Getting back into IL2

[Badandy]

S! all

 

I used to play all the old IL2 versions back in early 2000s and I have been looking at the Great Battles series for some time with envy and so I just took the plunge with the cabin fever codes and bought all of the content (and ordered a VKB Gladiator MKII). Pretty excited to fly again soon! 

 

I'm running older gaming hardware so I wanted to check how well it will work for 1080p for the newer games offline and multi:

 

i5-4690K oc 4.38ghz

asus Z97-A motherboard

Asus Gefore GTX 1060 6GB

8GB DDR3 1600

 

I am certainly into upgrading some hardware in the near future and perhaps trying VR (seems incredible), but I wanted to see if maybe I should just install the older series for now since my next upgrade will probably be a new motherboard/cpu/ram that I'd bring the GPU over and practically be a new rig. Thoughts?

[Ribbon]

With that hardware you should run it on max (ultra) settings without problem!

Maybe adding one more ram card (+8Gb ram) and you're settled few more years regarding il2!

Edited April 12, 2020 by EAF_Ribbon

[mazex]

Welcome - you are in for a sweet ride!

 

You should be fine with that if you are not running VR. Maybe not full out Ultra but it should work fine. On my rig with a similar CPU (but a much beefier GPU) it runs at 100+ FPS all the time in Ultra. But I almost never run in 2D as VR is so awesome from an immersion perspective. But that is unfortunately an expensive road to walk down... Like @EAF_Ribbon says, another stick of 8GB rams seems like a nice last upgrade for that rig before some family member get it when you buy a new one

 

If I where you I would wait for the AMD Zen 3 to get released in October (the Ryzen 4000 series). That is what I am doing. That seems like a pretty interesting platform. On the Intel side they hit a bumb in the road many generations back getting stuck on their 14nm process, so all the "Lake" series are really not that different from an IPC perspective... I would not buy any "Lake" CPU these days. The new 10-series getting released soon (Comet Lake) is the last desperate 14nm squeeze that looks overheated and still does not look like it is beating the current AMD Zen 2 architecture (Ryzen 3000 series). This is naturally an area with many opinions - but this is mine having built my own computers since the 80:ies ;) This is a nice time for hardware nerds as there finally is some competition after all the dark Lake-years with Intel CPU:s that really did not get much faster...

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by mazex

[Lusekofte]

I ran this game with a old i7 2,8 ghz and a gtx 680 at a time this game was not as smooth as we have now. 
You will have no problem running it 

[AtomicP]

Similar spec. to mine but your CPU has faster single core performance. I have an AMD FX-8350 with the GTX 1060 6GB and the game performs well, most of the time. I can run at 1440p with decent framerates but the problem I have is in some missions such as on the scripted campaign Achtung Spitfire, the amount of stuff going on makes everything go into slow motion. As far as I can see from others who have the same problem, it's down to a lack of CPU power. 

 

I have 16 GB RAM which mostly makes a difference when I play DCS World. I don't think Il-2 demands so much but the extra can't hurt. 

 

I'd caution buying more RAM unless you get a really good deal. DDR3 is old technology and even DDR4 is getting on a bit. I'm looking to replace the core of my system with something like a AMD Ryzen 5 2600, which obviously requires DDR4 RAM and a new motherboard. 

[216th_Jordan]

2 hours ago, AtomicP said:

I'd caution buying more RAM unless you get a really good deal. DDR3 is old technology and even DDR4 is getting on a bit. I'm looking to replace the core of my system with something like a AMD Ryzen 5 2600, which obviously requires DDR4 RAM and a new motherboard. 

 

While this is borderline offtopic: I'd wait and jump to DDR5 directly, did that mistake of going with the 2011 socket and DDR3 shortly before DDR4 emerged and it has been a bottleneck in some cases for me in the last years.

[mazex]

1 hour ago, 216th_Jordan said:

 

While this is borderline offtopic: I'd wait and jump to DDR5 directly, did that mistake of going with the 2011 socket and DDR3 shortly before DDR4 emerged and it has been a bottleneck in some cases for me in the last years.

