse around the 1.5 version and I quickly discovered my PC isn't adequate to run them. So, I've only been getting my DCS fix for the last 2-3 years via other players' YouTube videos. This is going to change.

I am getting a bit overwhelmed in researching a new custom PC build to finally have a rig that will not only run DCS but run it properly the way it's meant to be. I need help as I am not an expert in all things technical. I plan to fully immerse myself into DCS for many years to come, and go the VR route all the way.

When I do finally order my new PC, I'll have a budget of around $3500. I already own Thrustmaster HOTAS stick/throttles, TrackIR5, Bluetooth Headset/mic, I have a pending order for MFG Crosswind pedals.

Some items I could use some advice on:

-NVIDIA or Ryzen?

-if GTX, then buy 1080ti? or wait for new generation soon to be released?

-x or k processor? how do I even know how to order this?

-air or liquid cooling?

-best VR system?

-SSD alone? or SSD and HDD combination?

-16 or 32 GB RAM?

-what power supply? 500W or 800W? higher?

I already know enough to know that I really don't know sad.gif. Any advice you have would be very much appreciated!

Thank you!

Current PC specs:

Intel Core i7-2600@3.40GHz

Win7 - 64 bit

ASUS Strix NVIDIA GTX 980

16Gb DDR4 RAM

1.5TB HDD

625W PSU


Edited by Transit

i7-8700K@ 4.9GHz, GTX 1080ti, 32GB DDR4-3200, Samsung 970 Evo 1TB, Samsung 970 Evo 250GB, 2TB HDD, Win10 Home, TrackIR 5, HOTAS Warthog, Hornet Grip, Cougar MFDs, Monstertech desk mounts, VKB T.Rudders, Alienware 34" curved Ultrawide, PG & NTTR, F/A-18C, F-16C, A-10C, F-5E, Mi-8, SA342, UH-1H, Ka-50, L-39, Yak 52, Su-33, FC3.

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My eyes...I can't read it and need my glasses.....

 

 

sorry mate, change your font size please

Gigabyte Aorus X570S Master - Ryzen 5900X - Gskill 64GB 3200/CL14@3600/CL14 - Asus 1080ti EK-waterblock - 4x Samsung 980Pro 1TB - 1x Samsung 870 Evo 1TB - 1x SanDisc 120GB SSD - Heatkiller IV - MoRa3-360LT@9x120mm Noctua F12 - Corsair AXi-1200 - TiR5-Pro - Warthog Hotas - Saitek Combat Pedals - Asus PG278Q 27" QHD Gsync 144Hz - Corsair K70 RGB Pro - Win11 Pro/Linux - Phanteks Evolv-X 

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Umm okay... Sorry?.. Is this better now? Fonts aside, if you have any additional advice for my previous post I'd really appreciate hearing them.

i7-8700K@ 4.9GHz, GTX 1080ti, 32GB DDR4-3200, Samsung 970 Evo 1TB, Samsung 970 Evo 250GB, 2TB HDD, Win10 Home, TrackIR 5, HOTAS Warthog, Hornet Grip, Cougar MFDs, Monstertech desk mounts, VKB T.Rudders, Alienware 34" curved Ultrawide, PG & NTTR, F/A-18C, F-16C, A-10C, F-5E, Mi-8, SA342, UH-1H, Ka-50, L-39, Yak 52, Su-33, FC3.

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I haven't tried to play DCS for a few years and I only have a few aircraft modules and the NTTR map.

 

When I do finally order my new PC, I'll have a budget of around $3500. I already own Thrustmaster HOTAS stick/throttles, TrackIR5, Bluetooth Headset/mic, I have a pending order for MFG Crosswind pedals.

 

Some items I could use some advice on:

-NVIDIA or Ryzen?

 

NVidia is a maker of graphics cards, while Ryzen is a family of procesors made by AMD ... usually the questiona are: nVidia or AMD? (for graphics cards) and Intel or Ryzen? (for processors).

 

The answer to both questions is very subjective ... I prefer nVidia graphics cards because I find their driver/software to be better than AMD's ... and for processors, I went with a Ryzen because of better price/performance ratio .. tough Intel has a bit better overall performance (along with a higher price).

 

-if GTX, then buy 1080ti? or wait for new generation soon to be released?

There is always better hardware "available very soon" ... if you enter that game, you will never purchase anything ... if you want to play now, choose among what is available now :)

 

-x or k processor? how do I even know how to order this?

