Going back and forth to find the perfect settings in DCS (Digital Combat Simulator) can be a bit frustrating and time-consuming! Here we cover our findings (and those from the Pimax community). You may need to do a bit of tweaking depending on your system, but hopefully, we save you some time with these recommended VR graphic settings for DCS.
Scroll down for the best profiles and settings for:
- Crystal, 4090 GPU, OpenXR
- Crystal, 4070ti GPU, SteamVR
- 8KX, 4090, OpenXR
- 8KX, OpenXR, 4060ti
- 8K, 3080ti, SteamVR
- AMD 6900XT, SteamVR
We also share some other tips below, including on DFR.
Settings for Crystal, 4090 & OpenXR
| System Setup 4090 i9-11900kF 64GBRAM DDR4 | DCS Settings Textures: High; Terrain: High; Traffic: Low; Water: High; Visib Range: Extreme; Heat Blur: Low; Shadows: High; Flat Shadows Blur: On Secondary Shadows: On; Resolution: 1920*1080; Res of co*ckpit displays: 1024 Monitors: 1 Screen; MSAA: 2x; Depth of field: Off; Clouds: Ultra; SSAA: Off; SSLR: On; SSAO: On; Clutter/Grass: 1170; Forest Visibility: 85%; Preload Radius: 150000; Gamma: 2; External field of view: 125%; Anisotropic Filtering: 16x; Terrain Objects Shadows: Flat; co*ckpit Global Illumination: On; Messages font scale: 1 Scale GUI: 1; Rain Droplets: On; Vsync: On; Full screen: Off |
| Graphic Card Setting Nvidia: Global Settings: Power Management Mode: Prefer Maximum Power | |
Runtime: Open XR: Native Resolution CAS Sharpness: 70% FFR: On | |
| Pimax Play Settings Everything Default Refresh Rate: 90Hz |
Contributed by TallyMouse from r/Pimax
Settings for Crystal, 4070ti & SteamVR
| System Setup 4070Tii7-13700F 16GB RAM | DCS Settings Textures: High; Terrain: High; Traffic: Off; Water: High; Visib Range: Medium; Heat Blur: High; Shadows: High; Flat Shadows Blur: Off Secondary Shadows: On; Resolution: 2560*1440; MSAA: Off; Depth of field: Off; Clouds: Standard; SSAA: Off SSLR: On; SSAO: Off; Clutter/Grass: 0; Forest Visibility: 65%; Preload Radius: 70200; Gamma: 2; External field of view: 78% |
| Graphic Card Setting | |
| Runtime: Steam VR Refresh Rate: 90Hz Motion Smoothing: Off Render Resolution: 44% 2690*2972 Advanced Supersample: Off Overlay Render Quality: Medium | |
| Pimax Play Settings Refresh Rate: 90Hz Eye Tracking: On Render Quality: 1 FFR: On Smart Smoothing: Off |
Settings 8KX, 4090, OpenXR
| System Setup 4090i9-11900kF 64GBRAM DDR4 3600MHz | DCS Settings Textures: High; Terrain: High; Traffic: Low; Water: High; Visib Range: High; Heat Blur: Low; Shadows: High; Flat Shadows Blur: On Secondary Shadows: On; Resolution: 1920*1080; Res of co*ckpit displays: 1024 Monitors: 1 Screen; MSAA: off;Depth of field: Off; Clouds: High;SSAA: Off; SSLR: On;SSAO: On; Clutter/Grass: 1170; Forest Visibility: 85%; Preload Radius: 150000; Gamma: 2; External field of view: 125%; Anisotropic Filtering: 16x; Terrain Objects Shadows: Flat; co*ckpit Global Illumination: On; Messages font scale: 1 Scale GUI: 1; Rain Droplets: On; Vsync: Off; Full screen: Off; Rain Droplets: On |
| Nvidia Settings Power Management Mode: PreferMaximum Power | |
