CL30

Okay, good to know. I think I’ll go the Quest route. I’ve finally passed the point in life where I need cheater glasses for up close…it’ll be interesting to see what my eyes are like back in VR, lol. Good tip on the strap. I do remember reading a lot of complaints about it here on the forum. Also, thought my PC build got screwed up, or at least the USB 2.0 connector. A lot of the connector pins were bent all over the place. I don’t know if it was from me or not (probably me), even though I was really careful, but after a lot of sweat, panic, and surgery, I got them put back in place and connected, lol. Phew! Hope to install Windows tomorrow when I get home from my trip.

Right on. I did end up going with the higher power PSU. Build is currently in progress…. Pics when it’s done! On to VR next. Sounds like Quest 3 is good go-to these days? I’m coming from an old Rift S. Oh, and there are lots of Q3 options out there it seems, mainly with memory capacity. Which model do I want for DCS?

Lol, Mrs CL30 just found out how much this stuff costs, even though I’ve told her.

Power question: how accurate is PCPartpicker’s wattage estimate? My build shows a 672w estimate. I have a 1200w Lian Li Edge Gold in my Micro Center cart, but wonder if that’s overkill. Is 1000w plenty? I went overkill with the idea I’d likely grab a 5090 (or future beefy card) down the road. As of now, I have a Gigabyte 5080 Aorus Master Ice sitting in a box in my living room. ETA: Meh, for $20 more I’ll stick with 1200w.

Wow, that’s a lot of RAM usage for nothing going on! Reaffirms my decision then, thanks!

I’m not as smart as the others, but I think the general consensus around here is that 32GB RAM is on the low side for DCS these days, and future days. Sounds like 64GB is the new “minimum.” I went from 32 > 64 in my current PC, and it was a really good improvement. I’m putting 96 in my new build.

Thanks, LucShep! Yeah, you’re right. I decided to go back up to an X870 from the 850s. It might be silly, but I like having the digital debug code visible on the MoBo. My current Aorus Master has it, and has proved helpful to me over the years. As I’m not as in-tune with this stuff as you all are, I thought I’d spend $50 more for that option vs having LEDs to decipher. It’s the Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite Ice I’m looking at. Also, I decided to put an AIO back in vs the air cooler purely for aesthetics. I’m going to try to make this a really pretty build to look at (currently looking for nice colored, sleeved PSU cables), and I like the AIO look. I won’t say “money is no issue,” because it is (like, not gonna do a 5090/4090), but I’m blessed with a good job that making a chunk extra is pretty easy, so I’m splurging on some things….as silly as some may be, lol. ETA: and yeah, I think doing dual 4TBs is probably the better option as you said, thanks!

So, would dropping PCIEx16 down to x8 speed for the GPU be that big of a deal? I’m leaning towards three m.2 nVME drives. M2A and M2D won’t take away from the GPU, but populating M2B or M2C will drop the speed, according to the manual. I’d like to have a 2TB for OS, etc., a 4TB for DCS, and then some other one for other games, pics, etc. However, I could just do two 4TB drives I suppose.

I went ahead and ordered a PCIe 4. Got a WD Black SN850X 4TB, and will be grabbing a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB as well. Also ordered 2x48GB DDR5 6000 RAM.

Thanks for the detailed post, @Hempstead. I’ll definitely be updating the BIOS right from the start, and planning 2x48GB 6000 sticks of RAM. I’m actually shopping for those as I post this, so it’ll be the first purchase. I don’t think I’ll be going the 870 route now. Doesn’t sound like I’d gain much based on what @LucShepsaid, and will likely throw an 850 in there.

Mrs. CL30 gave me the green light, so I’ll probably start buying here soon. Might make a 8hr round trip to Microcenter to grab it all in one go.

@LucShepgood stuff, man. I am feeling more confident about he build and components thanks to you guys. I miss playing DCS. It will be nice to have a PC out here with me. Gotta bring my Warthog from home out though.

