Gonna upgrade my PC soon and would like some DCS specific advice

I'm planning on upgrading my processor and RAM.

I'll be traveling to Canada in about 2 months, gonna have about 900$ or so to spend.

So, for DCS what would you guys recommend?

My current processor is an I5 4670K.

I'm planning on getting one of the following: I5 8400, I5 8600K or the I7 8700. How do the Ryzen processors compare to the Intels on DCS? Are they a better option?

I currently have 16GB of DDR3 RAM, but I'm planning on upgrading to 24/32GB's DDR4, So I'll also need a new motherboard. My question regarding RAM is as follows: Currently, whenever I connect to a server that has complex missions and lots of players (such as the 104th), my game freezes on the plane selection screen, and I can't play. Just how much RAM should I get to be able to fly on servers such as the 104th with no issues?

In short: I have to buy a new motherboard, processor and newer RAM, and I'm looking for some advice.

My current graphics card is a GTX 1060 (6GB), I don't really plan on upgrading it for now, but I could always try and sell it before I travel, is the 1060 still a good card for DCS?

IMO - invest in liquid cooler like corshair h100, h110, overclock your 4670k and put the rest of that $900 into a better gpu.

It can easily cost a grand just for a new cpu/mobo/32gb of ram.

IMO - invest in liquid cooler like corshair h100, h110, overclock your 4670k and put the rest of that $900 into a better gpu.

 

It can easily cost a grand just for a new cpu/mobo/32gb of ram.

Just checked some prices on Amazon, I can actually buy 32GBs of DDR4 RAM, a new Motherboard and an I7-8700 + a very good air cooler for about 920ish bucks, right on the money.

GPU's are way too expensive atm, if I were to do what you say, I wouldn't be able to get more RAM, which would be an issue.

Just checked some prices on Amazon, I can actually buy 32GBs of DDR4 RAM, a new Motherboard and an I7-8700 + a very good air cooler for about 920ish bucks, right on the money.

 

GPU's are way too expensive atm, if I were to do what you say, I wouldn't be able to get more RAM, which would be an issue.

My reasoning is this.. you can probably get that CPU to 4.5-4.6ghz, at which point you wont be far off from the increase you'd see with an 8th gen cpu.

Where as both overclocking that CPU and upgrading the GPU should offer a rather significant performance/eye candy increase and you can upgrade the rest of the PC over time rather than spend one large chunk at once. A 2070 sits right between 1080 and 1080Ti performance for around $500 USD.

Just my 2 cents. do with it what you will. going from an i5 2500k @4.5ghz to an 8700k @4.7ghz by itself didn't offer much in the way of improvement. Going from a 980Ti to my current gpu made a huge difference. And it opens up the door for higher resolution monitors, VR, or enabling SSAA for you.

I honestly haven't noticed much difference between 16GB vs 32GB of ram, but 104th is one of those "large missions" eagle dynamics recommends 32GB for, I was flying it and DDCS and blueflag with 16GB. But dat gpu upgrade bro. 2070 + liquid cooler + another 16GB of ram sounds about right for your budget, and imo will offer you more than a new chipset and cpu. (if your slots are already maxed out @16GB, unfortunately that does make things a bit expensive, although ddr3 listed @ about $170-$200 USD for 32gb of ddr3 1600mhz)

P.S> Even if you don't follow my advice.. i'd advise a good liquid cooler over air anyday. 4.9ghz on my 8700K @75C average under full load using corsair h100. Still true after running this pc 24/7 for over a year using the thermal pad that came on the cooler. Although worth considering a small 20mm or 40mm fan to put some airflow directly over VRM's if overclocking. Frankly, I've neglected the extra fan and I haven't seen my VRMs hit temps I would consider critical.

If you're running at 1080P, I'd guess you might see performance gains with cpu clockspeed increases alone as it stands without having to buy anything more than a 240mm AIO unit. There's surely a guide on google for overclocking your specific mobo/CPU. And while unlikely, if you do more harm than good, well you've already priced out your new system.. and you have a 240mm AIO unit to cool it. Just buy some thermal paste with the new parts. :) If all goes well, you have $$$ left over for a GPU and more ram, should feel like a new rig. Also you don't mention if you're using an HDD Or SSD, the latter being a definite yes if you're not already running dcs off one.

:thumbup:

:thumbup:

Delid the beast.

Just thought i'd add my two cents..

I recently went and upgraded to a new pc and these are some of the specs:

i5:8600k Overclocked to 4.5ghz

GTX1070ti

16GB 3000mhz RAM (although I too am gonna upgrade that to 32gb)

With that I am getting a stable 60fps with most of the graphics settings maxed out on a 1440x2560 screen.

But what you'll hear a lot is that DCS is heavily CPU dependant, so getting that core speed up as high as you can will probably see the biggest benefit. Also if you're looking to getting into VR you'll then need to upgrade that GPU..

