MSFS PC Specs

Microsoft has released the minimum, recommended and ideal system and internet specs for the sim.

https://www.flightsimulator.com/save-the-date-04-21-20/

I recently purchased a new flight sim PC and it looks like I am almost at the Ideal specs.

I7-9700K OC to 4.6

NVIDIA RTX 2080 8g memory

16g memory

I will have to up the memory to 32g as I have only 16g as of right now.

Sounds like I'll make it, but I think I may build a Ryzen rig instead just for the Sim. AMD Ryzen sure has a lot going for it especially the price vs Intel.

Count me out for a good while yet sadly! Just wondered why the bandwidth specs? You gotta run it online?

The new Sim will be pulling textures and God knows what else via Azure (Microsoft's cloud). I guess you can cache all that, but I'd plan on at least a 2 TB drive if they allow you to permanently download textures and what not. And when I say a 2 TB drive, it should be a SSD. NVMe would be waaaaaay too expensive at this point in time. Probably don't need it anyway vs a standard SSD.

Count me out for a good while yet sadly! Just wondered why the bandwidth specs? You gotta run it online?

The sim can run in three different modes. First is the one that streams the scenery, including the photogrammetry shown in many of the images they have released, data directly from the Azure servers as you fly. The second option is where you will be able to pre-download the scenery for an area and cache it locally so you don't need to re-download it again. And the final option is a pure offline mode without the online streaming and photogrammetry, basically an improved version of what more traditional sims do.

To get the best experience you will need something like what is listed in the idea specs section they listed. However, you can dial the settings back and still have a decent time with the recommended specs. The sim will also adjust the settings to adapt to your internet connection. Those with data caps on their internet connections will need to keep an eye on how much data is being used, and likely won't be able to use the full live streaming all the time.

If you haven't watched it yet, I recommend checking out Feature Discovery Episode 1 (turn on captions if you have trouble understanding him).

Sounds like I'll make it, but I think I may build a Ryzen rig instead just for the Sim. AMD Ryzen sure has a lot going for it especially the price vs Intel.

 

 

 

 

The new Sim will be pulling textures and God knows what else via Azure (Microsoft's cloud). I guess you can cache all that, but I'd plan on at least a 2 TB drive if they allow you to permanently download textures and what not. And when I say a 2 TB drive, it should be a SSD. NVMe would be waaaaaay too expensive at this point in time. Probably don't need it anyway vs a standard SSD.

That 2TB data is raw data that the developers have to work with. It's obviously of the whole world, andonce processed, will be smaller. Only what is needed will be downloaded, not the whole lot.

That 2TB data is raw data that the developers have to work with. It's obviously of the whole world, andonce processed, will be smaller. Only what is needed will be downloaded, not the whole lot.

The RAW data is 2 Petabytes! That's 2000 TB! I don't think a 2 TB SSD for caching scenery is overkill at all, in fact probably a little light!

One other thing maybe if your a Low and Slow Bush Pilot in Alaska I am sure the Bandwidth will be hungry. Possibly at FL350 not so much

This is a case where downloading and caching regions might be useful.

Considering that some YouTube channels are suggesting that many 3rd party developers are getting on-board and involved, this FS platform is going to be the next generation for some years to come (assuming no more global pandemics, wars, famines, droughts, a planetary orbit change, an asteroid impact, death of all humans left on earth... yes, I am being sarcastic... it makes me feel slightly better w/ our current issues).

I realize there will be things that will need to be addressed, but imagine the ramifications of a global VFR platform - trains... ships/boats/submarines (assuming you can go UNDER water)... planes... space flight (at least to low earth orbit, maybe)... cars/trucking... fishing... In the infancy of the project, I get it; but the possibilities... that's my point.

Then when VR is adapted to the system...

