Is this upgrade worth it?

Hi, i'm thinking about upgrading my pc for DCS only. The last few weeks i'm getting very frustrated because of the game crashes and stuttering. I already tuned down the graphics but it is not enough. Sometimes it runs great and sometimes it is impossible to even join a mp game.

I can buy used pc parts (good condition) and my question is if it is worth it to upgrade this POS or to buy a complete new pc.

My pc:

Asrock (don't know exactly, it is a shitty one)

I5 3570K

8gb DDR3 Ram

GTX 980 Hydrocopper (watercooled)

750W PSU

1080p 60hz 27inch Monitor

I can buy this set for around 270 euro's (around 300 dollar):

AMD Ryzen 5 2600

Gigabyte AB350 Gaming 3

16GB DDR4 2400MHZ

If this set is worth it, I will use my SSD's and GPU for now and upgrade them in the future.

Thanks

Your CPU looks good, it's overclockable and might easily go 4.0 GHz or more--good for DCS. You need twice as much memory--16GB is good, some people say more is better. That's a BIG reason why you're getting stuttering. DCS uses lots of memory, especially with only a 4GB graphics card (Windows uses some of your system memory as if it were graphics memory when you run out).

The regular GTX 980 is very marginal--not really suited at all for DCS World 2.5+. Get a GTX 1060 6GB as the *absolute bare-bones minimum*. 8GB card (1070 or higher) is best.

An SSD is an absolute *must* for DCS--regardless of system specs, it's going to stutter like crazy trying to run off a hard disk. SATA 3 is good, a fast NVMe drive is best, but your older mobo probably won't support one, so SATA 3 it is.

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The problem with my mobo is that I can 't overclock on it. Only turboboost i believe at 3.6 GHz. And i have dcs installed on a 250GB SSD, with 100gb of free space.

But I dont need every setting at high, as long as of doesnt stutter or crashes this much.

Is the ryzen5 2600 easy to overclock on that setup and does it perform good with DCS?

How much would a used mobo be that you can unlock the OC of your cpu and run it @4+ GHz and plug in 8GB more ram?

That 980gtx for the 1080p monitor might be enough for now?

I myself am still running my old i52500K @4.2GHz aircooled. But just recently went from 1440p monitor to 1600p monitor - thus I don't need ingame AA (wich from my experience cost alot gpu power) just using fxaa out of game.

DCS still (and will not in forseable future?) doesn't make use of many cores.. So unless you don't do other cpu hungry tasks like video streaming while playing DCS actually I don't see the use of more than 4 cores atm... Single thread performance to my knowlege is the point you need to look at and where your cpu isn't bad at.

Just an idea on how you can get more out of your current system for the least amount of money?

How much would a used mobo be that you can unlock the OC of your cpu and run it @4+ GHz and plug in 8GB more ram?

That 980gtx for the 1080p monitor might be enough for now?

I myself am still running my old i52500K @4.2GHz aircooled. But just recently went from 1440p monitor to 1600p monitor - thus I don't need ingame AA (wich from my experience cost alot gpu power) just using fxaa out of game.

 

DCS still (and will not in forseable future?) doesn't make use of many cores.. So unless you don't do other cpu hungry tasks like video streaming while playing DCS actually I don't see the use of more than 4 cores atm... Single thread performance to my knowlege is the point you need to look at and where your cpu isn't bad at.

Just an idea on how you can get more out of your current system for the least amount of money?

I can buy a z77 Asrock 1155 socket Mobo and 16 gb DDR3 RAM for around 150 euro (170 dollar). Would the overclocked 3570K compete with the Ryzen? And is there a big difference between DDR3 and 4?

Thanks for the replies

The problem with my mobo is that I can 't overclock on it. Only turboboost i believe at 3.6 GHz. And i have dcs installed on a 250GB SSD, with 100gb of free space.

But I dont need every setting at high, as long as of doesnt stutter or crashes this much.

 

Is the ryzen5 2600 easy to overclock on that setup and does it perform good with DCS?

SSD=good :)

You could get more bang for your buck with your existing CPU by just getting a used motherboard that allows overclocking.

You also need to double up on your memory (you can buy faster RAM and/or overclock it too.)

With the GTX 980 you can run moderate settings and it'll perform rather well. What you mostly need is more memory, not a whole new rig.

Time to hit Ebay and look for used stuff--it'll perform much better for minimal bread spent with those two upgrades.

Also--put your Windows pagefile.sys on the SSD. Just that one drive, and leave it on System Managed.

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^This.

OC the CPU for small money ( socket 1151 may work in future boards too, it does since Sandy ).

UPGRADE the GPU, that's your biggest showstopper for now imho.

I wouldn't invest in DDR3 tech anymore. I'd go with Ryzen/DDR4 and sell the old stuff.

