Hornet With Crappy Video Card

[chrisgrind]

EDIT: Sorry, this probably should have gone to the hardware forum, not hornet forum :( Great first post :S

 

Hi All,

 

I pretty much just want to learn the hornet, and as such have come to DCS as a possibility. I have got myself some second hand CH fighterstick/throttle/pedals and was about to buy the hornet and realised my video card doesn't meet the minimum specs.

 

I have an r9 270x, and minimum is r9 290x. I also only have a HDD for my games drive. I have SSD for OS, but its not big enough for DCS.

 

Does anyone please know will it actually work, just so I can learn solo stuff on low res, or will it actually stop me from playing? My theory is once I learn how to fly, I may have some more money to then upgrade and move to multiplayer.

 

Also, what scenery are considered "needed" for the hornet?

 

I will look to upgrade in the future,though it would only be a 5700xt or 2060 at absolute best), but after buying a few other bits and pieces, its not likely to happen in the near future.

 

Another option is I just use the su25t and learn it (it runs on my PC), but I am time poor (I'll probably get 2x 3 hour sessions per week at best, so I'd prefer to put my time into the hornet.

 

Random info: I grew up on the flight path of Williamtown (YWLM) with Mirage, F111 and fa18 flying over head all day every day, and always dreamt of flying a hornet.

 

I would consider switching to another platform to do the F35, if that is more suited to my setup, but from what I've seen, the option appears to be P3D, which doesn't have the weapons missions.

 

A side question: I presume there is no way we could get my local base in DCS world? I know someone has made it for P3D/FSX.

 

Intel Core i5 6400

r9 270x

16gb RAM

 

 

here's a couple of my photos as a thank you!

Edited October 29, 2019 by chrisgrind

[MustangSally]

At low res maybe. Your processor and HDD will be be a major bottle neck. Be prepared for some long load times.

 

 

The only scenery that's available is the Caucasus (free with DCS), Persian Gulf, Nevada Test and Training range and Normandy.

 

 

Willytown isn't available......no Australian terrain

Edited October 29, 2019 by MustangSally

[chrisgrind]

thanks, so if I don't buy any scenery, will there be any missions I can do with the hornet to learn how to use weapons etc, or will I need to also buy scenery? If so, which is the most suited for the hornet? (perhaps the better question is, which is most used in multiplayer).

[dSAF Dancer]

if you can run the su-25 reasonably well, probably also the hornet will run. It is just possible that you have quite some stutters and so on.

 

You don't need to buy any terrain to start, the caucasus is fine. It is also the most used map in multiplayer, because everybody owns it.

 

The most suited map for the hornet would be the persian gulf, but if you are tight on budget I would rather spend that money on something else and get the map in a later sale when it has 50% off, and not 25 like now.

[Shimmergloom667]

Multiplayer with a weak system won't exactly be fun, you should keep that in mind. For learning on low settings (since the Su-25 works for you) it could probably work, but everything else (MP is systems hungry) will be painful.

[chrisgrind]

thanks, I figured I'd update if I get to point where I want to MP. I may look to try and meet up with one or two people just to get the feel for it - but only if I found people willing to deal with a noob, and the slower machine.

[chrisgrind]

Will the Cpu be a major issue, even if I get a good gpu?

[David OC]

I started in a similar position chrisgrind.

 

You will be a bit limited and it can be frustrating. I went 770, that's worse than yours. I was running DCS 1.5 tho years back, which is easier to run then.

 

Then bought a 1070 and track ir, built a new rig and then went 1080ti to have it all lol.

 

I throu together about it to help others. Few other one's there that may help for getting started.

 

We are slowly setting up a new server with a bunch of good guy's that will help others and we don't take it way way to serious, so it's still fun and a good laugh. You will need a half decent system for multiplayer, so when your ready..... We use Discord and can help train in different channels 1 on 1 etc. It's very easy to learn, like a forum. You can click a thread / channel, once in you can hear and talk to everyone. Gets a bit full on when there is 30 people in one channel. https://discord.gg/Fpdqf3

 

 

Will the Cpu be a major issue, even if I get a good gpu?

 

It will be OK

 

It will become the limiting factor then, that's why I upgraded when I had my 1070 and an old i5.

