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What price range do I need to be looking at?


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I'm looking to buy/build (if the price difference for building is worth enough to overcome the hassle) a rig specifically for DCS, nothing else, when I can afford it (hopefully towards the end of this year)

 

What price range do I need to look at being prepared to spend?

 

I don't need to run max settings 60fps on 3 monitors or anything crazy, but I'm looking for something relatively future-proof/upgradable, that can run medium settings with a smooth, enjoyable experience that doesn't detract from the enjoyment, but doesn't break the bank.

 

I don't need a specific PC recommendation (though I'm open to them), just kinda need a ballpark savings goal.

 

Hopefully I'll be flying the friendly skies again for the first time since FC2 days within the year. (Hoping to misappropriate some scholarship funds) :smartass:

 

If all goes well and I make it through the struggle of waiting, I may even buy my girlfriend a rig. A man needs a wingman after all :D

Go ahead, Make it idiot proof, someone will just find better idiots...;)

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I'm looking to buy/build (if the price difference for building is worth enough to overcome the hassle) a rig specifically for DCS, nothing else, when I can afford it (hopefully towards the end of this year)

 

What price range do I need to look at being prepared to spend?

 

I don't need to run max settings 60fps on 3 monitors or anything crazy, but I'm looking for something relatively future-proof/upgradable, that can run medium settings with a smooth, enjoyable experience that doesn't detract from the enjoyment, but doesn't break the bank.

 

I don't need a specific PC recommendation (though I'm open to them), just kinda need a ballpark savings goal.

 

Hopefully I'll be flying the friendly skies again for the first time since FC2 days within the year. (Hoping to misappropriate some scholarship funds) :smartass:

 

If all goes well and I make it through the struggle of waiting, I may even buy my girlfriend a rig. A man needs a wingman after all :D

 

LOL, that request is as broad as it is long. Look at min specs, they will be fine if you want to fly alone, but add your good lady, one of you has to host it, unless you mean to go into multiplayer right away then things can go south. There is going to be a new graphics engine coming according to wags on Mudspike between march and June which will utilize dx11 I believe, so i would hold off until then, bang together and old amdX64 3.00Ghz, 4gig of ram. (minimum says 6 but you can play on X64 with 4gb, and stick a pcie graphics card you probably have in a drawer somewhere, job done m8. :pilotfly:

Windows 7 64 Home Premium, i5 3570K (3.4 @ 4.4GHz), Asus P8Z77-V LX, 16GB dual channel 1600 ram, EVGA Nvidia GTX980ti, 240 GB OCZ SSD, 3 TB Raptor, Thrustmaster Warthog Hotas and Throttle, Saitek Pro Combat Rudder pedals.

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DCS currently won't run smooth on anything under all situations thanks to the ancient graphics engine. But some systems can run it reasonably well under most situations. Hopefully things improve with the release of DCS 2 but it's impossible to say when it will be released. With that said, I'd recommend:

 

1) A high end I5 such as the 4690 I use ($220)

2) At least 8GB of DDR3 PC1600 ($50)

3) Nvidia graphics only (purely a DCS issue), GTX 770 or better ($220)

4) Win 7 or 8.1 ($100)

5) An SSD no less than 256GB ($100)

6) Z87 or Z97 motherboard ($100)

7) 800W+ PSU if you don't already have one ($50 typically)

 

Total price of above is: $840.

 

I can recommend the above as that's actually my current system. I get 60 fps in SP most of the time when flying jets and rarely drop below 40 fps in SP with choppers (battles in large towns, 50-60fps over open country). On 104th on the most demanding areas of the most demanding missions, I bottom out at around 20 with cluster bombs blowing, assuming the server doesn't crash first :P. This is at max detail at 1920x1080 on a single screen. Nothing is over clocked and I'm using the stock fans for everything. No fancy liquid cooling required. The case is an ordinary black computer case like you'd find at an office building.


Edited by King_Hrothgar
Added total price.
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If you plan on buying it at the end of the year, my best advice is don't bother looking right now. There's some good, there's some bad. This year is going to be full of technological advancement ( lets all continue to hope ).

Wait and check the market only a couple of weeks in advance, and keep up with major companies IE Intel, Nvidia, AMD if they have announced any new kind of generation for the upcoming weeks.

Or... just ask again on the forums and we'll give you some ideas for some sweet deals around then :)

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Sometimes even a lower tier, yet newer generation of tech can be more efficient, and a better "bang for your buck".

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If you plan on buying it at the end of the year, my best advice is don't bother looking right now.

 

Agreed. If you plan for around $1200, that should get you an appropriate machine and you might easily end up spending less (which you can then apply to better hardware or needed accessories).

ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1 :thumbup:

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DCS currently won't run smooth on anything under all situations thanks to the ancient graphics engine. But some systems can run it reasonably well under most situations. Hopefully things improve with the release of DCS 2 but it's impossible to say when it will be released. With that said, I'd recommend:

 

1) A high end I5 such as the 4690 I use ($220)

2) At least 8GB of DDR3 PC1600 ($50)

3) Nvidia graphics only (purely a DCS issue), GTX 770 or better ($220)

4) Win 7 or 8.1 ($100)

5) An SSD no less than 256GB ($100)

6) Z87 or Z97 motherboard ($100)

7) 800W+ PSU if you don't already have one ($50 typically)

 

Total price of above is: $840.

 

I can recommend the above as that's actually my current system. I get 60 fps in SP most of the time when flying jets and rarely drop below 40 fps in SP with choppers (battles in large towns, 50-60fps over open country). On 104th on the most demanding areas of the most demanding missions, I bottom out at around 20 with cluster bombs blowing, assuming the server doesn't crash first :P. This is at max detail at 1920x1080 on a single screen. Nothing is over clocked and I'm using the stock fans for everything. No fancy liquid cooling required. The case is an ordinary black computer case like you'd find at an office building.

 

Mostly a good suggest... but I have issue with going for a cheap PSU (the most important part of a PC build). Don't ever cheap out on your PSU! :)

 

Also, you can never really "future proof" a PC build... your best bet depending on how much money you are willing to spend is buy the best (lots of money) or 2nd best (much more economical), as an example the 970 is amazing for the price, but if you have the money you could go for the best which would be the 980.


Edited by StandingCow

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usually $1500-2000 easily covers a beast of a PC. If you aren't comfortable building it, you can still usually pay $100~ for a parts store to do it for you.

 

It'll always be cheaper than buying a brand name box.

 

In my experience building you own is usually slightly more expensive than buying a pre-made unit off the shelf - but self-builds are always better value.

 

That is because while manufacturers may put in some premium components, they'll often balance that out with some cheaper "generic" brands on other components.

 

If you build it, you'll likely put quality components in all aspects - so the overall price will be a shade higher than for an analogous "off the shelf" Dell, but - admittedly - not more expensive than said Dell upgraded to your personal component specifications

 

---

 

I put together a self-build flight sim system for about $1,800 2-3 years ago now - including TrackIR5, Saitek X52 Pro HOTAS & Pedals - (i5, 8Gb RAM, GTX 670) and it runs DCS World, X-Plane 10, and FSX/Prepar3D all at good solid more-than-average quality settings.

 

Admittedly, the GPU is a bit "thin" by today's standards, and should be upgraded, and I've got a 32Gb memory module upgrade inbound for it.


Edited by Vedexent

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I'd budget 1500-2000. Focus on a solid chip and vid card. 8gig ram is more than enough. Don't buy the high mhz ram, it won't get you one fps more. A small SDD for the OS and DCS is a fantastic way to improve load times but not necessary.

 

Dale

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Mostly a good suggest... but I have issue with going for a cheap PSU (the most important part of a PC build). Don't ever cheap out on your PSU! :)

 

Absolutely!!!!!

 

When a $50 PSU takes out a $400 graphics card, you didn't save any money.

ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero, i7-6700K, Noctua NH-D14 Cooler, Crucial 32GB DDR4 2133, Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 256GB, Samsung EVO 250GB & 500GB SSD, 2TB Caviar Black, Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme 8GB, Corsair HX1000i, Phillips BDM4065UC 40" 4k monitor, VX2258 TouchScreen, TIR 5 w/ProClip, TM Warthog, VKB Gladiator Pro, Saitek X56, et. al., MFG Crosswind Pedals #1199, VolairSim Pit, Rift CV1 :thumbup:

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People say that but I wonder if it's ever actually happened. Certainly never happened to me or anyone I know. And I've had my share of PSU's die over the years. It's a mild inconvenience when it happens but not an expensive repair at all. I would recommend going with a respectable brand (as with everything else) but as said, you can get that for about $50 on sale or with a rebate. And there is always a special of some sort going on at either amazon or newegg.

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See my setup in my Sig block. Save money by not going TITANS and go with a 970 or there abouts. Also can do with 16 GB of RAM. That is if you want a for sure will run DCS. $1200 in my opinion is a "get by with this" amount. If you don't want to just get by and want to build a computer that will be around for a while then go BIG. $2000 is about what you will need for a computer that you can count on for a while. It will cost big in the beginning but save you money in the long run by not having to upgrade all the time. Just my not so humble opinion.

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800W psu is way too much for a single card config anyway. You want to look in the 500W range for just one gpu or 700W range if you plan on getting a second gpu and doing some overclocking. Be sure to buy a quality (80+ certified) psu from a renowned manufacturer.

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one should not forget to mention a good cooler, be it air or water, but not overclocking a current i5 or i7 cpu is a waste of fps in DCS :)

 

Even with EDGE, more cycles and more fps can only be good for a smooth FM.

 

 

I would go with Nvidia for many reasons, the one you cant argue about is DCS's love for NV. Gsync is another thing but needs the proper screen too.

 

Bit

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