2018 Hardware Benchmark - DCS World

Just an aside: Make sure you watch your GPU temps and power. Overclocking can cause stuttering when the GPU throttles back just like hitting the limiter on a car throttle...I've found setting my GPU fan on a constant high speed of 75% alleviates the sputtering especially while overclocking. I'm running a Titan XP but I'll bet the 1080Ti are the same. For whatever reasons the default auto fan profile is not aggressive enough to keep the temps from banging on the ceiling.

Some anti-stuttering steps:

1. GPU fan at 75%

2. CPU ratio locked

3. CPU turbo boost and power saving features turned off

4. Windows indexing turned off

5. Disable SSD write caching

6. Nvidia GPU power management set to "prefer maximum performance"

7. Disable or Enable in-game overlay feature in Nvidia Experience (seems enabling is in as of 2.5.2 open beta)

Thanks unltd,

I will try with your settings

I'd love to see some benchmarks with realistic hardware (i3, GTX 1060...the most popular card on Steam...for example). Some of us see this as nothing more than a hobby and are not willing to spend 5 mortgage payments on playing a single PC game ;)

I am running DCS 2.5 very well now after the latest patch (single player), but still get some stuttering/HDD thrashing when looking outside the cockpit, and during fly-bys in external. I run FXAA through Nvidia CP instead of MSAA, full trees, Ultra Visibility, 8X Anisotropic, Med Shadows/Flat terrain shadows, High water and textures. Oddly, no stuttering at all down low in the trees.

I followed the recommendations from another thread and they really were spot on. I get 60-100fps, but I understand it's the frame latency, not the FPS that matters. I get a solid 12GB of RAM use, and never over 45% on the GPU, so I'm thinking it's the CPU? But isn't 4.2GHz enough?

Maybe I need to install on an SSD? I don't want to upgrade something unless it's actually going to help, and I'm not going from a 3258 to an i7 just because everyone else here does. Any info out there?

Thanks!

Minimum system requirements: OS 64-bit Windows 7/8/10; DirectX11; CPU: Core i3; RAM: 8 GB; Free hard disk space: 30 GB; Discrete video card: 2 GB RAM (AMD, NVIDIA); requires internet activation.

Recommended system requirements: OS 64-bit Windows 7/8/10; DirectX11; CPU: Core i5+; RAM: 16GB; Hard disk space: 30 GB; Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX780 / ATI R9 290 DirectX11 or better; Joystick; requires internet activation.

... and never over 45% on the GPU, so I'm thinking it's the CPU? But isn't 4.2GHz enough?

4.2G is not the worst, but you lack at least 2 cores, DCS uses 2 cores and what about DirectX11, on what cores does that one ru(i)n on yours ? Same cores as DCS !!! there is your answer.

and btw, that HDD thing is also not beneficial. Move it to ssd

Minimum system requirements: OS 64-bit Windows 7/8/10; DirectX11; CPU: Core i3; RAM: 8 GB; Free hard disk space: 30 GB; Discrete video card: 2 GB RAM (AMD, NVIDIA); requires internet activation.

Recommended system requirements: OS 64-bit Windows 7/8/10; DirectX11; CPU: Core i5+; RAM: 16GB; Hard disk space: 30 GB; Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX780 / ATI R9 290 DirectX11 or better; Joystick; requires internet activation.

 

... and never over 45% on the GPU, so I'm thinking it's the CPU? But isn't 4.2GHz enough?

 

4.2G is not the worst, but you lack at least 2 cores, DCS uses 2 cores and what about DirectX11, on what cores does that one ru(i)n on yours ? Same cores as DCS !!! there is your answer.

 

and btw, that HDD thing is also not beneficial. Move it to ssd

Min/Recommended specs mean nothing in reality, they're just guidelines. By those specs I can't even run it, which is hogwash. Why suggest an i5+ when the game doesn't even support quad core? The G3258 is a DUAL core O/C beast, and at 4.2GHz runs about the same as an i5 4460 from the video benchmarks I've seen (obviously not as well in games written for more than 2 cores, but those are very few at present). 4.2Ghz is quite a bit higher than most of the CPUs out there, but I'm just wondering if there are some other instructions in the CPU that are inherently slower on games like DCS. As I said, performance in all other games is stellar, even in poorly-optimized, CPU-hungry ARMA 3. I was expecting to see higher usage of my VRAM as everyone right away assumes 3GB isn't enough.

I was also expecting that RAM usage when I put 16GB in would completely eliminate any stutters. Why doesn't it use all my available RAM before going to the HDD?

I was thinking of an SSD, but I was also told that for 1.5.8 stutters, and it was in fact a total reinstall that I required, not an SSD or more RAM. Wiped everything and reinstalled, no more stutters.

I will experiment with visibility distance and trees as I think that may be where the issues are coming from as I have those jacked to max. The stutters aren't bad, just annoying when they happen.

It would be nice to get an answer with some actual evidence of performance, not just speculation. That's why it would be beneficial to have someone post that doesn't have a GTX 1080ti and i7 with a kajillion GB RAM. I should hope after all that cash outlay it runs well. It better wash my car and take the dog out for that kind of $ ;)

Ideally advice on SSD or CPU upgrade and what is the minimum upgrade of CPU to eliminate all stuttering?

Hi, new CPU'S are much more effective at the same clock frequence. So your 4.2 Ghz is much more ineffective as a new CPU generation at the same clock frequency. (Single core performance)

Pls check here: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

So upgrade your CPU and put DCS on a seperate SSD.

