so I used to fly all the time on fsx back when it first came out with the basic aircraft but fell out of touch with it years ago. I've decided to get serious with it this time and wanting to fly with all the add ons this time, looking at pmdg to start with and gsx before I explore into how everything works, I dont want to throw myself into everything at once not having a clue how to work any of it at all. Long story short though, I know its a question asked so often and it bugs me too but I cant help myself and really need to know so my specs are below, 

 

Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™ i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700 (3.2GHz) 12MB Cache

Motherboard

ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS XI HERO: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready

Memory (RAM)

16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card

6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Ti - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!

 

1st Storage Drive

250GB Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)

2nd Storage Drive

1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE

Power Supply

CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY

Power Cable

1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Processor Cooling

CoolerMaster MasterLiquid Lite 120 High Performance Liquid Cooler

Thermal Paste

COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND

Extra Case Fans

2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)

Sound Card

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

Wireless/Wired Networking

WIRELESS 802.11 AC1300 867Mbps/5GHz, 400Mbps/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]

Operating System Language

United Kingdom - English Language

Windows Recovery Media

Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account

Office Software

FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)

Anti-Virus

BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode

Browser

Google Chrome™

 

Do we think this will be powerful enough to run things like PMDG, GSX, and sceneries at a minimum or should I look at it again?

Yeah it's pretty decent.  Is it a PC bought at a shop or store?  Some components are not normally what people would build...like the CPU.... is it a regular 8700 or 8700K?

The video card... most people here end up forking over the cash for a RTX 2070 or 2080 Ti.... I read the 1660 is actually a pretty good middle range card though...you'll be fine with that!

The Power supply...haha we just had a debate here over the last few weeks...  450W technically would work but I'd look for a 550W as a minimum.

Hopefully the 8700 is a "K"...

No need for the PCI-E WIFI card.  The XI Hero comes with an Intel 9560 Wireless AC card rated for 1.73Gbps.

And yeah, a bit more PSU would be a good idea.  Especially if you plan to overclock (most of us do ).

Good luck,

Greg

If that really is a non-K 8700 then it won't overclock and water cooling would be overkill (nice all the same though).

I'd consider a 9700K cpu if you can.  8 physical cores is much nicer in the sim.  Plus you can overclock the 9700K -- your motherboard is set up for "touchless" overclocking.  If you don't plan to overclock there are much cheaper motherboards available.  I agree with Greg and Ryan you will probably want a little more power supply if overclocking.