How much RAM

Looking into a new PC.

DCS recommend 32GB for heavy missions but I wonder if that's for 4k?

I am using 1080. Do I still need 32GB or will 16GB be OK?

Thinking of a 9700@5.1, G Skill 16GB or 32GB, RTX 2070s. Dedicated 970 EVO 1TB SSD and 500GB for OS.

Thoughts please as am returning to DCS after 8 years. Been dedicated to P3D v4 FSL etc.

Just bought the Harrier and will get the F14B soon. One for A/G one for more A/A.

Thank you.

I have 16 gigs of RAM and dcs using around 11 I don't know if it worth buy more ram.

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Game is using max 14-15 GB and then it slowly goes back around 9-10 GB

You can always upgrade

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Go for 32gigs. My DCS used to crash a lot now that we have the tomcat and upgrading to 32gigs solved it.

+ This way you make sure your DCS survives also big and gigantic missions. But for 4K, I managed to get some decent results with my setup below (many versions earlier).

I wouldn't go anywhere below 32GB if I were making a new PC today, I started with 16GB over 5 years ago and it was never enough for most of the stuff I do, I don't want to shut down photoshop just to go watch some youtube videos or vice versa, and many types of work sometimes takes a lot longer for me to bother closing it all down so I just keep it open and switch to something else for a bit, so I went with 24GB as RAM isn't cheap, but it's too late now for me to waste on this old machine another 8 GB more, so I'll just wait it out for a new PC.

If you guys aren't looking at the correct numbers then the impression will be it uses less than it actually does, Windows Task Manager is a very misleading utility.

Looking into a new PC.

DCS recommend 32GB for heavy missions but I wonder if that's for 4k?

 

I am using 1080. Do I still need 32GB or will 16GB be OK?

Yes, even at 1080p you do need more than 16 GB to run complex missions, specially if you do any multiplayer flying ... for example, these are some missions on my rig:

1) The Enemy Within 3.0 MP by Baltic Dragon: 460 units ... requires just a bit over 12 GB:

2) Krasnodar Variable Ground Attack by Apache600: 1630 units ... requires 25 GB:

3) Las Vegas Variable, by Apache600: 2090 units ... requires almost 29 GB:

In summary, DCS actually needs more than 16 GB unless you only fly smaller missions.

Best regards

.

You're building a new pc , which i expect you wish to last . Memory is inexpensive right now . Go for 32 .

When I load FA-18 Free Flight Caucasus it directly hops to 14GB and STAYS there.

In MP it is up to 18-21GB depending on Mission and airframe, player count.

In addition, you also have an OS that needs RAM, plus all the goodies.

Forget 16GB, go 32GB.

I bet that 90+% of the 16GB sayers would not take 16GB out once they could enjoy 32GB for a few days. It's just that it wont take more than 12GB if you only have 16 total. Sounds logic, doesnt it ?

I would personally grab even beyond 32GB if budget, motherboard etc. allows. Look Rudel's post, he's clearly telling you that even 32GB can be a limiter, depending on what you do.

How much RAM

Go for 32gigs. My DCS used to crash a lot now that we have the tomcat and upgrading to 32gigs solved it.

your crash and the amount of ram installed shouldn’t have anything to do with each other. that’s the whole point of virtual memory on modern operating systems.

dcs will run on 8, 16 or 32GB machines.

but yes, it will run smoother with more memory and there is no downside to having lots of it around, even if it’s not always utilized.

Thank you, guys. I will go for G-Skill 3200MHz x 32GB 14-14-14-34.

Hopefully will last me a long time.

Thank you for all your feedback.

your crash and the amount of ram installed shouldn’t have anything to do with each other. that’s the whole point of virtual memory on modern operating systems.

 

dcs will run on 8, 16 or 32GB machines.

really, I doubt that 100%

Try loading a full blown MP mission with a 8GB system and a HDD.

Done that just to know what I am talking about and it was constantly not joining or finishing loading, however you call that.

Virtual memory on SSD, or even HDD, is BY FAR not the same as Random Access Memory on IC's in any aspect other than that both store data.

Thank you, guys. I will go for G-Skill 3200MHz x 32GB 14-14-14-34.

Hopefully will last me a long time.

 

Thank you for all your feedback.

