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Advise on new setup


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Im looking at some setups at my local electronics store, and have been out of the FS loop for a few years. Looking for some help on a rig that will run MSFS with plenty of uumph. I have narrowed it down to a few systems. Please advise.

 

System 1

SSD, HDD

Total Storage Capacity

2240 gigabytes

Solid State Drive CapacityInfo

240 gigabytes

Hard Drive CapacityInfo

2000 gigabytes

System Memory (RAM)Info

16 gigabytes

GraphicsInfo

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660

Processor Speed (Base)Info

3.2 gigahertz

Processor ModelInfo

Intel 9th Generation Core i7

Processor Model Number

i7-9700F

Operating SystemInfo

Windows 10 Home

General

Product Name

Element Gaming Desktop- Intel Core i7-9700F - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 - 2TB Hard Drive + 240GB SSD

 

System 2

Storage Type

SSD, HDD

Total Storage Capacity

1256 gigabytes

Solid State Drive CapacityInfo

256 gigabytes

Hard Drive CapacityInfo

1000 gigabytes

System Memory (RAM)Info

16 gigabytes

GraphicsInfo

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

Processor Speed (Base)Info

3.6 gigahertz

Processor ModelInfo

AMD 3rd Generation Ryzen 7

Processor Model Number

3700X

Operating SystemInfo

Windows 10 Home

General

Product Name

30L Gaming Desktop - AMD Ryzen 7-Series - 3700X - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 - 1TB HDD + 256GB SSD

 

System 3

Storage Type

HDD, SSD

Total Storage Capacity

1500 gigabytes

Solid State Drive CapacityInfo

500 gigabytes

Hard Drive CapacityInfo

1000 gigabytes

System Memory (RAM)Info

16 gigabytes

GraphicsInfo

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT

Processor Speed (Base)Info

3.6 gigahertz

Processor ModelInfo

AMD 3rd Generation Ryzen 5

Processor Model Number

3600

Operating SystemInfo

Windows 10

General

Product Name

Gamer Master Gaming Desktop - AMD Ryzen 5 3600 - 16GB Memory - AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT - 1TB HDD + 500GB SSD

 

System 4

Storage Type

SSD

Total Storage Capacity

1000 gigabytes

Solid State Drive CapacityInfo

1000 gigabytes

System Memory (RAM)Info

16 gigabytes

GraphicsInfo

AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

Processor Speed (Base)Info

3.6 gigahertz

Processor ModelInfo

AMD 3rd Generation Ryzen 7

Processor Model Number

3700X

Operating SystemInfo

Windows 10

General

Product Name

Gamer Supreme Gaming Desktop - AMD Ryzen 7 3700X - 16GB Memory - AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT - 1TB SSD

 

Thanks in advance for all the help.

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Hello, here is where I "land" on the subject. I am not a hardware expert by any means but have been a flightsim pilot since Sublogic days. I no longer "upgrade" anything existing, I use my current PC until current flight sim software and my simulator hardware exceed its capability to the point I am unhappy with it. Then I get a new machine (I think this is where your question starts).

 

I save up, and other than being on the bleeding edge, I try not to compromise too much on selecting high-end PC hardware capabilities (processor, video card, etc.). This is so I can delay as long as possible repeating the process of migrating to a new machine. I just made the FSX to P3D switch (P3D version 4 for now because I do not want to be a version 5 "beta" tester). I found a company https://www.digitalstorm.com that makes custom PCs and can set up overclocking etc. Three of my sim buddy's have used them and even if you want to build the PC yourself they have a great site to get ideas from. I like that they do not play a secret with what hardware they will use. They are in the business to build custom, quality machines with lifetime support. You may not want to pay for the hand holding but when I priced out components I did not find their premium at all unreasonable. They install no bloatware and will set it up with no anti-virus whatsoever. And they have access to Nvidea 3080 cards as they assemble in good quantity. Also, they are transparent about whether you are paying for a Founder's video card version or what third-party Nvidea chip product they will supply and the cost difference between each choice. They support AMD fully as well. I tend to stick with Intel and Nvidea but I do think the competition is right on their tail and there could be an argument for changing.

 

This is the machine I arrived at. It is around $4k.

i9-10900K

ASUS ROG MAXIMUS XII HERO MB (intel Z490 chipset)

32GB DDR4 3200MHz

1200W modular power supply (Thermaltake)

M.2 500GB SSD

Nvidea GeForce RTX 3080 10GB [i wouldn't get less than 8GB for the newer P3D or MS sims]

 

I elected liquid cooling. I did not go all out custom for extreme overclocking (this can add cost quickly). I elected to get a Thermal Management control board & software (seeing my buddy's machines I really was impressed with digital storm's custom board). You have absolute full control over fans and noise with no worry of overheating and are assured of receiving warnings if you end up setting something up inadequately. I never could seem to fully control the fans on my current machine.

