New build hardware recommendations?

So my current rig is coming on almost six years old now, haven't been flying in DCS for some time now because it frankly can't keep up on MP with any sort of respectable FPS so I'm saving up for a new build - time frame is about a year to save up all the appropriate funds unless I get a nice windfall from the tax man in April (very unlikely!)

So, if you gents were to build a new rig (specifically with DCS in mind) what would you get to max it out in ultra?

Currently I only play in 1080, with no plans to move to VR/multi-monitor set up. The most I would move to is 2k most likely.

Also prefer Intel/Nvidia (current monitor has Gsync). Was also thinking of sticking with a 1080ti since it would seem the 2XXX series doesn't really give you that much extra bang for the vastly increased price?

Was just fiddling around earlier and got an estimated price of aprox £2050 for the following?

ASUS Z270-K (1151)

Intel Core i7 7770k 4.2ghz

32Gb Corsair Vengeance DD4 (2400mhz)

MSI GTX1080ti

500Gb Samsung SSD

2Tb Barracuda HDD

Is the 32Gb OTT? Or would I be better going for 16Gb but higher mhz?

Haven't built a PC in absolutely years (my current one was a custom config I put together on Overclockers.co.uk and they built it for me). The above setup is for another custom system they can do (lost my confidence in building my own tbh - scared of frying something).

Would welcome feedback from you DCS vets who know how 2.5 behaves etc.

Cheers :thumbup:

The i7 9700k, i9 if you want multithreading but DCS doesn't support it, goes on sale in a couple weeks. Any 300 series motherboard will handle it. It OC's to 4.9 and 5.0 respectively from my understanding. You'd be better with one of them for the long run.

32GB of Ram for sure, I was rather amazed the difference it made when I installed it. Others will counter this but for me it was noticeable.

To the OP - Why 7700K? Go for 9600k/9900K Z370/390.

To Gladman - what did you notice? Im debating going from 16 to 32?

Switching to Z370/Coffee Lake CPU puts the price up by like £350 nearly on the configurator...

Is it really worth the extra?

If you're never going to consider VR (I think you should consider it), and you will not go beyond 1080 (I think you might), the config you stated should be fine.

I would consider a 1TB SSD, but so long as you'll have Windows and DCS, 500GB will do. When you start adding in Office365, Photoshop etc, then 1TB makes more sense.

To the OP - Why 7700K? Go for 9600k/9900K Z370/390.

 

To Gladman - what did you notice? Im debating going from 16 to 32?

Loading times and FPS went up with high number of asset missions in both single and multiplayer. Well worth it for what I do.

You don't need a power supply?

Was just fiddling around earlier and got an estimated price of aprox £2050 for the following?

 

 

ASUS Z270-K (1151)

Intel Core i7 7770k 4.2ghz

32Gb Corsair Vengeance DD4 (2400mhz)

MSI GTX1080ti

500Gb Samsung SSD

2Tb Barracuda HDD

 

Would welcome feedback from you DCS vets who know how 2.5 behaves etc.

 

 

Cheers :thumbup:

Looks good except for that price, OUCH!

I really feel bad for DCS fans in the EU, Australia, overseas, etc. You guys pay such a high premium on computer components. This stuff is so much cheaper in the States.

Seriously, for that cost (over $2600 US) you could almost fly here, buy all those components at my local Microcenter and it would still be cheaper. Cheaper still if ordered on NewEgg and Amazon. For you guys it's like buying diamonds from DeBeers.

 

Was just fiddling around earlier and got an estimated price of aprox £2050 for the following?

 

ASUS Z270-K (1151)

Intel Core i7 7770k 4.2ghz

32Gb Corsair Vengeance DD4 (2400mhz)

MSI GTX1080ti

500Gb Samsung SSD

2Tb Barracuda HDD

 

Looks good except for that price, OUCH!

 

I really feel bad for DCS fans in the EU, Australia, overseas, etc. You guys pay such a high premium on computer components. This stuff is so much cheaper in the States.

 

Seriously, for that cost (over $2600 US) you could almost fly here, buy all those components at my local Microcenter and it would still be cheaper. Cheaper still if ordered on NewEgg and Amazon. For you guys it's like buying diamonds from DeBeers.

That is a bit to much really, compared to the below.

MOTHERBOARD

Asus Strix Z370-F Gaming Motherboard

CPU

Intel CORE i7-8700K 3.70GHz

COOLER

Corsair H100i V2 Liquid Cooler

RAM

Corsair Vengeance RGB 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3466 MHz

VGA

Asus Nvidia ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING 11GB

SSD

Samsung 960 EVO 500GB M.2 SSD (Solid State Drive)

HDD

Seagate 3.5" 2TB Hard Disk Drive

CASE

InWin 303 Black RGB Mid Tower Gaming Case

PSU

Corsair RM750x 750W Power Supply Drive

OS

WINDOWS 10 HOME RETAIL

ACCESSORIES

InWin Aurora 3 Pack RGB LED 120mm Fans

This is what I can get off the shelf here for that price $3799 AU or £2050

http://www.msy.com.au/viconline/mspec-gaming-pc/20667-battle-box-the-gamer-s-sunset-.html

$3799 AU = $2703 US

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883102381

Not sure what it's like in the UK? I would shop around and check a few other places.