*snip* Thanks for the reply, LucShep! I'm not really tied to any one thing, so it’s good to have options. I’ve been trying to get up to speed on new stuff, like Mobos. I saw the 870s are Pcie 5.0 I think? I’m not even that competent to understand it all, but sounded like more options for more SSDs at faster speeds. I threw it in there to be safer for future add ons, but yeah, it’s kinda Greek to me. My last build was a Z390 board, so it’s been a minute, lol. Oh, and I chose Gigabyte because I’m familiar with it, but again, open to anything. Good to know about the cooler. I OC’d my Intel chips, but don’t think I’ll need to going this route. Once I settle on a case I’ll figure out a cooler. My current build is mostly white, with a large glass case. It’s beautiful (to me), so I may do the same again and keep the 360 AIO for aesthetics, but good to know nonetheless. Thanks again! Edit: wow, yeah, those coolers are definitely less expensive! Thanks for the rec.

Ah, didn’t even know that could be a “thing,” but I’ve always been Intel. Thanks, man!

@Aapje looking at you man, since you persuaded me to throw an AMD in there, lol.

I’m working on my next build. I’m going the get some new form of VR, like a Quest 3 that was recommended. Not going to splurge on a 5090 at this point. This build list is by no means set in stone. Likes or dislikes? Ugh. Let me work on the pic….

Oh yeah, I’ll do that when the time comes. Didn’t want to cause too much thread drift as I was primarily interested in the 5080 info. Thanks again.

Hey, thanks for taking the time to type all that out. That’s a great summary! TBH, I had the 14700K in my build list for a while. Threw it in there because its price point was better than the 14900K, and it’s still fast, and I didn’t want all the heat that it sounds like the 14900 generates. Those were my only reasons, lol. Same reasons for when I built my current PC with that 9600K…though a couple years ago I upgraded it to a 9900K and RTX3090. You all make a very good case for the switch to AMD. I’m hoping to start buying parts over the coming month or two.

Thanks for the explanation! I hate being out of the loop and having to get caught up. I'll be sure to opt for two sticks of RAM, but for sure if I go with AMD, and guessing I will now unless something changes.

Serious question, but what makes them better than the Intel chips, like the 14700k, for DCS? &nbsp I kinda stopped playing regularly right after multi-threading was introduced, but I thought you really only need a couple fast cores. Not trying to start anything, haha, just curious.

What would you suggest for AMD? I don’t mind switching, I’m just more familiar with the Intel offerings. Cool, thanks! I’ll start looking at it.

Long thread so probably forget replies at this point, but what VR are you guys using (with good results) with your 5080s? I’m starting to plan for my next PC, and have been planning on a 5080. I’ve always been Intel, so leaning towards a 14700k and 64GB RAM (maybe 96). I will also need new VR as I still have a Rift S….not that I’ve been able to play DCS at all over the last year. Not sure what the good options are these days. I definitely won’t want top of the line, bank-breaking VR, but a good set still.

Yep, still running well and the combo is running smoothly with everything max’d out (2D). My VR is weaksauce, an old Rift S, but I haven’t used it much since I’ve made the upgrade. I can’t remember the resolution I’m running at. I don’t have a super amazing gaming monitor though.

Oh yeah, I know how goofy DCS/AI can be. Frustrating, yet kinda fun making little changes and trying to figure out how to get things working. Nothing to report on the tanker issue as it’s not a big deal and I’ve moved on, but I did have the tanker too high, which I assumed, realistically speaking. I’m currently on a 4-day trip with a former Viper/Hog pilot, and asked him about their altitudes and speeds. He said most AAR was usually high teens to low 20s, and 200ish kts in the A-10 and 300kts or so in the F-16. I never really looked into it before, so it’s been cool learning some of the particulars. Thought I’d share.

I might, but it’s more of a curiosity than anything. Doesn’t affect functionality. May do it….you guys are pretty amazing at missions and scripting, so having you look at my hot mess…lol. BTW Dawger, you’ve helped me in the past with some A2A Dispatcher stuff! (Vandal from BuDs)