Specter1075

I was only teasing. You're absolutely right, of course. I just want to dream a little longer.

Is your name Buzzles, or Buzzkill? :)

Only as much as you grasped my point. (Hint: Not at all.)

What a phenomenal aircraft! Really excited about this!!

There is nothing more off-putting than the word fanboy. Its use never keeps a conversation civil, and it immediately diminishes the value of whatever else the post contains. I say this because, as someone in the market for a new GPU, I really value reading the opinions of you fine folks, and I would hate to see intelligent conversation degrade into something less.

Thanks BitMaster! In my case, the 40'' screen referenced is the Philips 4065UC, which is a monitor. I decided against going the TV route based on what I had read elsewhere.

Awesome! Im glad to hear it, as I was planning on getting one too. Im not sure I follow you here. Do you mean there are modes in the monitor settings? Maybe that's a dumb question. (Clearly not an expert here. :))

You guys like the 4065UC then? No problems?

That must be pretty sweet.

Yeah, I see that now. I can understand wanting to be efficient with money, but I just thought Demon was VERY against the i7s for some reason. Its not like I was asking him to pay for it. :) Am I wrong to say that the i5s all have lower clock speeds? That to get to 4.0ghz, I will need to overclock them? As soon as I do that, I am into more robust cooling solutions that would negate the lower cost of the i5, no? Thanks for the reply! I think I am heading in the direction you recomend. I am not sure about the overclocking yet, especially given the minimal returns that doing so would yield on the i7. That might be something I do in the future. Thanks for the replies everyone! I really appreciate all the feedback, positive and negative. Im learning as I go, and it's nice to have specific things to look up.

You really seem to hate this processor, and yet everything I read about it seems favorable. Did an i7 6700k run over your dog? Why are you so opposed to it? Thanks Wrecking Crew! I'll look into that case for sure. And I guess I should look into UPS options too.

MegOhm_SD: I dont mind the size of a tower. I have stepped away from liquid cooling for now. It could change later, but right now I do not anticipate a need to overclock right now. Thanks Hadwell. I am inclinded to agree about the sound card given what Ive read. If I find the onboard sound quality seems to be lacking, I can add a card later.

Thanks. :) The sound card is something easy to add later. Honestly, I have not done much research about it yet. I will read about the sound that is included with the motherboard I want, and see if it would benefit from a sound card.

Thanks for replying, Demon. This is why I am here, to ask and to learn. If people wish to laugh, that is their business. I havent bought anything yet. Its all a work in progress. So then, as you explain it, the choice is between the i7 with no overclocking (and therefore no need for liquid cooling) and the i5 overclocked, correct? Ultimately, the goal is to get to 4ghz roughly, but the gain beyond that is negligible. Correct? If that is what makes sense, then for me the i7 is better. I would rather spend the money on the CPU and leave out the cooling options and the overclocking for now. Again, that is not a final decision.

Amazing replies, guys! Thanks a million! I took a look at what AIO liquid systems go for, and the cost does not seem at all prohibitive. I see Corsair make similar set ups to the Kraken, and they all seem to have the same price-point. Roughly. Does something like the x61 have special requirements for the case? Are there many inherent risks in overclocking? Is it difficult to achieve correctly? If I build a rig with adequate cooling, is there any reason to not overclock, even a little? Given that DCS favors higher individial core speeds, were I to go the route of the i7 6700K, would I be at all foolish to look at pushing it for more speed? I am sold on waiting for June to see what happens with Pascal. It wont be an easy wait, but I have enough things to buy in the meantime that I can just buy my GPU(s) last. So, having done a bit more research, and taking your advice into account, I have added a couple more pieces to this build. (I'll update my first post for any new comers) Everyone seems to be in favor of going high power with the PSU. I like Corsair stuff, its a hold-over from years ago, but I think their Pro Series AX1200i should fit the bill. Its a gold level unit, and I think its considered top end. I took a second look at the MSI Gaming M7 motherboard, and I still like it. Its well reviewed, and the other options are not a great deal cheaper. And if I can be a bit superficial, I really like the look of it. With the parts Ive chosen to far, I think everything would look pretty amazing. :) Mpdugas, you make some sound arguments, and given the price point of something like the Kraken, Im sold. I like Corsair's Graphite 780T tower. (I'd get black.) That said, I want to be sure everything I do, and everything I might do, is compatible with said tower. With everything listed so far, does anyone see any incompatibility issues were I to go with said case? Oh! The search for a SSD continues. Demon, you were recomending a 250/512GB SSD, and another TB on a traditional drive? The Samsung SSD I had been looking at was 1TB on its own. Is there a particular reason I should avoid one so big?

Thaks for the reply Lazduc! A couple things: In my case, Ive been waiting 7 years to get back into simming, so Im not super keen on waiting. I also do not envision VR as something I will want to pursue. That said, I am not sure I understand you completely with regards to the hardware that will be releasing soon. What will be coming out in 3-4 months that would require me to replace components? I thought currently available hardware was sufficient to run DCS in 4K with adeqaute frame rates. Am I mistaken? I should note that while DCS is what I expect to spend the majority of my time running, I will also be playing other games, so the lack of serious gains with a 980Ti is not a big deal if it is not a forever issue with DCS, and does not apply to games in general.

