(Il-2 Series Korea) Hardware analysis and Benchmarks.

[LuftManu]

Hey everyone!

Hardware and tech are another big passion of mine. I genuinely love exploring every component and performance tweaks to all the nerdy details in between.

Just like we did with the Great Battles thread (https://forum.il2-series.com/topic/77-il-2-great-battles-syn_vander-benchmark-v6-to-measure-il-2-performance-in-monitor-vr-by-chilliwilli69/#comment-2289), I’d love for us to create a dedicated channel focused on benchmarks, performance deep dives, optimisation tips, and other valuable resources. A place where we can share data, compare results, discuss hardware choices, and help each other get the most out of our setups, whether you're flying on a monitor or VR.

Let’s build a space that becomes the go-to reference for anyone looking to understand, test, or improve IL-2 performance. Looking forward to seeing what everyone brings to the table!

I'll try to create a benchmark mission so we can all have an standard test, like @chiliwili69 did and his great work!

What we know so far?  

Il-2 Series Korea uses a new iteration of the  Digital Nature engine used in Great Battles. Per the latest videos, It uses Dx12 with multithreading (Up to 10 threads).

The team has already published the official requirements:
 

Minimum for 2D FullHD/2K Screen:
4-Core CPU 3.6+ GHz
24 Gb RAM
8 Gb Graphics Card no more than 2 generations old (RTX 3060 or RX 7600 level)
Windows 10/11 (without other demanding programs running in the background)
Joystick or GamePad

Optimal for 2D Screen:
8-Core CPU 4.5 GHz
32 Gb RAM
12+ Gb Graphics Card (RTX 4080 or 7900 XTX level)
Windows 10/11

For Virtual Reality:
8-Core CPU 4.5 GHz
32+ Gb RAM
16+ Gb Current Gen Graphics Card
Windows 10/11 OpenVR / OpenXR compatible VR HMD

 

Let's start by saying that requirements are often estimates and conservative. Nobody wants to put erroneus information and the team cannot check every system configuration so is safe to be conservative.

Comparision with Digital Nature requirements posted for Great Battles:

Great Battles requirements are somewhat similar in some places.

For example, CPU do not change that much (i5 or i7 recommended as minimum against a 4 core CPU in Korea).

In terms of RAM, we can see a jump from 16 minimum on GB to 24 minium in Korea, but recommended stays at 32gb for both.
(VR is another thing and seems like more than 32gb will be better).

GPU is where the biggest jump is IMO and that's probably related to the new effects, PBR and other settings. In this case, 8gb VRAM are now the minimum. Good news is that it's the baseline VRAM for entry models for GPUs for the last 5 years.

The most impactul thing is usually the VRAM, now being 12 and + for 4K (Optimal settings?).

 

Other considerations

For GPU, Digital Nature Engine (Great Battles) performance can be extrapolated by synthethic benchmarks on 3DMark (Firestrike Ultra) User @chiliwili69found ot this and it can work really well.

 

If we take this into consideration and Il-2 Series Engine works somewhat similar, we can try and extrapolate the minimum points requirements. 

If the 3060 is the minimum, we can say that around 5000 points on FireStrike Ultra will get your GPU to run Korea.

Another example is a 3080 with 10 and 12gigs. Maybe the 10 gigs are too short now, but it's twice the performance against a 3060. That might lead to medium-to-high preset.

Who knows!

My personal opinion

We need to wait to check everything, specially GPU performance. It's too soon but this kind of thread helps a lot with people seeking information to build a PC for simming.

Hardware and PC parts are not cheap. They are increasing in price everyday so a place to discuss and test will help a lot of people.

 

Kind regards

 

[brickcommander]

I mostly play in VR, and these requrements are a little confusing for me.

 

I am running a 5700x3d and 4070 super on a quest 3 via VD in godlike resoltuion. In GB i get nearly constant 72 fps at fairly high settings, and tge few drops (mostly over leningrad city) are cpu bound (i am assuming due to lack of multithreading) My vram usage never goes beyond 4.5 gb. 

 

Both my processor (4.1gb boost) and graphocs card are below the vr settings that were published. I am assuming the cpu will be okay, but i am debating if I need to upgrade the gpu.

 

On the one hand the requrements say "current generation". At the same time, my 4070 super benchmarks better than the current gen 5060, 5060ti, 5070. Tye 5060 ti does offer 16gb vram, but It lags behind my current card in every other way. 

 

According to the published requirements, a 5060ti should run the game better in VR than my last gen 4070 super? Is that accurate? Does it even make sense?

 

I want to upgrade eventually to a 5070ti or 5080, but I really would rather wait a bit than do so now. I can get a 5060ti very cheaply now, but it fells like a major downgrade other than the vram.

Any tuoughts?

 

[Aapje]

If the game truly can't fit in 12 GB, then the 5060ti could run better. The issue is that requirements are often heavily simplified and intended mainly to reduce complaints from players, even those who are bad at tuning the game. So often you can get away with lesser specs with smart tuning.

So I would suggest just waiting for the early access release and see what the possibilities are for your current hardware.