 

I would still get a GPU first and run it, then build up a new full system. CPU / motherboard etc and then put the new GPU in it.

Not sure what you want to spend, I would not go under the 2070 super. That would be good for 1440p monitor and a bit of light work VR etc.

 

EDIt: mean 2070 super is a good sweet spot. There all cRazy expensive. I paid over 1000 aud for my 1080ti:cry: Still holds it own against the new cards and I'm NOT buy a 2080ti for around 2000 aud, that's crazy $ for a gpu lol.

 

Cheapest PC parts in Aus, lookup and compare them at msy.com.au or for a full system.

Edited October 29, 2019 by David OC

[chrisgrind]

thanks David

[chrisgrind]

just bought the hornet...will post back with results :D

 

A friend has a r9 290 he'll lend me as a test, with possible cheap sell if he decides to upgrade, so at least I'd make it to minimum spec. haha

[chrisgrind]

getting 50 min FPS on the navigation training. averaging around 70 FPS at a guess from general look. firing guns and sidewinder didnt impact. Had one or two, 1 second pauses in the mission, but I can live that.

 

Getting 90-100 FPS on the weapons practice area.

 

CPU cores stayed below 40 degrees celcius. Selected the wrong temp for the GPU, so not sure how hot it got.

 

So bottom line is I can do what I planned to it seems. and it's sooooo much better than the SU25t in the 20 minutes I played.

 

Look forward to actually doing training from scratch.

Edited October 29, 2019 by chrisgrind

[BitMaster]

:thumbup: There you go, ehhh ..FLY :joystick:

[CBStu]

Welcome to DCS from a guy w/ < than a year experience. You are going to love the FA-18. It is about all I fly any more. I have maybe a bit better machine than you but not by much. The one thing that has been absolutely amazing to me is I got TrackIR5. I can't state strongly enough how much better this is. To me it's like going to another world compared to changing views messing around w/ arrow keys etc. A technique that has helped me tremendously is I run DCS in a window. It's just a little smaller than full screen so it lets me see the bottom row of icons just like in any other program. I downloaded Chucks guide and I often pause the sim, open his guide to get info on how something works, then un-pause the sim. My internet browser button is also visible so I can go to youtube for help also while sim is paused.

[Harker]

Welcome .

Up to 2 years ago, I was playing DCS with an i7-860, GTX 780 with 3GB VRAM, 8GB RAM DDR3 and a 5400RPM HDD. Not ideal. I had to reduce a lot of stuff (kept the cockpit textures on High though and stayed at 1080p). But I could definitely play for hours and have fun and learn the A-10C, Mirage and Harrier, at the time. I kept myself in single player though, but apart from that, I used to play a lot of campaigns and single missions without any issues.

I'd say go for it. If you see you're struggling, lower "resolution of cockpit displays", "visibility" and "shadows" first and disable "civilian traffic" and cockpit global illumination. There's also a mod in the User Files section of the DCS website that replaces the textures with lower resolution ones, for older PCs.

PS. Bonus for the Hornet, if you're doing carrier ops, it'll be much less taxing than airfield ops, since you'll be in the middle of the sea, which is much easier on your hardware than an land airfield.

PPS. Don't go for the 2060, you'd be paying for RTX for no reason. Get either the 5700XT or the 1660, Ti or non Ti. I think they'll offer better value for money and are very good for 1080p gameplay.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Harker

[TheOtherSider]

.... Create a fast mission with all medium units. That will tell you how well your pc will run DCS. the training mission only have a handful of AI planes and vehicals. Get into a decent sized mission and see what that does.

[chrisgrind]

thanks guys. I have built my own trackIR, and it is heaps better than without, but something isn't right, as I need to recentre it everytime I look around. I'm going to make two more. One with the same LEDs, but not filed down, and one with different LEDs.

 

I'll do more research on the 5700xt/1660, but I think I am going to be OK for learning, and I think it's going to take me a year to learn, so I'll probably wait a year or so before upgrading at this stage anyways.

 

I'll try the mission with medium in a few days.

[chrisgrind]

.... Create a fast mission with all medium units. That will tell you how well your pc will run DCS. the training mission only have a handful of AI planes and vehicals. Get into a decent sized mission and see what that does.

 

I did this and had ~50 FPS average.