Newbie returning to flight sim

Many years and three computers ago I had FS2000 Professional Edition. (Still have the CDs, but I'm assuming it's now obsolete? I haven't tried it on my latest system.)

I'd like to get back into flight sim in a fairly modest way initially and would appreciate some help with choices. The decisions I need to make are:

Which software? (FSX Steam, FS2004, X-plane seem to be the main choices). Something that will run on Windows 7 now and Windows 10 in the future.

Which monitor? I'm about to buy a new one anyway because I've been making do with an old analogue 17" 4:3 LCD monitor.

Which graphics card? (Only have onboard graphics currently.)

Which control hardware?

There's a compromise to be made in that I am not building a dedicated PC but am hoping to use my office desktop. So here are the specs. (it was deliberately designed to be quiet, by the way):

Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI LGA1151 Mini-ITX Motherboard with Intel HD Graphics 4600

Intel Core i7-4790S 3.20GHz

Nofan CR-80EH Copper IcePipe 80W Fanless CPU Cooler

16GB RAM Ballistix Sport 1600MHz CL9 DDR

Silverstone SST-ST30SF Strider Semi-Fanless 300W SFX Power Supply

Samsung 850 EVO 2.5in Solid State Drive 250GB

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. I'm still wary of Windows 10, but no doubt I'll succumb to upgrading before the free download ends soon.

WD Elements 2TB external HDD

I still have the old Saitek Cyborg 2000 joystick, but I expect that's been obsolete for years. I have read that rudder pedals make a big difference.

I don't at the moment expect to be spending most of my time on flight sim (can I say that here?!), but who knows, I might get hooked. I used to fly real gliders many years ago, so that's one plane I'd like to start with, as well as a light plane, progressing to commercial jets and who knows what else. I'm more interested in learning skills and realism rather than shoot 'em up missions. The main disappointment with FS2000 was the poor quality scenery, so that's important to me, but I would hope it's a lot better nowadays anyway.

As it's an office rather than dedicated gaming system and I don't have a lot of space, I was thinking of a single 24" 1920 x 1080 IPS monitor and maybe a GeForce GT730 fanless graphics card or something with a very quiet part-time fan. I'm assuming a 144kHz gaming monitor isn't essential.

Have I got a chance with this system, or is it hopelessly unsuitable?

The main concern with FS, of any type, is the CPU, not the GPU, although a good GPU helps. FS is very CPU dependant and the I-7 you listed is a very good one.

All the rest of the system is very good also.

I would very strongly recommend upgrading to FSX-SE also. It is only $25.00 normally, although it goes on sale sometiems for $5.00. FSX Box version, or the one on Discs, is getting very hard to find, and thus, quite expensive.

Trying to find add-ons, like planes or scenery, which you pecified wanting, is getting pretty rare for FS2000 also. I think you really need to step up to the 1990's :D

Pat☺

+1 on CPU speed. I'd shoot for 3.8G or faster if I could. And yes the Intel is the better fit. But that's not the issue that worries me here.

I wouldn't even consider trying to run that gear with less than a 500W Power Supply!

I'm sure people will chime in and say they do fine with 400, but I disagree. I want a power supply that is healthy enough so I don't lose voltage in any part of the system. When your equipment gets low voltage it will then start drawing high amperage to reach its' rated wattage. High amperage equals Excess Heat. Excess Heat equals short service life.

IMHO: A bigger PSU is way too cheap to not install from day one! Why burn up what else you've already bought!