Don't be afraid to try DCS on your existing, older, hardware - even a 10 year old Dell laptop!

[ACME_WIdgets]

IF you're thinking of trying DCS on your current system, don't be afraid of the min. hardware requirements.  You may not get 30+ fps, but you may still be able to run DCS (to try it out).

I've been on DCS for about a year.  For the last 7 months I've been using a 10 year old Dell laptop e6430 - with only 8GB RAM and a Nvida NVS5200m GPU with only 1GM VRAM.  Yet, I play on Multi-Player Growling Sidewider all the time with 50-55 pilots at a time.   I do have 32GB SSD reserved for Win10 memory sharing. And the Dell laptop is a 2 core i7 on Max Perf = 3.4GHz continuous speed (I have the laptop bottom removed, and propped up for cooling to maintain 74-78C temps on MP).

No, it's not too good to be true - with OB 2.7.9 I'm only at 10-11fps and with 1280x768 resolutions with all settings OFF or Low, preload radius at 100.  I do have 1 decent piece of harware, my 32" ASUS display capable of 2560*1440 at 144hz.   I get the 10-11fps regardless of the #MP pilots, or the type of plane I'm in (F16 usually, or P51).

I've read LOTS of forum post, plus I'm getting ready to build a gaming PC (5600x, X570, 3070, 32gb CL14 DDR4,etc).
From what I read the following are "known" truths about DCS:
1- 2GB VRAM is min (per DCS min spec GTX 760).
2- For MP you need 16GB RAM min, for heavy missions you need 32GB.
3- GPU card must have 4-8GB VRAM.

Even more oddly, I started on DCS with a MS Surface Pro 3 on OB2.7.6 getting about 20fps.  But if I tried to logon to a MP server with more than 8 pilots DCS would crash. Single Player would run ~23fps, but it ran hot (had to add a cooling fan to the vents).
Compared to my e6430, it appears that the Surface Pro 3 had a poorer memory management system (both systems setup for 32GB shared memory).

You WILL need a SSD for where DCS is located, don't try it on a regular HDD.

[Hector45]

Man it will be a whole new experience when you finish building your new rig. Not sure how you're not getting sick at that FPS!

[AngleOff66]

Yes, I have a low end system and everything on low.  11 fps, but, it is good to try.

[ACME_WIdgets]

On 12/28/2021 at 6:59 AM, Hector45 said:

Man it will be a whole new experience when you finish building your new rig. Not sure how you're not getting sick at that FPS!

I don't dogfight/ACM (can't see more than 1nm at 1280x768 anyway), I don't look outside of the pit a lot, and I usually fly at least 10k AGL (down low, 100 pre load radius creates trees "on the fly" in front of me at low altitude).  So landings and takeoffs are my only real challenge, due to lag/over compensation.
For my new rig I'm just hoping I can get a 3070 at $1100 (or less)... which is really sad.  The pre-built rigs I've seen all cut corners somewhere, or are way over priced vs a build it yourself.

[Hector45]

21 minutes ago, ACME_WIdgets said:

I don't dogfight/ACM (can't see more than 1nm at 1280x768 anyway), I don't look outside of the pit a lot, and I usually fly at least 10k AGL (down low, 100 pre load radius creates trees "on the fly" in front of me at low altitude).  So landings and takeoffs are my only real challenge, due to lag/over compensation.
For my new rig I'm just hoping I can get a 3070 at $1100 (or less)... which is really sad.  The pre-built rigs I've seen all cut corners somewhere, or are way over priced vs a build it yourself.

Are you in the States?