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I am using Nvidia driver version 446.14.

XMP is on.

No, just an SSD.

OK, many have been talking about RAM. And I admit, for a high powered processor and mobo as I have, the RAM is a little underwhelming. It was from the older processor/mobo (I was on a budget). So, what would you guys think is the best RAM (32GB - 2x16GB sticks) for my system (review my signature block)? Mind you, my BIOS has the ability to OC the memory with XMP.

Thanks, I'm running 32GB of RAM now, but its 2400MHz. Maybe too slow?

Ok, I'll look at that. I have IR Tracker and Voice Attack running in game, but those should not be causing the problem. I have thought that maybe the 40" 4K monitor maybe a little much for the GPU to handle, but I hope that is not the case. I really love the res. My DCS setting are pretty well maxed out, but all anti-aliasing is turned off. It was causing frame rate problems. I'll look at knocking some of those settings back some. Would Norton/LifeLock anti-virus be a problem? I know anti-virus software screws with other programs sometimes.

I just upgraded to an i9-9900K and Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Pro mobo in hopes of "smoothing out" the game play. I have 32GB of DDR4 2400 RAM and am running it on a Cuda 2TB SSD. You can see my system in its entirety in the signature block. I am running DCS stable and am seeing frequent pauses in the game. I'll be flying along and the graphics will freeze, but the sound will continue even in the middle of a radio transmission. Then the graphics will continue on after a pause of up to 2 seconds at times. The frequency is random, but frequent enough to be annoying. I so much hoped that the upgrade would correct this issue, but it seems it has not. I attempted overclocking my GPU (EVGA GTX 1080 8 GB SC2), but found out that it was, most likely, overclocked out of the box; thus the SC2 designation. When I overclocked it any further (using Afterburner or the EVGA overclocking software), it causes DCS to crash. So that was a dead end. I ran a system performance manager while I flew and when it paused. I jumped over to the manager quickly to what the system was doing at those times. It appeared that the CPU and GPU were dropping out and activity spiked on the SSD. Could this mean that I have a bottleneck somewhere that is causing the DCS to read from the SSD from time-to-time? Could the SDD not be fast enough? Is something wrong with my graphics card? Because I know it is not the processor. My board drives the CPU at 4.7 GHz right out of the box. I didn't not do any OC to get it to that speed. A friend suggested maybe getting an m.2 drive and running DCS on that. What do you guys think?

I found out that a F-18C campaign is available on DCS: Serpent's Head 2.0. Cool!! So I get on DCS and there is no such campaign offered. However, I do find 1.0 in the User Files and downloaded it. I have the ZIP file now. Where do the files need to go when I extract them. In other words, I'm not sure how to install it to DCS or do I even "install"? Plus, if 2.0 is available on DCS, where is it?

SUCCESS!! This time the CAPS and exclamation points are in celebration! The difference maker for me was turning off WAKE TURBULENCE. First, I didn't realize I had it on and secondly in made the Hornet much more stable. Of course, I am a real world pilot and this is technically a cheat, but "baby steps". Eventually, I'll ween myself off and feel like a real man, lol. I still get wonky if I let my mind wander and then I have to fall back a little to reset. Granted, I was on the tanker for maybe 45 seconds at the longest connection (I've made several now), but it was glorious! Now I am noticing that the basket wants to float a little if I get too close and too far. The tanker is saying "contact" several times during these evolutions and I am trying to find the sweet spot to stay fully engaged. But hey, it's a quantum leap better than it was just the other day. Thanks guys for all your input and advice. It is all very helpful. My wife happened by and I showed her the response I got from reaching out about AAR and she was amazed at the people willing to help someone in need. The DCS community has always taken care of each other. Honestly, we need a WHOLE lot more of that right now.

Thanks for the tips. I'm a little embarrassed to be asking. After all, I can hit the tanker on the Hog. Why not this?

I've been flying with TM Warthog Stick and Throttle since I built my gaming system. They are good sticks, but maybe too good.

