New Desktop Recommendation

[wytchcrypt]

Hi all,

 

I've been away from IL-2, LOMAC (and all computer gaming) since 2007 due to a serious illness and am looking to plunge back in with IL-2 BOS.  Since I last built my own custom flight sim optimized desktop in 2005 things have sure changed!  No longer looking to take weeks researching motherboards, memory, graphics cards, etc and building my own anymore so was wondering if anyone could give a simple recommendation on a pre-configured system I can get that will handle the graphic demands of BOS in full detail?

 

I've been looking at having Dell put together an Alienware Aurora with a 6th gen Intel i7, 16GB memory, and NVidia GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition 8GB GDDR5X but don't really know if that's too slow or total overkill and I'm spending much more than I need to.  Also I notice that system can only be ordered with Windows 10 and was wondering if BOS would have a problem with that?  Anyway, all I play is flight sims and the occasional F1 racing sim, so any comments on whether this system would fit the bill would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

Dennis

[TP_Silk]

Sounds like a nice rig. I personally would not go with Alienware, but that's me. The specs will be more than enough to run the game. I was just looking at building my own rig and decided that I want to use a 6th gen i7 and 16GB DDR4 RAM like you. I decided to stick with the slightly older GTX970 card as the price of those came down quite a bit recently.

 

The real issue is whether you are happy paying for the PC you're ordering. With the sort of spec you describe it should be more than enough to run BoS/BoM and should be relatively future-proof as well. A caveat to that of course is that nothing is totally future-proof as developments and resource use always push the envelope as much as they can when new games are designed.

[GrendelsDad]

What resolution will you be playing at?

[wytchcrypt]

What resolution will you be playing at?

 

That's a question I hadn't considered...I guess the best answer would be the highest my rig could handle    When I left the gaming world back in 2007 I think 1080x720 was the highest?  What options do I have nowadays with BOS?

[GrendelsDad]

O boy...your gonna get some learning today ...

I will only speak on 60hz monitors as that is what I have experience in.

1920x1080(16x9) is the general standard.(from 21" to 55" monitors and TVs at this resolution.)

2560x1440(16x9) is a bit larger and less common but a screen of  40 inch for example would look better at the higher resolution even if the TVs were the same size.

 

The above resolutions I am sure would run at 60fps 99% of the time  with your setup and the 1080gtx

 

Now at higher resolutions 3440x1440(21x9) and 3840x2160(16x9) You may start to see dips into the 50s in flight but would generally stay above 60fps in most situations.

I own many of the components you are looking at.  On a side note. I game on a 4k 40inch TV.  Many TVs and monitors you can downscale the resolution to run at 120hz/144hz and many people like this for games.  I will let them bestow the benefits of that tech upon you with their experience.   I do know if you decide to get a TV do your homework.  Samsung makes UHD TVs with low input lag and response times.  I own one and cannot tell the difference between that and my 4ms response time monitor. 

Edited July 21, 2016 by 6./ZG1_GrendelsDad

[Dakpilot]

Currently I run it at 3840 x 2160, 4K is not quite, but becoming mainstream now

 

theoretically you could have three of those...!

 

 

Would also say you could find better value for money than Alienware

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[SYN_Mike77]

Rather than going with Alienware have you thought about trying one of the national boutique builders like  http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/ or http://www.ibuypower.com/ ?  Most of those will come with liquid cooling which is a nice plus that may not have been around a decade ago!  You can customize to your hearts content with both of those companies.  

Edited July 21, 2016 by SYN_Mike77

[wytchcrypt]

Wow.  Thanks to everyone for their ideas.  I have to say honestly that after being away from gaming systems for about 10 years and having to start over from ground zero, I'm having a hard time justifying the expense of climbing back into this at the hardware level needed for high performance in a modern flight sim.  OTOH, I spent from about 1996 - 2007 really deep into SU27 Flanker/LOMAC, IL-2 and all their variations and I really miss the fun.  My wife is cool with the expense and all (lucky me!) but starting all over again after a decade passed me by is a daunting prospect 

 

At this point, I'm really thinking the i7/NVidia GTX 1080/16GB DDR4 combo is a must-have starting point.  Just for fun I threw together a Dell Alienware Aurora with those specs and came in around $2000 ($2300 with liquid cooling).  I was wondering, how important would liquid cooling be for that system?  I'm not into overclocking but don't mind throwing a few dollars at liquid cooling if it keeps my system from crashing...

