eracer1111

That's why I put games on the slower Gen3 2TB SSD. The OS and other software can definitely benefit from running on the Gen4 SSD's. The MSI B550A-Pro MOBO has one slot for Gen3 and one for Gen4.

Look into my eyes!

I got your updater working. The problem was I needed to drill down one more folder to have it recognize the Saved Games path. I was pointing to c:\users\xxxx\Saved Games I needed to point to c:\users\xxxx\Saved Games\dcs.openbeta Still can't browse. I manually entered the paths.

I'm starting to see what is confusing me. When I moved DCS from my old laptop to my new computer, I must have somehow created a Saved Games folder on the new D drive. I was confused because after moving the files I saw DCS and Updater subfolders both there and in the default directory. When I deleted DCS on the new computer I also deleted the C:\users\xxxxx\Saved Games folder. When I reinstalled DCS Windows recreated the default folder. I had created a Saved Games folder on the D drive, but now I see there's nothing in it. I just deleted it. Thanks for clarifying this for me. I was operating under the assumption that having both the program and the Saved Game data files on a separate data drive was the right thing to do. Looks like that's not possible - and not necessary. Can you clarify one more thing? When you say 'Profile' which one are you talking about? Windows user profile? Something else? I definitely haven't done anything to my Windows profile. It's a brand new Win 11 install and I use my Microsoft account, not a local account.

So when I installed DCS I should have pointed to the default Windows Saved Games folder, instead of creating one on another drive? Should I just delete the one I created on the D drive? Will my DCS saved game data then be written to the one Windows creates?

Something I don't quite understand is what the location of the 'Saved Games' folder should be. I know that Windows has a default folder called 'Saved Games' in the User folder, but I assumed I could create (should?) one on my faster D drive. When I did the fresh install of DCS I told the installer to create that folder. I don't recall moving my Updater user profile (if that's the one you're asking about.) I don't have any mapped network drives, just two M.2 drives (C: and D:) I will say that when trying to get Helios to work right (and not knowing that C:\users\xxxx\Saved Games was a default Windows folder, I deleted it. It rebuilt when I did the fresh install of DCS 2.8.

HELP! I deleted DCS and the Skatezilla DCS Updater folders, and started over. DCS launches and runs fine by itself. But SZ updater is all messed up. I'm trying to browse for the DCS and Saved Games install paths and the only options I see are 'F18' and 'Aircraft' - neither shows any subfolders. I can't browse to the local drives where the folders actually are. If I copy the actual path to the DCS folder it verifies. But if I copy the path to 'Saved Games' it won't find it and the Build is not found. I deleted the folder /<Username>/Appdata/Local/Skate_Zilla_Simulations/ and restarted but it didn't do any good.

Thanks so much for this detailed explanation. I just got my gaming build done, and I'll be working on setting up my two monitor setup.

With finally getting my new PC put together and (finally) being able to truly enjoy playing DCS. I took a long hiatus from the game because it was just too frustrating to try to play on my laptop. It's a decent enough machine, but I knew I wanted more - much more. So I spent the last year gathering parts for my new build. I got it assembled and moved DCS over, and started playing again. What a colossal improvement. I was getting 20-30 fps on medium-low settings with the laptop, and now I'm getting 120-140 fps on High, running at 2560x1440P. The game looks beautiful, and it's got me inspired to start spending my time learning to fly, instead of just watching TV. I decided to set my GPU to 144Hz, turned vSync on in my monitor, and turned vSync on in DCS as well. Moving DCS was a breeze. Skatezilla's Updater helped, for sure. I'm on 2.8, and everything is stable, with all my modules intact. As a side note, I also have MSFS 2020 installed, and man oh man is that a gorgeous game. Ultra settings, and I'm getting 120 fps pretty consistently. Components: Corsair 5000X RGB (I LOVE this case.) ASUS Tuf Gaming VZ27W (144Hz w/vSync) EVGA Supernova G6 850W Gold (Total system is drawing around 620W at full load. Right where I want to be for this power supply.) MSI B550-A Pro Fenvi FV-AX3000 WiFi6/Bluetooth PCIe card. AMD 5800X Mild OC to 4200MHz (I bought it a month before the X3D came out.) EVGA RTX 3090 Ti FTW3 24GB (when the prices dropped a month ago, I couldn't resist.) HP V10 32GB (2x16GB) CAS14 (XPD running at 3600MHz) Sabrent Rocket 500GB PCIe M.2 Gen4 SK Hynix Gold 2TB PCIe M.2 Gen3 Corsair Hydro XD5 pump/reservoir EKWB CPU block (I may water-cool the GPU in the future, so I decided to build an open loop instead of getting an AIO. XSPC TX240mm Ultra-Thin Radiator. 10 case fans (6 RGB / 4 non-RGB) So far, I've very happy with the thermal performance. I'm still tweaking the fan profiles, but when running these sims I'm seeing good numbers: CPU maxes out around 55°C, which is right in the sweet spot for this processor. GPU maxes out around 60°C, which is well within its air-cooled performance envelope. Case ambient temp is holding right around 25-35°C. Not too bad, overall, what with that GPU furnace in there. The ultra-thin radiator seems to be hitting above its pay grade as well. I'm loving the fast load times I'm getting now. The OS is on the smaller M.2 drive, and all game files are on the bigger M.2 drive. All told, including tax and shipping, I've spent about $3,400. I'd budgeted $2,500 so I'm just a l-i-t-t-l-e bit over budget. Next stop..... VR!

I pulled the trigger on an RTX 3080 12GB OC this week (delivery expected today.) Right now I can return it and pay an additional $500 to step up to an RTX 3090 Ti. Considering I plan to go VR, should I bite the bullet on the 3090 (24GB)? I do NOT want to spend the money for the extra fps alone, but I am a little concerned the 3080 doesn't have the horsepower to give me the kind of VR experience I want.

