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Looking for advice on RAM or SSD upgrade


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I'm hoping to get some guidance or advice on whether or not a RAM upgrade or adding an SSD will significantly improve performance of DCS on my system.

 

First, here are my specs:

Sager NP8671 17.3" Notebook, i74720HQ (3.6GHz), GTX 970M (3.0GB), 8GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB 7200RPM HD, TrackIR 4, CH HOTAS and rudder pedals

 

I know there are many that will say it's a laptop and waste of time. However, I am very happy with the FPS I get right now (I don't actually measure it, but it's very smooth) and the level of eye candy I'm able to turn on. Let's just assume that a desktop upgrade isn't an option at the moment.

 

There are just two items I'm looking to improve:

 

1. Load times - Usually between 3-5 minutes from the time I select a mission until it's loaded and I can fly. These are relatively simple missions, as well. Today I flew the SU-25T target practice mission and it took 5 minutes to load. I think the first mission in the A-10A campaign was about 6 min the other night.

2. Stutters/pauses - seem to occur randomly, and usually more often toward the start of a mission. These are pauses that are usually a few seconds long, not to be confused with FPS dropping so low it looks like stuttering.

 

Neither of these are deal breakers. I'd probably like to address the stutter more than the load time issue. Here are my questions:

 

1. I can add a 120GB SSD for $45. I know that will help with load times, but what would I realistically expect? Would it take the 5 minute load down to < 1 minute? (I could order the HD now and have it delivered by Amazon by the end of the day and be running DCS on it tomorrow!)

2. Will the SSD help with the stutters/pauses? (Maybe if it has something to do with loading textures from the HD...?)

3. I can add another 8GB of RAM for < $100. Will this help with the stuttering? I know it's often suggested, but at the same time I see people with 16-32GB with stuttering. So not sure how much going from 8 to 16 will help.

 

I'm happy to use CPUz or GPUz or task manager to track RAM, GPU, or CPU usage during a flight if that information will aid in answering my questions.

 

Thanks!

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The only thing i can say is once i switched from a 1TB Seagate HDD to a 500GB Samsung 850 Evo the load time of about 3 minutes reduced to about 20 secs. I can't say anything to a RAM Upgrade as i always used 16 GB DDR4 RAM but that change to a SSD was totally worth the money. Not only the loading times were significantly better but also my stutters got reduced massively! I think that everyone who switched from a HDD to a SSD will never want to go back and will recommend it to everyone who considers to get one!


Edited by Nick_17

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Get an SSD as the first upgrade. I suspect that another 8GB of RAM would be good too but I would spend money on the SSD first. SSD prices are not as crazy as RAM at the moment so...

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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I would recommend a larger ssd though . I just installed a 240gb ssd for dcs-only on my pc , and use my 128gb for Windows, pagefiling, and utilities . The larger ssd allows me to have multiple builds , terrains and aircraft modules , that would max a 128gb . When i was running 2.0 , i could only get NTTR , windows , FC3 and L-39 on a 128gb . If your laptop allows only one ssd , you could put Windows and DCS on a 256gb ssd and par-tee !

9700k @ stock , Aorus Pro Z390 wifi , 32gb 3200 mhz CL16 , 1tb EVO 970 , MSI RX 6800XT Gaming X TRIO , Seasonic Prime 850w Gold , Coolermaster H500m , Noctua NH-D15S , CH Pro throttle and T50CM2/WarBrD base on Foxxmounts , CH pedals , Reverb G2v2

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SSD for sure. Keep in kind you will even save another minute with an SSD just to boot and get Windows started :smilewink:. Sideeffect: contrary to your current habit, you may then have to prepare your coffee or grab your beer BEFORE you start your computer :)

 

Maybe you get a nice deal so you can even save a few more bucks and then look out for additional RAM. I purchased 8GB DDR3,1333MHz few weeks ago for roughly 60$.

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Thanks guys. Just ordered one of these. From what I can tell, it should be the right thing. Will be here tomorrow!

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0764WCXCV/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I may initially just install DCS on it, as I don't know if I'm ready to take on a fresh new windows installation and reinstalling everything else this weekend.

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SSD first !

 

edit* PERFECT choice mate ! excellent

Gigabyte Aorus X570S Master - Ryzen 5900X - Gskill 64GB 3200/CL14@3600/CL14 - Sapphire  Nitro+ 7800XT - 4x Samsung 980Pro 1TB - 1x Samsung 870 Evo 1TB - 1x SanDisc 120GB SSD - Heatkiller IV - MoRa3-360LT@9x120mm Noctua F12 - Corsair AXi-1200 - TiR5-Pro - Warthog Hotas - Saitek Combat Pedals - Asus XG27ACG QHD 180Hz - Corsair K70 RGB Pro - Win11 Pro/Linux - Phanteks Evolv-X 

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Arrived. SSD installed. DCS reinstalled.

 

Mission loaded in approximately 1 minute.

 

No stutters during mission. NONE.

 

Success!!!

 

Most excellent!

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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Arrived. SSD installed. DCS reinstalled.

 

Mission loaded in approximately 1 minute.

 

No stutters during mission. NONE.

 

Success!!!

 

 

Do us a favour !

 

Next time when someone comes and asks the same question, answer him :smilewink:

 

Not all have picked it up so quick as you did, some really beat around the bush as if a SSD was from Hell, haha.

 

Anyway, nice to see you got what you expected. The first SSD is a jaw drop experience, just as VR is.

Gigabyte Aorus X570S Master - Ryzen 5900X - Gskill 64GB 3200/CL14@3600/CL14 - Sapphire  Nitro+ 7800XT - 4x Samsung 980Pro 1TB - 1x Samsung 870 Evo 1TB - 1x SanDisc 120GB SSD - Heatkiller IV - MoRa3-360LT@9x120mm Noctua F12 - Corsair AXi-1200 - TiR5-Pro - Warthog Hotas - Saitek Combat Pedals - Asus XG27ACG QHD 180Hz - Corsair K70 RGB Pro - Win11 Pro/Linux - Phanteks Evolv-X 

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The first SSD is a jaw drop experience, just as VR is.

 

It amazes me that any serious gamer is not already running everything from an SSD. I bought my first one nearly seven years ago. My last laptop purchase (two years ago), ASUS ROG G75, came with 128GB SSD and a 1TB HD. I immediately replaced the 1TB HD with a 512GB SSD.

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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