Computer Hardware

[IckyAtlas]

I have received all the equipment and should be starting to build my new rig this week.

It is a mixed work/game rig.

CPU:  Intel 13900KS

CPU Cooler: Be Quiet Silent Loop 2 360mm

GPU: Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090 OC 24GB

Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero

Memory : Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 128 GB

SSD: 2 x Seagate Firecuda 530 NVMe M2 Gen4 4TB (8TB Data), 1x Samsung 980Pro NVMe M2 Gen4 - 2TB (Sytem disk)

PSU : Corsair AX1600i  

PC Case: Be Quiet Silent Base 802

 

Once mounted and fired should Rock.

 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by IckyAtlas

[JediMaster]

Wow, some of you have definitely invested a lot more into your rigs than I could justify for mine!

I've got an i7-12700k and RTX 3070 with 32GB, several SSDs, and Winwing HOTAS and MFG pedals.

[IckyAtlas]

I have not invested in additional gear with my new rig, as I will reuse my old faithful Thrustmaster Warthog Hotas with the TPR Rudder system. I also have already the Opentrack wireless system that I keep. These are sure good quality stuff. My hands are itching to buy a VR system but still not convinced, or put it in another way, I am afraid to be disappointed.

[Lothar29]

Operating System:    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU:                            Intel I7 12700k
RAM:                           Corsair Vengance RGB Pro 32GB (2x16 Gb) 3600MHz 
Motherboard:            Asus TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4
Graphics:                    ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 V2 OC Edition LHR 10GB GDDR6X
Display:                       LG UltraGear 27GN880-B 27" LED IPS QHD 144Hz G-Sync C
Storage:                      Samsung 980 SSD 1TB x2 / Samsung 970 evo 1T x2 /  Kingston KC600 SSD 2.5" 1TB SATA3 x2 / HDD WD Blue 1TB 3.5" SATA3

 Controllers/Joystick:  

Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog throttle and Joystick

TrackIR 5 with ClipPro

Saitek Rudder pedals

Thrustmaster eSwap Controller

No VR

Edited May 25, 2023 by Lothar29

[Props]

Very happy with my current rig- it took a while and some dinero to get here!

My Current PC: 
May 2023
Corsair 5000D Air Flow case, white
XPG Core Reactor Modular PSU: 80 Plus Gold - ATX 850 watt
ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero AMD AM4 X570S Zen 3 Ryzen 5000
AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800X3D 8-core, 16-Thread CPU
Noctua NH-U12A, Premium CPU Cooler
MSI Geforce RTX4080 Gaming X Trio Graphics card w/ 16 GB VRAM (runs smoothly at 2850 Mhz and 60 C temps! Won the silicon lottery on this one)
TEAMGROUP T-Force Xtreem ARGB 3600MHz CL14 32GB (2x16GB) PC4-28800 Dual Channel DDR4 DRAM
Seagate Firecuda 520 500GB Performance Internal Solid State Drive SSD PCIe Gen4 X4 NVMe 1.3 : Primary Windows Drive (Win 10)
SABRENT 1TB Rocket Nvme PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 Internal SSD Maximum Performance Solid State Drive with Heatsink : D:/ drive 
Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal Hard Drive HDD – 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM
ASUS ROG Swift PG329 1440p, 165 Mhz IPS 32" monitor
Razer BlackWidow Lite TKL Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard
Razer Viper Ultralight Ambidextrous Wired Gaming Mouse
HyperX Cloud II - Gaming Headset
TrackIr 5 Premium Head Tracking
Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS Throttle
Virpil VPC MongoosT-50CM2 Grip and VPC MongoosT-50CM2 Base
MFG Crosswind Rudder pedals
 

[Raptorattacker]

On 5/21/2023 at 3:46 PM, Hoss said:

and a 350GB HDD Raptor with all my saved junk....

Y'can't beat a good Raptor Hoss!! Well, you can but they just keep coming back for more!!

[IckyAtlas]

Started some tests to compare my new rig with the old one, that will be replaced once all my software and applications, data etc. will be migrated. But this will take sometime.

We compare a Old (11900K + 3090) against a New (13900KS + 4090). I used exactly the same configuration of Nvidia Drivers and IL2 game settings which are ULTRA and maxed.

Display is full 4K.

Antialiasing is MSAA set at x4.

Vsync is off. I use the equivalent one but implemented on the Nvidia drivers that is a Rapid mode that is a little bit of both worlds. It avoids the tearing and avoids a fixed synced frequency.

Both system run with stock Motherboard Bios CPU and Memory settings. Both have Asus motherboards. The old system is DDR4 the new has DDR5 and both have 128GB.