 

The problem is that DDR5 means the generation after the next one - and quite a bit into 2021... 

[Badandy]

So my understanding is that I can copy my install files and bring them to the new machine when I decide for that? I just really don't wanna have to buy all this content again at full price ?

 

Appreciate the help and I hope it's not annoying--I feel like a noob again ?

Edited April 12, 2020 by Badandy

[216th_Jordan]

2 hours ago, Badandy said:

So my understanding is that I can copy my install files and bring them to the new machine when I decide for that? I just really don't wanna have to buy all this content again at full price ?

 

Appreciate the help and I hope it's not annoying--I feel like a noob again ?

 

The installed game has everything and your account unlocks the different parts - it does that wherever you start Il-2 and log into your account. It might be wise to copy settings / key-binds however as they are not stored in your account but locally.

 

So in short, yes, you can have multiple installations, and you don't even need to copy, just re-download.

[ShamrockOneFive]

3 hours ago, Badandy said:

So my understanding is that I can copy my install files and bring them to the new machine when I decide for that? I just really don't wanna have to buy all this content again at full price ?

 

Appreciate the help and I hope it's not annoying--I feel like a noob again ?

 

Yeah you could even have the files in both places. The thing that determines access is your user account which can only be signed in from one place at a time.

 

No need to repurchase. I've replaced my computer at least once since the series started. Moving to a new PC with this is relatively painless.

[novicebutdeadly]

21 hours ago, Badandy said:

S! all

 

I used to play all the old IL2 versions back in early 2000s and I have been looking at the Great Battles series for some time with envy and so I just took the plunge with the cabin fever codes and bought all of the content (and ordered a VKB Gladiator MKII). Pretty excited to fly again soon! 

 

I'm running older gaming hardware so I wanted to check how well it will work for 1080p for the newer games offline and multi:

 

i5-4690K oc 4.38ghz

asus Z97-A motherboard

Asus Gefore GTX 1060 6GB

8GB DDR3 1600

 

I am certainly into upgrading some hardware in the near future and perhaps trying VR (seems incredible), but I wanted to see if maybe I should just install the older series for now since my next upgrade will probably be a new motherboard/cpu/ram that I'd bring the GPU over and practically be a new rig. Thoughts?

Greetings from down under!

Your PC spec is superior to mine with the exception that I run 16GB of RAM (DDR3) 

When trying to decide if you want to go the path of more ram now (which my non-expert opinion says will help), or to go big now, depends on numerous things that only you can answer.

The best scenario is if you know someone who is willing to lend you 16GB of ram (that way you are using the same ram type etc) and see what results that yield.

And from there you can go on to decide.

In regards to the current il2 series:

I personally play only QMB and occasionally MP and on a 1080 Monitor (at a mere 75 htz) with "freesync"

And what I have suits my needs, and all I have is:

Win 7 
i5-3570K (though I haven't done any over-clocking)
16GB RAM
Nvidia 970 ASUS strix OC 4GB
Installed the il2 BOX on an SSD


So the questions that only you can answer are what do you need your PC to do (VR etc), and what can you afford to do?

~S~

[Badandy]

Thanks for the advice everyone it's very encouraging!

 

I was really hoping to get some mileage out of this rig and probably wait most of the year until I do a radical upgrade. VR seems neat, but also v expensive and I feel like I should wait for the next generation of gear for that. I guess I was concerned because Bodenplatte is relatively recent and feared that my specs would be a bit behind the curve, but it seems that I will be fine to play with 1080p. I'm going to have to do something about my awfully slow internet situation before I can dogfight online so I'll probably be offline for now. Maybe near term I should upgrade ram and get a higher refresh rate monitor?

 

I'm also going to need to upgrade peripherals and get a throttle and rudder pedals eventually as well. 

