Minor upgrade advise?

[longhaul747 71]

My system is dated but surprisingly not all that bad at least I tend to think so.  I built it back in 2013 with at the time was considered upper high end hardware for the most part.  Pretty much all I have done with it is play FSX and P3D and it worked very well with these programs.  Looked at building a new dream system for FS2020 but quickly hit $2,000 and still had more stuff to buy for a completely new build.  Since I am currently unemployed over Covid 19 such a build is currently a fantasy.  So my main priority will be an interim system upgrade so I an run FS2020 minimally then in 6 months to a year when everything blows over and hardware gets a bit better I will then build a new system.

My problem is I have been out of touch for a long time with computer hardware and really don't know what is good and not and more so what will work with my old system?  A lot of rules have to be followed but I don't know what those rules are?  Especially on a dated system like mine.  Luckily i am mechanically inclined to build a new system when the times comes.  I have done it countless times its just after my last build I was happy for a long time!

My budget is roughly about $500.

My current build is below,

Intel I7 3770 3.4GHZ (3.9GHz Turbo) CPU

Gigabyte GeForce GTX650 2GB GDDR5 Video Card

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H mothboard

G-Skill Ripjaws Z 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 2400

2 x Western Digital 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drives

Antec 500W Power Supply

At minimum I will need the fastest video card that will work with my current hardware and I will need more memory.  I think I can go to 16GB but might be able to do 32.  I am of coarse limited to DDR3.  Also if I can squeeze a SSD drive at least for the FS2020 install this would be a nice bonus.  $500 is a rough estimate but if I need to stretch a bit I can probably do it.  Also my power supply might be a problem?  It still works fine but I know back in the day 500 watts was not enough.  I heard in some cases hardware is more efficient now but I guess it kind of depends on what you go with?  A power supply upgrade is not difficult but adds to the cost of coarse!

It runs FSX and P3D nearly spotless.  The video card is a bit weak but at least with FSX it was more CPU based anyway.  The Intel I7 3770 at least for its time was known for being having a lot of torque.  So I believe it helped run FSX well and I would like to think it will hold up to FS2020 at least minimally.  The system RAM and the video card is pretty much a "NO GO" however!

Thank You for the input and I apologize for being hardware illiterate! 

 

 

[Bert Pieke 7,584]

In all fairness you really should be thinking about a new system, but a used GTX 1070 + 2X8 GB DDR3 memory would keep you going for a while..

I recently installed this, for the same reason..

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-16gb-240-pin-ddr3-sdram/

Edited July 22, 2020 by Bert Pieke

[longhaul747 71]

Yeah, its looking like just building a new system might be a better option at this point.  By the time I get a much better video card and add the appropriate amount of RAM along with a SSD drive I am not far away from a new build in price.  Especially if I spec more budget hardware and a lot of the budget stuff will still outperform what I got.

Today I am going to price budget hardware for giggles and see what I can come up with?  Problem is being unemployed over Covid-19 currently may prevent me from really doing anything and it might be better to wait it out until I can build the right system.  At minimum FS2020 may run at minimum spec I bet poorly on my current system but research definitely supports upgrading at least the RAM to 16GB.  Luckily I am stuck at 1080p as I have not yet upgraded to a 4K monitor.  Some of the latest video cards seem to support 4K for the most part! 

Amazingly my current CPU is rated middle of the road now days except it does lack some details of the newer processors which may or may not be important for FS2020.  It was a real powerhouse back in the day.  A video card upgrade and going for a RAM upgrade will definitely help but again in the long run probably not money well spent.

How important is an SSD drive?  I remember reading early on that is was pretty much almost required for FS2020 but that may have changed.  Regular hard drives are just not fast enough for all that data that will need to be moved around.      

[Mace 1,908]

On 7/22/2020 at 10:08 AM, longhaul747 said:

 it might be better to wait it out until I can build the right system. 

I think this.

When you build a new sys, hopefully by then you will be employed and will have the $$$ to do it right.

Once that happens, yes you should go for SSD's (actually M.2 drive, at least for the boot drive).  SSD prices have dropped a lot over the past several years.

In my view (and mind you this is a muddy view since MSFS isn't out yet and I don't have access to it) your video card is the biggest drawback of all the hardware you posted, if you're talking about MSFS.

But I'd wait it out, and do it right...you know how nice it is when you build a sys that you are happy with for 5-6+ years.

What Bert said above (GTX1070 + 2x8 GB ram) would keep you going as he said.  You might also look around for people selling hardware here (I'm not sure I trust buying from just anyone) but an AVSIM person I might.  People are upgrading all the time and might have nice hardware they will sell for cheap.

[longhaul747 71]

Yeah, this is what I did back in late 2012 or early 2013 when I built my current system.  I went for 2nd from the top of the line in specs and used slightly more expensive but quality hardware and the system has held up very well for the past 7 or 8 years.  Was not that expensive as it is now.  Originally a Windows 7 system so back then 8GB of memory was more then plenty.  Now I see cheap systems being sold at Costco with double that.  So I am really looking at adding more memory for more reasons then just MSFS alone.  I got 4 memory slots so I could go to 32 if I use all 4 but its costly.  I have not yet decided if I am going to do that?  I seem to remember using all 4 was a bit of a NO NO if you can help it! 