 

I wish you the best on your decisions. I do not feel qualified to answer which of your machine choices I would go with based on cost/benefit.

Edited by LJ45man
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I take your comment that you want the program to run with uumph, to mean you are not looking to just run at lower settings on a lower resolution monitor. You don't mention your monitor resolution, and this is quite important. It is much easier to drive a 1080p monitor than a 4K monitor.

Picking up on the post above, I agree a builder that allows somewhat custom build will ultimately be more satisfying. At the lower end of this type are companies like Cyberpower PC and IBuyPower. A step up from there at only a slight cost increase, is a company like AVADirect, which I have used on my last three builds. All of these should be able to build a machine that will run the program well at all but 4K resolution, for about $1,800-2,000. If you plan to run 4K, then a company like the one above or Origin PC might be a better choice, but plan to spend ~$4,000, as it is very very demanding to run FS2020 at 4K.

Edited by plainsman
I7-9700K, RTX-2070, Asus Strix Z-390-H MB, 32gb G Skill 3000 CL15, Corsair Obsidian 750D case, WD Black 1tb M.2, Crucial CT500MX SSD, Seasonic Prime 750W Titanium PSU
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If you plan to run 4K, then a company like the one above or Origin PC might be a better choice, but plan to spend ~$4,000, as it is very very demanding to run FS2020 at 4K.

 

Plainsman, you make a great point and I am glad you added that. I do indeed run two monitors at 4K and a third touch screen at its max res (1920 x 1080), and I am only running P3D. As you state, MS2020 would up the demand. The 4K resolution is what made me upgrade my PC the time before now. Also, remember as your sim increases in its framerate capability due to video card upgrade, that in turn loads the CPU more because it has to update the sim parameters more often. This is probably over simplifying things but it is very real from my experience. So things really must be "matched" based on one's slider settings etc. and it takes lots of experimentation specific to all the hardware.

Edited by LJ45man
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  • 4 weeks later...

Did you find your dream rig yet? They will all work. Just a wild guess but I'd say the last one will be the fastest. MSFS is reported to be single thread clock speed dependent. It doesn't take as much advantage of multiple cores as other "games". You can probably tweek the AMD CPU a little but the Intel in #1 is locked so the clock speed is what it is. With #1 you have more ram than you need and I would spend that money on something else.

 

There is all sorts of You Tube Videos that compare CPUs and GPUs but nobody tests them on MSFS which is not a game in the normal sense. Ordinary gamers who play at 200+FPS would be totally agast at something that struggles to maintain 45 to 50 FPS or so maybe a few more depending on setting but you get the idea. My badly made point is take the reviews with a grain of salt. But faster is always better. It's a game of how much can you afford because there will always be more, bigger, better, faster to lust after.

 

Then there is price. Everything is worth something. The ones above are generally at a price point somewhere between $1,000-$1,500 and although there are variations everything that sells in that range has similar specs. AMD is often a little cheaper but Intel has recently dropped their prices on some CPUs.

 

Happy landings landing a computer. Take a look at the range of rigs people on the forum are using. I found that very interesting how light some of them are. No matter what its just all about having fun. That's what matters.

Liquid cooled, Intel i7-10700K, NVIDIA 3070, G.Skill Ram 32 GB, 2TB M.2 NVME. Z490 MB Loads of Christmas lights. :pilot:
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I7-9700K, RTX-2070, Asus Strix Z-390-H MB, 32gb G Skill 3000 CL15, Corsair Obsidian 750D case, WD Black 1tb M.2, Crucial CT500MX SSD, Seasonic Prime 750W Titanium PSU
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Thank you. Did you know that Richard Bach who wrote Jonathan Livingston Seagull owned on of the little sea planes and flew it from his winter home in FL where it was built across country to his home hanger on an island just north of Seattle. He wrote about it in a very good book Travels With Puff. The next year he crashed it into power lines at the end of a private runway and almost got killed. I haven't checked on him lately. It is a plane I fully intend to fly. Although it looks really cool in real life it's handful to fly.

 

Thanks again for the links.

Liquid cooled, Intel i7-10700K, NVIDIA 3070, G.Skill Ram 32 GB, 2TB M.2 NVME. Z490 MB Loads of Christmas lights. :pilot:
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