Custom-built PC advice needed!

Hi everyone!

I used to be a flight sim maniac for years, but life got in the way and I left it all behind about 6 years ago. A lot has changed in the technology-side-of-things, and luckily also in the money-side-of things for me, which means that I have a healthy budget to get back into the flight sim world. i used to only use FSX, but I've done enough research already to know that Prepar3d is the platform I will be going with now.

This is the custom PC that I want to have built for me (here, in the UK), that fits in my budget and I would like to ask for some opinions and advice on it. if it matters - maybe, for the GPU advice - I will be using an Ultra-Wide Curved 49'' Samsung monitor or a regular 40''+ TV; unlikely to be using a 3 monitor set up, as the monitors' bezels annoy me when flying. I also want to get a head-tracker (not VR goggles). Also, all of my questions are in bold italics:

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™ i9 Eight Core Processor i9-9900K (3.6GHz) 16MB Cache

Is it worth upgrading to the i9-9920X? It would take me slightly above my budget to be honest, but is it even worth considering?

Motherboard

ASUS® ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready

Is this a good motherboard? (I have no idea what a motherboard actually is/does)

Memory (RAM)

32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB)

How much does the MHz matter? I've seen them as low as 2600MHz or as high as 3600MHz.

Graphics Card

8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!

Is it true that Prepar3d is not very GPU hungry? The shop who would build this PC recommended I go for 2070 instead, but because the price difference is only around £150 ($200) I think I'm going to stick with the 2080 SUPER. I could also get the 2080 Ti 11GB, but is there a point?

1st Storage Drive

2TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

1st M.2 SSD Drive

500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)

Power Supply

CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET

I am worried that 650W is not enough! Do I need a more powerful one?

Processor Cooling

Corsair H100x Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans

Thermal Paste

STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

Sound Card

ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Wireless/Wired Networking

WIRELESS 802.11 AC1900 1,300Mbps/5GHz, 600Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD

USB/Thunderbolt Options

MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Operating System

Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]

Warranty

3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

I do know that this is a very powerful PC, however I just want to make sure that I am not missing something or getting something that isn't worth it, only because it fits within my budget. I have very very limited I.T. knowledge and the only way for me to try and figure out the best set up is by picking the most expensive components and putting them together. I will be doing VATSIM flying only, therefore PMDGs, FlightSimLabs and airport sceneries etc. will all be installed too and I want to get the best performance possible.

Any opinions and advice is highly appreciated.

Thank you

Dominik

For a CPU you need to get the one from Intel that can run at the maximum GHz rating possible, but remember that the second you overclock, the warranty goes out the window. The number of cores does not matter that much.

For the RAM, as high a MHz rating as possible.

For the graphics card, get the 2080TI - reason: 11 GB of VRAM.

You should, as one of the first things you do with this system, update the BIOS on the motherboard. If the shop who builds this system for you also installs Windows, ask them to do the update.

Jorgen

For a CPU you need to get the one from Intel that can run at the maximum GHz rating possible, but remember that the second you overclock, the warranty goes out the window. The number of cores does not matter that much.

 

For the RAM, as high a MHz rating as possible.

 

For the graphics card, get the 2080TI - reason: 11 GB of VRAM.

 

You should, as one of the first things you do with this system, update the BIOS on the motherboard. If the shop who builds this system for you also installs Windows, ask them to do the update.

 

Jorgen

I will have the company who builds it overclock it for me, and that way the warranty is not affected - I've already discussed that with them.

If the number of cores don't matter too much, is it not better to get an i7 instead of an i9 then for P3D?

Also, is that 11GB of VRAM going to be that beneficial? I thought P3D is much more CPU reliant than GPU reliant.

Thank you for your help!

If the builder overclocks and thereby takes over any warranty obligations, then that problem is solved.

The question of an i7 vs. an i9 is diffucult, but I would expect that the i9 is more efficient in handling instructions than the i7... I would take the one that can be overclocked to the highest rate, and if that rate is the same then pick the less expensive one.

You may also want to look over this thread, sto.... er, copied from L-M's support forums:

https://www.prepar3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6315&t=134300

The topic of CPU vs. GPU reliance is also a difficult one, since I don't know of any published ratios for that. However, P3D is generally acknowledged as being able to offload more processing to the GPU than FSX.

The reason I would go with 11 GB of VRAM is that the picture that the GPU "paints" can be more detailed if you have more VRAM.

Jorgen

Thank you Jorgen.

All points taken. I will be going with i9-9900K overclocked to 4.9GHz and the 2080 Ti 11GB.

Once again, thanks.

Dominik

I have the i9-9900k and have it stable at 5.2GHz on each of the regular cores (turned hyperthreading off). I also have a 2080 GTX (not Ti). Let me know how the Ti does with frame rates if you don't mind as I might be buying one in the future after mining enough bitcoin with the 2080 GTX.

Eric