| Runtime: Open XR Native Resolution CAS Sharpness 100% FFR: on 40deg - 1 60deg - 1/4 80deg - 1/16th | |
| PimaxPlay Settings FOV: Wide Refresh: 90Hz |
Contributed by TallyMouse from r/Pimax
8KX, OpenXR, 4060ti
| System Setup 4060Tii9-11900kF 64Gb RAM DDR4 3600MHz | DCS Settings Textures: High; Terrain: Low; Traffic: Off; Water: Medium; Visib Range: Medium; Heat Blur: Low; Shadows: Low; Flat Shadows Blur: On Secondary Shadows: Off; Resolution: 1920*1080; Res of co*ckpit displays: 1024 Monitors: 1 Screen; MSAA: off;Depth of field: Off; Clouds: High;SSAA: Off; SSLR: Off; SSAO: Off; Clutter/Grass: 500; Forest Visibility: 75%; Preload Radius: 150000; Gamma: 2; External field of view: 125%; Anisotropic Filtering: 16x; Terrain Objects Shadows: Flat; co*ckpit Global Illumination: On; Messages font scale: 1 Scale GUI: 1; Rain Droplets: On; Vsync: Off; Full screen: Off; Rain Droplets: On |
| Nvidia Settings Power Management Mode: PreferMaximum Power | |
| Runtime: Open XR Native Resolution CAS Sharpness: 100% FFR" on 35deg - 1, 55deg -1/4, 70deg -1/16th | |
| PimaxPlay Settings FOV: Medium Refresh: 90Hz |
Contributed by TallyMouse from r/Pimax
3080ti settings for Pimax 8K
| System Setup 3080ti | DCS Settings Textures: High; Terrain Textures: High; Water: High; Visib Range: High Shadows: High; Resolution: 3840*2160 Aspect Ratio: 1.7777777778; Res.of co*ckpit Display: 1024; MSAA: 2x; Cloud: High Trees Visiblity: 40%; Anisotropic Filtering: Off Terrain Object Shadows: Off co*ckpit Global illumination: On Gamma: 2.2 |
| Nvidia Settings Power Management Mode: PreferMaximum Power | |
| Runtime: Steam VR: Global Resolution: 80% | |
| Pimax Play Settings n/a |
Settings for AMD 6900XT, SteamVR
| System Setup AMD 6900XT | DCS Settings Texture: High; MSAA: Off； AF: x 16; Shadows: Flat; Forest Visibility: 50%; Visual Range: High; Clouds: Standard |
| Graphic Card Setting Maximum FPS: 45 Anti-lagDisable everything else | |
| Runtime: Steam VR Global Resolution: 100% Video Setting Per App: 100% Motion Smoothing: Off Advanced Super Sampling: Off | |
| Pimax Play Settings: n/a |
Basic VR requirements
| Minimum | Recommended |
| CPU: Intel or AMD 3.0Ghz+ with 2 cores Memory: 16GB Storage: 140GB GPU: 2080 | CPU: Intel or AMD 4.5Ghz+ with 6 cores Memory: 32GB Storage: 300GB GPU: 3080 or better |
Extras:
- Drivers: up to date; Minimize background programs and processes;
- Set DCS at highest priorities through Task Manager;
- Minimize WMR and SVR Windows while playing the DCS;
- Powerful cooling system.
Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling: Disabled
General VR graphic optimization tips
Thanks to Rex from the Pimax Discord server.
1 - Testing settings one by one is recommended since every machine is different. Find a worst-case scenario for the GPU or CPU to test.
-> For GPU testing I recommend looking at Beyrouth on the Syria map to get a worse-case scenario. GPU wise (with lots of clouds/rain to test cloud settings, at sunset or sunrise to test shadows).
-> For CPU testing, a heavy MP server (Blueflag, Enigma Cold War, etc.) or a heavy single-player mission (dozens of AI moving offroad, SAMs searching/firing, etc.)
