MSFS Specs recommendations

Hello all,

 

So I've been looking at two computers and trying to figure out if both are good enough to run MSFS comfortably.

 

Intel i9-10900K - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB - 1TB SSD would be my first choice but is currently sold out.

 

I've been looking at Intel i7-10700K - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB - 1TB HDD + 480GB SSD. I don't like this smaller SSD also having windows as I would probably run out of space quicker with MSFS also installed on this drive. The other question is, is there a huge different is the video cards with one being "super" and the other not where MSFS is concerned?

 

Thanks for your time.

Both are good enough, but as you probably determined the 2070 Super with an SSD would edge out the other computer.

 

Guess it is sold out for a reason.

What monitor are you going to run? At 1920x1200 (about 115% of pixels in 1080p), I am able to run a mix of high and ultra settings at 30 fps. You don't mention a memory spec, and that is important in this program, as a slower memory will result in stuttering. If you plan to run 1440p then you will l,ikely need additional memory. If you plan to run 4K, then you probably need an I9-10900K and a RTX 2080 super and 32GB of memory. The program won't run very well on a HD so that does not leave any room for it to expand on the second system.

You also don't mention a power supply, and a weak one especially a weaker one of low quality, may generate electrical noise and heat as it operates near its limits, which both may be problems with the demands of this program.

What cooler do they install as the 10700K does not come with a stock cooler I think. Also is your case well ventilated, as that will keep your memory cool and help cool your GPU.

Edited November 16, 2020 by plainsman

What monitor are you going to run? At 1920x1200 (about 115% of pixels in 1080p), I am able to run a mix of high and ultra settings at 30 fps. You don't mention a memory spec, and that is important in this program, as a slower memory will result in stuttering. If you plan to run 1440p then you will l,ikely need additional memory. If you plan to run 4K, then you probably need an I9-10900K and a RTX 2080 super and 32GB of memory. The program won't run very well on a HD so that does not leave any room for it to expand on the second system.

You also don't mention a power supply, and a weak one especially a weaker one of low quality, may generate electrical noise and heat as it operates near its limits, which both may be problems with the demands of this program.

What cooler do they install as the 10700K does not come with a stock cooler I think. Also is your case well ventilated, as that will keep your memory cool and help cool your GPU.

 

Thanks for the reply Plainsman.

 

Memory is 16gb ddr 3000 megahertz on both of these boxes

 

Power supply is 650 on the box with i-9, and 600 on the box with i-7

 

Both systems come with iBUYPOWER 240mm AIO liquid cooler

 

I plan to probably use 2 monitors, 27" in size, most likely at 1440p. I'm still a hardware newb in understanding some of the choices in this area, but I can confirm it won't be 4k anytime soon.

 

These are both ibuypower products being sold at Bestbuy, if that helps.

 

Thanks for your time.

The reason I now use AVA Direct and not IBUYPOWER, is the power supply. I bought a Wolfdale (I think it was an E7600) machine from IBUYPOWER, and the power supply failed at about 1.2 years. I then bought an I7 920 (the first I7 series) from AVA Direct, which had an 850 Watt Antec power supply. My son is still using that computer and power supply with a bunch of HDs for storage.

I'm running a 1440p monitor and quite recently upgraded to 32gb ram. At times i've seen over 20gb running so if you can chuck 32gb in, I'd recommend it. It depends on how much future proofing you want. Given that they are still developing the sim, I'm not sure how much extra juice will be required in a few years time with liveried AI traffic, more bells n whistles attached etc. I've just got a 3070 card too and it could still benefit from more, but my previous 16Gb ram and 1070ti still run a nice flight on high and some ultra settings.

Thanks for all the replies and advice, it's most appreciated.

 

I found this one today for quite a bit less money, and per the specs advised in the tech article on this site that tests various hardware it seems these specs could also work.

 

CyberPowerPC - - AMD Ryzen 7 3700X - 16GB Memory - AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT - 1TB SSD

 

Would I regret going this direction instead of the specs I listed in the first post? I'm not likely to be high end running 4k or anything, but I'm seriously tempted by this per the price. ($1000 vs. $1400-$1600)

 

Thanks.

If you are only going to run 1080p at high settings or less, you would be OK with those specs, but you would be pretty limited if you plan to run 1440p, probably only at medium settings. You also would not have much room if an eventual upgrade demands more performance. The 5700XT is a good GPU choice, but the 3700X is not very potent on this program, as the cores are not utilized efficiently.

BTW, I hope you didn't misread the article in the tech forum. The CyberPowerPC machine discussed there was $1350. The ~$1000 was for a unit the person would assemble from parts not an assembled unit. That wasn't a recommended spec machine, but was addressing what a person could find to run the program for ~$1000. He seemed willing to build it himself.

Edited November 17, 2020 by plainsman

I’m not clued up on the AMD cpus, however given the price of the latest 3070/80/90 Gpus and upcoming 6800/800xt/900xt, I would at least get something with one of these in. Unless you change computers every few years, spending the money up front makes sense if you can stretch that far. I had my last pc for 10 years and my son had it for another 2, an old i7 920. Another factor is how much use you will get. The extra few hundred investment is a cheap hobby if it’s getting plenty of use! Given the COVID situation, I thought it was worth upgrading my gpu, ram and 1440 32” monitor for a winter locked inside!

Thanks everyone for the solid advice. I think I'll wait and save a little longer.