Oddball52

It's a Saitek X-65f. But I'm thinking that's not the cause. At least I don't think it only happens with this hotas. I'm thinking it's a Windows issue. IIRC from a thread I read a long time ago... If you unplug your hotas, run the computer, then plug it back in, Windows can sometimes assign it a new ID #, DCS sees it as a different hotas, and all of your configurations (key assignments, axis tunes) have to be redone. I've been going along smooth as silk since I set this up 6 months ago, until I ran that box for a day without the hotas being plugged in. When I plugged the hotas back in (computer was off while plugging in, not that that should matter), windows recognized it as an X-65f, but said the driver wasn't working. I had to go through a bit of a dance, uninstalling, designating a generic driver, then running the driver installation exe to get it reinstalled. Then DCS looked at it as a new hotas. That old thread talked about a way to assign a specific ID# to the hotas in Windows. IIRC, it was specific to the USB port used, so you always had to plug it back into the same slot. Workaround for me, now that I've got most planes configured again, is to not run that system unless the hotas is plugged in. Will be inconvenient only on rare occasions. I just wouldn't want it to happen accidentally and lose all my configs again...

Seems like I've read about this happening because of something Win10 is doing. Reassigning the hotas to a new designation where DCS doesn't recognize it as the stick that's already set up. Also seems like I read about a workaround or fix, but can't find anything in the forums doing a search... Anyone know how to fix this?

First off, I've gotten the impression that the "beta" version is the one most used online, is that true? I've got DCS on Steam, from when I got the P-51 iirc, but a lot of modules not available on Steam, so was planning on only installing the version from DCS on a new computer, but the download is very slow. If I download it from Steam, would it be faster, and would I be able to add other modules to that or would I have to download the one from DCS as well? I'm getting around 300 Kb/s at the moment... (gonna take forever) Have they considered selling it on a pin drive they could mail? (or is there a way to do that now?)

Do you still need this? I've just gotten my X65f out of storage.

A while back I read something about an app that would assign the various devices plugged in, hotas, rudder pedals, Trackir, etc to ports to avoid the problems when windows reassigns them... I had a problem before where it'd change things around and mess up the setups... Does that sound familiar to anyone?

I'd like to get some feedback from users of some of the flight sim chairs/setups currently available. I'm not looking to build my own at this point. I've got a Saitek X65f Pro HOTAS, Saitek Combat rudder pedals, and Trackir 5. I'll be using a single 32" monitor. I want to set up like the F-16 with the stick on the outside of the right thigh, throttle outside the left. (not a center stick) I'm in the USA. A good quality, comfortable chair would seem to be real important. I wouldn't want any motion or force feedback through the chair. So far, I've been looking at GTTrack, GTR, Obutto, and OpenWheeler, but am very open to alternatives. The ones I'm looking at seem to be about $1k, but then others jump up to $3-4k. I'm good with the $1k, not so much with the $3-4k. Thanks in advance for any info on setups and accessories needed.

What kind of controls (hotas?), are you using? Have you done the Axis Tune to adjust the midrange/deadzone? Are you adjusting trim during flight?

How do I put the pics into the body of the post, rather than just have it as a downloadable link?

I'd do it myself if I could, but I'm hoping someone might be willing. I'd be more than happy to compensate someone for their time. He told me they had someone in the Sqdrn that had been an artist for Disney that did the nose art for them. Dad was the G.G. Smith listed as Crew Chief in the photo with the pilot. On the side opposite the nose art, they had my mom's name done in large script letters. Marietta. I've got a photo of the name on the nose somewhere, but haven't found it yet. Dads P47 Belgium b.bmp Dads P47 Belgium.bmp Dads P47.bmp

Was thoughtful of you to think of me and provide these. Looking forward to trying them out. Happy Birthday!!!

Thanks, that's a relief, I'd hate to have to give up my X65f.

Another Eisenhower baby boomer here, hence the '52 in the name. It's WEIRD being the same age as old people. (I actually have that on a shirt) My 2 cents on finding a squadron to join would be to find the servers that are flying the planes you want to fly, on the map you want to be on, where there are good #'s of people on at the time of day you are available to play, that speak your language, and fly on that, listen on coms, speak to them on coms, and meet people. Generally the more the merrier, and everyone was a rookie at one time. This is a very helpful and friendly environment with addicts who really want to get others addicted so we have them to enjoy it with. "I mean like, so many Positive Waves, maybe we can't lose!!"