Edited July 22, 2016 by wytchcrypt

[GrendelsDad]

I as many here have an all in one cooler.  I overclock so it is necessary for me.  It couldn't hurt in your case and may make the system a bit more quiet.  It should keep PC cooler overall dissipating the heat better.

[Dakpilot]

I do not know what watercooling Dell/Alienware would use but a high end model such as

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181103

 

is about $100

 

They are only fractionally more complicated to install than air cooled option, if you are paying a premium of $300, it does seem Dell/Alienware are an expensive way to go.

 

Alienware specs are not high for $2300 

 

For $2450 (just an example of similar price high end)

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2532365

 

1200W power supply  (Alienware 460W)

 

2 X 500 GB SSD + 4TB HDD (Alienware 2TB HDD)

 

32GB 2800  Ram (Alienware 16GB 2133)

 

2 X GTX980Ti   (Alienware 1 X GTX1080 )

 

This is not a perfect example but Alienware is not value for money or high performance

 

You would be much better off getting a local expert to build you a machine, or save more and do it yourself 

 

**EDIT**

 

something like this

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2921754

 

would also perform admirably for $864 perhaps with a swop to a GTX1070

 

Leaving $1436 for other hardware (stick/monitor etc.)

 

Cheers Dakpilot

Edited July 22, 2016 by Dakpilot

[wytchcrypt]

Thanks Dakpilot for your research!

 

  Used to build my own but really don't want to go through that anymore...back when I was a software engineer it was fun...these days not.  Took a look at your research and have been doing a lot of my own the past few hours and as SYN_Mike77 suggested, checked out Cyberpower and am liking the newest Cyberpower Black Pearl much better than the Alienware Aurora I originally was considering (cheaper, hits my i7/GTX 1080/16GB minimum reqs, and has 800W ps vs 460W, etc).

 

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_Black_Pearl

 

Then again, was just reading Tom's forums and there are several disturbing articles slamming cyberpower for poor assembly and quality issues 

Edited July 22, 2016 by wytchcrypt

[imaca]

Hi, useful info for me, I'm getting a 4k TV, and wondering which video card to get.

In this part of the world the 1070 is around 1/2 the price of the 1080.

I would rather spend the extra if I need to, but if GTX1070 is OK, then I can save NZ$750.

What sort of performance gain there is for a GTX1080 vs  GTX1070 in IL2?
It seems from what I have read in reviews that the 1080 is much better for 4k gaming, but I'm wondering if this is the case for IL2 since it is perhaps more CPU bound?

I don't really care too much about performance in other games.

What sort of compromise would be needed to get reasonable frame rate from 1070? I'm thinking I will need some AA, since screen will be 55 or 60" and will be about 2m(6') away.

Thanks in advance for any advice;)

[Dakpilot]

I have a GTX970 which I use at 4k, as you say a lot of the low FPS situations are limited by CPU and high aircraft/AI numbers

 

I would imagine a GTX1070 would give decent results..you do not always need stratospheric FPS numbers, just smooth gameplay without stutters. Also at 4K, aggressive AA is not so necessary especially at 2M(6') 2X AA +MFAA is prob fine or just FXAA or both

 

The more powerful the GPU the more stress is put on CPU with DX9, balance is important, there is little advantage in having a very strong GPU unless your CPU has the speed to feed it

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[imaca]

Thanks for advice, Dakpilot, decided to get GTX1070 .
I have i5 6600K, with reasonably good Noctua U12S cooler (biggest I could fit in mini-ITX case), so should overclock OKish if needed.

[GrendelsDad]

Nice choice on the 1070