rickberry49 Posted September 15, 2016 Posted September 15, 2016 For any new users trying to decide on hardware, I hope this will help. I started with: Intel I7 - 920 @ 2.67 Ghz factory default no over clocking uses PCI-2 bus MSI x-58 Platinum motherboard and 6Gb Corsair 1333 DDR3 3x2Gb modules Windows 7 Ultimate SP 1 64 bit I installed a Samsung 850 Pro 128GB SSD (solid state drive) for my OS and DCS 1.5 I'm running a MSI G-force GTX 960 w/4Gb (this is a pci-3 card in a pci-2 buss) I have 3 NEC 2180UX 21" displays 1680x1050 and a viewsonic VA2026 20" also at 1680x1050 My desktop is spread over all 4 and I run DCS as a single window monitor across all 4 with my MFD's on the right most Viewsonic. The above config runs my DCS 1.5 A-10 just fine, very smooth, frame rates above 50 with most of the display settings maxed out. Water is set to low. I rarely see a stutter or hiccup. This is NOT a top end system but it runs DCS 1.5 just fine (pretty cool across all 4) Then I added DCS 2.0 to run NTTR, since I didn't have enough room on the SSD I loaded 2.0 on my 500GB mechanical hard drive. (DON'T DO THIS....!!!) The new install of 2.0 ran like CRAP...!!! (sorry ED). It stuttered badly even with all settings at the BARE MINIMUMs. And most of the time is simply hung and I had to use TASK MANAGER to kill it. Read a bunch of threads and everyone has a different idea, and all wanted to know my config??? My point was that my CONFIG (whatever it was) ran 1.5 just fine and the only difference was that 2.0 was installed on a mechanical hard drive. So why the huge difference in performance??? Some said I needed a good graphics card ( I have one and it runs 1.5 just fine....!!!) Others said 6Gb was not enough and I needed more memory (but 1.5 runs just fine...!!!) I expected a longer load time, and after all it is still Beta software. I also noticed that memory started to peak at my max of 6Gb. So as some suggested I added another 8Gb 2x4Gb Corsair memory (now 14Gb) but performance did not improve, only very slightly if I just flew around for a bit. I also noticed that 2.0 levels off at around 7 - 7.4 Gb of memory when running... So just adding more memory was not the solution. So does the hard drive where DCS is loaded make THAT MUCH OF A DIFF....??? YOU BETCHA...!!! Looking at disk access my Hard Drive was pegging out at 100%. So this tells me that DCS 2.0 is VERY disk intensive (my guess is loading the terrain which must be huge...) AND a mechanical drive just can't keep up. So.... I finally added a Plextor M6e Series 256Gb PCI Express 2.0 x 2 Internal SSD and moved my DCS 2.0 install to it. NOW IT RUNS LIKE 1.5...!!!!!, I've increased the display settings and I get a stutter only once in awhile. The bottom line... I would expect that: Any system today with a PCI-3 buss, 14Gb of memory, and a I7 processor will run DCS just fine. Just be sure to install it on a SSD and NOT a mechanical drive. I have always put my OS on a dedicated drive so a 125Gb SSD for your OS and then a PCI SSD for the applications ie DCS would put the graphics loads on two different busses this is how I'm running, it's smooth and well worth the cost of the drives. but not that expensive. Depending on how many monitors you want to use any 970 and above graphics card should work just fine as well. MY Gtx 960 running on a PCI-2 buss is limited by the buss since it is a PCI-3 card. I would expect this card to run even better if I install it on a PCI-3 Mother board. Hope this helps any newbees looking for hardware help... Comments always welcome...!!!
joey45 Posted September 15, 2016 Posted September 15, 2016 I've installed all my games on SSDs infact I only have SSDs in my case and my HDDs are all external backups. Internal SSDs - C: windows, Autodesk, Adobe and other programs D: recording drive and other stuff E: games External HDDs Backups. The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. "Me, the 13th Duke of Wybourne, here on the ED forums at 3 'o' clock in the morning, with my reputation. Are they mad.." https://ko-fi.com/joey45
rickberry49 Posted September 15, 2016 Author Posted September 15, 2016 I am convinced that any game, especially DCS needs an SSD if that game needs to access the disk during game play. If the WHOLE game can be loaded into memory then SSD will only help the load times and for DCS this is significant... Graphics card will dictate how much detail you wish to play with and frame rate depending on the number of monitors you run. I believe ANY I7 processor with at least 12 gig on the MB will run DCS given the constraints above. For me the next build ( coming Xmas 2016 ) will include an SSD for the OS only and then a PCI-3 SSD for the games, and finally a standard HDD for all other non-intensive apps and data stores. I don't believe the super high end processors are where you should put your $$$. A 1080 class graphics card is the most I would use. Put your $$ into the fastest SSD's you can find cuz from my tests the drive is hammered by 2.0 for what I guess is the terrain. Which by the way is awesome form what I've seen so far.. Hope this discussion will help any new comers...!!! questions or suggestions welcome...!!
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