Start over or upgrade?

[knomie72]

Hi All,

 

New to DCS but looking to get into it.

 

I currently have a ASUS Z97A Motherboard with i7-4790k CPU (stock cooler), 24 GB ram (8GB DDR 2400 + 16GB DDR 1600, all running at 1600) and a Geforce Quadro K2000 GPU (2 GB video RAM), 450W Power Supply.

 

Clearly the GPU is the weak link here and I'm scouring the earth for an affordable GPU.  However assuming I will find a GPU (or break down and plop down stupid money for an 8 GB GPU) can this rig serve as a basis for a descent DCS machine? I feel like the the only good thing is the CPU but not sure if the Motherboard will be holding me back?  The board cannot support DD4 but will support DD3 2400 if i swap out the 16GB for higher speed ram, but i feel like spending money on replacing ram for this older board may be a waste?

 

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Edited March 29, 2021 by knomie72

[agrasyuk]

GPU probably could use an upgrade, yes. 
CPU? you already have top of the line CPU for that board. I wouldn't bother investing in old DDR3 RAM.
If you can hold out and keep using what you have - great.
If you want to upgrade get a complete modern platform. 

If you are on a tight budget look for a complete used platform: something like 6700K-7600K. It's still a very viable configuration and can be had quite economically:
something like : https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-i5-7600k-With-Gigabyte-GA-Z270MX-GAMING-5/184722860199?hash=item2b025728a7:g:PggAAOSwDRdgWRTA
you probably could get some $ back ebaying your old platform.

[72westy]

If your not planning a full new system now...

 

GPU needs an upgrade. You'll also need to upgrade your PSU (650w min) if you do the GPU. I'd also go with 32GB RAM. And at least a (2) SSDs (500GB for system) the other (1TB) for  DCS.

 

Then when you get $ for new system move the GPU to the new build.

Edited March 30, 2021 by 72westy

[Svsmokey]

That system as is will run DCS just fine-at 1080p and medium-to-low settings . Download and enjoy DCS now , and decide on upgrades later .

 

[Rudel_chw]

On 3/29/2021 at 12:31 PM, knomie72 said:

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

 

I would buy the best GPU I could afford .. even looking at the 2nd hand market in case the brand new cards are out of reach; and try that out on the rest of the system "as is" .. most likely that single change would be enough to get a decent experience on DCS. 

 

Also, keep an eye on used DDR3 memory ... if it were cheap enough I wouldn't mind buying old memory ... and you could always sell your slower memory to recover some of that money.

[xoxen]

I have the same CPU and a GTX 1080Ti which I bought 2nd hand. Still performing well in quite high settings. If you plan to run WQHD (2560x1440) a smaller GPU should do the job as well. I hope DCS 2.7.0 will not have a negative impact on my saying

Edited March 30, 2021 by xoxen