GregP

I'm trying to get Helios working with 3 monitors, one of which is a touchscreen. For some reason Helios insists on identifying my touchscreen as monitor #3, and if I create a profile that has buttons on touchscreen, the buttons don't work within DCS. If I move my buttons to monitor #2, they work. If I unplug one of my monitors, so that the touchscreen is now monitor #2 within Helios, the buttons work. Therefore, I'd like to force Helios to see my touchscreen as either monitor #1 or 2. Is there a way to do this? Helios does not seem to be reading the monitor numbers from Windows, because according to Windows the TS is #1.

Are you using SoftTH 1.xx? If so why not 2.08 instead? 2.08 is more advanced and a bit simpler. For example in 2.08 you don't set a destRect. One problem I can see is that you're asking DCS to render a smaller area than SoftTH is being told to work with -- this is likely what's causing your hanging. If you're really allowing 100 pixels for the bezels, your resolution both in DCS *and* SoftTH should be 1920x2380. Change that and see how it works.

From your system specs I would guess that you could run 4 monitors without much trouble. DCS is very CPU-dependent though; are you running your 2500k at 3.3? If so you should definitely overclock it, as you're likely to get at least 4.5 out of it. I've had mine running at 4.8 for two years now with no problems at all, and in DCS faster CPU often translates directly into more FPS.

To clarify: since DCS A-10C first came out, it has been the near-universal experience of those using SLI and CF that these setups don't offer any performance improvement over single cards. The ED devs have stated that the engine simply isn't coded to take advantage of multi-GPU setups. Supposedly this will change with EDGE, and that's partially why many are so excited about it. That being said, I agree that some Nvidia users seem to see real benefit from SLI. Unfortunately (as I'm an AMD owner), I've yet to see an AMD user claim a benefit from CF. Interestingly, I just tried disabling CF, and my FPS in DCS went from 38 to 45! So in my case it's actually HURTING. As for SLI 3-monitor limit: I don't know about Nvidia cards, but on AMD cards, I know from my own experience that you can at LEAST run 4 monitors. More than that may require an MST hub.

Glad this thread has helped you. As for FRAPS and the FPS counter -- I had the same problem with my 7970s when I would switch from fullscreen to windowed mode. I think it has to do with the 'edges' of the render area being outside of the actual window, and thus FRAPS and the FPS counter just aren't visible. This problem could probably be fixed by setting you windowed resolution to exactly 5760 horizontally and thereby removing any bezel compensation (i.e. a 'window' can't display a resolution greater than the combined physical total resolution across your 3 monitors).

You guys know that SLI/CF is currenty not used in DCS, right? We have to wait for the new engine before a second card will be taken advantage of.

Looks great. I can't remember whether I'd mentioned this to you before but, have you considered making that touchscreen dynamic, ie instead of using Helios, just having it render directly from DCS? If you haven't seen it yet, I have a writeup here explaining how to do it. I've actually switched out my 4-screen setup for a single 55" 4k TV, but I did love those 4 screens.

FYI, I'm selling my my 27-inch touchscreen for half that price.

Dropped the price $100!

Yes, CFX enables Eyefinity across multiple monitors. But the problem with a 6-screen setup is that, AFAIK, no AMD cards have more than 4 outputs. And because with CFX you can only plug monitors into one of the cards, you're therefore limited to 4 monitors at a time. I'm pretty sure that everyone who runs more than that uses something like Matrox TripleHead. As for SoftTH, when I was using it, I was running all 4 monitors off one card. I believe that if you want to run more than 4 with SoftTH, you need a third (non-CFX) card to plug them in to. I may be totally wrong on this, so hopefully somebody else running 5+ will chime in to clarify.

D'oh! Devrim beat me as I was typing my response.

The file you're looking for is in: \DCS World\Mods\aircrafts\Ka-50\Cockpit\Scripts\ControlsIndicator\ControlsIndicator_page.lua Line 44 should read: base.init_pos = {0,-(1 - 1.5*size)} Change it to something like: base.init_pos = {0, 0.2} That's what used to work on my 4-screen setup. May need some tweaking, but that should get you close.

