I have just recently gotten back into PC gaming. I was always very fond of just loading up some quick missions in the original IL-2 and shooting some planes down, I never really got into doing the Campaign or much flying online. I of coarse installed Steam right away when I got my new computer, and was looking for a IL-2 game to get, and I quickly went with 1946 since it was a update of what I used to fly, and it was $10. I am looking at getting a newer flight sim, but after reading up on both of these sims, it seems to be a hard decision as I am only looking to buy one. I am reading about how CLOD is still very poorly optimized and unstable. But I also see that DCS P-51 is more of just a tooling around toy for now. I see there are promises from both sides of fixes (IL-2) and addons (P-51), but was wondering what people with the games think would be my best route to take. Since I know CLOD is a hot topic for some people, I don't need a argument thread against it, I've read those already. Any help would be appreciated, and I hope this is the correct place for this topic.

New computer specs are
ASUS Sabertooth Z77
Core I5 3570K (not overclocked)
Geforce GTX 670
8GB Corsair Vengeance

DCS:- Mustang is a module for DCS:-World (The core DCS engine) DCS:-World is free to download and contains a free Su-25T. The Su-25T might not be your thing but it will give a feel for DCS as a sim, for nothing.

You can decide if the P-51 is then worth splashing out cash for.

Nate

Your PC should be able to run Cliff of Dover quite nicely. As for recommendations, a bit of a minefield as there would be someone upset whatever I say

If you are in to WW2 and that era of military aviation, then you should give IL2 Cliffs a try. If you want more of a study sim, as in depth of the P-51 type then ED's plane is excellent. Both sims are really in beta, although the DCS one is up-front about it.

An alternative would be Gaijin's Wings of Prey, as that looks great and is fun for a quick blast ($5 on Steam etc). BoBII WoV is also worth a look for excellent single-player play and great AI.

Thanks for the replies. Nate- I have already downloaded Blackshark, and A-10, so I have a little experience with the DCS world, even though I haven't put much time into either of them. And FearlessFrog, thanks for the info, I thought that my computer should at least be able to run CLOD ok, even though from some people it seems it's not a sure thing. I am interested in what it has to offer though, and am thinking I may end up going for that. As for Wings of Prey, I was very close to pulling the trigger on that last night, especially since it's on sale at steam, the only thing that stopped that was that I have Birds of Prey (360), and Birds of Steel (PS3), so I figure I could load those up if I need to get a fix from Gaijin.

Try Aces high2 it's pay monthly. But IMHO has a great flight model, you can get a 2 week free trial and the Friday night squad events are incredibly good and fun, might as well give it a go you have nothing to loose