:thumbup:

your crash and the amount of ram installed shouldn’t have anything to do with each other. that’s the whole point of virtual memory on modern operating systems.

 

dcs will run on 8, 16 or 32GB machines.

 

but yes, it will run smoother with more memory and there is no downside to having lots of it around, even if it’s not always utilized.

You sure? Because I saw in the task manager my RAM getting maxed out and then DCS closed itself. How could this not be related?

It is related

Simple P51 Instant Action Ground attack uses 14.3GB of system memory and 5GB of GPU, which means a 16GB Win10 system is likely to uses the Pagefile... go 32GB!

How much RAM

You sure? Because I saw in the task manager my RAM getting maxed out and then DCS closed itself. How could this not be related?

applications on windows (like dcs) use virtual memory addresses. the virtual memory is sometimes mapped into physical ram and sometimes on disk in a swap file. the operating system moves things around as needed.

applications don’t know any different and they don’t need to. not since DOS and the Windows 3 days.

i’m not suggesting a machine will run quickly or efficiently with a small amount of ram, i’m saying your application doesn’t even know how much physical ram you have. from apps (dcs’s) point of view, it always thinks it has terabytes (usually 16TB) to work with.

that’s the whole point of virtual memory.

small amounts of physical memory should not cause crashes.

You are right, they dont cause crashes in Excel or Word, as you have all the time in the world to wait for the data to be read from the pagefile back into DRAM before it can be processed. That is a 4GB Win10 Laptop that has Excel, Word, Outlook and 5 tabs open, it's mega slow but it will likely not crash.

With a simulation that can't wait forever to have the data it needs, it's more or less crucial to access all the data it really needs FAST, not in 10minutes, not in 30 seconds and not in 3 seconds, it's either adhoc oryou either have a stutter/stop or wcs, a crash, or a kick/disconn in MP.

I could fire up more VM's than I have memory and there is a good reason I dont do it, not on my testrig, not in production, nowhere, cause I wouldnt wanna wait till 10 or 100GB of data are read from pf back to dram.

You either have the RAM it needs, or you dont in some sceanrios and I dare to say, DCS is one of them where it matters.

BTW, where is the 16TB from ? Win10 according to MS has a max PF setting of 3 x RAM or 4GB ( whichever is greater ) + the dump file size, up to 1GB free space on that disk(s).

That would not correspond to 16TB, neither does ANY 10 version support 16TB of RAM, not even 10 WS-Edition.

You should get some 16GB from a pal to try yourself, you are limiting your own view by what is in your own system. If you cant afford it, that's one thing, but dont insist on 16GB just because you dont have more, or dont want more. I have tried DCS from 6 to 32GB in most possible configs, from 1st gen i7's to 8th's gen, laptops, macs, desktops, multi-cpu servers, on HDD, SSD, NVMe...and I have seen a lot of crashes with weak systems.

16GB is not bad, it does work, up to a ceratin point with 2.5x..and then it works a lot better if you add more RAM...if you consider smoothness, responsivness and frustration a deciding factor.

If you were plain right, they'd sell 4GB systems only with LARGE disks to swap. But they dont.

Another way of looking at it (tests on my system), an average physical HD has a Random 4K Read/Write rate of .8 MB/s, a SSD 38.1MB/s, and RAM chips have a read/write time of 22 GB/s..

I just built a new computer and went with 64Gb of ram. Only because I plan to keep this system for at least 4-6 years.

I just built a new computer and went with 64Gb of ram. Only because I plan to keep this system for at least 4-6 years.

Considering with a 64bit CPU Win10 Pro 64bit can access 2TB of RAM (Win10 Home 64 "limited" to 128 GB) I don't think you can have too much! :lol:

64gb of RAM , Matched sets, has been my minimum standard since 2013. Applications are not getting smaller.

Upgrading RAM "later" can be a nightmare even if you get the same vendor,same part number. Not worth the headache that can be solved right at the beginning.

Happy Simming,

Monnie

64gb of RAM , Matched sets, has been my minimum standard since 2013. Applications are not getting smaller.

 

Happy Simming,

Monnie

I agree, going from 32 to 64 only changes a build by about $150US, no brainer for the next box I build.. i9/GTX 2080/64GB/2TB SSD

:thumbup:

I just built a new computer and went with 64Gb of ram. Only because I plan to keep this system for at least 4-6 years.