I would not get 16GB but 32GB. The forum is full of pilots reporting the benfits.

Adding another 16GB might be a PITA once you find out your 16gig wont pull the cart.

The 8700k is a nice CPU and not as overpriced as a 9900k.

Either way, I'd get an AMD and leave Intel aside, but that's another topic.

No doubt the 9900k will be faster, if money is not an issue get that. However if you have a budget in mind, not only the CPU is more expensive but also the Z390 boards are at a premium and I don't trust the z370 boards VRM to be optimal for those beastly CPU's. So either get a 8700k or an AMD 2700X, even 2600x should be fine, and then get the biggest graphics card you can get.

Other essentials are 32gb of RAM and at least a 512gb SSD for OS and DCS (these days a 1TB is the best option if you can afford it).

I am about to do a new build, starting to gather some parts now.

Already have EVGA RTX 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra on order.

I am going 9900k and Z390 MB ( EVGA Dark) as soon as both are available.

I would not get 16GB but 32GB. The forum is full of pilots reporting the benfits.

Adding another 16GB might be a PITA once you find out your 16gig wont pull the cart.

 

 

The 8700k is a nice CPU and not as overpriced as a 9900k.

 

 

Either way, I'd get an AMD and leave Intel aside, but that's another topic.

I think for the foreseeable future, thread speed and not # of core is going to be the bottleneck for DCS. So really, the fastest CPU (from 2018 and beyond) is what's going to matter *for* DCS. So 9900K or 8700K should perform about the same.

I don't expect anything to change (vulkan or not) until late 2019. I used to upgrade every third CPU, but with VR and DCS, I've been on an annual upgrade to eek out that few precious FPS - it really matters in VR.

For now, a fast cpu is beneficial, but with Vulcan (in many many years), the overhead will be relieved and the overclock will not be needed anymore.

For now, a fast cpu is beneficial, but with Vulcan (in many many years), the overhead will be relieved and the overclock will not be needed anymore.

I suppose overclocking will *always* help, but it may not be mandatory for great experience. But probably not for a few years, as you said. Hard to overhaul an engine while it's running.

IF vulcan is implemented it will be beneficial, but I think it unlikely we will see it soon. There are many other topics ED seems to be working on.

There is no doubt Intel is the way to go. ATM I don't think there will really be a difference in DCS between the 8700K, 9700K and the 9900K. When we get Vulkan API we will likely see the benefit though. At that point I'll jump to 9900K or if it's after 2019 I guess I'll be upgrading even more lol. I would also echo the sentiment that 32GB of RAM should be the recommended minimum if you want to play multiplayer no doubt. I went 64GB and don't regret it at all...

Well I just got a pre-order in with Amazon for the i9 9900k.

Doing a complete new build here soon so wanted to go ahead and get it.

Well I just got a pre-order in with Amazon for the i9 9900k.

Doing a complete new build here soon so wanted to go ahead and get it.

Going to be a killer system!:thumbup:

hansangb, in the Vulcan API thread

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3592185&postcount=10

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3598990&postcount=56

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3600835&postcount=59

Did you really say "No VR"? I'm guessing that you've never played DCS in VR.

hansangb, in the Vulcan API thread

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3592185&postcount=10

 

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3598990&postcount=56

 

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3600835&postcount=59

Good info! Thanks.

hansangb, in the Vulcan API thread

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3592185&postcount=10

 

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3598990&postcount=56

 

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3600835&postcount=59

No, I get it and follow that thread. The thing about any demanding software is that you are playing whack-a-mole with performance bottlenecks. Today, the use of Direct11 forces a bottleneck to draw things on the screen/VR. Vulkan will remove that overhead to a degree. Ironic since this gaming industry started to take off because everyone wrote custom drivers to do just that....go direct to hardware.

But DCS isn't just about drawing things. It's a major component of it, but DCS still has to figure out *what* to draw, when to do it etc. So again, I stand by my comment that OC CPU is always better than regular CPU. Unless you only use NOTEPAD. If done right, there's no harm in OC"ing the CPU. There is a cost to consider, and that's why I said that vulkan will mean you man *not* need the monster rigs.

As for timing, it's a complex piece of code with 3rd party devs. So I stand my my "we won't see it until next year, if that" If you think about the journey of moving to 2.5, you can see all the hiccups that caused delays. Some were reprioritizing because of WWII bailout. But going from one engine to another is time consuming. Basic framwork can be tested easily enough, it's all the content that will give ED heartburn.

But I'm patient, my VR experience is wonderful and things will only get better. So I would be an ingrate if were to DEMAND anything from ED. I'll take it when it's ready.

So my current rig is coming on almost six years old now, haven't been flying in DCS for some time now because it frankly can't keep up on MP with any sort of respectable FPS

I find it difficult to believe that an i7-7700 + GTX1080Ti givers you such "poor" performance. Maybe consider reinstalling your OS and give the system a complete overhall?