I upgraded from a gen1 ryzen7 w/b350mb to Ryzen 5 2600 w/b450 and didn't notice any difference in DCS. I lost the "silicon lottery," was able to push the gen1 to 3.8ghz, can only run 4.0ghz on the gen2 cpu. Beyond that, gen2 apparently has a decent boost mode, improvements from overclocking are marginal and in my case, end of the day probably isn't accomplishing much. I don't think gen2 ryzen is the answer for DCS.

If it was me, I'd upgrade the MB, try 16gb of DDR4, put the best m.2 SSD I could afford in there and see what shakes out. With the main question being the motherboard. Might be worth spending a little extra for a MB that OC's well.

I dunno about the GPU, I flog the crap out of my pitiful GPU in VR. That said, going to 16gb of RAM solved most of my crashing problems. Adjusting game settings helped the stuttering. If I were going to upgrade, and I might, I have my eye on the 2080. It's all a question of how much headroom you get, at what price, on the margins. How much extra power do you get, for how much more money? They don't charge *that* much more for a 2080 than a 2070, and believe it or not depending on what you're up to, the 2070 strikes me as a low-end card for DCS.

If you do swap out your MB, read up how the copy protection works. Depending on how many activations you have left, you might want to de-activate your modules BEFORE you pull the screwdriver out.

Thanks for all the info guys. I think i will try the new mobo with overclock functions and upgrade to 16gb RAM (this socket 1155 only supports DDR3 sadly) for now. If that is a dissapointment then ill sell all the parts and buy a new pc.

I just hate buying new parts that lose value so fast xD

Thanks for all the info guys. I think i will try the new mobo with overclock functions and upgrade to 16gb RAM (this socket 1155 only supports DDR3 sadly) for now. If that is a dissapointment then ill sell all the parts and buy a new pc.

 

I just hate buying new parts that lose value so fast xD

Welcome to the wonderful world of computers. The latest-and-greatest Super-Duper-Hyper-Ultra-UberTech hardware costs a huge chunk of dough and is merely decent after two years. It's considered dang near obsolete after 4 or 5, and it's hilarious watching people trying to unload it on various websites for top dollar with the tagline "It was very high end when I bought it"!!

Graphics cards are often the worst offenders :)

Just the way it is, and that's why it's a good idea to only buy exactly what you need, instead of buying super-expensive stuff that won't actually improve performance in what you bought it for, but "might be nice to have".

DCS simply needs a fairly cheap CPU with 4 cores and the highest possible clock speed, 16GB of RAM, a hefty graphics card, and a cheap SATA 3 SSD :)

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Is this upgrade worth it?

I just hate buying new parts that lose value so fast xD

i’m the same way. but it could be worse. you could pay even more than necessary for “future proofing”

i’m the same way. but it could be worse. you could pay even more than necessary for “future proofing”

Excelent :lol:

Welcome to the wonderful world of computers. The latest-and-greatest Super-Duper-Hyper-Ultra-UberTech hardware costs a huge chunk of dough and is merely decent after two years. It's considered dang near obsolete after 4 or 5, and it's hilarious watching people trying to unload it on various websites for top dollar with the tagline "It was very high end when I bought it"!!

Graphics cards are often the worst offenders :)

 

Just the way it is, and that's why it's a good idea to only buy exactly what you need, instead of buying super-expensive stuff that won't actually improve performance in what you bought it for, but "might be nice to have".

 

DCS simply needs a fairly cheap CPU with 4 cores and the highest possible clock speed, 16GB of RAM, a hefty graphics card, and a cheap SATA 3 SSD :)

 

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:thumbup:

The only advantage an SSD will offer over a traditional HDD is loading performance. In game performance will not be noticeable. I know this first hand. With my system (see sig) DCS will run 40+FPS min.

The only advantage an SSD will offer over a traditional HDD is loading performance. In game performance will not be noticeable.

Not 100% true. If you're running out of RAM, if Windows is using its pagefile, you are flying a very heavy multiplayer mission and running a HDD you will get nasty microstutters at some time. "Loading" does also occur whilst flying, especially when new terrain gets rendered once you crossed an invisible border.

yep !

Well I can say there is no HDD in my new rig, all mine are officially retired.

Not 100% true. If you're running out of RAM, if Windows is using its pagefile, you are flying a very heavy multiplayer mission and running a HDD you will get nasty microstutters at some time. "Loading" does also occur whilst flying, especially when new terrain gets rendered once you crossed an invisible border.

Hasn't been an issue for me at all. If one has limited RAM perhaps but most of us don't.

Interesting, you have no SSD? Only 16GB of RAM? Because it's a killer comment. Thanks for the comment.

Openly speaking, you must disregard that comment as it misleads newbies to believe a SSD is an "OPTION" and 16GB is ALL you will ever need.

FAR from reality

Yep, I was curious.

to be fair, 32GB is not all you will ever need, either.

to be fair, 32GB is not all you will ever need, either.

Heck no, I wish I had 32 cores and 128GB when I fire up a few VM's but for DCS, 24GB I guess is also OK but 32GB is the better one to buy as 1 kit for DDR4.