In the past I used to do a lot of tweaking in my systems, it was fun but in the end I stopped that as system stability is very important for me. And now the CPU's with so many cores of different types, where you can basically design the core distribution to have an optimal performance in addition to all the clocks etc. It's becoming a little too much. And the CPU is powerful enough without overclocking, which comes at an incredible power consumption level. So both CPU's run at stock frequency settings.

You will see below that stock is good enough. I must also say that my new rig is very very quiet from the noise perspective compared to the old one. The 3090 was noisier when pushed hard the 4090 is much much better. 

I use some of my missions where there is a lot going on with smoke, explosions, planes, tanks in the same scene as you are in your cockpit on the runway and all this happens around. There is also a very large number of objects that populate the airfield and the map around. 

The Old system manages around 70-95 FPS as measured with the backspace key in the top right corner of the display. The New system pushes around 120-123 FPS. When comparing the difference is a solid 30 FPS difference which means at least 30% improvement.

We now that IL2 is CPU bounded so I tried my multiple bomber plane mission with about 110 bombers just flying on an empty map. I fly a C47 and am in the cockpit. The 110 bombers all B25, are dispersed on a very large area on the Veliki Luki, a small and empty map, and so I do not see them all just some from the planes cockpit window.

Here I measure two elements FPS but also Time Dilation.

So the Old system manages 120 FPS with the 110 bombers or without. The time dilation is 105%. This means 1 game minute which is 1 real minute without bombers becomes 2 real minutes and 4 seconds with bombers.

The new system manages also 120 FPS when looking outside from the cockpit as for the old system. Strange will you say. I did also look at the frame rate when outside of the cockpit with the C47 in full sight looking level so that you have also the ground map and sky in view. And here there is a big difference. The Old system remains still at 120 max and will not move, whereas the New system pushed up to 180 FPS. A big difference here. It seems that the cockpit environment which is cluttered with instruments may be limiting factor. 

I changed plane, and put up a  fighter with open simple cockpit the I16. No difference for the Old system that stay around 120 FPS, in and out. The New one however goes to 180 and even spikes up to 230 when having the fighter in front of the sun. So I do not know how to explain.

What about time dilation? Well the new system is much better and the time dilation is 50%. This means that 1 game minute becomes 1 minute and 30 seconds. A nice improvement purely on CPU + Ram performance. This means that you have more headroom adding planes before time dilation becomes a problem.

 

 

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by IckyAtlas

[javelina]

been wanting to do this for a while.  I'm in process of building my new rig, a 13900K & MSI MPG Z790 Carbon MB.  I'll pull my MSI 4090 from the current rig for the new one, and put my old 3090FE back into it.  

My current rig:

Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra, i7-9700k (4.9ghz all cores), NH-D15 cooler, 64 GB CL-14 3200mhz RAM, MSI RTX4090, Soundblaster Z, Yamaha 5.1 A/V Receiver, 1x 512GB Samsung NVMe, 2x 1TB Samsung NVMe, 2TB Samsung SSD, Win 11 Pro, TM Warthog, Virpil WarBRD, MFG Crosswinds, 43" Samsung 4K TV, 21.5 Acer VT touchscreen, TrackIR, JetSeat KW-908, Reverb G2, Wheel Stand Pro Super Warthog, Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower Case, EVGA 850 P2 PSU, PointCTRL, Buttkicker 2 , K-51 Helicopter Collective Control

 

 

[Boom]

Think maybe mine is somewhat lower down the scale than most others here. Although it certainly does the job well for the moment. 

CPU:    i5 11400F
Mobo: MSI MAG B560M Mortor WiFi
RAM:   Kingston RGB 16GB 3200MHz DDR4
GFX:   PNY GeForce RTX 3050
SSD:   Kingston NV2 2TB M.2
PSU:   SilverStone 650W Bronze
OS:     Windows 11 Home
Wireless: WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2

Use Track IR and my trusty Microsoft FF2 stick. 

[Winger]

Operating System:    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU:                            INTEL 13900k
RAM:                           DR5-6000(3000 MHz) 64.0GB 
Motherboard:             ASUS Z690 Gaming WiFi
Graphics:                    NVidia RTX 4090
Display:                       Varjo Aero
Storage:                      Lots of fast SSDs
Audio:                         Onboard Sound

[javelina]

On 7/16/2023 at 9:28 AM, javelina said:

been wanting to do this for a while.  I'm in process of building my new rig, a 13900K & MSI MPG Z790 Carbon MB.  I'll pull my MSI 4090 from the current rig for the new one, and put my old 3090FE back into it.  