Check cost and performance, for a standard performance test use Passmark to compare between the different models, for example your current processor has this Passmark: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-2600+%40+3.40GHz&id=1

 

-air or liquid cooling?

If you are not going to overclock the processor, just use the cooler that cames stock with the processor .. if money to burn and hate noise, buy a silent air cooler.

 

If you will overclock, you might consider liquid cooling ... I dont like them because they make the PC harder to upgrade and/or repair.

 

-best VR system?

I've only used the Oculus Rift, so cant really make a fair comparison .. I'm happy with it tough :)

 

-SSD alone? or SSD and HDD combination?

One SSD of at least 512 GB for holding both Windows, DCS and your Saved Games folder ... plus one HDD for storing everything else. I prefer SATA 3 SSD even tough the M2 SSD are a bit faster, because they are easier to upgrade on the future.

 

-16 or 32 GB RAM?

My belief is that 16 GB is currently enough for DCS, but purchase 8 GB sticks so you can add more RAM on the future .. avoid 4 GB sticks.

 

-what power supply? 500W or 800W? higher?

There was a time when processors and graphics card required a huge amount of power ... but currently they are very less demanding, so 600W is actually more than enough unless you intend to overclock (overclockers usually increase the operating voltages, increasing power consumption and temperatures).

 

Nowadays, more important than raw power rating, is to select a reputable brand, as a cheap PSU that fails can very well burn your expensive components, keep in mind that every part is connected to the PSU.

 

Current PC specs:

 

Intel Core i7-2600@3.40GHz

Win7 - 64 bit

ASUS Strix NVIDIA GTX 980

 

16Gb DDR4 RAM

1.5TB HDD

625W PSU

I'm fairly sure that your RAM is actually DDR3, as the Core i7-2600 doesnt include a DDR4 RAM controller inside it. Also, the GTX-980 has about the same performance as a GTX 1070 ... so you know that you need at least a 1070ti to get noticeable increment on the performance.

 

Best regards

 

For work: iMac mid-2010 of 27" - Core i7 870 - 6 GB DDR3 1333 MHz - ATI HD5670 - SSD 256 GB - HDD 2 TB - macOS High Sierra

For Gaming: 34" Monitor - Ryzen 3600X - 32 GB DDR4 2400 - nVidia GTX1070ti - SSD 1.25 TB - HDD 10 TB - Win10 Pro - TM HOTAS Cougar - Oculus Rift CV1

Mobile: iPad Pro 12.9" of 256 GB

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Thanks Rudel_chw, that certainly helps!

i7-8700K@ 4.9GHz, GTX 1080ti, 32GB DDR4-3200, Samsung 970 Evo 1TB, Samsung 970 Evo 250GB, 2TB HDD, Win10 Home, TrackIR 5, HOTAS Warthog, Hornet Grip, Cougar MFDs, Monstertech desk mounts, VKB T.Rudders, Alienware 34" curved Ultrawide, PG & NTTR, F/A-18C, F-16C, A-10C, F-5E, Mi-8, SA342, UH-1H, Ka-50, L-39, Yak 52, Su-33, FC3.

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  • 1 month later...

A quick update on what is currently being built.

 

Intel i7-8700K @3.7GHz

Asus ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming

Corsair H110i AIO liquid cooler

Asus ROG Strix GTX 1080ti

G.Skill Trident Z 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200

Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M.2 512GB SSD

SeaGate BarraCuda 2TB HDD

Corsair HX850W 80+ Platinum PSU

Win10 Home


Edited by Transit

i7-8700K@ 4.9GHz, GTX 1080ti, 32GB DDR4-3200, Samsung 970 Evo 1TB, Samsung 970 Evo 250GB, 2TB HDD, Win10 Home, TrackIR 5, HOTAS Warthog, Hornet Grip, Cougar MFDs, Monstertech desk mounts, VKB T.Rudders, Alienware 34" curved Ultrawide, PG & NTTR, F/A-18C, F-16C, A-10C, F-5E, Mi-8, SA342, UH-1H, Ka-50, L-39, Yak 52, Su-33, FC3.

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A quick update on what is currently being built.