Yah, I've read the passmark bench stuff, but it doesn't generally correspond to actual game performance. Most of the game benchmarks show very little benefit from upgrading a CPU. The benefits are almost always from the video card. If someone on here with an i3 or i5 (not a K version) could relate their experience with DCS, that would be more helpful. Your vid card is equivalent to mine, but you're using CPU that cost about 8 times what mine did.

What CPU would you recommend then? (don't say i7);) Let me put it this way, if I upgraded to an i3 4170 ($203 CDN) or an i5 4460 ($262CDN), what kind of performance bump would I expect in DCS?

I think I'll start with an SSD as I was going to get another one anyways, see if that helps.

You can't compare DCS with a "normal" Video Game. DCS takes much more CPU Power but supports only 2ea cores. Therefore the "Single Core" Performance is the key.

Right now the I7-8700K would be the best CPU at all :music_whistling: but when you would like to safe some bugs check the new upcoming Ryzen+ :book:

AMD speend over the last year lots of work to upgrade the "Single Core" Performance. The new Ryzen 5 2600X could be a serious alternative !

I've taken a serious interest in this topic as I feel like I have adequate hardware to hit 60 FPS. But I only get 20 - 30 on average.

The below specs are the same, DDR3 RAM could be holding me back, but I want to point out what I have found;

My CPU use is always below 50% in game. 3 cores in use, a 4th barely gets anything and the 4 virtual cores do very little. ( Watching Win7 Task Manager the performance tab ) RAM use is always pegged. 15+ GB of 16. But I want to point out that the GPU is maxed out during game play. ( Not much while looking at menu's ) Radeon RX480.

MSAA is off, 2x Antiailsing, Flat shadows, water is low, Textures (both) are high, Visible range is extreme. Trees are at 50%, Pre-load is cranked, no grass/clutter. v2.5, but I have noticed this even in v1.5.

Do you know of any links or have any thoughts on what I could do to improve on this? :thumbup:

....

But I want to point out that the GPU is maxed out during game play. ( Not much while looking at menu's ) Radeon RX480.

 

:

That's the corner stone you were looking for. Once your GPU is filled you are running into a bottleneck, in this case a good one so to say as your rig is fast enough to saturate the video card.

What you get is maximum performance. The only way to get it faster is a faster GPU, either by overclocking ( will not make much difference tbh ) or a new, faster GPU.

When you actually buy a new GPU, say a 1060 or bigger, you will directly run into your next bottleneck, the weak CPU. It was plenty to fill the RX480 but will likely lag behind for bigger GPUs

of today.

In short, to get more frames and smoother gameplay you will have to replace the bare components. CPU-MOBO-RAM-GPU and maybe SSD (M2-NVMe if you dont have one yet).

You can start by buying a bigger GPU and see how far the CPU will carry you. YOu can then

upgrade the other components later, but you have to buy all of them together cause none

of them will run on your old combo. RAM might be a big Price factor, I'd settle with 16GB, 2x8, and hope for DCS to be happy with it. 32GB is very costly now and it only has little advantage, it does help tho imho. The CPU, I'd wait for the new AMD Ryzen2 in a a few weeks.

Hope that helps.

:pilotfly:

I've taken a serious interest in this topic as I feel like I have adequate hardware to hit 60 FPS. But I only get 20 - 30 on average.

 

The below specs are the same, DDR3 RAM could be holding me back, but I want to point out what I have found;

 

My CPU use is always below 50% in game. 3 cores in use, a 4th barely gets anything and the 4 virtual cores do very little. ( Watching Win7 Task Manager the performance tab ) RAM use is always pegged. 15+ GB of 16. But I want to point out that the GPU is maxed out during game play. ( Not much while looking at menu's ) Radeon RX480.

 

MSAA is off, 2x Antiailsing, Flat shadows, water is low, Textures (both) are high, Visible range is extreme. Trees are at 50%, Pre-load is cranked, no grass/clutter. v2.5, but I have noticed this even in v1.5.

 

Do you know of any links or have any thoughts on what I could do to improve on this? :thumbup:

What resolution are you running it at? I assume as you list an Oculus, this is VR? Your Vid Card is only slightly slower than mine (GTX 1060), and I run the game pretty much maxed (w/o MSAA, FXAA thru Nvidia CP instead) and have the opposite issue. CPU maxed and vid card less than 50% used. I'm running in 1080p though. From what I've read, I don't know that a 480 is sufficient for VR. I doubt you want to upgrade a vid card right now at the obscene prices. You can literally take a Hawaii vacation right now for the same cost as a 1080.:ranting:

Nice video Yappo, :thumbup:

GTX 1080 vs RTX 2080. Bottlneck i7-8700K@5

For the community dcs very :thumbup: useful all the videos.

Thank you very much Yappo for sharing the benchmark.

The engine crawls at ~50fps while the CPU hits a full 100% and the GPU says 72%.

NOT GOOD

* I mean, GREAT video, but the DCS engine shows it's weakness

AT what Resolution and LOD where these videos made ? That is of big importance.

Other maps less demanding on CPU. Also depends on number of AI-units.

AT what Resolution and LOD where these videos made ? That is of big importance.

Mу setup:

My tracks in video:

1. TEST_Bottlneck_F-18.trk

2. TEST_Bottlneck_AJS37.trk