Is this TOO MUCH computer?

Hello fellow aviation nuts, lol.

I know that technically speaking, no one would complain about having a monster machine to run their flight simulator. At the same time, like most of us, I dont have bottomless pockets. Over the years I have always bought a "GOOD" computer for my flight sim needs, but have found that after a few years, I would have to reduce settings for things to run smooth. I am due for a new computer and with MS 2020 out, Im wondering if its a good idea to go way over budget to buy a monster machine in the hope that I would not have to buy a new computer in a few years. I dont have it yet, but I think MSFS 2020 is a dream come true for me. I would love to experience the highest settings possible for as long as possible, so much so, that I (am probably crazy for thinking this) am thinking about going all out for a top machine.

My question is, will all this extra power give me so much more longevity that it would make the extreme cost worth it.

This is what I'm looking at. Am I nuts?

Dell Alienware Aurora R11

10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 10900F (10-Core, 20MB Cache, 2.8GHz to 5.2GHz w/Thermal Velocity Boost)

NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3090 24GB GDDR6X

32GB Dual Channel HyperXâ„¢ FURY DDR4 XMP at 2933MHz; up to 64GB

2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)

Total cost from Dell $4,800.

I keep telling myself I have to be nuts, but I would really love to experience MS 2020 at its best settings for the longest amount of time.

Your thoughts please, and thank you for your help.

Mike

Wow! Can you buy me one too please :)

I always say that when it comes to computers etc, you’re always better off getting the best you can possibly afford, or even a bit more! If you can afford this then absolutely go for it! You are future proofing it.

I’m guessing it’ll be a while before you get it though.. as the RTX3090 cards are still quite rare?

Regards

Steve

Put it this way, you certainly won't be disappointed with this setup. It will give you longer but how much longer is anyones guess because we don't know what is coming down the road with regards to sim updates and also premium aircraft which are sure to tax our machines even further.

Like all of our previous sims there is no personal computer on the market that will run MSFS full tilt with everything set to the max and like all previous PCs it will be out of date before you know it.

I bought the best available PC at time of release and it is already outdated but i am super happy with it and hope it lasts me a few years to come.

Best regards

Stinger

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

It's not too much power, but you're just throwing money away.

Why would any normal user pay the going price for a GTX 3090.

And if you're spending all that money you should get a 10900K processor.

The F model is a dog from a gamers point of view.

OMG, I didn't notice that it has one of those old fashioned spinning hard disks.

IMHO and worth EVERY penny you just now paid for it - lol - nobody buys the old style mechanical SATA hard drives anymore as the technology is just this side of obsolete. That Dell would include it in such a pricey machine is kinda surprising. As to the rest? You 'might' be looking to buy far beyond reasonable and practical need. In 3-5 years whatever you buy today WILL be considered 'ancient' compared to the latest offerings so I wouldn't rely too much on today's PC being future proof at all.

I have to believe that you can get a simply OUTSTANDING PC for MSFS at half the price of what you're considering now?

But hey- it's YOUR money not mine and what makes ME happy has no bearing on what floats your canoe.

Im wondering if its a good idea to go way over budget to buy a monster machine in the hope that I would not have to buy a new computer in a few years.

I did essentially that about 10 years ago when I bought a (not quite top-of-their-line) Digital Storm machine while FSX was still "the thing". It's been great and, with changing out the GPU card about 5 years ago, I was able to run P3D v2.4 smoothly in most places (not around big cities, and not quite maxed), which is still what I'm running. Of course it's still Windows 7 and is useless for the new sim, so for me that has kind of worked -- previously I'd changed computers after about 5 years.

But it certainly doesn't give me the ability to max P3D, even the 2.4 version, and even the later versions of P3D now need Win 10, I'm told, and more power as well.

And as jimbo says: "...but how much longer is anyones guess because we don't know what is coming down the road with regards to sim updates and also premium aircraft which are sure to tax our machines even further."

So don't get your expectations too high, and though that machine will do very well with the new sim, it probably won't allow you to max EVERYTHING now, and less so with future changes in the sim(s).

In other words, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Luck...

nobody buys the old style mechanical SATA hard drives anymore as the technology is just this side of obsolete.