 

Intel i7-8700K @3.7GHz

Asus ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming

Corsair H110i AIO liquid cooler

Asus ROG Strix GTX 1080ti

G.Skill Trident Z 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200

Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M.2 512GB SSD

SeaGate BarraCuda 2TB HDD

Corsair HX850W 80+ Platinum PSU

Win10 Home

 

 

 

 

:thumbup: You'll love the sheer speed of that rig

Gigabyte Aorus X570S Master - Ryzen 5900X - Gskill 64GB 3200/CL14@3600/CL14 - Asus 1080ti EK-waterblock - 4x Samsung 980Pro 1TB - 1x Samsung 870 Evo 1TB - 1x SanDisc 120GB SSD - Heatkiller IV - MoRa3-360LT@9x120mm Noctua F12 - Corsair AXi-1200 - TiR5-Pro - Warthog Hotas - Saitek Combat Pedals - Asus PG278Q 27" QHD Gsync 144Hz - Corsair K70 RGB Pro - Win11 Pro/Linux - Phanteks Evolv-X 

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this has also been certified for VR. :thumbup:

 

A quick update on what is currently being built.

 

Intel i7-8700K @3.7GHz

Asus ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming

Corsair H110i AIO liquid cooler

Asus ROG Strix GTX 1080ti

G.Skill Trident Z 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200

Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M.2 512GB SSD

SeaGate BarraCuda 2TB HDD

Corsair HX850W 80+ Platinum PSU

Win10 Home

Coming Soon...
The Fraternity Returns : https://thefraternitysim.com/
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Demon: Memory Express

Tintifaxl: Thank you!

BitMaster: I sure hope so!

ElementLT: Yup! won't happen right away though, it's gonna be KD, toast and beans until Christmas now..

i7-8700K@ 4.9GHz, GTX 1080ti, 32GB DDR4-3200, Samsung 970 Evo 1TB, Samsung 970 Evo 250GB, 2TB HDD, Win10 Home, TrackIR 5, HOTAS Warthog, Hornet Grip, Cougar MFDs, Monstertech desk mounts, VKB T.Rudders, Alienware 34" curved Ultrawide, PG & NTTR, F/A-18C, F-16C, A-10C, F-5E, Mi-8, SA342, UH-1H, Ka-50, L-39, Yak 52, Su-33, FC3.

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A quick update on what is currently being built.

 

Intel i7-8700K @3.7GHz

Asus ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming

Corsair H110i AIO liquid cooler

Asus ROG Strix GTX 1080ti

G.Skill Trident Z 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200

Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M.2 512GB SSD

SeaGate BarraCuda 2TB HDD

Corsair HX850W 80+ Platinum PSU

Win10 Home

 

Looks good, but you don't need that much wattage power though unless you plan on potentially adding a second graphics card. I use a 650W and easily power multiple USB devices and an overclocked CPU/GPU with cooling pump. I ran an 1080 SLI rig on 850w.

 

Consider AIO loop for the GPU, you'll see much more benefit than cooling the CPU. It will give you much more OC headroom for DCS. I'm a big fan of the EVGA hybrid coolers, it's how I baby stepped into liquid cooling and you won't have all the issues with potential leaks and upgrades that I have with a custom loop. I haven't lost any components, but I've had a few close calls with pressure leaks. Building and tuning a proper custom loop easily doubles build time as well.

 

Consider saving $ on 32GB and buy faster 16GB sticks. The highest RAM utilization I've seen in DCS is a smidge over 10 gigabytes. DCS does like fast RAM.

 

Pretty much concur with everything Rudel said.

 

Consider going with 7700k, you'll save money. The extra 2 cores on the 8700 can give you some flexibility for streaming and TrackIR, etc. Might as well wait for 9700K if you just want the latest CPU. You get 8 cores. Might not get you much performance gain for the $ though.

 

Most bang for buck is on the graphics card and 1080 Ti is definitely the best bang for buck right now, although that could change in a couple weeks, we'll see. A 2080 perhaps?

 

The Rig in my signature can be built for under $2500 US minus peripherals and display. And it smokes on DCS. You don't need to build some crazy expensive YouTuber fiasco that simulates the sound of a turbofan engine in your game room. They look pretty in videos though. A 1080 Ti with current drivers, properly cooled and overclocked is a close match for a Titan. You can run DCS in SLI but you can end up trouble shooting more than playing. Always seems to introduce artifacts or stutters.

 

I've yet to take the step into VR myself. Just a matter of when not if. I'm waiting to see if Oculus announces anything new this year.

