Buying new motherboard any recomendations?

My I7-4770 350Ghz (not OC) is starting to annoy me in DCS as it has occasional steam background flashes which seem almost random. Now to be honest I think that this is just particular to the current branch of DCS 2.22 and will probably be vastly improved by 2.5 but I'm just thinking its time to get a new motherboard/CPU anyway as this one is nearly 5 years old, and I want better DCS performance (ability to run deferred shading etc.).

The main thing I'm asking is about CPU as obviously RAM (already bought new RAM recently) and all the other components I don't really need to worry about (will buy a water cooler for CPU overclock).

I don't plan to upgrade my GTX 980Ti just yet, but obviously I want the new motherboard to have the ability to upgrade both the CPU and the GPU in the future (looking way past 1080Ti if possible.)

So guys any recommendations? There's lots of conflicting info out there and this intel performance bug seems very worrying. Also the ability to overclock is a must as I learned with the 17-4770 (no proper cooler in my PC)!

I would just get the i7-8700k but I cant say the reviews are all that positive (people basically calling it a rip off) and I worry that the LGA 1151 socket, will also be discontinued in the future meaning I would need to buy a whole new motherboard (computer) again! AMD is a possibility (certainly not for GPU though) but I am generally an intel guy!

So any ideas most welcome. Also any other things you think are important (might get a new SSD) for the future proof VR (especially DCS) computer let me know!

It's always the same answer: whatever you can afford!

Having said that, some food for thought. You kept your current system for a good while, so whatever you buy know, you'll likely hold on to it 3+ years. So the fact that this may be the last LGA1151 socket is probably a moot point. In 3 years, you're going to need a new MB no matter what.

7700K/8700K MB's required DDR4. You said you bought the memory recently, but wasn't sure if that was DDR4 or not. So you may have to look into that. I don't know if any Z370 MBs support DDR3.

Graphics card is probably the easiest since PCI will be around for a lot longer. 980Ti will work fine on today and future MBs.

Double check the PSU. modern CPUs need more power. Add in a more powerful GPU down the road, and your current PSU may no longer cut it. I had to replace my PSU a few months ago because it would die everytime I played PUBG. But no other benchmark/burn-in/torture test brought it down. But given that software can't turn off/power down the computer, I swapped out the PSU. And the problem went away.

And when it comes to PC building, upgrade is always around the corner. So you have to factor in opportunity cost. And don't fall into the "don't let perfection be the enemy of good" trap. Easy to do as you do more and more research. Good luck!

I am currently saving to upgrade rig and have done lots of homework. I will be buying the ASUS ROG Maximum X hero to go with an i7 8700K processor. As hansangb mentioned new boards take ddr4 RAM and if your old board is 5 years old I would think your RAM is ddr3 and will need replacing.

I have a 4770k as well and most places I've asked, the advice has been to hold onto it. I had a 980ti and upgraded to a 1080ti last year when it came out and I got a good performance boost out of it.

Having said that, and having done some research of late, if you really want to get the best CPU for gaming right now, get an 8700k.

Any good brand name z370 motherboard will do. And DDR4 RAM. I'm afraid your current RAM is DDR3 as you're either running a z87 or z97 motherboard.

I have a 4770k as well and most places I've asked, the advice has been to hold onto it. I had a 980ti and upgraded to a 1080ti last year when it came out and I got a good performance boost out of it.

 

I am in the same boat with my 4820K.

I have been somewhat tempted with the newer 8700K and Z370 boards, but planning to wait it out till at least around end of this year and see what we have.

Double check the PSU. modern CPUs need more power. Add in a more powerful GPU down the road, and your current PSU may no longer cut it. I had to replace my PSU a few months ago because it would die everytime I played PUBG. But no other benchmark/burn-in/torture test brought it down. But given that software can't turn off/power down the computer, I swapped out the PSU. And the problem went away.

How many watts (minimum) needed power supply for a computer's configuration as you have? +VR.

I want to upgrade my PC to your level.

How many watts (minimum) needed power supply for a computer's configuration as you have? +VR.

I want to upgrade my PC to your level.

I had a 1200W power supply from 2009 that went bad on my last Oct. And only when playing PUBG as the demand was too high.

So I stayed with 1200W EVGA SuperNova Platinum. I liked that the cables were modular so I don't have to clutter the case with cables I'll never use. At $300 USD, if it lasts me another 7 years that's 12 cents a day. I think I got my money's worth.

But I think 800 or so will work. I just wanted more headroom since I tend to overclock. There are a bunch of power calculators, so doublecheck check your math!