CNET is claiming that the Vizio line has HDMI 2.0, although I don't see confirmation of that on Vizio's site. Seems likely though. As for FPS at 4K, depends on the games you're talking about. If DCS, since the engine doesn't currently support Crossfire or SLI, you're limited to utilizing one card. So my dual 7970s are doing nothing for me in DCS. I can say though that with a single 7970, I can generally stay in the 20-45 range at 4K, even with graphics details fairly maxed. The high resolution specifically impacts VRAM usage; the 7970's 3GB is not enough, so I imagine it's probably holding me back, FPS-wise. This is one reason why I'm eager to upgrade to an R9 290 4GB as soon as the quieter, cooler models are available. But as soon as you move away from DCS, the answer changes. VRAM is still critical, but having dual cards becomes almost a necessity, unless you're using something like a 780Ti. As for the 770 4GB, a quick googling tells me that the 770 is roughly equivalent to the R9 280X, which is roughly equivalent to a 7970. So yeah, I would guess that a 4GB 770 is probably good enough to maintain reasonable FPS in DCS at 4K.

You've hit upon one of the major shortfalls of DCS A-10C, which is that actual operational guidance is fairly limited in the documentation provided. Luckily there are some great resources around here, though. One that I can think of immediately is this thread where WildBillKelsoe offers up a PDF about planning for the Georgian Hammer campaign missions. Then there's also "Finding and Dealing with Anti-Air". If you're interested in more realistic delivery methods, the "476th Battle Book" and "Looking for dumb bomb guides" threads are invaluable.

I've been dutifully studying the same thread and texts that you refer to, and I believe that, based on the T-45 Weapons/Strike manual where HAT is Height Above Target, "HOT" likely means Height Over Target. Despite the way it seems to be used in this context as a label for a different kind of elevation reference, e.g. as opposed to say DTS or TGP, it seems to me that HAT/HOT is simply a term describing one of the inputs into the IFFCC's CCIP solution no matter WHAT the elevation reference. For example even when using DTS as the elevation reference, the IFFCC still needs to calculate a Height Over Target in order to produce a valid CCIP solution. The difference between the two is simply that in the case of DTS you're relying on a preconfigured database to find/estimate the local elevation in the vicinity of the target; with "HOT elevation", you're manually inputting the [presumably more accurate] actual target elevation in order to allow the IFFCC to produce a more accurate solution. As a counterpoint to the quote you have above that recommends not using DTS, I've also read elsewhere that DTS should be used in the majority of cases where you will likely not be able to determine the target elevation any more accurately than DTS would. The exception to this case would be on a known target range, where very accurate elevation data is likely known.

OK, I'm curious: what kind of FPS difference do you see when you go from one card to SLI? If more than statistical difference, you're the first person I've ever heard actually seeing any benefit. As far as is known, the DCS engine itself does not take advantage of multiple video cards.

Approximately how much further down do you have to click? A quarter of the screen, half a screen? On a different monitor?

Yes, DCS will work if you have SLI or Crossfire, but you won't see any performance benefit from the second card. That's what people mean when they say SLI/CF doesn't work.

Likewise if you're using AMD cards, in the Catalyst Control Center you should choose Adjust Bezel Compensation.

If the Rift actually matches its hype, I'll be one of the first people in line to buy one. It's pretty amazing thinking that monitors as we know them may be obsolete, for gaming at least, within a year or two due to the Rift. But until then, I'm enjoying the giant expanse and detail of 4K.

Primarily because my cockpit simply doesn't have room for it anymore. At 27", it's enormous. Just for kicks I did get Helios running on it, and it works fine with the 4K, but takes up too much space. Instead I'm using a tablet with a much smaller Helios profile. Also, selling the touchscreen will hopefully let me recoup some of the cost of the 4K.

When you say you can't get it working, what specifically do you mean? It won't launch? Or you can't get instruments etc. exported? If the latter, remember that in your profile you need to 'add interface' and choose DCS A-10C. That and making sure the path to DCS is set, should be all you need.

Well if a month from now there's a 55-inch 4k TV with HDMI 2.0 available for $850, I'll agree with you. :)

I *wish* I was using DisplayPort, because if I was, then I could run 3840x2160x60hz. But no, DP is not an option on this monitor. I'm using HDMI, and thus am limited to 4k at 30 hz.

It‘s selective advertising: the 120hz applies to 1080p, but at 4k it's 30hz.