On NewEgg the other day I put together a new budget system and it was still a bit expensive and I just could not justify it.  CPU chosen for example was either the same clock speed as I had or even slightly slower.  I am sure after so many years you have a lot more to the story then raw clock speed but an old school guy like me did not like it.  I remember back in the early 2000's a new budget Celeron chip was out performing the top of the line Pentium chips from 6 months ago.  I remember buying a budget e-machine computer for $500 that blew away my friends slightly older top of the line $3000 system.  Comparatively speaking hardware has stagnated but the good news is a system made today will hold up longer then in the past.

I have read a few unconfirmed reports that if you system can run FSX and P3D moderately well you will be surprised and the MSFS should run moderately well.  So before I do anything I will give it a shot.  I don't mind severely reduced settings in the short term.  The question is will it even boot up?  Minimum video card for MSFS is a GTX750 but other then being slightly faster card its essentially the same from what I know.  So my tentative mindset is yes but a video card upgrade will provide a lot of satisfaction!

I read a thread at cnet and a person had the same CPU as me but was looking to build a whole new system for the latest games.  The techs over there said his CPU was more then adequate and that most games use the GPU heavily now days so all they really recommended was a video card upgrade.  So maybe the same thing in my case at least until I can build a new system and the hardware gets a little better and cheaper.  Checking EBay I found plenty of vendors selling used GTX1070 and its not that expensive but not sure I trust the vendors?  I also need to double check my power supply and see if I have the proper connector on it?  But for now the best option is upgrading the video card and memory but I think I will wait until MSFS is released 1st just to see how bad it actually is.

I hope I am back to work at some point sooner rather then later so I can just build a new upper high end machine and be done with it for a while like I did in the past.  I am unofficially done with budget systems if I can help it! 

      

 

[udidwht 133]

As a beta tester for the new sim you'll be fine with the 3770. I'm running the 3770K with a RTX 2070 OC and the sim runs very well. As time goes by it (MSFS) will get better with service pack/s

 

1. GPU

2. Memory (32GB)

3. SSD drive

[longhaul747 71]

Thanks for the feedback!

Still debating on what to do but right now upgrading my current system is a lot more financially attractive then buying a new or building a new system assuming the rest of my hardware is not about to time out (which is a concern).  I am starting to see budget gaming systems pop up out there for under $1000 that have favorable specs for FS2020 but still not ideal.  Costco has a Lenovo Legion budget system for $899.  Intel I5 processor, 16 GB of RAM, GTX 1660 6B video card, 1TB hard drive and a 256GB SSD.  Not a bad budget system but for about $400 or $500 more you can double those specs.  

Right now I am just waiting it out and will see how it runs on my current system before doing anything?  If its a crisis and does not run at all or unplayable even at minimum settings I will then explore options.  I am still thinking my current CPU is very adequate and will just need a RAM upgrade and a better graphics card plus an SSD will not hurt.  

     

[udidwht 133]

If your intent on keeping your set up and upgrading it....

1. 32GB DDR3 RAM (low CL)

2. GPU...RTX 2070

3. PSU (at min no less than 650w)

4. SSD drive/s

 

See my sig. I'm running DCS at high settings with solid 60FPS (vsync set) I also beta the new sim and it runs very well with settings near high - ultra. The new sim will get better optimization as SP's roll out.

Edited August 13, 2020 by udidwht

[bobbyjack 61]

That's the beauty of a desktop you put together yourself. You don't have to upgrade it all at once. Does it cost more in the long run to upgrade over a period of time? Sure, but you don't have that luxury. I think it's amazing that you can come up with any money for an upgrade right now. You already know what you need. More ram, better gpu, and an SSD. PSU is a little light but should work. Good luck.

[longhaul747 71]

Here is a follow up on my current situation.  I managed to get FS2020 installed and all things considering it runs pretty good on my existing hardware.  Amazing since it fires off a warning that i don't meet minimum specs.  Other then some CTD issues which I think I have fixed its playable. 

Unfortunately money is getting tighter and I no longer want to tap savings for a completely new PC.  Also I not satisfied with current hardware specs and prices.  Most of that is being unemployed but I built my current system which as the time was second from top of the line and it was $800 in parts.  Now $800 in parts does not get you much and going for near top of the line is more like $1500 or more now in parts. 

I am thinking at least for now going to 16 or possibly 32GB of DDR3 2400 memory and going with a run of the mill GTX1660 Super video card.  It won't be perfect but if it runs good on my current setup except in big cities it gets a bit rough at times.  I blame that on the lack of ram and my GTX650 video card.  At least I hope but I am still concerned flying in cities with some clouds and weather. 

I am thinking of adding an SSD drive but for now at least over the next few weeks trying without it.  Other then occasional pauses of 1 or 2 seconds its really not happening much and from what I have seen those with high end PC's and SSD drives also get the 1 or 2 second stutters occasionally. 

When I get back to work in the future and hardware catches up for what FS2020 really needs I will consider it then.