I CAN'T DO IT! I JUST CAN'T DO IT. Refueling the Hornet is nearly impossible at this point! I have flown the Hog for years and decided to transition to fast-movers. And yeah, it was hard to refuel on the Hog, but I was able to stabilize and hold station to get some gas. I had read where many people thought the Hog was the hardest plane to AAR. I had been doing it for a while and thought the Hornet would be a cake walk. BUT IT'S NOT, DAMMIT!!! The inputs are so sensitive that I can't be delicate enough to get the thing in the thing. I make it a point to come in from work and fly the refueling mission with S-3 in the Persian Gulf a few times a week. And every time, I give up after running out of fuel a couple times and go bomb the crap out of something. But most of the time, I'm mad and I don't want to fly anymore which is sad. Because, I love flying in DCS so much. But the truth is, if I can't get on the tanker then I am not going to be mission effective. That's the cold, hard truth. In the Hog, I had some visual points that I focused on through the HUD, but it seems there is nothing that I can find to use as a reference other than the S-3 tanker looking out the canopy (nothing I can use as reference through the HUD). I tried all my tricks from the Hog: 1. Un-couple the throttle and walk it up. 2. Stabilize some distance back (this is my biggest problem, the plane WILL NOT FLY LEVEL) I trim, and trim some more, and trim again, but it keeps wanting to slide off to the left or the right. I cannot get the tanker static in the canopy. It is always moving a little bit. 3. I even flattened out my pitch and roll curves to 35 thinking that would dampen my movements, but no joy. 4. I attempt to keep the hose vertical in front of me, but the plane has a mind of its own. It also seems I am lined up on the basket as I approach the basket goes under me almost everytime. It's frustrating as hell. The advantage in the Hog is the boom will come to you to a degree and that helps. But the drogue is just there and you have to hit it. I even watched a guy get all the tanker the first he ever tried refueling in DCS. I wanted to throw something at the monitor! It turns out he was a former fighter pilot, BUT STILL!! I have watched as many videos as possible and they make it look sooooooooo easy. Have they beat their brains out like I am doing now? "Yeah, stabilize behind the basket a few feet then nudge the throttle to engage it. There it is....(birds are singing in the background). Now, remember to make tiny movements on the stick and throttle to maintain position." (Yeah, at the atomic level!!!!) Can someone please help me out here? I'll send a track if I have to (and someone show me how). I consider myself a decent pilot (after all, I have logged many hours in a real aircraft) and this is just a huge kick in the balls to my pride. Honestly, it is curved up in a fetal position crying for Mommy right now.

Over the course of several campaigns, I have noticed that my TGP when in WHOT (and maybe the others, I don't know) will sometimes begin to white out when I am scanning around. It happens most often when I am near or on the target (how convenient!). I thought that it might be glare from the sun and looked in my settings to remove any realism setting to get rid of it, but lens dirt, glare, etc. is disabled. I also have problems with it just blanking out as if it went offline. It does not act like it is masked because on can roll the wings for better view and still nothing. I have to put the TGP into standby and then back to A-G. It will then fire back up. However, when I do this, I lose my target and have to go searching for it again. I have watched overs fly the same missions I am and see nice, clean, and clear images from their TGPs even in TV mode. This is not a constant problem, mind you, but does seem to happen when I am in the heat of battle. I don't understand it. BTW, I have learned to fire up the TGP well ahead of the target area on night missions and get my level and gain set correctly. Otherwise, the TGP is useless at night if I don't. So I know have been playing around with the those settings to improve the images, but it does not seem to help.

I'm playing Enemy Within 3.0 (which is awesome, BTW). I don't know if my wingman has temporary blindness or what. But when I am holding short of the runway and requesting takeoff clearance, my wingman runs right into the back of the me and makes a big mess. I've noticed it on missions 6,7,8,9, and now 10. I either have to boogie down the taxiway to get a lead on him or I pre-empt my takeoff clearance before I get there. Either way, with me being a purist and all it is frustrating for me to have to do stupid stuff just to takeoff. What gives? Has anyone else been seeing this and what is the issue?

I am playing the Enemy Within 3.0 Hammerfall Part 3 mission where you fly over cloud cover. I have played this mission several times due to its difficulty. Yesterday, I was making room for more DCS on my SSD and deleted the contents my Downloaded files folder to free up spaces and as well as moved some other apps to my second SSD. I then downloaded the latest DCS update and some new modules. Now, DCS (Openbeta) freezes and crashes right as I am about to line up on the runway to take off. It is almost like clock work. 1. Does anyone have any suggestions on what is going on? 2. How to do I save my progress in the current campaign if the remedy is to reinstall DCS?

I am not an ace by any means, but Exorcet is right. You must manage your energy state in addition to also developing SA. 1. Cornering Speed - Find out what the cornering speed of your aircraft is. This is the speed at which you can achieve the tightest turn without bleeding airspeed (energy). For the Hornet, it is around 270 or 280 Knots and the Viper its around 430 knots (correct me if I'm wrong anybody). This is not easy and takes a lot of practice to stay in pocket. 2. See your enemy - If you cannot see your adversary, you can't kill him. I have TrackIR, and though it has its issues, when properly set up (this is a whole other subject), it can allow you to see a massive chunk of the sky. a. Once you get comfortable with TrackIR, or whatever you use, then you must begin to develop a Situational Awareness (SA). This is what I have the most problem with. SA is a mental 3D picture that you create to help you understand the battlespace. Dogfighting is a dynamic and very fluid environment so the duration that one's SA can be relied on is short-lived. You can be the best dogfighter in the world, but you will NOT be able to keep your eyes on the prize 100% of the time. So when happens, SA will help you to predict or anticipate what your opponent will do and what part of the sky he will be in. This will simply take experience. Unfortunately, this cannot be taught. 3. Know your enemy - It is important that you know what your opponent is capable of. What are his strengths and what are his weaknesses. Each plane has its own performance footprint. For example: a. Don't get in a rate fight (turning fighting) with a Viper. YOU WILL LOSE. b. The ET missile that some Russian fighters use is particularly dangerous. You must adapt to tactics to counter that threat. c. The Hornet likes a one circle fight and is good at slower and high AoA fights. The best source I have found to start learning these intricacies is Growling Sidewinder's Channel on YouTube. He is excellent at breaking down air-to-air engagements and explaining the do's and don'ts of energy management, BVR fighting, BFM. He uses Tacview after the fight and goes into great detail on what worked and what did not work for him. He also invites good stick-and-rudder guys to fight against like Feisty and Hellreign. Check him out.