Sounds good. Appreciate it. Might be a couple of weeks, I have all the components on order, but have some other stuff going on. Replacing most of the carpet in the house, so a lot of furniture moving in my future before I get to play. Was just going to take a look around at what's available nowadays and planned on ordering a month from then, but as they had it all in stock, didn't want to chance it and have to start the whole thing over again. I'm also hoping to get it all done a little faster this way.

Good arguments there. I'm thinking I'll just add a second Corsair Force Series MP600 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 2 SSD to the list. Bossco82, I am going with the 6800xt and that LG Monitor (like yours), so I'll be taking you up on your offer of assistance to get it tweaked just right. Feeling kind of like a kid on Christmas eve. Can't wait to get back in the air...

Thanks for the reply. Were you able to get yours to work?

Wow, things have changed, but it has been some years since I built my last one... Great video, thanks for the heads up. I'll be doing it that way. Something else very new to me is a hard drive that installs onto the motherboard like that... I was envisioning it needing to plug into a long slot like a graphics card. Really appreciate the helpful advice LucShep.

Ok, looks like one difference between the two is the ASUS ROG Strix B550-XE has two PCIe 4.0x16 slots and the 550-A has one 4.0 and one 3.0... Does that make a difference? I've never used a USB stick to load an operating system on a brand new computer that doesn't have an OS. that works? The Corsair Force Series MP600 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 2 SSD doesn't specify 4.0 or 3.0 for the PCIe connection, but it does say it is Guaranteed for Gen4 compatibility with AMD Ryzen 3000-series CPUs and X570 motherboards. Is there an issue with this? The CPU I've got on the list is a 5000 series, and the motherboard is a 550....

I've been away from sim flying for several years, my beloved X65f has been tucked away in it's original packaging waiting to break free. Building a new system for DCS and would like to know what drivers and software to use for Win10. I have these, just not sure if they work or if there's something newer... Saitek_X65F_Flight_Controller_7_0_45_0_x86_Drivers (not sure of the release date on this one) Saitek_X65F_Flight_Controller_SD7_0_10_6_BETA_64_bit_Driver (BETA and seems to be from 2011) Saitek_X65F_Flight_Controller_SD7_00000018_64_Full_pfw (also seems to be from 2011) Thanks,

Thanks so much for the help. Making this a lot less stressful. Finalized (hopefully) component list and a question... It's been a while since I've built one. For the OS, I'm looking at Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, DVD – OEM $148 vs Microsoft Windows 10 Pro - Full Retail Version (USB Flash Drive) $200 I'd kind of prefer the full retail version, the question is can I use a flash drive to install on a new system that doesn't have an OS already? (and I wasn't planning on putting in a DVD player) Here's the list, let me know if you see anything I'm missing, or that isn't compatible, or if there's a better way to go. LG 32QN600-B 32-Inch QHD (2560 x 1440) IPS Monitor with HDR 10, AMD FreeSync with Dual HDMI Inputs, Black $280 Amazon ASRock Radeon RX 6800 XT Phantom Gaming D Gaming Graphics Card with 16GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA 2 (RX6800XT PGD 16GO) $1400 Newegg AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-core, 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler $270 Amazon ASUS ROG Strix B550-XE Gaming WiFi AMD AM4 (Zen 3/3rd Gen Ryzen) ATX gaming motherboard (PCIe 4.0, WiFi 6, 2.5Gb LAN, 16(90A) power stages, bundled ASUS Hyper M.2 x16 Gen 4 Card, Addressable Gen 2 RGB $324 Amazon G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Intel XMP 2.0 Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C16D-32GVKC $144 Newegg Corsair Force Series MP600 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 2 SSD (Up to 4,950MB/s Sequential Read and 4,000MB/s Sequential Write Speeds, High-Density 3D TLC NAND, Up to 1,800TB Written) Black $150 Amazon Corsair RMX Series, RM850x, 850 Watt, 80+ Gold Certified, Fully Modular Power Supply (Low Noise, Zero RPM Fan Mode, 105°C Capacitors, Fully Modular Cables, Compact Size) Black $128 Amazon Vetroo V5 Black CPU Air Cooler w/ 5 Heat Pipes 120mm PWM Processor 150W TDP Cooler for Intel LGA 1700/1200/115X AMD Ryzen AM4 Socket w/Addressable RGB Sync $27 Newegg LIAN LI LANCOOL II MESH C PERFORMANCE BLACK Tempered Glass ATX Case -Black Color ,Type C Included-LIAN LI LANCOOL II MESH C PERFORMANCE -X $120 Newegg