I do agree on the RAM upgrade - though it never crashes on me I do notice whilst running DCS it does run up most of the available ram.

Good luck!

My reasoning is this.. you can probably get that CPU to 4.5-4.6ghz, at which point you wont be far off from the increase you'd see with an 8th gen cpu.

 

Where as both overclocking that CPU and upgrading the GPU should offer a rather significant performance/eye candy increase and you can upgrade the rest of the PC over time rather than spend one large chunk at once. A 2070 sits right between 1080 and 1080Ti performance for around $500 USD.

 

Just my 2 cents. do with it what you will. going from an i5 2500k @4.5ghz to an 8700k @4.7ghz by itself didn't offer much in the way of improvement. Going from a 980Ti to my current gpu made a huge difference. And it opens up the door for higher resolution monitors, VR, or enabling SSAA for you.

 

I honestly haven't noticed much difference between 16GB vs 32GB of ram, but 104th is one of those "large missions" eagle dynamics recommends 32GB for, I was flying it and DDCS and blueflag with 16GB. But dat gpu upgrade bro. 2070 + liquid cooler + another 16GB of ram sounds about right for your budget, and imo will offer you more than a new chipset and cpu. (if your slots are already maxed out @16GB, unfortunately that does make things a bit expensive, although ddr3 listed @ about $170-$200 USD for 32gb of ddr3 1600mhz)

 

P.S> Even if you don't follow my advice.. i'd advise a good liquid cooler over air anyday. 4.9ghz on my 8700K @75C average under full load using corsair h100. Still true after running this pc 24/7 for over a year using the thermal pad that came on the cooler. Although worth considering a small 20mm or 40mm fan to put some airflow directly over VRM's if overclocking. Frankly, I've neglected the extra fan and I haven't seen my VRMs hit temps I would consider critical.

 

If you're running at 1080P, I'd guess you might see performance gains with cpu clockspeed increases alone as it stands without having to buy anything more than a 240mm AIO unit. There's surely a guide on google for overclocking your specific mobo/CPU. And while unlikely, if you do more harm than good, well you've already priced out your new system.. and you have a 240mm AIO unit to cool it. Just buy some thermal paste with the new parts. :) If all goes well, you have $$$ left over for a GPU and more ram, should feel like a new rig. Also you don't mention if you're using an HDD Or SSD, the latter being a definite yes if you're not already running dcs off one.

I am in fact, running DCS on an SSD.

Your idea actually sounds pretty nice, the 2070 idea didn't actually come to mind, guess I forgot the 2k series exists, lol.

I might consider it then. Thanks.

Just thought i'd add my two cents..

 

Also if you're looking to getting into VR you'll then need to upgrade that GPU..

 

I do agree on the RAM upgrade - though it never crashes on me I do notice whilst running DCS it does run up most of the available ram.

 

Good luck!

I agree, but if you're not yet getting into VR, maybe its better to put your money elsewhere and save the GPU upgrade for when you do.

Btw, big improvements for me after upgrading beyond 16Gb RAM.

going from an i5 2500k @4.5ghz to an 8700k @4.7ghz by itself didn't offer much in the way of improvement.

I had completely different experience when upgraded my i5-2500k@4.2Ghz to i7-6700k@4.5GHz. I only checked fps in Il2 BoS where they jumped from 45-50 to 80+. Knowing that DCS is also CPU intensive I would expect a similar improvement.

I am actually planning to upgrade my 6700k to 9700k because it's limiting my 2080ti in VR.

I had completely different experience when upgraded my i5-2500k@4.2Ghz to i7-6700k@4.5GHz. I only checked fps in Il2 BoS where they jumped from 45-50 to 80+. Knowing that DCS is also CPU intensive I would expect a similar improvement.

 

I am actually planning to upgrade my 6700k to 9700k because it's limiting my 2080ti in VR.

Hehe that 2080Ti will still be CPU limited @ 5ghz on an 8th or 9th gen chip in VR. I find the resolution it takes to be gpu limited is too high to maintain 45fps. (in VR.)

Still.. I think the OP should be quite surprised at the performance benefit of going from 3.4ghz to 4.5+ghz. And he's not looking to spend the kind of money for a gpu quite so hungry for cpu cycles. In the long run he might want to upgrade both. And imo it's easier to spread out the cost of 3 parts like cpu/mainboard/ram over time than the cost of a decent GPU atm. >.<

In my case.. I was GPU limited already when going from the 2500K to 8700K due to my monitor's resolution and gpu at the time. So here's more food for thought for the OP.