Yep thanks guys I'm going with a new Z370-H, i7-8700k (air cooler not water), DDR4 RAM, SSD 1TB 960 pro, and a corsair PSU 650w. I am going to basically sell back the RAM I bought (reduced price) and also sell/use whatever components are left in this computer that the guy is willing to buy, or thinks are salvageable.

I might see if he will give me a reasonable price for my 980Ti (isn't about 300 dollars fair?) for which I could go the whole hog and put towards a new 1080Ti, but I doubt I will have that much cash by tomorrow. I really want to wait for the next gen GPU's if I can though!

I had a 1200W power supply from 2009 that went bad on my last Oct. And only when playing PUBG as the demand was too high.

 

So I stayed with 1200W EVGA SuperNova Platinum. I liked that the cables were modular so I don't have to clutter the case with cables I'll never use. At $300 USD, if it lasts me another 7 years that's 12 cents a day. I think I got my money's worth.

 

But I think 800 or so will work. I just wanted more headroom since I tend to overclock. There are a bunch of power calculators, so doublecheck check your math!

Humm. The guy assures me a 650 PSU will be Okay but says I can have an 800 if I want, seems to think its overkill even when I tell him I want to future proof.

Do I really need to go higher than 650 do you think? Its the one thing that's been worrying me that I should get a more powerful PSU. And yes I do want to overclock the CPU at some point!

I have a 4770k as well and most places I've asked, the advice has been to hold onto it. I had a 980ti and upgraded to a 1080ti last year when it came out and I got a good performance boost out of it.

 

Having said that, and having done some research of late, if you really want to get the best CPU for gaming right now, get an 8700k.

Any good brand name z370 motherboard will do. And DDR4 RAM. I'm afraid your current RAM is DDR3 as you're either running a z87 or z97 motherboard.

Yeah I know its all I have ever heard for years when asking about upgrading my 17-4770, but I'm hearing really good things about the 17-8700k especially in conjunction with a card like the 1080Ti which I plan to either equal or better eventually!

Humm. The guy assures me a 650 PSU will be Okay but says I can have an 800 if I want, seems to think its overkill even when I tell him I want to future proof.

 

Do I really need to go higher than 650 do you think? Its the one thing that's been worrying me that I should get a more powerful PSU. And yes I do want to overclock the CPU at some point!

I think 650 would just cut it. I would definitely go for 800 or higher. it's the one thing in your install that you can use of 5+ years. So go bigger if you can.

I think 650 would just cut it. I would definitely go for 800 or higher. it's the one thing in your install that you can use of 5+ years. So go bigger if you can.

Well guys utterly failed to control myself and ended up buying not only the new MB, RAM (3200Mhz), cooler, and I7-8700k CPU, but also splashed out on a brand new 1080Ti 11GB. I managed to keep the costs within 1 thousand 300 English pounds by selling him components within what is now, or more accurately was my old computer. I didn't get exactly great prices for the GTX 980Ti, and could have got more money had I been less lazy I suppose (and sold components to people not planning to resell) but I was able to make the upgrade to a 1080Ti much more palatable and really I don't think I've ever not been murdered trying to sell things second hand.

Will still upgrade to the Volta when the time comes but when I got to the shop and had the 1080Ti perched high above me on a shelf staring at me, I eventually broke down and promised to do what I could to take him home. Just wouldn't have felt as exciting getting the CPU and mother board upgraded without a new GPU to go with it!

I wouldn't say I feel happy exactly as I haven't tested it in action yet. I feel like I always do when I buy a new computer, kind of unsure of myself, but I'm sure once I have some money in my bank and I can feed my family again that will improve haha! Kind of nervous that I will load up DCS and somehow see no improvement whatsoever!

Worst thing is I have to download it all over again so I should be ready to fly by tomorrow knowing the download speeds!

Turns out I already had an 850 watt PSU anyway, after insisting that I have an 850 watt the salesman must have known he had a right mark when I walked in. I don't know what made me think it was 650 but not a good way to begin negotiations! I'm really poor at haggling as well, I don't have the perseverance and am too obviously a case of JUST TAKE MY MONEY, and let me go home and play!

Thanks for the advice everybody I will let you all know how it goes!

Well guys utterly failed to control myself and ended up buying not only the new MB, RAM (3200Mhz), cooler, and I7-8700k CPU, but also splashed out on a brand new 1080Ti 11GB.

Nice choices!

I am especially a fan of the EVGA 1080 Ti.

Congrats, I am envious!

Nice choices!