Sorry, but I'm a bit confused by something I've read in this thread. Am I right in understanding that with my 5600X I can use 4x16GB single-rank RAM, but should stay away from 4x16GB dual-rank? Can the Ryzen 5 memory controller only handle 4 total ranks? I'm building a system now and already have the 5600X and a B550 MOBO. I also have a G.Skill Trident Neo kit (4x16GB/3466MHz, single rank) but that kit was free, and I wouldn't be opposed to upgrading the RAM eventually if I can gain the 6-9% CPU numbers I've seen tossed around in this thread.

I think the VR view was plenty clear enough to show off some good piloting skills! Nice video overall. Thanks!

I thought about what you said, and you're right. I cancelled the items I'd ordered for the hard tubing install, and ordered Primo Flex soft tubing and compression fittings for soft tubes. Thanks for the feedback.

I'm hoping the RAM will work. The MOBO compatibility list includes the G.Skill F4-3466C16Q-16GRK (which is a 4x4GB set.) Mine is G.Skill F4-3466C16Q-64GTZ. If it doesn't work I'll have to buy different RAM. This set was free, so we'll see what happens. I would like to run DCS @ 2K resolution, but if need be I can live with 1920x1080 for a while. I don't really have plans for the HOTAS yet. Still researching, but maybe Virpil or WinWing? VR comment understood. I have no illusions about getting high FPS in MSFS2020 with the GTX 1080, so VR will have to wait. I was going to do a simple flexible tubing kit to save money, but my last paycheck allowed me to to a hard line instead. It cost a lot more to go that route. I figure I might as well have a good setup ready for the next GPU I buy. The used GTX 1080 came with a water block, so all I'll need for the better card will be a water block. The bending and fitting part should be fun - I like a challenge!

I have indeed thought, "What happens if I need to pull the GPU out of the chassis?" Thanks for the tip on the Koolance connectors. I got a 240mm thin radiator that should fit fine at the top of the Meshify case with two thin fans on it. I'm not water-cooling the CPU, so that should be plenty of cooling for the GPU.

I've been buying these parts over the past few months, and while I was hopeful that RTX 3080 prices would have gotten reasonable by now ("Dreamer....you know you are a dreamer) I bit the bullet and snagged a used GTX 1080 that should work OK for a year or so. Not ideal but, uhhhh, there it is. - Motherboard: MSI PRO B550-A PRO AM4 ATX (Black Friday at Newegg $109.00 after $10.00 mail-in rebate.) - AMD Ryzen 5600X ($249.00 at Best Buy.) - 64 GB (4x16GB) DDR4/3466 CAS 16 (Free. ) - beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU cooler ($80.00) This thing is huge. - EVGA SuperNova 850W G6 80+ Gold. (On sale for $129.00 at Newegg. About 90W overkill.) - PCIe Wi-Fi 6/Bluetooth adapter. ($36.00 at Newegg. The budget MOBO has neither.) - Hynix Gold P31 2TB M.2 NVMe ($208.14 at Amazon with coupon.) - Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact ($150.00 at Amazon) - ASUS ROG Strix GTX 1080 (used) ($320.00. Includes water block, but no other liquid parts.) I'm going to buy about $250.00 $350.00 worth of open-loop cooling parts to finish this off. Oh, and of course a legal copy of Win 11 to really finish it off - for now. Total cost will be right around $1,680 $1,780 + tax. I think I did OK. (ETA - 'Budget' build became 'Mid-range' build.) Down the road I plan to upgrade my TM16000M HOTAS. I may jump into VR at some point - probably after I get a 3080.

That's where I am with my laptop. Appreciate the feedback, as I'm undecided about which way to go with a new gaming desktop build. How big is your boot drive?

Good idea to disconnect the backup drives until needed. I currently have USB drives backing up my laptop's drives, and they're always connected so the backups can run as scheduled. Thanks for that advice. Our office had a ransomware attack a few years ago, and to this day I don't know why it didn't get to our mirrored NAS data backups. Thank goodness it didn't. It was still a royal pain to rebuild all the workstations. Now I back up the workstations onto the NAS, and our data and accounting software lives in the cloud.

Hopefully the title says it all. Would you put the OS, Page File, and all other programs on a smaller, cheaper (not-top-of-the-line) 1TB SSD like an EVO 970, and dedicate a fast 512GB SSD like a Samsung EVO 980 Pro JUST for DCS and MSFS2020? Or would you not worry about it and put everything on a 2TB SSD like a Sabrent Rocket 4.0 or EVO 980 Pro? The computer will be primarily for gaming.

I've got an 8-port hub, and haven't had any problems with it. USB3 is pretty much a necessity.

GTX 1060 Max-Q I get 45 fps @ 1920x1080. But 2560x1440 looks so nice. That card isn't quite up to it with Medium graphics settings.

Thanks.

What missile is this? (inboard one.)

Too bad I have to give it to the customer next week... :) Built for video editing: ASRock X299 Creator Intel i9-9940X @ 4GHz. 14 cores Liquid cooling. (CPU 30°C at idle / 86°C running Passmark Max Heat test. No throttling noted. All cores ran at 100% throughout the test. CPU was pulling 360W at peak.) 64GB DDR4-4000 RAM (running at 2600 for stability.) Samsung 970 Pro nVidia Quadro RTX 4000 I loaded DCS for kicks and flew the Frogfoot in Caucasus with the default 'High' settings (1920x1080.) I was getting a steady 90-115 fps panning around and hit 185 when I looked up through the canopy at the sky. This thing begs for a VR headset... Awfully tough to go back to the 30 fps I'm getting on my laptop...