Newbie help

[bergsey]

Hi all, dipping my toes in the water with DCS and wondering where to invest next!

 

I don't do a lot of PC gaming, used to play a lot of FSX back in the day and looking forward to the new release. Other than that gaming would be DCS only (Have bought the Flaming Cliffs 3 add on).

 

Prior to getting into DCS i built a new Win 10 machine with AMD Ryzen 5 3400G CPU with integrated graphics (didnt have the need for standalone GPU at that stage), 16GB 3200 RAM and using an old Thrustmaster joystick.

 

At 1920 resolution surprisingly getting around 50FPS which is still 'playable' on Medium settings.

 

Considering whether to purchase GPU, Joystick and Monitor upgrades. Have been looking at the Nivida 1660 Super and X52 Hotas, none of which are cheap!

 

 

So where to start, what would the community recommend?

 

 

Thanks!

Edited April 14, 2020 by bergsey

[draconus]

At Full HD you can even get away with older, used and cheap GPU like my GTX970 but seeing you already get 50fps you would want higher than that and in need of better GPU, but also better CPU as that is what will hold you mostly in DCS. You'll need decent monitor - the bigger the better and some headtracking. You can start with cheaper joystick and upgrade with skills.

Edited April 14, 2020 by draconus

[mungo13]

I run DCS on Nvidia 1060 Ti, 16GB RAM and Ryzen CPU (do not know exact model now). As long as you have decent FPS, graphic is all right - no big deal. I am thinking about some RAM upgrade, as whole system is RAM hungry - but it is Windows general issue.

General note about graphics (I am not sure about DCS itself) - sometimes it is tricky and you might have problems to see contacts depending on the settings. Better settings could worsen your situation and vice versa - I do not know what is optimal settings in DCS, but this was issue of the military flight sims

Eventually: Pick A-10A or Su-25 and try some rides close to the ground around towns and hills and you will see how your PC handles it.

 

What "old TM joystick"? It can be anything, good and bad. I have old good Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 - it is old as hell, yet works as expected. So:

* GPU - test your system when it comes to difficult part - ground, many objects.

* Monitor, stick: Depends on what you have

* Headtracking: As draconus pointed out, once you get used to such a think there is rarely way to go back. If you really want to fly, you want it. I do not have my system fully set for flying now (I am ~1 year off), but when I watch video from the DCS, I turn my head to turn the camera and try to put my feet on the pedals I do not have installed. You have been warned

[bergsey]

Thanks for the replies.

 

 

Current stick is the Thrustmaster as per below - lack of buttons is the obvious problem.

 

 

Any views on the GTX1060 Super as an OK graphics card for DCS? That seems a sweet spot in terms of price vs performance

 

 

 

[Rudel_chw]

So where to start, what would the community recommend?

!

 

Honestly, even with the crappy joystick, my first purchase would be a headtracking device... this is one of the cheapest:

 

https://delanengineering.com/products/head-tracking-delanclip-gamer/

 

It would also release the view hat of the joystick, you could use it for trim and radar cursor movement (with a modifier)

[draconus]

You can use key modifiers (like Ctrl, Alt, Shift) to have multiple functions for buttons and hat directions.

[bergsey]

Just an update, have purchased :

 

 

2 x 24" 1080p IPS monitors 75hz with freesync. Have my old 24" monitor as well so trialling a 3 screen setup

 

Facetracknoir and PS3eye camera which is working ok (might look at a LED clip)

 

 

 

Considering the GPU next, have narrowed it down to either Nvidia 1660 Super or AMD 5600XT. Any views on those for 1080p DCS gaming? Don't want to invest a huge amount for the occasional gaming.

 

 

Will be keen to play Flight Simulator 2000 when that is released but other than that no other gaming requirements (which is why i went with 75Hz monitors as didnt need extreme FPS refresh rates).

 

 

Many Thanks

[draconus]

What resolution are those monitors? Even if FHD you'll end up with vertically sided 3240x1920. That's closer to 4K. You might need more than those cards.

Flight Simulator 2000 was released in 1999.

[bergsey]

What resolution are those monitors? Even if FHD you'll end up with vertically sided 3240x1920. That's closer to 4K. You might need more than those cards.

Flight Simulator 2000 was released in 1999.

 

 

oops! Flight Simulator 2020...

 

 

Yeah all the monitors are 1920x1080. I might have to go back to just the single monitor.

[AlpineGTA]

https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/

 

This website is a good resource for researching and comparing GPUs

 

If you're looking to upgrade your joystick at some point, I'm using the Thrustmaster T16000M and think it's a really good balance of performance and features for the price. It has lots of extra buttons on the throttle and joystick base.