Computer expertise required for initial set up?

[MJY65]

I've been watching YouTube videos and reading in preparation for getting started in DCS.   From what I'm seeing, the initial hardware set up is not exactly plug and play, but often requires LOTS of tweaking.

I'm not averse to technology, but have never built a computer and most of my experience is with Mac and iOS.

Is getting DCS set up to run properly beyond the capability of a middle aged guy with limited experience?  Is this the realm of IT specialists and lifelong gamers?

[SharpeXB]

You don’t need that much expertise, if you aren’t an expert at building your own PC there are plenty of companies that sell pre-built gaming rigs. It would be best to avoid retail PCs like Dell or HP as they’re not quite ideal for gaming. Check out Origin, Apex, Maingear, those are a few that come to mind. A machine intended for gaming like this won’t require any tweaking (whatever that is) be wary of some of this “expert” advice, it will just lead you down a rabbit hole. A decent gaming PC won’t need any excessive tuning just to play DCS. 

[MJY65]

^^^^

I'd definitely be buying a pre-built computer from MainGear.   It just seems like endless messing around with settings (outside of DCS) to get it to run right and for all the hardware to work together.  Maybe I'm reading too much into comments.  

Edited July 19, 2023 by MJY65

[SharpeXB]

Yeah DCS would run perfectly fine with a minimum or no fussing about on a machine like one from MainGear. One thing you have to realize reading here about computer tweaking is there are two kinds of gamers. Players and Users. Players just play the game. Users use the game to play around with their hardware. That’s their thing, like somebody who just likes working on cars instead of driving them. But realize the difference. So “users” will write these 10 page posts about all the arcane things they do which probably has the effect of scaring average people away from this endeavor. That’s especially true of VR. Be warned that no machine today no matter how powerful or expensive will run a graphically sophisticated sim like this well in 3D at consistent high frame rates. DCS wasn’t originally ever intended for VR. But on a monitor it’s no trouble for a decent gaming machine. 

[Slippa]

I was in pretty much the same boat a couple of years back. I’ve had windows laptops, iPads and consoles over the years, many years ago we used 48k Spectrums then Commodore 64s, Amigas and on and on. I ended up using consoles for gaming until a few years back when I wanted to get back into flying sims. I’m not technically minded either when it comes to computers and quickly get lost and bored of studying GPU, CPU Etc variables.

Seeing DCS and ‘the other’ flight sims capabilities I had to invest in something so I could jump in again. I read and read,, watched all I could, everything pointing me towards a PC for best flight sim performance. I wanted a Mac though. Long story short I plumped for the Mac with the best GPU in the range, knowing I’d get more for my money if I had a PC. I got the Mac, partitioned the drive and allocated more than half of it to Bootcamp. I installed Windows, let the updates settle then installed DCS, along with every other flight sim I could get hold of.

There was a sale on Eagle Dynamics as is often the case and stuck in the nightmare of a lockdown I went a bit bananas. I still haven’t told the missus quite what I spent but let’s just say that over two years on, I still have aircraft I’ve yet to sit in and learn to operate. I’m enjoying the Spit, Mossie, the Mustang and the Jug so much I don’t yet have time for some of the others, lovely as they are. Saying that, I have ventured into the Jets and Helis but not for long as I love my prop warbirds.

Given the choice again, I’d probably go with a PC build for DCS and the like. Plenty of people here with different set ups that could chip in and give you GPU details and options to choose from. The Mac copes with DCS much better than I thought it would but I knew when I bought it the PC would’ve been the better performer. Most of the time everything runs fine, there wasn’t a lot of fiddling to do to get a flight. I spent more time binding all the knobs and switches in the aircraft than I did setting up the computer. I wouldn’t worry about that bit too much.

Good luck with whatever you choose and be ready to spend far too much time flying DCS than is healthy for anybody. I may as well uninstall everything else as the computer is more and more dedicated to DCS almost exclusively.

[Lange_666]

If you go for a pre-build, it comes installed with Windows and should work out of the box, no need to tweak anything for starters. If needed, this can be done later.
Just hook up your flightgear, install DCS and off you go.
One thing i would recommend is not go max on the DCS settings the first time you run it. Start with lower settings and then move up.

[SharpeXB]

20 minutes ago, Lange_666 said:

One thing i would recommend is not go max on the DCS settings the first time you run it. Start with lower settings and then move up.

Depends on the machine. A good new rig should be able to max out DCS with no trouble, this isn’t the most demanding game to run. Be warned, the system specs listed on the website are weak and totally out of date
 

Recommended system requirements (HIGH graphics settings):

“Free hard disk space: 120 GB on Solid State Drive (SSD) + extra space for paid content” try 1TB  hard drives aren’t measured in GB anymore  

“Discrete video card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070” a card from 2016?!  

Edited July 20, 2023 by SharpeXB

[Lange_666]

3 hours ago, SharpeXB said:

Depends on the machine. 

And depends on the expectations. There's quite some difference if you expect (accept) to run at 40, 60, 90 or 120 FPS.

[SharpeXB]

40 minutes ago, Lange_666 said:

And depends on the expectations. There's quite some difference if you expect (accept) to run at 40, 60, 90 or 120 FPS.

But any decent new machine (like MainGear above) would run DCS maxed at at least 60fps which is the normally acceptable rate. A top machine will run it in 4K at 120. It’s not an unreasonable expectation. You wouldn’t need to fidget with settings on a good new PC. 

[Lange_666]

Not  everybody has or can afford a top machine dude.

[MJY65]

4 minutes ago, Lange_666 said:

Not  everybody has or can afford a top machine dude.

I was planning to buy a Maingear Ultimate which is 4090.   I just don't want to spend $10,000 on a computer and peripherals only to be tearing my hair out because I lack the knowledge to set it up to work up to its full potential.  

[SharpeXB]

21 minutes ago, Lange_666 said:

Not  everybody has or can afford a top machine dude.

Any new machine today will have a 13th gen Intel and a 4-series Nvidia GPU, within the normal range of pricey. More then enough for DCS. 

15 minutes ago, MJY65 said:

I was planning to buy a Maingear Ultimate which is 4090.

That will do the job. Nothing succeeds like excess

Edited July 20, 2023 by SharpeXB