Hi,

I am new to this forum. Up until now I've been playing FSX Steam Edition on my Surface Pro 4 (i5, 256GB model) which, as you can probably imagine, is not exactly an ideal setup. I cannot push the graphics too high and the device gets very hot during use, which surely cannot be good for it. I have therefore begun to investigate self building a PC to use instead. However, I do not have the required funds to splurge on the highest quality components such as Core i7's, high end graphics cards, feature-packed motherboards etc, so I have compiled the below list of more "budget-friendly" components which, according to my own research, I believe would still meet my requirements. All in all, these specifications should come to about £600.

 

Proposed Specification:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3300X (4 core, 8 thread, 3.8GHz base, 4.3GHz turbo)

MOTHERBOARD: MSI B450-A Pro Max

RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX

GPU: Zotac Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 6GB

SSD: Crucial MX500 500GB

PSU: be quiet! System Power 9 600W

 

I would be grateful if those with more experience than myself could comment on these specifications in relation to what I am trying to achieve. My intention is to create a system where playability and frame rates are a nice upgrade over my Surface Pro 4, but I fully understand and accept that at this kind of budget I will not be getting the best performance available. I have a 1440p monitor, but would be happy to drop to 1080p if it mean better performance at this price point. I would like to have a nice upgrade path for better components which I can buy further down the line if I decide to. I need the machine to be capable of playing FSX:SE and ideally the new Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Perhaps there are some flight simmers out there who already use components similar to these. What is performance like for you? Additionally, if anyone could suggest any alternative components that they feel are better with some justification, that would also be appreciated.

 

Thank You

D_Johnstone

I would wait until some MSFS data is out, sometime after the 18th of August.

 

That said, 16GB is a bit slim for MSFS. 6GB video ram is a bit slim for MSFS at 1080p. MSFS is a storage hog. They recommend 150 GB, and I'll bet it will take more.It's not CPU intensive.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/microsoft-flight-simulator-(2020)-pc-graphics-performance-benchmark-review.html

 

I would say all the OP's specs are 'good enough', not great but will run the sim decently on a budget.

GTX 1660 6GB looks to have done OK in their charts.

They said 16GB system ram surprised them, it was enough in their test.

They said 4 core cpu would get the job done, they recommend 8 but say 4 will do.
Notice how a high resolution monitor cuts fps at ultra high game video display options. But is fine at one step down, 'high quality'. So, I think the OP's monitor is OK, no need to get a lower resolution screen.

I would pay real close attention to the power supply, don't skimp there. The thing to do is to buy  a brand that is respected.

Power supply guides: http://www.buildcomputers.net/computer-power-supply.html

Westman's post in this thread below is yet another guy saying swapping for better cpus is not all that helpful but a better graphics card is a real key. (Just the opposite theme was posted all over Avsim when FSX came out years ago, i.e. back then in 2006-2009 it was preached that the cpu is what mattered with FSX and a better vid card was not going to help things very much).

But with 2020 sim, a better video card, if you get the right one, is the best bang for your hardware buck (it seems to me. I'm still planning my new rig too, I'm just following the pack of people here who test things one against the other). Like the OP I'm going a cheap route (I spent big on my other hobby).