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Just wanted to add in regards to the 3060TI which is listed with 8GB of VRAM - should this not be considered a good thing for us in general? Being better than a 2080 series card and cheaper lowers the bar of entry to high fidelity flight sims. It may not be getting ahead of the game like we’d all like to be doing with a 3080 TI or 3090 (or AMD equivalents if you so desire) but it does mean that it someone asks about making a flight sim build on a budget we don’t have to say you need such an expensive GPU to get you started.
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I just pressed buy on an rtx 3090. I hope it’s next day delivery and I can post my impressions 
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Yes, exactly.
Now we just need some competition in the high-fi combat-supported genre.
Given that the boys have been through such an interesting year…I’ve splurged for Christmas for them. They don’t know it yet, but they are getting PCs (and I will get two wingmen!)…
- AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
- 16GB Memory
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
- 1TB SSD
Will probably up the memory to 32GB in a couple months and drop in another SSD. It’s a prebuilt from Best Buy, but it met the criteria for being available prior to Christmas, being delivered, and me not having time to put aside for building at the moment. At $1,349 it doesn’t seem completely unreasonable since there is a bit of a premium on hardware during these COVID times.
Also ordered them each a Saitek X52 Pro.
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Only having to double ram in a prebuilt and/or add drives means you got a good pick!
Which DCS modules will be this year’s stocking stuffers? 
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Thanks for that actually. I’ve decided there’s just no choice now: I have to (have to) get an entirely new system. Too many components are just barely unqualified.
Even the low end new V-Cards need PCI 4 (and I only have PCI 3 - seems they will work but be limited); PSU is too small too. Starting to add up. So, was looking for a pre-built…hopefully I’ll get at least 3 years out of a new one this time too. Crazy.
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It’s funny because I actually already set up two more DCS accounts for them way back during the Spring sale in anticipation of this being the year I get them into DCS. I bought them both the C-101, the Yak-52, and the Persian Gulf theater. I figure we will start with the basics. Its a shame the Hawk isn’t still a thing - as that would make a good trainer too. I’m sure Daddy will be insufferable in chat.
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I was shooting for something somewhat affordable (since I had to buy two!) and that wouldn’t put my own rig to shame (i9/32GB/2080ti). With the new rigs for the boys, I think my 2080ti still eeks them out in performance, so I won’t be too jealous. And both of them will have a VR headset - one will have to settle on my old O+ and the other will get the Reverb G1. That leaves my wife to play Beat Sabre with the OG Rift… 
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They will be great for their tuition. I bet the get their ppl next Christmas after your expert guidance
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Well you now have another job: you have until Christmas to create control profiles for them!
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Oh dear…I hadn’t thought of that.
This will be my first AMD processor I’ve ever purchased. Always been an Intel guy. Hopefully the mobo/PSU and everything works out OK. Worst case is that returns for Best Buy have been extended to January 16 - so I should have time to wring them out and decide if they are keepers or not. CyberPower has…well…up and down quality reports. Depends on who you ask.
I still renew my CFII every two years in anticipation of them eventually taking lessons. They both have an interest, so we’ll see…thankfully we are at least four or five years away from flying lessons. Then a couple PCs will seem like chump change compared to that!
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My 3800x on a x570 mainboard is giving me no pain at all. I run it for 12 months now. It just works like the Intel combo before used to for years. No driver issues, no bluescreens. I am positively surprised!
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Hmm…just added NTTR to their accounts too…the bonus miles from the initial purchases brought the price down to $17.52, so that seems like a good deal. They may be more comfortable flying around Arizona since they have been there…
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Had my first AMD experience on the CPU front with some laptops we got this year to send some staff out of the office. We ended up buying both the Intel and AMD version of the HP Probook G7 (450 and 455) and I can say that while they are benchmarked at parity the AMD CPU’s result in more fan usage (and a warmer exhaust) but otherwise do OK.
We have AMD GPU’s in some of the desktops, and I have had one at home in the past - always get some weird things going on with drivers every now and then with those.
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Syria will have to wait for birthdays I guess.
Did you make purchases on their accounts or can you do it from yours and gift them?
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I created their own accounts, and purchased them from their accounts using my Paypal - seems to work out fine and is probably easier than gifting them.
Yeah - I’ve been pretty satisfied with NVidia and their drivers over the years. So the AMD processor and the NVidia GPU will be a new mix for me…but I’m usually more interested in the GPU driver updates than CPU/BIOS stuff. Hell…I can’t remember the last time I updated my BIOS…
I like that map. Seems to be good on frames too. It could use some love but, until Syria came out, that’s where I spent the majority of my time. Except for carrier practice of course.
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