[Dakpilot]

Before adding ram, you can check real-time usage with some software like MSI afterburner, if you are not maxing it out  adding more will give no benefit, there are a few (graphic) settings that can be turned down a little to use less if you are near the 8gb limit, at 1080p .

 

If you have in fact exceeded ram limit, it is fairly obvious when hdd is utilised (stutters etc.) 

 

Cheers, Dakpilot 

[Badandy]

Gladiator arrived in the mail today (wouldn't try it without) and holy smokes this is phenomenal!!!

[blitze]

Go the controls and a IR Clip for head tracking to start with (cost effective way to get into Il2. 

 

Wait for next gen VR which isn't far round the corner.  With higher resolution VR, there will be less demand on ones GPU hardware as one doesn't have to scale up Super Sampling to get as decent an image as compared to current near 1440p VR headsets.

 

Also wide FOV if you can get it in a VR headset will be a benefit as you will save your neck from having to 180 to check your 6. ?

 

Il2 Great Battles Series has come a long way and is really good fun.

[ACG_PanzerVI]

On 4/12/2020 at 5:44 AM, Badandy said:

S! all

 

I used to play all the old IL2 versions back in early 2000s and I have been looking at the Great Battles series for some time with envy and so I just took the plunge with the cabin fever codes and bought all of the content (and ordered a VKB Gladiator MKII). Pretty excited to fly again soon! 

 

I'm running older gaming hardware so I wanted to check how well it will work for 1080p for the newer games offline and multi:

 

i5-4690K oc 4.38ghz

asus Z97-A motherboard

Asus Gefore GTX 1060 6GB

8GB DDR3 1600

 

I am certainly into upgrading some hardware in the near future and perhaps trying VR (seems incredible), but I wanted to see if maybe I should just install the older series for now since my next upgrade will probably be a new motherboard/cpu/ram that I'd bring the GPU over and practically be a new rig. Thoughts?

 

Your spec just about matches my rig prior to upgrade, with the exception that I too have 16GB of RAM.  For perspective I have the same processor, an Asrock Z97 mobo, and had a GTX 1060 GPU.  I ran on high/ultra settings on a good 1080P 24" IPS monitor.  However, my eyes aren't as young as they used to be, and especially on Combat Box I noticed that spotting at range was giving me fits.  So, I upgraded...    I don't recommend the path I took, but here it is for grins.

 

First - ACER Predator 35" Ultrawide 3440 x 1440 monitor.  Wow is all I can say.  Bought a refurbished one for $500.  Zero issues - no dead pixels, no blemishes I could detect.  Gorgeous, huge,  curvy wide screen bliss.  You see MUCH more peripheral - not quite VR, but next best thing, I am convinced.  But, my 1060 GPU REALLY struggled to run it.

 

So....

 

Nvidia Founders RTX 2070 Super got installed.  Another $500.  Again wow.  Then, some problems.  FPS dropped a stupid amount.  Long painful process revealed that my CPU was the issue, running too hot.  Put a liquid cooler that I had in but performance still not where I wanted it.  Finally, turned on a Mobo driven OC tool and cranked the CPU up to 4.1ghz overclock (very conservative) and now IL2 (and everything else) runs on my gorgeous monitor like butter.  Mildly overclocked the GPU while I was at it, again conservatively, using MSI Afterburner.  All runs stable now, and I LOVE the results.  My personal performance and satisfaction from IL2 is gradually climbing as my SA and tactics improve. 

 

Also running a Saitek X-56 HOTAS which I also love, but think your all-in-one looks amazing too.  

 

Current plan is to stick with my system as-is until the next gen of AMD CPUs come out, at which point I'll start the process of rebuilding my rig.  I still believe that the I-5 4690K was an amazing choice for my CPU and despite causing some heat problems over the years, it has outperformed - and certainly outlived - my expectations.  I think you can keep what you have for a couple years at least.  If performance suffers, and you haven't already, pick up some more RAM and look into your overclocking options.  The hardware you have can sustain it if you manage the heat, and it can provide a solid boost.