Probably not for PRIMARY storage, but nice for backups and less used stuff as a more economical way of having many, many terabytes without breaking the bank for SSDs. I have several MyBook drives, including a 4 TB, a 6 TB and an 8 TB, that are connected to my older machine for backups and for certain bulky stuff (videos, mainly) via USB3 and they do quite nicely, even allowing me to easily shut them down when not needed (several currently are).

So the solid state stuff isn't the be all/end all for ALL purposes, but is great where performance is needed.

Confucius say, "5 minutes after a fabulous build, Intel will release a better CPU"

With 8% higher performance.

*yawn*

(About like the GTX3080 vs the 3090.)

After looking closer, Here is the difference in the Microcenter machine.

10900KF chip (better than the 10900F)

No SATA drive, Just the 1TB CARD. But for the price difference you can buy a HP G2 VR headset, And a whole slew of SSDs

I have 2 1TB SSDs in addition to the ITB drive that came with it. You are paying way too much buying it directly from DELL!

I went through much the same thought process about four months ago. I had a five-year-old laptop that didn't come close to meeting the minimum specs, and needed to be replaced anyway. For almost 40 years, I've been replacing computers avery 3-5 years to meet new requirements. I decided that I wanted to get the maximum out of the long overdue MSFS and that at my age (70) I might even be buying my last computer, so I got a Dell Alienware M17 R3 that met or exceeded all the optimum specs, but not quite as fancy as yours, for about $3300. I have been thrilled with it and MSFS 2020. I suspect it helps that I do most of my day-to-day stuff on a Macbook, so all I have on the Dell is MSFS and Microsoft 360; in other words, it has not been garbaged up with years of accumulated, useless junk.

I only use the keyboard and mouse with no add-ons of equipment or scenery, so I haven't had any of the compatibility issues so many have complained of in this forum. There have been a few issues, like the short-lived CTD when opening the little map, that affected everyone, but I mostly have had no complaints, and when I am thinking something needs fixing, it often is fixed with the next one or two updates.

As others have noted, though, I don't think anyone can predict how long I'll be able to go without needing to replace this laptop. I do know, though, that it won't be as quickly as if I got one that was less robust.

Finally, I had good broadband before, but upgraded it when I got MSFS2020, although that was also due to the pandemic and streaming a lot more entertainment than I used to.

Dave

I went through much the same thought process about four months ago. I had a five-year-old laptop that didn't come close to meeting the minimum specs, and needed to be replaced anyway. For almost 40 years, I've been replacing computers avery 3-5 years to meet new requirements. I decided that I wanted to get the maximum out of the long overdue MSFS and that at my age (70) I might even be buying my last computer, so I got a Dell Alienware M17 R3 that met or exceeded all the optimum specs, but not quite as fancy as yours, for about $3300. I have been thrilled with it and MSFS 2020. I suspect it helps that I do most of my day-to-day stuff on a Macbook, so all I have on the Dell is MSFS and Microsoft 360; in other words, it has not been garbaged up with years of accumulated, useless junk.

 

I only use the keyboard and mouse with no add-ons of equipment or scenery, so I haven't had any of the compatibility issues so many have complained of in this forum. There have been a few issues, like the short-lived CTD when opening the little map, that affected everyone, but I mostly have had no complaints, and when I am thinking something needs fixing, it often is fixed with the next one or two updates.

 

As others have noted, though, I don't think anyone can predict how long I'll be able to go without needing to replace this laptop. I do know, though, that it won't be as quickly as if I got one that was less robust.

 

Finally, I had good broadband before, but upgraded it when I got MSFS2020, although that was also due to the pandemic and streaming a lot more entertainment than I used to.