PS: Intel PresentMon (recently released in beta) is a great tool for all GPUs and CPUs to find out what is limiting you (the DCS performance overlay is often wrong in that regard)
2-I'll only cover some settings which I have found be good performance levers with little visual fidelity lost, first video linked below covers the rest in detail.
3 - The NVCP has only one setting that affects DCS in VR, that is V-sync set to "fast" which can improve performance in some specific scenarios. The rest is not working (see 2nd video).
4 - Most if not all settings are GPU performance hits only. So if you are CPU limited (use PresentMon), turning up settings will not change your FPS.
5 - Most of these settings have performance hits in different contexts, which is why again, a "reasonable" worst-case scenario should be made up and used for testing
Useful videos for graphic optimization:
| Option | Recommendation | Note |
| Water | Low | Water is present under every part of the DCS maps so that setting is another 15% between low and high. It's also a very subtil difference in flight. Not worth it. |
| Clouds | High by default, Ultra if performance available | Clouds between High and Ultra is 10-15% performance since the difference is the application of AA to them. Definitely one you'll notice either way. Very cloudy missions will kill your frames, plan for it. |
| Anisotropic Filt. | 16x if not VRAM limited | If you're VRAM limited (3080Ti + 8KX in large FOV runs into the issue. But not the 3090), anisotropic filtering between 2x and 16x has a 15% impact on frames. Test for your machine since otherwise it's free and noticeable. |
| MSAA | 2x | MSAA is "required" to prevent shimmering of cables/fences and such. Note, MSAA can't run at the same time as SSAA in VR (use Pixel Density as a replacement but it is less effective than MSAA) |
| View distance | Up to your preference/performance | Costly setting (20% between Low and Extreme) but necessary to not notice trees/buildings popping in too much. Up to your preference. The difference between Extreme and High is large in terms of visuals. |
| Shadows | Depending on performance | Test at sunset and sunrise to get a worse case scenario, can get quite expensive. Medium seems like a good middle ground. |
| Secondary Shadows | OFF / Needs testing | Shadows from light sources other than the sun. On the Super Carrier only so far from what I read. Haven't tested. |
| Blurred Shadows | Up to your preference | This setting targets shadows from trees (in particular) not being projected onto the ground from far away by blurring them. They almost disappear due to this so either way it's annoying, up to your preference. Costs nothing. |
| Terrain Textures | High | Does use more VRAM but makes quite a difference visually. Largely outweights Anisotropic filtering. |
| co*ckpit Textures | High | Whatever the cost this is necessary. Other settings are unusable. |
| SSLR | OFF | SSLR is a gimmick but surprisingly cheap (5% ish). It looks good especially on lakes. Not really worth it but up to personal preference. SSLR deals with reflections ("Ray Tracing" like but not as advanced) |
| SSAO | OFF | Very subtil. Does have a slight performance impact. |
| Global co*ckpit Illumination | OFF | Very subtil, almost as if it wasn't working properly. |
| Heat blur | OFF | Broken in VR (renders in one eye only) + Looks bad with Quad Views DFR |
| Lens effects | OFF | Broken in VR (seen in double) and looks bad with Quad Views DFR. Essentially free though. |
| Depth of Field | OFF | This is mostly a cinematic effect (external views) with cinematic performance levels. I'm also not sure it works well in VR. Avoid. |
| Preload Radius | Depending on your setup | A lower preload radius helps with RAM usage but requires loading more often. Known to cause crashes below certain settings for some people despite having ample pagefile. At maximum 32GB of RAM is borderline. |
| Grass | Up to your preference/performance | Grass has an impact on performance when near the ground (5% ish). Distance is quite small though and even in choppers it goes away quickly. |
| Tree visibility | Up to your preference/performance | Tree "growing" distance also has quite a large performance impact (double digit %) in wooded areas however they are very noticeable when "growing". Up to your tolerance. Detail factor can also balance this. |