Open Beta and Stable concerning modules I have both the OB and Stable on my PC (I realize I may not need to do this). I play on the OB and the have recently purchased more modules, but they have only loaded to OB (which I was on when I purchased them). When I get on to Stable I do not see the recently added modules. I am not a development team member or help with the debugging process so I probably do not need OB (I have recently found out). My question(s) is this: 1. (And I think I know the answer) I can download these purchased modules that I currently have on OB from the DCS module manager to the Stable at no charge because I purchased them, right? 2. Or could I simply uninstall OB while still maintaining the modules I have (meaning I do not lose the progress I have made in them)? I have an internal 420 GB SSD that is filling up and another internal 2 TB SSD that has plenty of room. Having both OB and Stable on my PC is pretty silly and just taking up space. I need to make better use of the drive space I have. I just want to know what is the most efficient and painless way to remove OB.

I bought a Insignia 43" 1080p LED TV to use as my monitor and set it up for DCS. However, I am noticing that the resolution is not as smooth as with my last monitor which was a much smaller dedicated monitor (Spectre 27" or 28"). I am running a EVGA GTX 1080 GPU and I have the resolution in the in the game set to 1920 x 1080 (or something like that). Is it possible for me to regain the nice res I had with my older monitor and if so, how do I achieve it?

Good point! Yes, I do wear glasses (readers). Indeed, that might be screwing with the TrackIR. Thanks, I will research that in my setup.

Yeah, when we merge, he streaks by and I can never see which way he is turning. If you have the Hornet, you may know the practice mission I am talking about. It says in the brief that the skill level is random so "you never know what you are gonna get". I've tried building my own missions and that hasn't worked out very well yet. They don't engage me for some reason. Anyway, I'm new to this arena as I have been ground pounding in the Hog for many years and I have to learn a whole new skill set. Nevertheless, the TrackIR thing is driving me crazy and making me feel half-blind when the other guy can, apparently, see me very well. Any additional advice would welcome.

I am entering the air-to-air arena and I have started some 1v1 engagements with AI. I'm flying the Hornet and honestly, I'm getting my butt handed to me by a MiG-21. Now I know a big factor is my inexperience as a dogfighter; I fully acknowledge that. However, I am frustrated because it seems that I am not able to fully look at the sky above my canopy and I cannot visually track my opponent the way I think I should. This, in turn, causes my SA to go in the toilet. I find myself making donuts in the sky trying to find the guy and he is setting on my six ready to spank me. I went back into the TrackIR setup to see if there was any "catches" in my field of view and I cannot not see anything obvious. Has anyone else had this issue with TrackIR and how to did fix it?

Since I could not find a Warthog HOTAS for F-15C that I liked, I made my own with the built-in GUI in DCS. However, I could not find anything that allowed me to put in commands that utilized a long or short key like I am accustomed to using in the Hog (i.e to create a SPI <TMS UP LONG>). Is there a way to do this through the DCS GUI or do I have to use something else to achieve this?

I just downloaded the F-15C module last week and have been toying around with it trying to familiarize myself a little. This is my first air superiority plane that I have attempted in DCS as all of my time so far has been spent in the Hog. I'm finding F-15C a little un-natural by not being able to flip switches in the cockpit, but it is a low-fidelity sim and I knew that going in. My biggest problem in situational awareness. With being a ground pounder for years, my targets are relatively stationary and therefore my SA is fairly easy to maintain. However, I found out real quick that SA in air-to-air is a whole other animal (very fluid). I found myself losing SA very quickly and basically doing donuts to find the enemy. I have found and watched several you tube channels that do an excellent job of explaining the situations and using Tacview (which I have) to breakdown the engagements. But watching it and doing it are two totally different things. I have thought that my HOTAS layout may be a little to blame because I am spending some time trying to get the radar to behave (I have a TM Warthog Stick and Throttle). Maybe not. I have also thought about flying against live pilots (which I have never done). I do not really know how to get started with that even if I wanted to. Anyway, does anyone have any good advise on how I can get my skills up?

What is the best way to keep optimal situational awareness of the battlefield? I have started using the EXP mode on the TAD and that has helped some. However, when I am at 10 the TAD in moving map, when I go to EXP the map is gone and it just shows black with the normal symbols. I had a mission the other day where I was to avoid "No Fire Zones" on the practice range. As usual, I got tunnel vision and lost SA and fired while in a No Fire Zone failing the mission; a hour and a half down the drain. How do I get the map to stay on when the TAD is in EXP. Is there a map that shows urban areas better than others?

I have always been a little confused about this terminology and what the (2) programs are differentiated by. In fact, I use the latest Open Beta version but have the stable also. So, what is the difference between the two and why is that relevant? When is it decided to make a stable version when the software relentlessly is being updated and improved?