 

Dave

Thanks Dave, Sounds like we are in the same camp. And I will probably wind up paying the same as you for my next rig. I too am older and who knows, might be buying my last rid myself. But just like you Ive been waiting for MS2020 all my flight sim days. So I would love to experience it at its best. I'm certainly no flight sim expert and less of a computer geek. It all gets me very frustrated. I keep saying, "This is it. I'm done with flight sims". But like a glutton for punishment I keep going back. Its a fact that flying real world is easier than flying sims. There just never seems to be and end to gltches and bug with sims. If flying real world wasn't so expensive (and dangerous where I live) I would stick to that. But I always go back to sims to feed my aviation addiction in a cheaper and safer way. Now that I wont be flying much real world for now, I figure I will have more money to put into a new rig that can give me a great experience. Unfortunately I get the feeling that I'm going to continue with the frustration even with the best of rigs. I was also thinking of using my new system exclusively for MS 2020, but its a same to spend so much to use for so little. I started out with MS 2000 or something. Since 2013 I jumped to Xplane 11 on an iMac 27". XPlane ran pretty good to begin with but is very slow now especially with weather. But the iMac is a good machine. I would never think of getting a mac with the specs I would on a PC. Way too much money.

I wish I could get as much out of flight sims as many on this forum do. But I think you have to LIKE all the frustration that comes with flight sims. I'm just trying to get the best experience for the longest time.

Mike

Hello fellow aviation nuts, lol.

 

I know that technically speaking, no one would complain about having a monster machine to run their flight simulator. At the same time, like most of us, I dont have bottomless pockets. Over the years I have always bought a "GOOD" computer for my flight sim needs, but have found that after a few years, I would have to reduce settings for things to run smooth. I am due for a new computer and with MS 2020 out, Im wondering if its a good idea to go way over budget to buy a monster machine in the hope that I would not have to buy a new computer in a few years. I dont have it yet, but I think MSFS 2020 is a dream come true for me. I would love to experience the highest settings possible for as long as possible, so much so, that I (am probably crazy for thinking this) am thinking about going all out for a top machine.

 

My question is, will all this extra power give me so much more longevity that it would make the extreme cost worth it.

 

This is what I'm looking at. Am I nuts?

 

Dell Alienware Aurora R11

 

10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 10900F (10-Core, 20MB Cache, 2.8GHz to 5.2GHz w/Thermal Velocity Boost)

 

NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3090 24GB GDDR6X

 

32GB Dual Channel HyperXâ„¢ FURY DDR4 XMP at 2933MHz; up to 64GB

 

2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)

 

Total cost from Dell $4,800.

 

I keep telling myself I have to be nuts, but I would really love to experience MS 2020 at its best settings for the longest amount of time.

 

Your thoughts please, and thank you for your help.

 

Mike

This system is similar to mine, purchased in August (Aurora R11 with an RTX2080 graphics card, 32GB of RAM, and an i7 10700F Intel Core) and MSFS runs very well with graphics settings all on ULTRA. The cost was just over $2000 before taxes, ordered from Dell via Amazon. Although the system you describe is a bit more powerful, I cannot imagine that it is worth all that extra cost -- $4800 sounds ridiculous to me. This looks like overkill, for sure.

Its a fact that flying real world is easier than flying sims. There just never seems to be and end to gltches and bug with sims. If flying real world wasn't so expensive (and dangerous where I live) I would stick to that. But I always go back to sims to feed my aviation addiction in a cheaper and safer way. Now that I wont be flying much real world for now, I figure I will have more money to put into a new rig that can give me a great experience.

I considered fulfilling my dream of flying in real life when I retired. Then I considered my history with cars and motorcycles, and decided my experience with flight simulator over the past 27 or so years was less painful. My 56 years of experience in mountain rescue, including picking up the pieces of numerous airplane and helicopter crashes, also played a part.

Dave

Its not overkill. You'll be set up for the next couple of years. If you can afford it its fine. FWIW you can have someone build you the same PC and spend probably a grand less. I know everyone loves the Alienware warranty but to each their own.

I spent 3000

i9 9900

2080 ti 16gig

64 gig ram

Aorus motherboard.

2 tb of SSD

etc.

There are some solid builders around if you do some research and I got the computer delivered within a week.

Its not overkill. You'll be set up for the next couple of years. If you can afford it its fine. FWIW you can have someone build you the same PC and spend probably a grand less. I know everyone loves the Alienware warranty but to each their own.

 

I spent 3000

 

i9 9900

2080 ti 16gig

64 gig ram

Aorus motherboard.

2 tb of SSD

 

etc.

 

There are some solid builders around if you do some research and I got the computer delivered within a week.

