New PC build for DCS. Assistance required

[FL_zero]

Hello all,

I ve decided to get my self a new PC so that I will be finally able to use DSC world.

I have been working on Mac OS for many years (and will continue to do so for anything else except gaming) so I am really not familiar with PCs.

The system will be used exclusively for DCS and X plane (which I am now using on my iMac).

A local store came with the following recommendation:

Motherboard: ASUS Z590 

Processor: Intel i7 11700KF

Processor Cooling:  240 AIO LIQUID CPU COOLER RGB

Memory: DDR4 16GB (2X8GB) 3200MHZ

Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 3070 GRAPHICS

SSD: NVME M.2 SSD 1TB 

HDD: SEAGATE 2TB HDD DESKTOP 7200RPM

Power Supply: 850W 80 PLUS Gold rate Fully Modular PSU

Case: BE QUIET ATX 

Audio: Audio Boost HD Dedicate audio processor optimize sound experience

Peripheral Interfaces: 1(Gen2, Type C), 5(Gen2, Type A) 

Cooling: 1 x 120mm FANS, 2 x 120mm Radiator fans

OS: Windows 10 pro

What do you guys think? Will it be good enough to use for DCS for at least two to three years? If no what would you change or add?

What your monitor recommendations be?

They proposed a 32" SAMSUNG ODYSSEY G5, QHD, CURVED, 144HZ but I am getting mixed reviews on the internet.

Thanks a lot and hope to join you in the virtual skies soon.

[Svsmokey]

You really want 32 gb ram for DCS...

[tintifaxl]

What do you need the hdd for? Those are sooooo slow. You should not use a hdd for either Windows, DCS or X-Plane. 

[Bossco82]

To FL_Zero,

It would be a lot easier if I had an idea of a budget and knew which country you were in. Have you played DCS before or are you a new user?

Svsmokey is right that you need 32gb of Dram minimum

Tintifax is also correct a mechanical HDD will do nothing for you at all.

I think an Intel 11700kf and a Z590 built new would be the wrong move. AMD would be better than this option. Or Intels latest CPU's, Alder Lake.

For DCS alone played at highish settings you want something like the following,

AMD 5600x, B550/X570, 1tb Nvme, 32gb Dram, Nvidia 3070, A suitable gold rated PSU. 

Intel 12600k, Z690, 1tb Nvme, 32gb DDR4 or DDR5, Nvidia 3070, same for PSU. 650w plus

A 240mm AIO for either would be fine. 

Its up to you if you choose AMD or Intel. You can also get better components than these. This is a starting point. To be honest the list you have put up has been picked by someone putting a very general purpose gaming rig together. If its just for DCS, a few bits should be changed in my opinion.

Depending on your GPU you want a 1080p or 1440p monitor. Curved or not is up to you. Its refresh rate for DCS does not need to be 144hz. 

[Mars Exulte]

Instead of the NVMe and HDD, I'd just get a single SATA SSD in the 4TB range. Also, 32gb of RAM. Otherwise, it's fine.

[BitMaster]

My suggestion is, no matter of NVMe or Sata SSD, get 1 for the OS and 1 for DCS/Games/Apps and for sure 32GB.

You can also add another SSD drive any time later on. I would start with an NVMe 1TB and maybe add another if the budget allows but forget the HDD, that's for NAS or ext. USB storage.

 

If you intend to do VR or heavy MP or both, 64GB is not a bad idea either. It has been said that once Vulkan ( whenever that is is another topic ) arrives it will make use of 32+GB. Also, some heavy MP missions scratch the 32GB already, so if you are into heavy MP etc., consider 64GB and maybe add the 2nd drive later on. It's easier to add a drive than RAM.

Decide yourself if you think 64 are for you.

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by BitMaster

[Hector45]

Like everyone said 32GB RAM minimum. I would start with 16GB X2 that way you have room to expand it to 16GB x4 in the future if you need it.

[Ged33]

I recently built a high end pc with the help of this forum and im glad I went with 64GB I have alredy seen 44GB being used in VR heavy multilayer

 

[Bossco82]

That is a pretty good idea from Hector45, you might be fine with 32gb but if you start enjoying multiplayer you might need to upgrade to 64gb. I have this problem now because I have 4x 8gb sticks, so if I wanted to get into multiplayer I would have to change the whole kit.

Now regarding storage this might help. I got a second Nvme drive with read speeds of upto 3000mb over Xmas. I now have only DCS installed on that. From checking with HW monitor DCS can read at upto 1500mb when loading. A Nvme drive can be 2000-5000mb per second, roughly.  A regular sata SSD is about 4-600mb per second and a mechanical HDD isn't worth thinking about.

