Advice needed for new PC

[devear 0]

Hello everyone,

 

The time has come that I really need a new computer. 

I currently own a laptop with the following specs:

 

i7 6700HQ @ 2,60 to 3,20 GHz

Geforce GTX 960m 4gb

8 gb DDR4 RAM

 

I own P3D v4, but just can‘t get it to run smooth. The PMDG 737 gives me 18 FPS combined with Active Sky while the settings are set really low. FSX doesn‘t work well either and is extremely unstable. For this reason I have been stuck with FS2004 for a long while but it‘s limits are really showing, and it‘s becoming more and more difficult to keep a realistic feel to such an old sim.

So I am planning to get a new computer to run P3D v4 with the following addons:

 

PMDG 737NGX

REX Texture Direct + Soft clouds

ORBX Global Base

Active Sky 2016

Various airport sceneries I might buy in the future

NL2000 v5 (maybe)

 

I found a computer which might do the job. I couldn‘t find a lot info about others using these specs, but this is it:

 

CPU: i7 8700 3,4 to 4,6 GHz 6-core (non-K variant)

GPU: Geforce GTX 1060 6GB

RAM: 16 gb DDR4

SSD: yes (256 gb)

HDD: yes (1 tb)

 

I am not planning on overclocking. Aiming to play at a resolution of 1920x1080. I also don‘t seek to max everything out as I just want a good balance between graphics and performance (although a bit of eye candy is always great, I should add).

 

Do you think this would be a good rig, or are there better options for around €1000 - €1200?

Thanks in advance,

and have a great day.

– Dennis

 

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by devear

[Beardyman 604]

Why GTX1060 ?, 1660 seems to be a better choice

Asking cause i am on the same page, wondering which graphic is a perfect balance between performance and price

Edited August 27, 2019 by Beardyman

[himmelhorse 1,276]

Dennis,

Is what you are contemplating buying still a laptop?

My advice (for what it is worth)

1. Buy the best you can afford.

2. A 256gb SSD for Drive C is going to be very, very quickly filled up and 512gb SSD or higher is preferable.

3. A core i7 8700 is not 3.4 to 4.6 as it is not overclockable ... only the i7 8700k is overclockable. In fact, the k is the overclockable indicator in all intel CPU categories.

4. As Beardyman suggests the 1660 would appear to be a better choice but a GTX1070 or RTX2070 would be preferable.

5. A 2tb HDD is similar to the SSD. it will very quickly fill up with P3D but it will keep you going for a while.

6. The system you are contemplating has already been superceded. This is not to say that it is not worthwhile buying. I am pointing to future upgrades.  It is my humble opinion that the more involved in Flight simming you become. the faster and more often you will want to upgrade.

7. Buy the fastest RAM you can and 16GB is adequate

8. The new system will handle P3dv4 reasonably and FS2004 would become a rocket.

Good luck

Tony

 

 

[devear 0]

1 hour ago, himmelhorse said:

Dennis,

Is what you are contemplating buying still a laptop?

My advice (for what it is worth)

1. Buy the best you can afford.

2. A 256gb SSD for Drive C is going to be very, very quickly filled up and 512gb SSD or higher is preferable.

3. A core i7 8700 is not 3.4 to 4.6 as it is not overclockable ... only the i7 8700k is overclockable. In fact, the k is the overclockable indicator in all intel CPU categories.

4. As Beardyman suggests the 1660 would appear to be a better choice but a GTX1070 or RTX2070 would be preferable.

5. A 2tb HDD is similar to the SSD. it will very quickly fill up with P3D but it will keep you going for a while.

6. The system you are contemplating has already been superceded. This is not to say that it is not worthwhile buying. I am pointing to future upgrades.  It is my humble opinion that the more involved in Flight simming you become. the faster and more often you will want to upgrade.

7. Buy the fastest RAM you can and 16GB is adequate

8. The new system will handle P3dv4 reasonably and FS2004 would become a rocket.

Good luck

Tony

 

 

Thank you for your reply tony.

