S!
SoW will require a very high end machine to run all the bells and whistles. AS you have read, DirectX 11 can use CPU to calculate those gfx gimmicks the GPU does not support. And we know that the FM/DM/AI are already calculated by the CPU so this is only extra stress to it thus lowering performance. SoW will be way more complicated and will require a lot of horsepower, but that is the price to pay for more fidelity and all that
It is surprising how well IL2 engine still holds on after 10 years. Modified in RoF and WoP and see what you get! Totally new effects, smoother gameplay etc. Just a wet dream that the code improvements could be brought to IL2, especially how it handles big cities etc. In WoP Berlin map with tons of buildings did not slow down my rig at all with all maxed out in 1920x1200! In IL2 the same would just make my rig do the slide show
Intel i7 920 CPU
Intel DX58SO motherboard + HD Audio enabled
XFX 5870HD 1Gb graphics card
24" BenQ 16:10 screen
Windows 7 64-bit (home premium)
etc yadda yadda