I am especially a fan of the EVGA 1080 Ti.

 

Congrats, I am envious!

My 1080Ti is actually the 'OC edition' do you think that will be significant in terms of performance gain, or is it a bit of a marketing gimmick?

My 1080Ti is actually the 'OC edition' do you think that will be significant in terms of performance gain, or is it a bit of a marketing gimmick?

Hmm off top of my head I am not familiar with OC Edition, I got the FTW3 and am very pleased with it.

Will check...

It's a Ti, I am sure you will be happy.

Hmm off top of my head I am not familiar with OC Edition, I got the FTW3 and am very pleased with it.

Will check...

 

It's a Ti, I am sure you will be happy.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-GTX-1080-AERO-11G/dp/B06XXGNZB3

This is the one I got, seems to have pretty good reviews from customers. I am an expat living in China so I think that's why I am not having availability issues as I live in the place they are manufactured. Otherwise very little info online about it but the salesman (although of course he would say that) assured me it was one of the best. I don't understand how people are managing to sell them for nearly 2000 pounds, I guess some people are rich and desperate!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-GTX-1080-AERO-11G/dp/B06XXGNZB3

 

This is the one I got, seems to have pretty good reviews from customers. I am an expat living in China so I think that's why I am not having availability issues as I live in the place they are manufactured. Otherwise very little info online about it but the salesman (although of course he would say that) assured me it was one of the best. I don't understand how people are managing to sell them for nearly 2000 pounds, I guess some people are rich and desperate!

Ah ok, it is MSI. For some reason I had in my head it was EVGA duh.

I am sure that card will be great!

Ah ok, it is MSI. For some reason I had in my head it was EVGA duh.

 

I am sure that card will be great!

Yeah haha I noticed that! You kinda got it in my head too!

You don't have to download DCS again though. You can just copy from the old HD if you're getting a new one and do a repair. (and deactivation/activation).

Anyway, enjoy your new rig!

You don't have to download DCS again though. You can just copy from the old HD if you're getting a new one and do a repair. (and deactivation/activation).

 

Anyway, enjoy your new rig!

I do actually! I'm using the same HD on this computer, it was one of the few things I kept, and although most things survived the move DCS seemed to be a casualty and got wiped!

Well turned out I needed a DP cable for my new 1080ti. System was running like a dog (lame dog) too, and I needed a whole new reinstall of windows 10!

Should have known I couldn't get away with keeping my old HD drive intact. Everything's running well now, though haven't tried DCS yet, just getting it all set up (controls, terrains, modules, CD keys etc). Tried BOS yesterday 4x MSSA, seems very smooth!

Love DCS but I wish I'd just been patient and kept with the steam version, for quicker downloads. To be fair they have improved alot but it still took many many hours!

Also every time there's an update the controls get all messed up, with buttons being automatically mapped to a thousand different peripherals which I then have to manually delete! Really hope the devs can look into a more user friendly control scheme!

So happy I went with an after market fan too, I've never in my life had a computer that actually feels like a fridge to touch! Is bound to help performance I think!

I guess the recommendation would be to wait a few years（warranty) before attempting a CPU overclock as at present it shouldn't really be necessary with an i7-8700k right?

Would you mind benchmarking a set DCS track on a predefined graphics settings level with fraps?

I would then do the same.

I'm curious to see what impact the upgrade from a 4770k to a 8700k has on fps.

How would I go about doing that?

Very good question. I haven't done it myself to be honest. I'll look into getting something set up and I'll share my methodology.

To be honest I don't have any benchmarks from my old system with which to compare the new, and my old CPU wasn't overclocked like yours is. Might sound crazy, but I generally try to avoid FPS counters as they tend to turn people OCD, and make them spend more time worrying about the numbers than just enjoying the game.

What I can say so far is the difference is huge! I was dreading it not really being that much better but no it really is fantastic.

4x MSSA and 1.5 pixel density which would have been almost unplayable (I have never used such settings before except to test) before is now basically perfect, even when turning my head sideways and bear in mind this is flying over Vegas. Haven't tried deferred shading yet though...

Another issue is though that this system isn't simply a new GPU and CPU, but one with new faster RAM (not sure if that helps improve speeds but it is a flight sim) and probably more importantly a proper cooler that keeps the inside of my PC like a fridge!

How do you find the performance with the 4770k chip?

Like I said it seems almost close to flawless but bear in mind I am not flying multiplayer or any crazy missions with a thousand different things happening, but I never did that in DCS/VR on my old system either!

Also everybody has different standards so perhaps what is fantastic to me wont be for you.