New to DCS: Mac Refugee-Help with PC Spec Please

[Yossarian22]

Hi Guys,

Being a bear of little brain, I need the advice of veterans before spending lolly. I am a macOS based, non-techi, medically retired pilot who's unable to speak (MND).
    

An ideal machine would not be working it's socks off,  or butting against the limits of it's capacity. My target is 'buttery smooth' VR, but I get the sense 2021 may bring further innovations to the tech. With that in mind I'll use Trackir for the 'apprenticeship' and transition later. 

 

DCS/Eagle Dynamics Recommended VR systems requirements (VR graphics settings):

[My preference]

OS 64-bit Windows 8/10; [Windows 10]
DirectX11; CPU: Core i5+ at 3+ GHz or AMD FX / Ryzen; 
RAM: 16 GB (32 GB for heavy missions);  [option price for 64]
Free hard disk space: 120 GB on Solid State Drive (SSD); [500 GB]
Discrete video card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 / AMD Radeon RX VEGA 64 or better; 

 

Q. Do you reckon the spec' below from http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/ fulfils the brief?

Q. Any recommendations to improve? 

 

Thanks in advance guys. 

Norman Rhodes 

 

Case	CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275Q QUIET CASE
Processor (CPU)	AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard	ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)	16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card	8GB ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP Preoder.
1st Storage Drive	NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive	1TB INTEL® 660p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 1800MB/sR | 1800MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply	CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable	1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	Corsair H80i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste	STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card	ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card	10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language	United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media	Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software	FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus	BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser	Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty	3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3

Edited February 19, 2021 by Yossarian22

[LooseSeal]

First of all, welcome!

 

Also, good choice with PCSpecialist, they are a fantastic company.

 

The one change I'd make is more RAM. Definitely. 16GB will struggle on decent graphics settings, frankly, and that's without VR. 32GB at a minimum but I'd recommend 64GB if you want to future proof it a bit. Maybe even upgrade the GPU to 16GB if you can afford it.

 

Aside from that it's a pretty good setup (better than what I can currently afford!) but I'm sure the more technically-minded will offer further improvements if they can.

[Caster]

DCS doesn't handle multi-threading all that well (might change, but who knows). If you had the option for fewer cores, but higher single core performance (this combo is noramlly cheaper too IIRC), you would likely benefit. LooseSeal has it right though, PC Specialist are great, and more RAM is a must

[Yossarian22]

Top tips, thanks LooseSeal and Caster. I’m waiting for a revised quote to come back, they are snowed under.