Rig to choose!??

[Reaper_Mav]

Hello everybody,

 

I recently was able to take the step in buying the DCS A-10C simulator, awesome!

 

Next obstacle is the rig I'm supposed to set up in order to use this simulator accordingly! I have been searching and comparing a lot but I can't seem to get a good picture on what the best hardware choice would be! I don't want to spend too much which gives me too much performance but I also don't want to end up short in performance ... :huh:

 

Now, I am a little bit afraid of the recommended requirements published on the website .. are these recommended requirements really the requirements for a good framerate and simulator experience ?

 

Should I go for an intel i7 or an AMD Phenom ( like they say on the website ) processor. It's difficult since there are so many choices and there are huge price differences.

 

What rig would you basically recommend for a good simulator experience against a realistic price ? Maybe some of you could post their rig specs who have a good performance .. this would give me some guidelines...

 

If this thread was opened all ready, can anybody please redirect me to this topic please :)

 

Many thanks in advance!

[cichlidfan]

I don't want to spend too much which gives me too much performance but I also don't want to end up short in performance ... :huh:

 

 

There is no such thing as too much performance, the wrong kind perhaps but never too much. Especially with regard to DCS.

 

Give folks a budget and it will be easier for them to give advice.

 

EDIT: Welcome to the forum.

[Reaper_Mav]

Hi cichlidfan,

 

Thanks for the reply and welcome! I sort of expected the phrase to be a bit trivial! You are right, with a sim like this you can never have to much!

 

Let's say my budget limits around the 500 to maximum 600 euro, which is approx 775 dollars so I think this could bring me quite far!

 

As for you, do you have any performance issues? Or are you running at max?

 

Thanks!

[Spetz]

Right off the bat, I would go Intel for processors.. And with your budget, I'd say an i5 would be fine.. I honestly haven't built a computer for some time so hopefully someone that has more current information will step up..

[Pyroflash]

Yeah, with your budget you would not be getting very much. I'd say a more realistic budget is about $1600-$1800.

 

If you really cannot raise the bar, I will whip something up for you when I get back from dinner. Though it will not give you anywhere near "great" (60+) FPS, and in heavy scenarios it is more than likely to be "poor" (10-15) FPS, or below.

[cichlidfan]

My system does fairly well unless everything around me is exploding. However, as I see Pyroflash has alluded to, you really can't build what I have within your budget.

 

Let's see what he comes up with as he is probably more up-to-date than I.

[Bolt-1]

Yeah, with your budget you would not be getting very much. I'd say a more realistic budget is about $1600-$1800.

 

If you really cannot raise the bar, I will whip something up for you when I get back from dinner. Though it will not give you anywhere near "great" (60+) FPS, and in heavy scenarios it is more than likely to be "poor" (10-15) FPS, or below.

 

I did just that. I put one together from Micro Center here in the USA:pilotfly:

It took me about 3 min. It's a pretty decent system that will run DCS no problem. Heres the link for it. Just to give you an idea. Don't know how long the link is good for. But the cost was Approx. $ 1035 USD. You can obviously save some $$$ if you have some parts you can reuse in the new build.:thumbup:

Edited September 24, 2012 by Bolt-1

[Pyroflash]

Okay, here goes. This kit is not all inclusive and assumes that you a. have Windows 7 64 Bit already, and b. that you have an ATX compatible case already. Sorry I went just a few $'s over. I tried to keep it as tight to the $775 mark as I could.

 

-----------

Hitachi DeskStar 7K1000.C 1TB HDD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145304

 

EVGA GTX 660 Superclocked

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

 

Corsiar TX650 power supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

 

Thermal paste. This is something that you must have in order for your system to function. Read application instructions EXTREMELY CAREFULLY.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

 

G-Skill 9-9-9-24 8GB RAM @1333 MHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

 

Intel H77 based mobo. I like Intel and ASUS, but lately have been urging people to buy Intel until ASUS gets rid of 3rd party SATA 6GB/s controllers.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121618

 

Intel I5-3550 Ivy Bridge processor. The I5 doesn't have some of the options of the I7, but for the price it is pretty good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116505

 

-----------------------

 

Really, if you need a specific question asked, especially a question that is suited more to your needs than normal e.g. a hardware question, it is ALWAYS a good idea to open up your own thread. Don't be afraid to ask.

 

Edit: People will probably have differing/better recommendations than I, especially in the GPU department, as I tend to make extremely large leaps and bounds, and cannot always predict the performance of intermediary products as I tend to end up simply skipping over them in favor of the newer graphics cards. e.g. I just recently (back in March) made the transition from a AMD HD 5870 to an Nvidia GTX 680. Talk about a quantum leap.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Pyroflash

[Reaper_Mav]

First of all, thanks for the many very informative and helpful posts! I have visited multiple fora before and I was not welcomed in such a descent manner as here, so thanks for that!

 

I seem to have misjudged the required budget. I'm sort of starting to think I will have to invest a lot in order to get things going the way I want!