My current rig:

Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra, i7-9700k (4.9ghz all cores), NH-D15 cooler, 64 GB CL-14 3200mhz RAM, MSI RTX4090, Soundblaster Z, Yamaha 5.1 A/V Receiver, 1x 512GB Samsung NVMe, 2x 1TB Samsung NVMe, 2TB Samsung SSD, Win 11 Pro, TM Warthog, Virpil WarBRD, MFG Crosswinds, 43" Samsung 4K TV, 21.5 Acer VT touchscreen, TrackIR, JetSeat KW-908, Reverb G2, Wheel Stand Pro Super Warthog, Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower Case, EVGA 850 P2 PSU, PointCTRL, Buttkicker 2 , K-51 Helicopter Collective Control

 

 

A couple weeks ago, finished building my new rig:

i9-13900K & DH-15 cooler

MSI MAG Z790 Carbon, Win 11 Pro, Seasonic GX-1200 ATX3 PSU

64GB CL40 6000mhz RAM

4x 2TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe & 1x 2TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD (for Steam games)

TM Warthog, Virpil WarBird, MFG Crosswinds, Reverb G2, K51 Collective, TrackIR, PointCTRL

Phantekx Ethoo Pro2 full tower, buttkicker 2, 43" Samsung 4K TV, Yamaha 7.1 (ATMOS) A/V receiver

 

 

 

[spreckair]

Intel I-7 13700K/ASUS Z-790F/EK 360mm AIO/32GB DDR5-5600/RTX 3080/1TB SSD

HP Reverb G2/VKB Gladiator/MFG Crosswind/TWCS Throttle

Up next, VKB STECS throttle!

[Lusekofte]

Regarding VR it is simple. You Are not competative regarding spotting , image , and field of view no matter what VR you choose. 
in some sims in my point of view multiple screens for systems are more immersive. 
But you won’t be in the cockpit.  
I fly with G2 in simpler modules and choppers because it rocks to be in the cockpit. G2 is sufficient for that purpose.  Using VR don’t mean you abandon 2D. It just mean you got a choice

[kissTheSky]

19 hours ago, spreckair said:

Intel I-7 13700K/ASUS Z-790F/EK 360mm AIO/32GB DDR5-5600/RTX 3080/1TB SSD

HP Reverb G2/VKB Gladiator/MFG Crosswind/TWCS Throttle

Up next, VKB STECS throttle!

Please let us know about the TECS when/if you get it. My GVL is serving me well but I’d like to hear your thoughts as I think I’d be interested in the electronic detents version once/if it becomes available.

[kissTheSky]

1 hour ago, Lusekofte said:

Regarding VR it is simple. You Are not competative regarding spotting , image , and field of view no matter what VR you choose. 
in some sims in my point of view multiple screens for systems are more immersive. 
But you won’t be in the cockpit.  
I fly with G2 in simpler modules and choppers because it rocks to be in the cockpit. G2 is sufficient for that purpose.  Using VR don’t mean you abandon 2D. It just mean you got a choice

I can see myself going back to 2D with triple monitors for racing sims, but in all honesty, I don’t see myself going back to monitors for flight sims at all. For me, if the choice becomes being limited to monitors for whatever reason, it would be hanging the virtual pilot’s goggles for good.

Edited August 13, 2023 by kissTheSky

[javelina]

1 hour ago, kissTheSky said:

I can see myself going back to 2D with triple monitors for racing sims, but in all honesty, I don’t see myself going back to monitors for flight sims at all. For me, if the choice becomes being limited to monitors for whatever reason, it would be hanging the virtual pilot’s goggles for good.

I use my PS5's PSVR2 (playing GT) for this.  😁

[Lusekofte]

2 hours ago, kissTheSky said:

I can see myself going back to 2D with triple monitors for racing sims, but in all honesty, I don’t see myself going back to monitors for flight sims at all. For me, if the choice becomes being limited to monitors for whatever reason, it would be hanging the virtual pilot’s goggles for good.

Well my point was you are free to use both. I find it refreshing flying without vr in some modules

[spreckair]

6 hours ago, kissTheSky said:

Please let us know about the TECS when/if you get it. My GVL is serving me well but I’d like to hear your thoughts as I think I’d be interested in the electronic detents version once/if it becomes available.

Right, so the first phase of the VKB STECS features mechanical detents, which is a lot more capability than what I have now, and the detents have a quick-change feature that allows for up to five different pre-sets.  I will probably go this route due to the reasonable price and big improvement over what I have now.  In any event, if and when I get a new throttle, I will post my impressions.

My understanding is that electronic detents might be included in the second phase, but VKB are keeping mum on this. 

[spreckair]

So, the VKB STECS Standard just arrived yesterday and I used it on a couple of flights.  I was using a Thrustmaster TWCS, and the STECS is many grades nicer in my opinion.  (Actually, my wife walked into the room and said, "Wow, you got a real throttle?"  Also, the TWCS (my second in two years) was starting to act up, with inputs jumping all over the place, so the timing was perfect.  The throttles on the STECS are on a pivot axis, which takes some getting used to after years with a slide throttle.  I haven't set up the detents yet, but I have fiddled with them a bit, and they are very fiddly.  There is also a learning curve with the detents as they need to be adjusted in the VKB Config software, so this could take me some time to totally figure out.  One of the nicest features is the ability to easily swap out buttons for hat switches, and vice versa.