So the 980Ti seems to not give a massive jump. That said, do we know more now that 1.5/2.0 are out/around the corner? Cooling is very much where I am lacking the most knowledge. Since I do not intend to really push the overclocking, I had thought about remaining air cooled. Though even in that regard, I am not sure what would be adequate vs overkill. Is the Noctua D15 something with a similar purpose as the Kraken? (I mean to say, would a D15 be overkill for someone not pushing their CPU to the limit?) Also, thanks again, Demon. I saw you translated your earlier post. I do understand some French, but lost the ability to speak quite a while ago. It was supplanted with a third language, and it turns out my head only has room for two. :( EDIT From my understanding, the similar performance between the older cards and the 980ti is the result of software. This may be the million dollar question, but does it seem like better optimization of multiple or high end cards is on the horizon or a long term goal? I do not mind spending more up front if it will carry me a little ways into the future with DCS. However, if the 980Ti will maintain its relative performance to older cards going forward, then its obviously not worth the cost for me.

Awesome! Thanks for the reply! (And you too Demon!) I had been under the impression that liquid cooling was usually for those that go the route of over-clocking, so I had not put a lot of thought into it. Should I reconsider then? I did see EVGA's liquid cooling option for their 980TI, and wouldnt mind something self-contained like that. I guess I would not want to get into something that could leak because of my inexperience, but closed-loop stuff should be ok.

Great links! Merci bien!

Hello friends! After a LONG time without a simming PC, I am finally (FINALLY!) in a position to build a new unit. Provided I am not breaking any forum rules, I would like this thread to serve as my HQ for the build, so that I may ask all you fine people for opinions and advice as I build my machine. I will likely have a lot of questions, so I figure its better to keep them in one place. First, I must disclose that among those questions will likely be some dumb ones. I have never been any kind of expert, and this will be my first from-scratch build. So if you read something and think to yourself "He couldnt possibly mean what he wrote...", well, I might have. :) I have been reading through the forums here looking for what things matter in terms of performance. I am not certain how lofty a goal playing at 4K is, but I do hope to at the very least have a machine that smoothly plays at higher end settings. What I have gathered (I could be mistaken) is that CPU speed makes a big difference as multicore is not something fully utilized by DCS. Additionally, RAM and GPU are crucial. So these are the first things Ive picked out. Nothing is set in stone, and would appreciate hearing about incompatibilities or things that should be different. Corsair Graphite Series 780T Seasonic X1050 Gold ATX I7 6700K MSI Z170A Gaming M7 ATX Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 ( 2x8, or possibly 4x8 ) Kraken x61 CPU cooling (**To be added later if needed) EVGA GTX980 Ti (x2 eventually) To be re-evaluated in June. If running at 4k is realistic, I was thinking about starting with a Philips BDM4065UC 40'' 4K monitor, and later getting a second GPU and a second (maybe third) monitor. Questions: Is 16GB RAM suitable? In the greater scheme of things, adding an additional 16 would be fairly cheap. Would there be any benefit? I know an SSD is good for performance too. Ive looked at a Samsung 850 EVO 2TB drive, and am curious if anyone knew anything about them, or their viability. Someone here spoke highly of Fractal cases. Im not sure which case would be best. Recommendations would be really appreciated. Assuming I buy a second GTX980Ti, what kind of power source should I be looking at? Everything else (cooling solutions, sound card, things that have slipped my mind) are still to be determined. Any and all input would be appreciated. Im looking forward to rejoining your ranks! Thanks all!

External hardpoints? Oh, since you went to all the trouble of adding references, you should update your strategic arms limitation treaty to New START as it is the most current. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_START

I partly disagree with those saying the edges need be sharper. It depends on the cloud type and its location. There are a couple of screenshots taken from the ground where the cloud is similar to stratocumulus. SC is not as well defined as is 'fair weather cumulus', and can form from the remnants of stratus or fog which vary from smooth and uniform to raged and only partly defined. So the lower level stuff need not be more sharply defined. I think if appropriate cloud types were modeled and spawned at appropriate altitudes, you could expand from there to include the different precipitations and turbulence associated with each type. That in turn could lead to weather systems where the clouds themselves dont so much spawn randomly, as much as they spawn logically as part of a randomly generated system. It would be pretty neat to see a graphical area forecast before the undertaking of a mission. Though I realize its asking a lot.

I'm surprised no one has commented yet! It looks like a good start! The strato cumulus type cloud visible while on the ground is particularly good! I have to admit that I am a but of a bystander in DCS right now until I get a new PC built. I havent myself been able to fly for a few years. Where are clouds at within the Sim? Do they grow and flow, or simply traverse the sky? Do your plans include animation of the cloud types?

I may be thinking on too grand a scale, but the vehicles modeled in this sim are the products of peoples who each have their own histories, their ownview points, their own cultures, and their own physical environments. The things we see are the culmination of all those factors. Therefore I think it would be detrimental to divorce Russian aircraft from Russia, American from the United States, Czech from the Czech Republic, British from the United Kingdom, and so on. Moreover, my understanding of the issue of place names is not so much on the names themselves, but how they would be used in a campaign scenario. One would not wish to offend a particular group of potential clients by making their country the 'bad guys'. However, it is certainly plausible (I'd say even realistic in many historical cases) to frame a conflict around a number of events that led countries to war without a clear aggressor or clear victim. Therefore, I think that efforts to avoid offending specific groups should fall to the campaign makers, rather than restricting the tools or options available to them. (I realize that fictitious names is not really a limitation, but it is in the sense that any history that embodies a place would automatically be non-existent in a fictional world.)

Came out from a deep slumber in the woodwork to add to the chorus of 'Oh man... toughest poll ever!'. Voted DC. Adds more depth than any module(s) ever could. (As much as I so highly anticipate certain rumored aircraft to be in the distant future...)