Start with the liquid cooler and an overclock. Make decisions based on those results. Watch CPU usage per core and GPU usage, try with and without SSAA and keep watching CPU/GPU usage. You may even end up happy with simply the clockspeed increase. MSI Afterburner will answer your needs better than we can in a forum. If you see any CPU cores hitting 99% and gpu usage dropping you're cpu limited, and higher CPU clock frequency/more recent cpu architecture = more performance.

If you're GPU is running at 99%, and your cpu isn't reaching such on any core, you have room for a more powerful GPU. And bottlenecks are specific to the program you're measuring performance for, as well as display resolution. It can all change with one piece of hardware.

8th and 9th gen intels will overclock to higher speeds, which will likely benefit performance of the 1060 @1080P. But for anything beyond 1080P, including VR headsets i'd imagine that 1060 will leave something to be desired. So grain of salt and all, I won't tell you what to buy but I hope I've given you enough information to feel comfortable about making a decision. it's all up to you and where you'd like to go with it in the future. The CPU upgrade and 32GB of ram might be all you want if you're content with 1080P. But the entry barrier to DCS VR is down to $99 for a WMR headset without controllers. Nvidia's working on compatibility with freesync, or in other words less expensive high refresh rate monitors. You have options ;) Most I have without having your system in my possession to examine is guesswork.

Just thought i'd add my two cents..

 

I recently went and upgraded to a new pc and these are some of the specs:

 

i5:8600k Overclocked to 4.5ghz

GTX1070ti

16GB 3000mhz RAM (although I too am gonna upgrade that to 32gb)

 

With that I am getting a stable 60fps with most of the graphics settings maxed out on a 1440x2560 screen.

 

But what you'll hear a lot is that DCS is heavily CPU dependant, so getting that core speed up as high as you can will probably see the biggest benefit. Also if you're looking to getting into VR you'll then need to upgrade that GPU..

 

I do agree on the RAM upgrade - though it never crashes on me I do notice whilst running DCS it does run up most of the available ram.

 

Good luck!

Not really planning on getting into VR. But thanks anyways.

I had completely different experience when upgraded my i5-2500k@4.2Ghz to i7-6700k@4.5GHz. I only checked fps in Il2 BoS where they jumped from 45-50 to 80+. Knowing that DCS is also CPU intensive I would expect a similar improvement.

 

I am actually planning to upgrade my 6700k to 9700k because it's limiting my 2080ti in VR.

Interesting, but I'd like to know how it affects DCS. I also play IL2, but I find my specs to be more than enough for IL2.

I'm really in doubt now, I really liked the suggestion of getting the 2070 + RAM and the cooler for the Overclock, but tbh, I really want to get a new processor, since I've been using mine for almost 6 years.

If the performance increase I'll get with the I7 + the new RAM is good enough, I'd rather buy that and buy a new GPU later down the line.

Hehe that 2080Ti will still be CPU limited @ 5ghz on an 8th or 9th gen chip in VR. I find the resolution it takes to be gpu limited is too high to maintain 45fps. (in VR.)

 

Still.. I think the OP should be quite surprised at the performance benefit of going from 3.4ghz to 4.5+ghz. And he's not looking to spend the kind of money for a gpu quite so hungry for cpu cycles. In the long run he might want to upgrade both. And imo it's easier to spread out the cost of 3 parts like cpu/mainboard/ram over time than the cost of a decent GPU atm. >.<

 

In my case.. I was GPU limited already when going from the 2500K to 8700K due to my monitor's resolution and gpu at the time. So here's more food for thought for the OP.

 

Start with the liquid cooler and an overclock. Make decisions based on those results. Watch CPU usage per core and GPU usage, try with and without SSAA and keep watching CPU/GPU usage. You may even end up happy with simply the clockspeed increase. MSI Afterburner will answer your needs better than we can in a forum. If you see any CPU cores hitting 99% and gpu usage dropping you're cpu limited, and higher CPU clock frequency/more recent cpu architecture = more performance.

 

If you're GPU is running at 99%, and your cpu isn't reaching such on any core, you have room for a more powerful GPU. And bottlenecks are specific to the program you're measuring performance for, as well as display resolution. It can all change with one piece of hardware.

 

8th and 9th gen intels will overclock to higher speeds, which will likely benefit performance of the 1060 @1080P. But for anything beyond 1080P, including VR headsets i'd imagine that 1060 will leave something to be desired. So grain of salt and all, I won't tell you what to buy but I hope I've given you enough information to feel comfortable about making a decision. it's all up to you and where you'd like to go with it in the future. The CPU upgrade and 32GB of ram might be all you want if you're content with 1080P. But the entry barrier to DCS VR is down to $99 for a WMR headset without controllers. Nvidia's working on compatibility with freesync, or in other words less expensive high refresh rate monitors. You have options ;) Most I have without having your system in my possession to examine is guesswork.