I purchased the Standard, which also has an additional large button module, because it also comes with the full set of detents and additional button/switches.  However, I wonder if I will ever assign functions to the button module--it is just way too many buttons for what I need.  Maybe I should have gotten the much cheaper STECS Mini and added the ala carte detent/button/switch set?  Oh well...

Edited August 30, 2023 by spreckair

[Flanker35M]

S!

My system is not the latest generation, but screams through DCS and Cliffs of Dover. And of course other games as well. Specs below..

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5800X3D

MOBO: ASUS TUF B550-Gaming

MEM: 4 x 16Gb Kingston DDR4 @ 3600MHz CL16

GPU: Sapphire Radeon Nitro+ RX6950XT

DISC: WD Black 500Mb for Windows 11 and Samsung 980Pro 1Tb for games

PSU: Corsair RM1000e 1000W 

CONTR: Virpil WarBRD base with 20cm extension and MongoosT stick, MFG CrossWind pedals, self made throttle, tracking device etc.

[RossMarBow]

I brought this stuff new
But I won't buy new stuff again
Second hand market is just too good
And hardware never fixes bad software

Operating System:    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU:                            AMD 5600x (overclocked to the max top 100 on timespy everyday I invented PLL/VDD voltage boosting)
RAM:                           G Skill 3200 14-14-14 overclocked 100% to 3900 16-16-16
Motherboard:             x570 GIGABYTE ARORUS PRO WIFI (only motherboard brands I would buy are Gigabyte Assrock and MSI)
Graphics:                    AMD Radeon RX 5700XT (Sapphire 'Pulse')(overclocked to the max I invented ABD curve tuning) PS don't buy graphics cards with non transferable warranties
Display:                       LG 27" 1080p I hate LG and this monitor its cursed + various office monitors
Storage:                      Games don't need NVME drives
                                     But I have a nvme, sata ssd, and hdds
Audio:                         apple usb-c dongle is the best $/perf audio DAC

Controllers:                   t16k (twist rudder is stuffed, thrustmaster is a bad brand), twcs throttle, vkb pedals (I love these), grassmonkey opentrack (which I hate cause my awful sennheiser headphones are so                 uncomfortable sennheiser is bad brand also)

[Viper]

This is my hardware will be sufficient for COMBAT PILOT

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G processor

NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3060 graphics card

32 GB DDR4 RAM memory

SD SAMSUNG MZVLHBJQ 500 Gb

HD 1Tb

OS Windows 11 64 Bit

[GPatricks]

4 hours ago, Viper said:

This is my hardware will be sufficient for COMBAT PILOT

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G processor

NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3060 graphics card

32 GB DDR4 RAM memory

SD SAMSUNG MZVLHBJQ 500 Gb

HD 1Tb

OS Windows 11 64 Bit

I believe no one on Earth can answer that question as the sim does not exist yet... ?

[TheSNAFU]

I am hopeful that this sim will be designed to take full advantage of any multi core/thread CPU and modern gpu’s. While my system is no longer high end a machine running a 5.0 ghz multi thread/core cpu (9700k @5.0 all cores), 16 gb of 3600 ram and a 3080 gpu should be able to run the game in vr (g2)!at high graphics settings with lots of action at sea and air without slowdowns and stuttering. Some compromises will be required I know but should not be many. 
 

Maybe I am dreaming but that’s my hope. I would even be willing to upgrade the cpu, mb and ram if that would achieve smooth and consistent fps at 90 hz. If this game results in just another system hog that does not properly leverage modern hardware including vr I will pass on it for sure. I think I saw something from Jason or someone else suggesting vr may not be supported out of the gate. Personally that would be disappointing and would cause me not to buy the game. Guess time will tell on these matters. 
 

I share these things to help the developers understand what is important to one 30 year simmer. Nothing more or less. 

Edited December 22, 2023 by TheSNAFU

[Lusekofte]

My old i7 with a 3080 gpu and 32 gb ram is still going strong in DCS. 

On 11/19/2023 at 10:07 AM, Viper said:

This is my hardware will be sufficient for COMBAT PILOT

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G processor

NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3060 graphics card

32 GB DDR4 RAM memory

SD SAMSUNG MZVLHBJQ 500 Gb

HD 1Tb

OS Windows 11 64 Bit

I have seen happy flyers with these specs in both msfs and DCs. 
I think as long people migrate to at least 20 series they will run anything in development right now. With tweaked graphics of course.