Upgrading my PC need some assistance

[granola1861]

Alright folks, I've never been led wrong when asking DCS forums for help.

 

I've got a PC that was put together some many years ago primarily for flying Aces High. I still fly that some but want to get things dialed in better for DCS.

 

Currently I'm doing alright but the latest changes have begun to tax my system. My thoughts are to Upgrade the CPU, Motherboard, and Graphics Card. I've been looking at compatibility with pcpartpicker.com and wanted some pro vs. con feedback.

 

I'm looking to be able to get better framerates and turn up more of the settings for better looks.

 

Here are the basic parts that I have now that I feel need upgraded:

• CPU: Intel i5 760 @ 2.80 GHz (quad)
  
• Mobo: Gigabyte P55A-UD3
  
• Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 5800 Series.
  

I want to keep my tower, RAM (just recently upgraded to 16 Gig), power supply, etc. These items are listed below within a link.

 

 

Here is the link from pcpartspicker that shows what I'm looking for in the three places (CPU, Mobo, GPU) as well as the items that I"m already working with.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7NsWLD

 

 

I've heard that more cores is not always the best for DCS but GHz is king. There seems to be lots of info out there but it is hard to sift through in a timely manner.

 

This PC is primarily a gaming system. I also run Aces High (as stated above), FSX, and Falcon BMS. These are obviously all flight sims (I think I have a problem :) )

 

As always thanks much for any feedback as it is greatly appreciated.

 

Best,

-Climber

[BitMaster]

Makes ZERO sense !

 

Either get an 4790K Devil's Canyon CPU and clock it sky high or move to newer Platform and sell your DDR3.

 

Those OLD AMD CPU's are not an option.

 

There are TONS of those "we suggest this" right here in this subforum, some less than 3 months old. Search them, read through them and you will see.

[RED]

I have an 3+ years old setup too. Swapping the HDD against an SSD helped a lot. I strongly recommend an SSD for a new setup.

[Rudel_chw]

... My thoughts are to Upgrade the CPU, Motherboard, and Graphics Card. ...

Here are the basic parts that I have now that I feel need upgraded:

• CPU: Intel i5 760 @ 2.80 GHz (quad)
  
• Mobo: Gigabyte P55A-UD3
  
• Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 5800 Series.
  

I want to keep my tower, RAM (just recently upgraded to 16 Gig),

 

Hi,

 

You cant expect to change your mobo and keep the ddr3 ram you already have, since the current motherboards all use ddr4 memory.

 

Until recently I had a very similar PC: core i5 750, 12 GB of ram and old msi motherboard ... and to me the big difference is the graphics card, now I use a gtx970 and gives me a fully satisfactory dcs experience.

 

So, since you have just upgraded your ram, may i suggest that you do your upgrading in two steps:

 

1) First change just the vga and add a ssd drive of at least 240 GB, where you can put windows and dcs and your saved games folder (that dcs uses a lot) ... everything else, store in the current hdd. For the vga, go with nvidia, which have better drivers and allow you to more easily record movies with your gameplay. Keepin mind that a modern vga might need vga power connectors on the power supply ... check that your PS has them or you might need to slso replace the Power supply too.

 

You will see that the performance should be much, much better than you currently have.

 

2) at the end of the year, sell your current mobo, processor and ram and replace them with current parts. By that time, maybe amd's processors will be more on par with intel's. :)

[Abburo]

Don't preserve anything, it is a old computer and electronics have their lifetime.

 

Buy a new PC... just that! Even the new PC cases are more ergonomic than the old ones.

[Rudel_chw]

Don't preserve anything, it is a old computer and electronics have their lifetime.

 

 

I dont agree ... it depends on the components that he has; some electronics can last quite a while, for example my Hotas is from 2003 and still works fine, my Mac is from 2010 and still going strong.

 

 

 

Buy a new PC... just that! Even the new PC cases are more ergonomic than the old ones.

 

 

Again ... i depends on the budget that you have ... a good VGA plus SSD is quite a bit less money than a complete PC with similar VGA and disk.

[BitMaster]

Basically he needs the barebones: CPU-MoBo-RAM-SSD-GPU.

 

Leave anyone out and you dont get what you need, tho you can exchange the old GPU vs. a new one in two months or later when the budget allows it.

 

There is still the option of a 4970k CPU, THOSE are still sold and use DDR3, its just DAMN HARD to almost impossible to still find a new/unused board for those. YOu would likely have to go to ebay and buy one used, which I never recommend unless you know the person you get it from, which excludes ebay then.

 

If you have a pal selling his 4970k combo for a good price, that would be it !

 

..and maybe or likely granola is not aware of the difference in IPC. The cycles of an AMD FX cannot be compared to Intel cycles. A 3.6GHz CPU from Intel has about the same power as a FX clcoked to 5G and beyond, ask Skatezilla, he will tell you.

Edited May 31, 2017 by BitMaster

[granola1861]

As always I appreciate the feedback. It looks like I need to go back and keep looking at my compatibility options. First will be to look at moving towards a better RAM setup which should free up my Mobo, and CPU options. Hopefully I can save my tower, power supply, and HDD (I like the idea of having a SSD for my OS and DCS).

 

I may be back with more questions.

 

Best,

-Climber

[Abburo]

Just a short comment regarding compatibility.

 

My rig have an i7 4770 oc@4.4GHz and a GTX1080 Strix. Guess what, my son's rig with I7 6770K oc@4.5 GHz and GTX1070 Strix is generally 20% faster than mine. So that, this is a short example of non-adequate component matching.

 

Again, make an effort and get rid of everything. Sell that old unit. You will thank yourself later. :)

Edited June 1, 2017 by Abburo