I just have to disagree. There is no need to spend $4800 to achieve great performance in MSFS, as I described earlier. It IS overkill.

You are trying to future proof, which is always tempting when you are going to spend a lot more money than usual on a computer.

I'll just share my experience. Me, 65 yo, retired engineer. In 2014, 7 years ago, I was moonlighting with 3ds max, and decided to build a cad machine that would last into retirement. I bought an 8 core processor, at 3ghz, with big memory, put in 64gb of ram, and bought the quatro k5200 video card. Spent around 5K.

It's been a great computer for me, of course, but the real question is whether I am happy with it 7 years later.

For every rational use of a computer, it's a strong performer. Still runs Cad and 3dsmax like a champ. Of course the render farm type renders take 8 hours or so, but that's not extreme. All flight simulation has run like butter, including msfs 2020, until update 5. That's when the Maxwell architecture in my GPU first showed its age. Clouds flashed making the sim only useful in clear skies. A lot less fun for me.

So, there you go, 7 years later the first sign of obsolescence.

Over the years I've gotten bored with gaming, so when my favorite game (half life) was refashioned with modern graphics into black mess, I got to see how my 7 year old beast handled a modern title.

Smooth and sweet.

So, my thought was to abandon msfs2020 and go back to pd3 as I dont even sim much and big spending without significant return is not ok.

My main use now is digital recording, and thos 7 yr old beast is amazing when running a digital audio workstation software.

Then this last update from asobo fixed the flashing clouds!

So my old computer is totally satisfying my needs 7 yrs later.

Enjoy

Bob

Sent from my SM-A205U using Tapatalk

Buy the best you can, and just down tune it, but the breaks on if need be..... in computing too much is better than too little....

In that case, why stop at a mere $4800? How about $10,000 -- that should buy a really nice computer!

In that case, why stop at a mere $4800? How about $10,000 -- that should buy a really nice computer!

Chicken feed. THIS is what we're talking about: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/8Pack-OrionX2-Dual-System-Extreme-Overclocked-PC-Intel-Core-i9-10980XE-and-Intel-Core-i7-10700K-FS-006-8P.html

Chicken feed. THIS is what we're talking about: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/8Pack-OrionX2-Dual-System-Extreme-Overclocked-PC-Intel-Core-i9-10980XE-and-Intel-Core-i7-10700K-FS-006-8P.html

Looks good, but I will wait until they are on sale!

I have to caution you on Alienware! Please avoid them like the plague!

I was to order one. I in fact placed my order for their top of the line system out now. They then called me shortly after placing it, saying the way things are in the world, they had to make some "Changes" though everything was listed on their site as available.

I never cancelled my order. I then received an order cancellation notice, they couldn't explain why I received one.

Then - their delivery date kept being pushed back.

Do NOT go with them. If you are willing to spend that much money, go with thermaltake, please! You will be pleased with them. I ordered an awesome system from them, with as follows:

Ryzen 12 Core Processor able to go up to 4.2ghz

32gb of Ram

2080ti 11 gb card

and Liquid cooled EVERYTHING.

They even ship it on a pallet by UPS freight.

Please check with them. I had thought I had some issues with the new machine, and they were ready to replace parts immediately, but they didn't have to because it was user error. Their support, (Thermaltake) is TOP NOTCH. If you call them to investigate what you want for a system ask for Mike Or Tony, they are awesome to deal with and they custom build your machine for you.

This is mine what I got.

The case is the View 71

Keep us posted and let us know, and good luck!

By the way, this system runs MSFS 2020 and ALL GAMES on MAX like a dream!

http://www.thermaltake.com

I have to caution you on Alienware! Please avoid them like the plague!

 

I was to order one. I in fact placed my order for their top of the line system out now. They then called me shortly after placing it, saying the way things are in the world, they had to make some "Changes" though everything was listed on their site as available.

 

I never cancelled my order. I then received an order cancellation notice, they couldn't explain why I received one.

 

Then - their delivery date kept being pushed back.

 

I have a different story. I have purchased two Alienware systems, one in 2012 and one in 2020, and have been very pleased with both. The most recent one is an R11 liquid-cooled system and it is awesome. Excellent service and startup on both occasions.