Edited April 15, 2020 by pnzrldrv

[Badandy]

11 hours ago, pnzrldrv said:

 

Your spec just about matches my rig prior to upgrade, with the exception that I too have 16GB of RAM.  For perspective I have the same processor, an Asrock Z97 mobo, and had a GTX 1060 GPU.  I ran on high/ultra settings on a good 1080P 24" IPS monitor.  However, my eyes aren't as young as they used to be, and especially on Combat Box I noticed that spotting at range was giving me fits.  So, I upgraded...    I don't recommend the path I took, but here it is for grins.

Does the 16GB ram help with the higher resolutions? What path would you take now that it's 2020 and we're looking at the next gen ryzen and more 2nd gen VR?

 

11 hours ago, pnzrldrv said:

 

Nvidia Founders RTX 2070 Super got installed.  Another $500.  Again wow.  Then, some problems.  FPS dropped a stupid amount.  Long painful process revealed that my CPU was the issue, running too hot.  Put a liquid cooler that I had in but performance still not where I wanted it.  Finally, turned on a Mobo driven OC tool and cranked the CPU up to 4.1ghz overclock (very conservative) and now IL2 (and everything else) runs on my gorgeous monitor like butter.  Mildly overclocked the GPU while I was at it, again conservatively, using MSI Afterburner.  All runs stable now, and I LOVE the results.  My personal performance and satisfaction from IL2 is gradually climbing as my SA and tactics improve. 

I'm interested to learn about the liquid cooling you chose because I am noticing some stability issues on my initial boot when I power down the machine.

 

11 hours ago, pnzrldrv said:

 

Also running a Saitek X-56 HOTAS which I also love, but think your all-in-one looks amazing too.  

I'm already a big fan, but I know I'm going to upgrade with rudder pedals and a throttle eventually ?

 

 

11 hours ago, pnzrldrv said:

 

Current plan is to stick with my system as-is until the next gen of AMD CPUs come out, at which point I'll start the process of rebuilding my rig.  I still believe that the I-5 4690K was an amazing choice for my CPU and despite causing some heat problems over the years, it has outperformed - and certainly outlived - my expectations.  I think you can keep what you have for a couple years at least.  If performance suffers, and you haven't already, pick up some more RAM and look into your overclocking options.  The hardware you have can sustain it if you manage the heat, and it can provide a solid boost.

My sister's SO built this rig for me in 2018 to learn GIS at an unbelievable price so I'm incredibly happy with the performance I'm getting.

[blitze]

Not sure about his liquid cooler but I got a Corsair AIO H80i v2 liquid cooler on my 3900X and it does a great job.  I have it mounted on the rear of my mini ATX case with it pulling air in and then there is a 140mm fan on the top exhausting air.  The radiator is quite thick and it has 2 fans that mount either side of the radiator in a push/pull config.  I mounted one fan external due to space limitations.

 

With a 2080 GPU the case didn't have much internal volume for the air cooler and temps on the AIO have dropped things around 40C under load (Il2 VR).

 

Now looking mid 40's on the CPU as opposed to near 90's before hand.  Great purchase / upgrade.?

[ACG_PanzerVI]

Long story on my liquid cooler.  Had a Corsair radiator/fan sandwich that I picked up when I originally built the rig (2013?) with the intent of supporting overclock on the CPU.  It worked great for several years, but then I had sort of a major 'my computer doesn't work anymore' issue (2017/18?) that I had to get diagnosed by a pro.  He told me that the Corsair had leaked/evaporated all of its fluid and my CPU was running (extremely) hot.  I didn't have a hardware monitor going at that time so was clueless.  He expressed negative overall opinion of liquid cooling, saying air is better, way cheaper etc...  I've since heard arguments for/against both types.  I sent the cooler back to Corsair and they sent me a refurb (might have been same one!).  In the meantime I had nixed my overclock and was running on the stock cooler.  Hadn't needed the o/c and it wasn't until I discovered that a) the stock cooler wasn't cooling for crap, even w/o the overclock, and b) I needed more CPU performance for IL2  and some other applications, that I reinstalled the Corsair.  Its working beautifully now and I set up MSI Afterburner to help me monitor temps, fan speeds, etc... in real time, to avoid cooking my rig.  Probably a better monitor out there that will let you set alarms, but for now MSI AB is sufficient for me I think.  For my future build, I intend to evaluate both air and liquid, despite the problem I had.  I think that the newer liquid heat sinks are good, and probably quieter than most good air coolers.  I also know that air cooling units are often big, and space is at a premium in a case with an RTX in it! But either will work well, and cheaper + can never leak might be a substantial advantage in the end. 