Thanks for the advice. I'm only interested in 1080p 60FPS for now, so I think I'm gonna go for the new CPU option after all. I've been using the same RAM, motherboard and CPU for almost 6 years, so I think getting some newer stuff might actually save me from some troubles here and there.

Thanks for the advice. I'm only interested in 1080p 60FPS for now, so I think I'm gonna go for the new CPU option after all. I've been using the same RAM, motherboard and CPU for almost 6 years, so I think getting some newer stuff might actually save me from some troubles here and there.

Very likely tbh. my z370 board is still getting driver updates at the very least.

Still.. unless you're planning on hanging onto or selling or giving away the 4670K, I'd see how fast I could get it and see what results you get with the 1060. If you end up with a K series cpu again in the future, the experience of OC'ing the 4670K also helps you gain some confidence with overclocking, when you follow the right steps. It's free performance one way or the other. I've not run into anyone thus far who's had an issue getting 4.7-4.9ghz out of their 8700K's. As long as you research, find a guide, it's unlikely you'll damage anything. That 4670K will easily get above 4ghz. Again though, do it how you will. Be sure your PSU is up to the task of it as well.

Very likely tbh. my z370 board is still getting driver updates at the very least.

 

Still.. unless you're planning on hanging onto or selling or giving away the 4670K, I'd see how fast I could get it and see what results you get with the 1060. If you end up with a K series cpu again in the future, the experience of OC'ing the 4670K also helps you gain some confidence with overclocking, when you follow the right steps. It's free performance one way or the other. I've not run into anyone thus far who's had an issue getting 4.7-4.9ghz out of their 8700K's. As long as you research, find a guide, it's unlikely you'll damage anything. That 4670K will easily get above 4ghz. Again though, do it how you will. Be sure your PSU is up to the task of it as well.

I'm probably gonna sell everything, once I'm dead sure that my budget will be for instance: 900 bucks, I'm probably gonna sell my CPU, motherboard and old RAM. If I manage to get myself a good amount of money, I'll sell my 1060 too, then I might be able to buy all the new stuff + the 2070, ofc, that would be the best case scenario.

Again, thanks for the advice, but I probably won't be getting the 8700K, I'm probably gonna be getting the 8700, iirc the difference in price is almost 100 bucks. The only K I could get would be the I5 8600K.

If I can somehow, get enough money for everything, It may be worth it to get the I5 K series + a water cooler, then I could overclock that. But we'll see.

Again, thanks for the advice, but I probably won't be getting the 8700K, I'm probably gonna be getting the 8700, iirc the difference in price is almost 100 bucks. The only K I could get would be the I5 8600K.

 

If I can somehow, get enough money for everything, It may be worth it to get the I5 K series + a water cooler, then I could overclock that. But we'll see.

All you need is speeeeeeeeeed! If I remember, IL2 (like ROF) use 3-4 cores. Delid the beast to spare moneeeeeeeeey!

At least try.

Why tho, it's not like it's bad... :cry:

Edit: Actually the 8700K costs about ~~60 bucks more on amazon.ca

I might be able to grab it then :)

Get the 8600K. HT is useless for gaming.

DCS game engine is older than ROF/IL2 BOS engine. They work to offload the primary core.

Get the 8600K. HT is useless for gaming.

Both the 8600K and 9600K are the same price here, given that wouldn't the 9600K be a better buy?

Both the 8600K and 9600K are the same price here, given that wouldn't the 9600K be a better buy?

I think electronic stuff are very expensive (vs cost of living) in Brazil.

I would definitely go for a i5 K series over an i7 non K. I get overclocking is not everyone's thing.. but 8th and 9th gen chips can be overclocked with relative ease if you're not trying to push 5ghz or higher. I never thought I'd get in to overclocking until I tried it with my i5 2500k and found out how easy it is to get some extra performance out of the CPU.

8th gen or newer should easily be able to do 4.7-4.9ghz. Just google your motherboard for bios settings and then set multiplier.. set vcore of 1.3. Stress test.. if all is good, lower vcore to 1.275, If still good, try 1.250, when it becomes unstable, increase vcore by .005 until you can run stress testing software without any freezes or crashes. Aim for like 75C average temps under full load. 80C is ok. 85C is still safe but pushing it close to TJmax. TJmax is well below the threshold of physical damage and will shut down your CPU if you hit it. With guides all over the internet, it's honestly pretty hard to mess things to a point you can't recover from.

Anyway - I won't keep nudging. But it's honestly pretty easy to accomplish a decent OC with today's hardware. Don't even worry about delidding, unless you want to go for 5ghz or higher, which I've been content with less than 5ghz personally.

So after thinking a lot, If I manage to sell my Motherboard, old RAM, Old CPU and old GPU, I'll have about 1800 bucks, meaning I can buy everything I need.

Wish me luck on selling everything before my trip, lol.

Again, thanks for all the advice.