CPU i9 9900K has it still reasonable

[0414 Wee Neal]

Hi All

I have an Intel i9 9900K, purchased late 2019.  I usually upgrade my DCS pc every 3-5 years, but with costs so high I have to question the benefit.

I have a 2080 as well.  I am not an AMD fan so I am considering intel, so is there any real benefit to upgrade cpu to current gen?  The benchmarks say a big improvement, but I only use this pc for DCS.

Thanks 

[LucShep]

IMHO, the i9 9900K is still very good, and not worth upgrading right now (for gaming, even if DCS only being in use). If not done yet, maybe consider overclocking it, though it's not really a necessity.
The only two things I'd consider upgrading there - and only if really struggling with performance - is the GPU and RAM.

Upgrading to an Nvidia RTX3080 or RTX3080Ti 12GB (plus the recommended 850W+ PSU) will deliver good performance improvements.
Adding more RAM (for 64GB total) will help with complex missions, especially in Multiplayer populated servers.   

[0414 Wee Neal]

Hi LucShep

thanks.  I had already ordered another 32gb ram. The Gpu will have to wait until the prices drop; its a principle thing. I was hoping that the cpu would be good for a bit, DCs only ever seems to use circa 30%

neal

[Beirut]

If you look at game test videos on Youtube comparing CPUs, the difference between an older CPU and a brand new killer CPU is often very little.

 

It's all about the video card.

[Dragon1-1]

In DCS specifically, overclocking will give you a boost, a fancy new CPU probably won't. The reason is, the sim currently only uses a single core. If single core clock speeds didn't go up since your current CPU, upgrading won't help you. The worst thing is, it's not all about the video card when it comes to DCS, there are situations where a 3090 wouldn't help you, either. It really does tax the CPU, and in fact, I'm pretty sure I'm CPU-limited most of the time, despite running a 1080Ti. As it stands, the best thing you can do to improve DCS performance is to get a water loop and overclock the hell out of your CPU, since that's how you can increase clock speed.

This is why multicore support is so important, clock speeds have pretty much plateaued in the latest CPU generations, there's only so much that can be done on a single core. Everyone is waiting for that for a reason.

[dburne]

Still rocking my i9 9900k at a modest 5.1 GHz overclock, since Jan 2019. I did upgrade my GPU to a 3090. Have no plans on a new build till maybe 2023 at the earliest and depending on the situation might hold off till 2024. And I game in VR only.