[216th_Jordan]

3 hours ago, pnzrldrv said:

Long story on my liquid cooler.  Had a Corsair radiator/fan sandwich that I picked up when I originally built the rig (2013?) with the intent of supporting overclock on the CPU.  It worked great for several years, but then I had sort of a major 'my computer doesn't work anymore' issue (2017/18?) that I had to get diagnosed by a pro.  He told me that the Corsair had leaked/evaporated all of its fluid and my CPU was running (extremely) hot.  I didn't have a hardware monitor going at that time so was clueless.  He expressed negative overall opinion of liquid cooling, saying air is better, way cheaper etc...  I've since heard arguments for/against both types.  I sent the cooler back to Corsair and they sent me a refurb (might have been same one!).  In the meantime I had nixed my overclock and was running on the stock cooler.  Hadn't needed the o/c and it wasn't until I discovered that a) the stock cooler wasn't cooling for crap, even w/o the overclock, and b) I needed more CPU performance for IL2  and some other applications, that I reinstalled the Corsair.  Its working beautifully now and I set up MSI Afterburner to help me monitor temps, fan speeds, etc... in real time, to avoid cooking my rig.  Probably a better monitor out there that will let you set alarms, but for now MSI AB is sufficient for me I think.  For my future build, I intend to evaluate both air and liquid, despite the problem I had.  I think that the newer liquid heat sinks are good, and probably quieter than most good air coolers.  I also know that air cooling units are often big, and space is at a premium in a case with an RTX in it! But either will work well, and cheaper + can never leak might be a substantial advantage in the end. 

 

An air cooler needs a cool case to work properly. If you really want to squeeze OC you'll need a proper watercooler with a large enough radiator though.

 

But anyway shouldn't your motherboard have temperature failsafes that you can enable in the BIOS/EFI? Usually these would shut off the PC instantly when it overheats.

[[CV]Biggs]

My rig is one or 2  steps up from yours,  I7,   1070 vid card and 16 gig ram.    Personally I would say your rig should be fine on high settings.     I'm just getting back into flying after about 3 years off.   Cliffs of Dover Blitz was my last flight sim.     I got Stalingrad and Boddenplatte………...Dude this is what we dreamed about back in the day...……..  I can hardly get anything done around the house, I'm always flying...……….LOL

[ACG_PanzerVI]

Track IR with high graphics settings blew my mind.  First time my buddy formed up on my wing, and I looked over my right shoulder and saw him hanging there, buffeting slightly but staying close, I tried to wave to him!  I know VR is even better, but the suspension of disbelief for me is already near total.  Love this sim.  

[DD_Arthur]

Formation flying in VR is absolutely fantastic in this sim?

[LordNeuro*Srb*]

Hi all,

I have planing to get beck, didnt play for long time, and when i wont to instal BOS agen it say 20 gb, but donwload is wery slow. I downloaded the IL2 setup and it was slow, but it is 168 mb so ok. But downloading 20 gb with a speed so slow is crazy. MY internet is ok, 11 mbs and tested it on other thing work ok. Any suggestions or ideas, I remember there was somthing like p2p to check on box but dont see it now.

 

Any help or suggestion is welcom, i wont to check out BOS agen.

S! and thx.