Emra

I recently built an 8700K/1080ti system with 32MB 3200Mhz ram and DCS just rocks, even on 4K. I also chose to go with a Samsung NVME M.2 500GB SSD because the MoBo supports it. Why not? M.2 SSD helps with boot times and large scenery files, especially if you run OS/DCS from boot drive as well. If you want proof regarding flight sims and exclusive M.2 (NVME) SSD performance just ask John Vehenma who develops all the ORBX scenery add-ons for Prepare 3D. He claims it does. Not huge, but small collective difference. The latter makes a small difference when coupled with good components. Go for it if you really love flight sims. I won`t go back to regular SSD (SATA) except for storage files. M.2 is so clean (no cables) and blazing fast. Furthermore, they are becoming more affordable every week it seems as I always see them on sale. The only caveat is one needs a new MoBo, but you will need a new one anyway with 8th gen CPU. Therefore, get one with at least two M.2 slots. You can pick-up a good M.2 (NVME) 500GB fairly reasonable now.

O.K. Thank You Gentlemen.

Just curious with all the added particles etc. I also heard that Unity uses PhysX. Does DCS use the Unity engine?

SkateZilla, Yes. I stand corrected. They are in my "users" file untouched as you noted. Thank You

As many of you, I was currently using 2.5 Beta (latest) update and was a little perplexed about the DCS final download or conversion to DCS 2.5 "Release." What I did (after reading some legitimate questions) pertaining to beta conversion was: 1. I downloaded the DCS 2.5 "Release" like a first time user (leave the beta on HD for now). 2. Now I have two versions on my SSD. I can run either one as separate versions. 3. I boot up the "Release"" version. Which won`t have my saves from the beta showing (but they are in "user" saves on the HD). All my modules appear in both versions. Wait for the initial lengthy boot-up (shader cache building etc.). 4. I revisit my graphics settings first and notice how they are not the same as my "beta" version (which might explain why the FPS were lower on "release" version). e.g. MSAA was set to 8. . .Ouch! 5. I now can see I have two DCS 2.5 icons in my start menu which puzzles me at first. One indicates DCS 2.4 beta and the other DCS 2.5. Also, my SSD now has two installs which I don`t want (for space saving reasons). 6. I go to Control Panel. Search for DCS Installer (even though it only shows 6.5 MB for installer). I uninstall this one which uninstalls the whole "beta" version. 7. I check my SSD and all I see is DCS 2.5 (new) in my start menu and all is well. My "beta" missions did not show in the Editor but they are in my "user" saved file as described below by SkateZilla I hope this answers some questions. Cheers. Emra

Yeah. The memory prices are sickening right now. Not to mention the inflated GFX card market. Most people will make due with a middle of the road card for now. In regards to the 4K monitor: I picked one up at a sale although I still think 1080P is probably the way to go because you need the best hardware all around to run 4K. Having to lower the res of a 4K to 1080P reduces the quality of the monitor image. This is why I run at 2560x1440 (2K). At these settings I get solid 30 FPS in Caucasus and 40+ in Nevada. This is probably due to i7 8700K and 32MB 3200Mhz ram, plus the M.2 NVMe SSD. Don`t underestimate the latter over a 1,200.00 dollar GFX card.

I just built an upper end flight sim rig for DCS. GFX card should be your last consideration simply because you can upgrade later on when prices drop upon new pending releases this year. Make sure you get an SSD and, if you can afford it ("bite the bullet") 32 MB of 3200Mhz ram. My present system gets sustained 30 FPS (Settings High) with some concessions due to GTX 960. I have an i7 8700K, good MoBo, M.2 SSD and 32MB 3200 MHz ram. Even at 30 FPS things are "glassy" smooth with no micro-stutters or pauses. But the latter results are probably due to the CPU coupled with good quality Ram and the Samsung SSD M.2 NVMe EVO Drive. I can only imagine when I finally upgrade to a GTX 1080ti. Bite the bullet and don`t cheap out on ram. Why do you think Matt Wagner uses 32 MB of Ram in his demos? He does it because he knows it reduces the "beta" micro-stutters. Furthermore, John Venema (Producer and Developer of all ORBX scenery products) insists that SSD eats through scenery (read) files at a phenomenal rate over conventional HDD. The latter means smoother "auto-gen" and faster load times (which you will appreciate when tweaking settings back and forth). Don`t underestimate M.2 SSD (fast SSD) for today's flight sims they are almost mandatory when combined with other components including a motherboard that supports M.2 SSD. Run the OS and DCS on same SSD boot drive as well with nothing else on it. Devote another drive for all the rest of your games and files. I researched for a year while saving up for my system and finally succumbed to the facts and now have no regrets. Bring it on DCS. My specs: Intel: i7 8700K CPU (Noctua NH-D15S Air) Asus: Hero X Z370 MoBo (Latest Bios Update) Corsair: Dominator DDR4 32MB 3200MHz Ram (2X16) Samsung: 960 EVO 500MB M.2 NVMe SSD (for OS and DCS) Samsung: 850 Pro 512MB 6G Sata 512 (all other programs) Corsair: HX850 PSU MSI: GTX 960 4GB Video Card (will upgrade GTX 1080ti down the road to support 4K) Asus: 4K 29" Monitor (I currently run DCS at (2K)=2560x1440 res)--and it looks stunning! Note:The CPU hardly breaks a sweat @ (44c) and the GFX card (bottleneck) maxes out at 100% @ (60c) The latter specs are in Nevada with 30-45 FPS and down to 30 over Vegas. In Caucasus the frames are a little lower. All of this , of course, is relative to preferred settings and the current state of beta.