Fly anywhere in the world, truck anywhere, boat anywhere, literally SEE anywhere. It starts with a dream, and this helps realize how achievable some of that dreaming and imagination exploration is. I can't wait to see what they do with this, and what comes next. I am amazed, not just for what they have shown, but for the reinvigoration of a dream.

Not to mention, this post is about system specs. Obviously, the more you want, the better it looks, the more "computer" you'll need. If the internet is the next "wave" of technology within the next decade to explode (to say nothing of what it has already done in 20 years), accessibility and possibilities will grow (ie, SpaceX launching hundreds/thousands of satellites into orbit for global internet).

Hi, appreciate anybody’s input into the spec below:

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Processor - 799

Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3200MHz - 769

Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite Motherboard - 469

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 250GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD - 389

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD - 579

Western Digital WD20EZAZ 2TB Blue 5400RPM Sata - 229

Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1660 SUPER 6GB Gaming OC - 1259

EVGA SuperNova 650 G+ Power Supply - 509

Thermaltake Level 20MT ARGB Computer Case (ATX, TG, Black) - 359

Totolink N300PE PCI-E Wireless Adapter - 55

Windows 10 home oem - 489

Hi, appreciate anybody’s input into the spec below:

 

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Processor - 799

Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3200MHz - 769

Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite Motherboard - 469

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 250GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD - 389

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD - 579

Western Digital WD20EZAZ 2TB Blue 5400RPM Sata - 229

Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1660 SUPER 6GB Gaming OC - 1259

EVGA SuperNova 650 G+ Power Supply - 509

Thermaltake Level 20MT ARGB Computer Case (ATX, TG, Black) - 359

Totolink N300PE PCI-E Wireless Adapter - 55

Windows 10 home oem - 489

Judging by what the developers have posted regarding specs, I'd say you're going to have lots of fun when it's finally released!!

I am NOT some kind of gaming OR techie guru but the system you list seems to meet the 'Recommended' specs for FS2020 quite well?

Not sure what the numbers after the components represent? Can't be the cost of each item?

I note you chose 2 fast M.2 SSD cards and then a mechanical spinning SATA 2TB hard drive. Why not just one M.2 on the MB with a 2.5 1TB SSD hard drive for file storage? It would save a few $$ on the overall build?

I think those are $ amounts spent, maybe. I don't have that kind of $ to spend. I am very blessed to have what is in my hands, now.

I don't think so, I looked up several of the items and none sell for anywhere close to those numbers. All are a small fraction. One example, that motherboard sells on Amazon for about $110 USD

"Assuming" we're talking USD. Pound Sterling or Euros, and not lira. lol

Not as bad as I thought. My current rig is quite old - I7 4770 with 8Gb of RAM and a GTX 1050 2Gb GPU.

I'm in the process of putting in an additional 8Gb of RAM (when it arrives from Amazon) which puts that in the mid range. Should have done that a while back TBH, as 8Gb is not really adequate these days particularly under Win 10 (box was originally bought back in win 7 days).

Not sure where the CPU ranks in terms of those listed.

It looks like the GPU will be the Achilles Heel. The 1050 is surprisingly low rated not even a match for the 770 let alone the 970 which are the minimum and mid range options. (I figured that when fallout 4 actually ran worse than with my old 950 card!). A 1650 Super looks like the best option but will almost certainly come with the need to purchase a new PSU as I have a feeling the one fitted by the builder is a standard 300 - 350 watt one just enough to power the case as supplied.

Still it's quite encouraging and should be possible to get something going with the sim for a little bit of outlay.

I hope that you can select a different drive for the scenery cache then the sim installation. Would like to permanently download the whole US west coast to a WD Gold hard drive since that's where I like to fly.

Other question is how many Tb\s that would require ???

Can't answer the scenery cache location, though I would expect some sort of configuration.

As for a drive to use for the cache, a nice, large SSD would work well. :)

https://www.techradar.com/news/this-8tb-ssd-is-the-biggest-you-can-fit-in-a-normal-laptop