 

 

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Consider saving $ on 32GB and buy faster 16GB sticks. The highest RAM utilization I've seen in DCS is a smidge over 10 gigabytes. DCS does like fast RAM.

 

.

 

 

 

 

WRONG, sadly my screenshot from yesterday didnt capture my MSI OSD.

 

 

 

My RAM was at 27.4GB !!!! and my swap was 27.6GB !!!! flying the Mi-8 over the sea, right after server restart, maybe 10 players on BF-PG.

 

 

NO, 16GB is nonsense, rather get 32GB 3200MHz than 16GB 4000MHz.

 

 

 

 

There is hardly any time my systems consumes less than ~12-14GB RAM doing anything in DCS.

 

 

It doesnt matter what DCS itself consumes, what matters is your total usage, incl. all of the others, total RAM.

Gigabyte Aorus X570S Master - Ryzen 5900X - Gskill 64GB 3200/CL14@3600/CL14 - Asus 1080ti EK-waterblock - 4x Samsung 980Pro 1TB - 1x Samsung 870 Evo 1TB - 1x SanDisc 120GB SSD - Heatkiller IV - MoRa3-360LT@9x120mm Noctua F12 - Corsair AXi-1200 - TiR5-Pro - Warthog Hotas - Saitek Combat Pedals - Asus PG278Q 27" QHD Gsync 144Hz - Corsair K70 RGB Pro - Win11 Pro/Linux - Phanteks Evolv-X 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry for the late reply, I've been working far from home in a remote northern region. Very weak internet or at times none at all.

 

A few changes prior to leaving:

 

PSU: Corsair 750W 80+ Platinum (not 850W)

AIO: Corsair h150i Pro (not h110i)

SSD: Samsung 970 Evo 250GB (Boot/Win10), 970 Evo 1TB (games)

(Returned Samsung 970 Pro 512GB)

 

I'm well aware some of this is probably overkill but the last time I upgraded a PC, it suited me for less than 4 months before DCS released 2.0. Stable Version 1.5.X(?) worked just fine but once 2.0 arrived that was it for me. Couldn't load past the main menu, it froze and crashed. This new build should keep me operational for quite some time.

i7-8700K@ 4.9GHz, GTX 1080ti, 32GB DDR4-3200, Samsung 970 Evo 1TB, Samsung 970 Evo 250GB, 2TB HDD, Win10 Home, TrackIR 5, HOTAS Warthog, Hornet Grip, Cougar MFDs, Monstertech desk mounts, VKB T.Rudders, Alienware 34" curved Ultrawide, PG & NTTR, F/A-18C, F-16C, A-10C, F-5E, Mi-8, SA342, UH-1H, Ka-50, L-39, Yak 52, Su-33, FC3.

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Sorry for the late reply, I've been working far from home in a remote northern region. Very weak internet or at times none at all.

 

A few changes prior to leaving:

 

PSU: Corsair 750W 80+ Platinum (not 850W)

AIO: Corsair h150i Pro (not h110i)

SSD: Samsung 970 Evo 250GB (Boot/Win10), 970 Evo 1TB (games)

(Returned Samsung 970 Pro 512GB)

 

I'm well aware some of this is probably overkill but the last time I upgraded a PC, it suited me for less than 4 months before DCS released 2.0. Stable Version 1.5.X(?) worked just fine but once 2.0 arrived that was it for me. Couldn't load past the main menu, it froze and crashed. This new build should keep me operational for quite some time.

 

 

:thumbup: That will last a few years, tho I think the PSU could be a weak spot once you torture the rig for testing...that will draw 600+Watts and heat up your PSU.

Anyway, apart from the PSU ( which is fine for everyday gaming ) it's top notch !

Gigabyte Aorus X570S Master - Ryzen 5900X - Gskill 64GB 3200/CL14@3600/CL14 - Asus 1080ti EK-waterblock - 4x Samsung 980Pro 1TB - 1x Samsung 870 Evo 1TB - 1x SanDisc 120GB SSD - Heatkiller IV - MoRa3-360LT@9x120mm Noctua F12 - Corsair AXi-1200 - TiR5-Pro - Warthog Hotas - Saitek Combat Pedals - Asus PG278Q 27" QHD Gsync 144Hz - Corsair K70 RGB Pro - Win11 Pro/Linux - Phanteks Evolv-X 

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