 

But considering the fact that this simulation absolutely rocks I am willing to spend a bigger amount of money. But the little child in wants it all today and since this is not possible, I will have to spread it out over the months. It will take time but the vids I have seen .. it will be totally worth it. I just hope by the time I have the rig I need you guys will still be online simming DCS A10-C ;-)

 

Once again, many thanks for the effort you all have put in this topic helping me .. I really appreciate it!

 

Kind regards..

[TZeer]

A few things to be aware of:

 

- DCS World does not make use of multiple cores atm. Right now it only uses 2 cores. 1 for sound, and 1 for everything else.

 

- Due to the above fact, there will be no performance increase between an i5 and an i7 if they are running on the same frequency. (Disclaimer: If you are running all kinds of programs in the background as well as the DCS client, you can benefit from a i7, since you can put those applications on other cores.)

Higher frequency = Better performance

 

- In theory there will be no performance increase in the actual game if you are running it from a SSD. SSD will however decrease the loadingtime. Some people say they have had an increase in performance with a SSD, but this can be due to other factors as faulty disk, drivers, settings, old windows install etc.

 

- Video card, don't get anything with less then 2GB. People can say what they want but my 580GTX with 1,5GB is running at 100% usage of VRAM quite often. That's on a single 1920x1200 monitor. On my new 2560x1440 monitor I have to turn off MSAA, turning it on, kils my FPS, going to upgrade.

 

 

So if you know how to, overclock your CPU :)

[Reaper_Mav]

Allright, as a base system, what would you guys think of this ?

- http://www.gigabyte.co.nl/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4144#ov Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H

- http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/305699/intel-core-i7-3770k-boxed.html#tab:info Intel Core i7 3770K Boxed

- 16GB Dual Channel DDR3-kit @ PC3-12800

- http://nl.msi.com/product/vga/N660Ti-PE-2GD5-OC.html MSI GTX 660Ti Power Edition

 

I can get all this for about $900,-

 

@TZeer: Thank you .. that is very useful information, I was about to buy a SSD.. these things are expensive! Also very nice to know about the I5 and I7 processors .. I'm planning to solely use my PC for DCS so .. I5 would do ... I guess ?

Edited September 25, 2012 by Reaper_Mav
Comment of TZeer

[Pyroflash]

Allright, as a base system, what would you guys think of this ?

- http://www.gigabyte.co.nl/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4144#ov Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H

- http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/305699/intel-core-i7-3770k-boxed.html#tab:info Intel Core i7 3770K Boxed

- 16GB Dual Channel DDR3-kit @ PC3-12800

- http://nl.msi.com/product/vga/N660Ti-PE-2GD5-OC.html MSI GTX 660Ti Power Edition

 

I can get all this for about $900,-

 

@TZeer: Thank you .. that is very useful information, I was about to buy a SSD.. these things are expensive! Also very nice to know about the I5 and I7 processors .. I'm planning to solely use my PC for DCS so .. I5 would do ... I guess ?

 

A couple of things:

 

1. If you are willing to spend that much money on a processor ($300 range) I would suggest buying a significantly high performing processor. The I7-3820 works absolute wonders, and you won't have to OC anything either.

 

2. If you do decide to get the I7-3820, you will need to select a new mobo. I would suggest the ASUS P9X79 LE if you plan on running mostly SATA 3 GB/s drives, or the Intel X79SR if you plan on running any SATA 6GB/s drives (SSD's mostly).

 

3.If you are still going with your original processor choice, which is fine either way, I would recommend getting an ASUS P8Z77-V LK mobo. It is going to be roughly the same price, but I trust ASUS boards more than Gigabyte ones. Though ultimately it is a pretty even decision either way.

 

4. For memory I would recommend either Corsair or G-Skill based on experience. Corsair has better reliability, but G-Skill is excellent, especially if you are on a budget. The G-Skill F3-12800CL9Q-16GBSR1 RAM set is an excellent choice. Their F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL set is also a great option if you are getting the X79 (I7-3820) based mobo.

 

5. Change the MSI graphics card to an EVGA one. EVGA has absolutely the BEST customer service of any tech company, period. That alone is a reason to choose them over anyone else. The quality of their products is icing on the cake.

 

Also, not important, but there are a few performance related differences between the I7 and I5 series processors besides just the ability to use IV and HyperThreading tech. I7's will edge out I5's by a little bit, even at the same clock and same architecture/revision/batch #. Not anything large enough to make I5's not worth it if you don't have the money lying around, but still something to think on.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Pyroflash

[TZeer]

If you are looking for most "bang for the buck" i5 will do fine. For DCS you wouldn't notice much difference between the i5 and i7.

 

You can also spend those 100 euros you save for a decent cpu cooler and overclock your cpu, if you feel comfortable doing it.

 

Pyro's suggestion regarding the 3820 is also very good. I have that cpu myself and I'm very happy with it. Have it overclocked to 4,6Ghz as well. Another good thing with it, is that you can upgrade your cpu down the road, since the 2011 socket is the latest one.

 

Regarding the memory. I don't know the physical dimensions for the memory Pyro mentioned, but check that they don't get in the way of any cpu cooler you might get. I had problems with the height of my memory modules getting in the way of my noctua cooler