Yup. This is why I am not compelled to purchase the CA module. DCS 2.5 features, like " trees and buildings," do not appear to block LOS from the AI perspective. Although I am not sure if DCS has confirmed this. I hope they fix it but I wouldn`t hold your breath because they have way too much on their plate with Persian Gulf and F18 module which most will probably buy. Maybe they will address this down the road when when the latter is finished---I hope they do.

Not trying to undermine anyone's gripes here as legitimate as they are. But I run a GTX960 4GB with I7 8700K/32MB Ram (in Nevada), on SSD with OS, with High settings and I`m getting 30-55 FPS. It is very smooth as well. This includes lots of traffic, etc. Just thought I would mention that because I`m surprised how the GTX 960 holds up with DCS 2.5. Temps are 40-50c on both CPU (50%) and GPU (90%) after solid hour of flying. No overclock on the CPU. On the other hand, I had a lock up in the Caucasus map (which seemed like a memory leak) when I changed view 180 degrees over a densely populated "tree" area after flying over for approx ten minutes. The FPS count suddenly went from 40 to 1 and locked up. In Nevada everything seems fine except for obvious drop in frames over Las Vegas which is to be expected. . .but no lock-ups. Note: I am not experiencing any stutters or detectable random freezes while flying solo in SP. I should also note that my system is brand new build with older GFX card (GTX960 4GB). New Win10 OS on SSD M.2 NVMe 960 EVO (Nothing else on the drive other than OS and DCS). All up to date drivers with most unnecessary background tasks disabled. Furthermore, DCS boots up very fast as well which is probably due to the M.2 SSD and initial caching of the shaders. I am also running at 2560x1440 res on 29" 4K 60MHz Monitor. The above experiences were in the UH-1H Huey Module.

How does one determine who the "subset of users" is? Can you describe this subset more clearly? The reason I ask is because I`m waiting to make a decision on a module and the Viggen is in the mix.

Wow. I am glad I read this thread. I`ll pass on buying the Viggen right now.

OK. Thank You for for a concise and simple answer.

"Just gotta read the manual guys." I read the manual. Your so-called answer is not an answer to the issue that is clearly an issue. "I flew it pretty regularly during my time in the Army, which was over 37 years ago. I got about 7-800 hours in it. Since then, the company I have been with for the past 25 years, Erickson Air-Crane, operated a couple of Restricted UH-1H's several years ago and I got to fly them a little bit. . . I can also say that, in my 40+years as a helicopter pilot, I have never seen or even heard of a turbine engine catch fire as a result of a pilot exceeding a temperature limit in flight." I have also been reading the forums extensively which leaves me no time to fly when the UH-1H engine catches fire and crashes the ship every time you blow on it the wrong way. Again. . .I read the manual. "As for other points, as we said we need to consider every comment from everywhere, and also we are working on tuning this feature by ourselves as well. Fixes to this "EGT limits" feature are definitely coming."--Belsimtek https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=196588&page=3 The above quote was from 12/05/2017 therefore I don`t know if the issue has been touched since I`ll have to spend many more hours scowering threads (and less time flying the module I payed for) to find out if it has.

I had similar issue with UH-1H Huey in MP server. I dropped in for a flight (only one on the server) and the engine burst into flames and the Heli crashed a few miles from the airport. I wasn`t pushing it hard either. When I do the same in SP I have no issues although it will overheat when climbing to higher altitudes in some mountain areas. It would be nice to see a tweak in this area for a little more tolerance in this part of the FM.