How big is the biggest possible DCS installation with all maps/modules?

[warmachine79]

I refer to the thread title ;). My 1TB PCIE 5.0 DCS M2 is FULL and I need to go for a bigger drive. I have quite a lot of stuff and I wonder if a 2TB will be sufficient. So, what is the biggest possible DCS installation at the moment?

[Tazer83]

I have a 2tb NVME just for DCS and it's almost full so I'd consider at least a 4tb for future updates etc, I'm getting extremely close to having to upgrade to one.

[scommander2]

I will say to get the 2nd 4TB SSD and move DCS into the new drive only. 

[Mr_sukebe]

I have all the maps and most modules.  My install is a little over 1TB.

However, that excludes my Saved Games/DCS folder, which I have on another drive and includes all the add on mods, missions, liveries etc

[Zebra1-1]

Another vote for 4TB.

[Parrotnut]

All modules and maps and a bunch of campaigns at the moment without save games folder:

 

Edited February 26 by Parrotnut

[silverdevil]

9 hours ago, warmachine79 said:

I refer to the thread title ;). My 1TB PCIE 5.0 DCS M2 is FULL and I need to go for a bigger drive. I have quite a lot of stuff and I wonder if a 2TB will be sufficient. So, what is the biggest possible DCS installation at the moment?

[warmachine79]

18 hours ago, Mr_sukebe said:

I have all the maps and most modules.  My install is a little over 1TB.

However, that excludes my Saved Games/DCS folder, which I have on another drive and includes all the add on mods, missions, liveries etc

How did you do that? The Iraq map alone is 700 GB. Are you running DOS with doublespace compression?

Edited February 27 by warmachine79

[Mr_sukebe]

See the above from Parrot, stating that his is 1.05TB currently.

I'll check mine again later on and give a precise count.

Do remember that I did state that this EXCLUDES my Saved Games folder, which I have on another drive.

Edited February 27 by Mr_sukebe

[okopanja]

18 hours ago, Parrotnut said:

All modules and maps and a bunch of campaigns at the moment without save games folder:

 

There is a number of half-baked maps and modules, it will be interesting to see this 2 years later.

[Dallenbach]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb warmachine79:

How did you do that? The Iraq map alone is 700 GB. Are you running DOS with doublespace compression?

You're totally wrong, it's not 700 GB but 111 GB, as stated in the store.

[Mr_sukebe]

Just checked, my install is 1TB, almost exactly, again, excluding the Saved Games folder.

[warmachine79]

Sorry, I do not now where I had that 700 GB figure from. 

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Mine is also 1.05TB, plus 17GB for Saved Games.

[Nealius]

DCS with all terrains except Sinai and South Atlantic + Dedicated server + Saved games = 1.35TB

I'm worried I won't have room on my drive for the Germany map.

[jeventy26]

I am at 1.02 TB's.  I am only missing like 5 modules but have all terrains.  I just bought a 4TB.  My 1 TB just wasn't cutting it anymore.

Edited March 24 by jeventy26

[Ebphoto]

I went out and purchased a 4TB just for DCS since I have all the maps and it’s over 1.5TB That’s with all the modules except for 2 of the prop planes and all the maps installed unless I got my numbers wrong. I would definitely recommend a 4TB fast NVME if you plan on getting more maps and modules. Plus I have a ton of skins and a few mods installed like the A4E and F22 etc…

[cfrag]

1.1T, without missions. All maps, modules, tech, no unofficial mods nor liveries.

[Kiwi_Viper]

yeh my 4tb has 1.13tb just in dcs thats all the modules and some campaings, that drive is solely for DCS

[pegasus1]

ORICO e7400 4TB NVMe SSD, PCIe Gen4 x 4 M.2 2280 SSD, Up to 7400MB/s, 3D Nand Flash, QLC Internal SSD, Compatible with PS5 and PC, for Gamers and Creators : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

4TB for £180

[Rex]

On 2/26/2025 at 2:04 AM, warmachine79 said:

I refer to the thread title ;). My 1TB PCIE 5.0 DCS M2 is FULL and I need to go for a bigger drive. I have quite a lot of stuff and I wonder if a 2TB will be sufficient. So, what is the biggest possible DCS installation at the moment?

Generally speaking, the more full an SSD is, the slower it gets, especially with writes.  This has to do with wear-level algorithms and things like that (allows TRIM to work optimally I believe).  SSD cells have a finite number of re-writes before they are marked as bad and taken out of the write table, so like mechanical drives, they eventually die, albeit for dissimilar reasons.

Ideally, SSDs are at their highest speed & longevity when they are at < 50% capacity, although few people can actually do this, and it's not like it's orders of magnitude slower at 70% full vs, say 45%.  You may or may not notice the difference much, but it's there.  The lifespan is also higher since they can overwrite blocks much less often, but you'll probably replace your machine before the SSD wears out.

Point being, when it comes to SSDs, if you can afford it, it makes sense on a couple of levels to buy a larger drive than you need for storage.  I'd personally go for 4TB.  You never know how big the DCS Des Moines map is going to be when it comes out.