If nothing else having DCS installed on a seperate drive from Windows means it safe from being lost to a corrupted Windows update or something like that. If you have a super fast Gen4 Nvme it wont make it load any faster, well not that you would notice. It just the "good practise option". If something went wrong with Windows and DCS was installed on the same drive you would need to re-install it all over again. Thats a long long download!

The only reason for a mech HDD nowadays is for storing media and documents.

@Gedd33, thats a class avatar there mate, love it.

Edited December 26, 2021 by Bossco82

[FL_zero]

Thanks everyone, your help is greatly appreciated.

Bossco82 I am in UAE so I dont know if it makes any sense to name a budget as the prices are different (I guess), but lets just say around 2.5 to 3K USD for both the computer and the monitor.

 

[Bossco82]

HI FL Zero,

Your location and a budget guide help out a lot, I can get an idea, for example I know its no point advising a Nvidia 3090 for example. It also helps to put a parts list together focusing on your financial limits, for example I won advise two separate Nvme drives.

I do have some questions, what will be the complete purpose of the PC, what other games do you want to play on it? Is it just DCS? Is it just simulators? etc etc...

Some parts I can recommend regardless they are in my post above. To store DCS and you operating system, one 1TB Nvme drive would be good. Just get a Pciex4.0 Gen4. Then you can get a regular Sata SSD to store other games that might not be so dependant on loading times. DCS has a lot of textures to load for those detailed maps, the faster the drive its on the better.

The parts for either Intel or AMD I listed above will be fine. Then it comes to picking your monitor and GPU. If you get a 1080p monitor a Nvidia 3070 will do the job just fine. However if you want 1440p then a 3080 would be better for that. The GPU will probably be the most expensive part.

The monitor is a personal choice because of size and resolution, you dont need high refresh rates for DCS in my opinion. You might want them for other games though. So any money saved on the monitor can go on the GPU.

One final thing, would you build this for yourself or are you looking for a parts list to take to a shop?

[FL_zero]

Hey Bossco82,

thanks a lot! I will use it for flight simulators only, so DCS and Xplane11/12 (when the latter comes out).

I dont have the technical capacity to build it myself I ll just choose the parts and ask the shop to build it for me.

Based on your experience is a 1080 32in monitor ok for this or should I opt a 1440 one? Bigger? Smaller?

Thanks again. 

[Hector45]

8 hours ago, FL_zero said:

Hey Bossco82,

thanks a lot! I will use it for flight simulators only, so DCS and Xplane11/12 (when the latter comes out).

I dont have the technical capacity to build it myself I ll just choose the parts and ask the shop to build it for me.

Based on your experience is a 1080 32in monitor ok for this or should I opt a 1440 one? Bigger? Smaller?

Thanks again. 

32" is far too big for a 1080 monitor (not tv) the pixels at monitor viewing distance will be very noticeable. Go 1440 if you go larger than 27"

[Bossco82]

I found 32" at 1080p ok as long as you have a system that can deliver that resolution using MSAAx4. Its a bit of a balance. The 3070 should do this no problem. 27" is better for 1080p though. This is down to personal taste!

I personally use a 32" monitor at 1440p, I use a 6800xt for this but I wouldn't recommend it. It delivers and is fantastic for other games but Nvidia is better at this price point for DCS. I wish I had held out for a Nvidia 3080, or a 3080ti. Nvidia cards like the 2080ti, 3080 and above have a larger memory bus which can handle larger texture filled terrains in flight sims much better. All AMD cars are limited to 256bit bus. The 3070 also has a 256 bus but they are cheaper.

You will be right on the edge running high settings at 4xMSAA on a 3070 for DCS @ 1440p resolution. You might not get a solid 60fps when down low or over somewhere like Dubai for example. It could take some setting tweaking. I cant say for 100% on that one. I fitted several 3070's this year for people I know not all were going to play DCS. For 1440p a 3080 would be more than enough.

Like I said the right GPU and monitor combination is the most tricky choice if its just for DCS/X plane.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Bossco82

[DeltaMike]

The hd is probably for xplane terrain downloads for which he may want as much cheap storage as he can cram in there

I've been very happy with amd CPUs in DCS.  I had a 3600x before and just bought a 5600x.  Personally I think the lower power draw is more helpful than the extra cores.

No need to overclock, which won't help anyway. 

I did water cooling way back in the day when I used an over clocked Ryzen for mining, since then it's been all air cooling. Only thing is, if you go for the 5600x the stock cooler isn't quite enough. I'm currently liking tower coolers, scythe is enough, noctua is arguably the best.  Both kind of bulletproof. 

The fun is just starting my friend! Wait till you start pricing hotas