What I am contemplating is a desktop.
What I meant with the CPU is that the max turbo frequency is 4.6 (at least it says so).
I indeed think that the GTX1070 will be a better option, but I don't really want to go much above €1200.
A 2TB might be a bit overkill as I will use it for P3D only and no other sims or games.
Keeping the OS on a clean SSD and the sim on the HDD shouldn't give any problems, right?
I don't really need te newest and most expensive system, I just want a smooth simming experience with good graphics.

This is the system I am currently looking at: https://www.coolblue.nl/en/product/826056/acer-nitro-n50-600-9070.html

If you know otter systems in that price range, I'd love to see some because I am not an expert when it comes to hardware.

- Dennis
 

Edited August 27, 2019 by devear

[himmelhorse 1,276]

Dennis,

My experience with P3D is limited. I have found, however, that P3d has an addon folder on Drive C. There may be alternatives to this, but, this is the folder which will fill a 256gb SSD very quickly.

All of this, of course, depends on your add-ons and if you limit them, then obviously, your "C" drive will not fill up as quickly.

As I said 1tb HDD will be OK in the short term and again, it depends on your add-ons and sceneries.

My experience, and this will vary from person to person, is that a system that you put together is going to be a little cheaper (in that you can negotiate each and every component) that to walk in and just buy a fully made up "off the shelf" system.

Of course, all of these factors are entirely up to you. You are in charge of your purse strings (particularly if you are not married LOL) ... you know what you can afford and what your budget will be.

We, the community, do not know these details, so the best advice can only be ... buy the best you can afford. keeping upgrades in mind, generally speaking, a GPU is the first component to consider as it is not really dependent on MB, CPU and RAM.

In my case, I cannot upgrade just my RAM or my CPU or Motherboard. These all have to be compatible, so I have to invest in "NEW" all three.  A GPU I can just buy and install into my current system. 

A lot of simmers buy the top of the line hardware (at time of purchase) and still want, or feel the need, to upgrade almost on an annual basis.  I am one of these people, but am severely governed by a lack of the readies,

So, again, buy the best you can afford at the time ... just bear in mind that the purchase you are contemplating is going to be entirely adequate for the time being.

Regards

Tony

 

 

[AnkH 2,262]

@himmelhorse Tony, if you already start by saying that your experience with P3D is limited, why you then nevertheless post such a completely wrong statement about the addon folder on C:\? I do not have any addon on C:\, with the exception of very few addons, you can install them where ever you want. Personally, I have now a 256GB SSD in use as C:\ drive and I still have 120GB free, I use it now for more than two years. If you keep your system tidy and clean, Windows 10 and maybe Office and all other "system-related" Software, you will hardly ever use the full 256GB...

[himmelhorse 1,276]

Chris,

There may be alternatives to this, but, this is the folder which will fill a 256gb SSD very quickly.Chris,

Tony

[overspeed3 410]

Once the MSFS 2020 is released you may think about switching to it (of course, if it lives up to all the hype).  So you should not limit your disc storage capacity in a new rig, esp. when prices for new SSD's and HHD's are relatively  cheap.... 

[devear 0]

3 minutes ago, overspeed3 said:

Once the MSFS 2020 is released you may think about switching to it (of course, if it lives up to all the hype).  So you should not limit your disc storage capacity in a new rig, esp. when prices for new SSD's and HHD's are relatively  cheap.... 

I am not planning on getting MSFS 2020.

[overspeed3 410]

Devear:

I'm not pushing 2020 but my motto is: "Never say never"  (Plus, you can't go wrong getting more storage space now - I made that mistake, then had to install a second larger-capacity SSD).

[johncott 177]

8 hours ago, devear said:

>>>

CPU: i7 8700 3,4 to 4,6 GHz 6-core (non-K variant)

GPU: Geforce GTX 1060 6GB

RAM: 16 gb DDR4

SSD: yes (256 gb)

HDD: yes (1 tb)

<<<

Dennis,

Far as storage, definitely go with a minimum 500GB SSD.  The price different will probably only be about $40 or $50. The question you have to asked yourself, if I run out of SSD storage in a year and have to buy a bigger drive how much is my time worth to reload the OS and everything else. The same for a HDD. There may be about $20 or $30 difference in price to go with a 2TB instead of a 1TB.  If you can afford it spend the extra and get the bigger drive.  When it comes to storage you do not have to spend much more to get a lot more.

Cheers,

John Cottreau