Thanks for the replies, they're appreciated and informative. Based on those, and doing some more looking, I'm revising my budget figures upwards to $3k to $3.5. Seems like I'll need to to put it up into that next level. I'm leaning toward the AMD RX6800XT @1440, but still open to suggestions. One reason I was thinking AMD is Freesync (if I match that with a monitor that has Freesync). Does it enhance DCS? I took a look at some of Gamers Nexus videos but I think I'll stick with putting my own together. It's part of the fun.

It’s been some years since I’ve done any sim flying. Was in DCS, IL-2, and Rise of Flight… But just didn’t have the time to give it what it needed… Now that I’m retired (Yea!!) I want to build a new system dedicated to flight simming, single player and MP. I’ve built my game systems before but it’s been a while. I spent the last couple of days on Tom’s Hardware, Newegg, and Amazon, just to get familiar with some of the new stuff. Then wondered if there’d be anything in the DCS forums that might help. Wow, looks like there’s quite a bit of advice available here. So, based on what I’ve been reading, I’ll try to provide the info that will help you help me. I’m in the USA (Utah), I’m thinking of a budget of $2k to $2.5k for the computer and monitor. Haven’t had a new system in years (Intel i5-4670k, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB) and I intend to get a lot of use out of this, so I'm not going to quibble over a few bucks if it’d make a worthwhile difference… I’m not planning on going to VR. I use TrackiR. I’m hoping I can get my old Saitek X65f working on the new OS as I love that hotas. I’m a little worried about the drivers to use for it, it seemed happiest in Win7. I have Saitek Combat rudder pedals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Is a curved monitor a positive? 32” monitor, 27” or ? Is a monitor with IPS a positive? Is AMD Freesync a plus for DCS? Win 10 or 11? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here’s what I’ve come up with so far, but none of this is carved in stone. Dell S3221QS 32 Inch Curved 4K UHD, VA Ultra-Thin Bezel Monitor, AMD FreeSync = $450 Or LG 32QN600-B 32-Inch QHD (2560 x 1440) IPS Monitor with HDR 10, AMD FreeSync = $280 Or HP M27fq QHD Monitor - Computer Monitor with 27-inch IPS Display (1440p) - AMD Freesync Technology = $300 MSI Mech Radeon RX 6600 8GB PCI Express 4.0 Video Card RX 6600 MECH 2X 8G = $460 Or MSI Gaming Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 Video Card RX 6700 XT GAMING X 12G = $900 AMD Ryzen 5 5600X - Ryzen 5 5000 Series Vermeer (Zen 3) 6-Core 3.7 GHz Socket AM4 65W Desktop Processor = $290 ASUS ROG Strix B550-XE Gaming WiFi AMD AM4 (Zen 3/3rd Gen Ryzen) ATX Gaming Motherboard = $315 Or ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (WiFi 6) AMD AM4 Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 & 3rd Gen Ryzen ATX Gaming Motherboard = $200 G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 = $116 CORSAIR RMx Series (2021) RM850x CP-9020200-NA 850 W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Power Supply = $120 Fractal Design Meshify C Black ATX High-Airflow Compact Light Tint Tempered Glass Mid Tower Computer Case = $100 WD Blue 3D NAND 1TB Internal SSD - SATA III 6Gb/s 2.5"/7mm Solid State Drive - WDS100T2B0A = Quan: 2 @ $100 ea. (one for OS, one for sims) Windows 10 (11?) Pro = $150 Cooling DVD, CD, burner/player Any advice or opinions would be gratefully received.