If there is an existing guide here that I haven't found, point me the way. That said...

The last  pc I built was a 486. Things were so much simpler then. I am clueless on current hardware.

I want to play FS2020 at a decent quality level with a frame-rate that is smooth. Want to keep it under $2000. Part of this is to keep me satisfied enough that the urge to get back into the much more expensive real thing is kept in check😀.

Things I don't want, but perhaps you can change my mind....

I'd rather avoid water cooling, unless you can convince me it's worth it and/or not the hassle I'm afraid it would be.

I would like to avoid overclocking unless its less dicey than it was back in 486 days. If its a risk free no brainer now a days, then I'm good with it. 

This computer's only job would be the sim. 

Thanks!

 

 

Happy for you that you want to get back into flight simming! 

To catch up to current hardware specs, I would recommend watching some tech channels on Youtube. Gamers Nexus, LinusTechTips, Bitwit, Pauls Hardware and so on. It's much easier than trying to explain everything in a forum post. 
These days we're also dealing with very low supply of some computer parts, especially graphics cards. Meaning the prices are inflated and some cards are impossible to get hold of. 

Even though like you, I've build computers since the 486 days, today buying a pre built system is basically the easier way to get your hands on the best graphics cards. 
That being said, they're also quite reasonably priced. 

A good $1500-$2000 PC for Flight Simulator today would be something like this:

CPU: AMD R7 5600X or 5800X
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3070 or 3060 Ti / AMD RX 6700 XT or RX 6800
RAM: 32 GB 3600 MHz
HDD: NVMe M.2 SSD

Water cooling is not necessary, but you could benefit from an AIO cooler (All-In-One) meaning radiator and pump in one unit. Or you should go for a high end air cooler. 

There's no need to worry about overclocking either, the only thing you should do is enable a feature in BIOS that engages DOCP / XMP. It basically pairs the RAM and CPU speeds to run as best as possible. It doesn't overclock anything. 

A couple of traps to consider: Don't buy 2000 series Nvidia graphics cards, or if you do - make sure you don't overpay. The RTX 3000 series is the latest. Same with AMD, the latest generation GPUs are the 6000 series. With regards to CPUs, AMD's latest generation is the 5000 series. On Intel I'm not sure anymore, but I think the 11000 series.

Either way, planning and researching a build is so much fun! I personally enjoy it very much. Good luck!

Edited March 3, 20215 yr by Republic3D

Intel PC

Parts

10700k CPU

32GB DDR4 3200 ram

Z490 MSI MPG Gaming edge Wifi motherboard

Nvidia 2070  3060 or 3060Ti if you can afford it.

1TB SSD (Crucial P1 or P5 more expensive but newer/faster) + 1TB Backup HDD or Crucial MX500/Samsung 860 evo 1TB Backup SSD for speed for the sim to be installed on it.

Noctua NH-U12S CPU Cooler

Corsair RM850 Power Supply

Case is up to you

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 20215 yr by 40track

your topic bring me back to 5 month ago 

same thinking as you 

got to search the internet for a month then came up to my build 

first build after buying  computer from shop in 20 years  i dare  and not disappointed 

so look around take your time 

you can see my build below  it was made for just one purpose fs2020 i don't regret my choices and dam happy 

especially my screen

best of luck  

ps don't be afraid of aio cooler  first time for me and my temp is cool even running at 4.9 all the time and was a breeze to install

Edited March 3, 20215 yr by jeanyul

Wow, great stuff guys!.

I keep hearing that there is a parts shortage. Any reason to think I should wait, or do I just need to keep my eyes peeled?

Also, back in the day, it was a no brainer cost wise that building a pc was cheaper than buying one. That still the case? I would rather build, but if current unique circumstances suggest a pre-built, I'm not against.

 

21 hours ago, Dan Moos said:

Wow, great stuff guys!.

I keep hearing that there is a parts shortage. Any reason to think I should wait, or do I just need to keep my eyes peeled?

Also, back in the day, it was a no brainer cost wise that building a pc was cheaper than buying one. That still the case? I would rather build, but if current unique circumstances suggest a pre-built, I'm not against.

 

I would spend some time figuring out what system you really want. Meanwhile you could look for good deals, but I would recommend buying parts from a reputable store. If you see a deal that is too good to be true, it usually is. 

Building a PC yourself is usually cheaper, but we're in an unusual situation where it's very difficult to get hold of the latest parts, especially the GPUs - but sometimes you find them in prebuilt systems. The manufacturers allocate a certain amount of cards for PC prebuilds.

I've seen HP Omen desktop PCs with R5 5600X and RTX 3070 cards available at a price that was similar to, if not cheaper than the value of the parts seperately. The reason is that HP likely got a good price on the parts when they were allocated, while the prices on the parts individually are now way higher than MSRP.

There's no point in rushing though, it's easy to get into a mode where you're so focused on getting hold of something you suddenly find yourself willing to pay more than it's really worth. At least that happens to me sometimes. 

You could keep an eye out for parts and purchase them one by one when they become available. What I usually do is figure out what parts I want, then I go to the price comparison sites and check some boxes, and they'll automatically send me an email when the parts are back in stock. 

Ok, I got fs 2020 running on my laptop. I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised at how well it does. I definitely want to build a proper machine, but I'm in less of a hurry now.

 

Laptop specs:

I7 processor of some sport (I can't keep track of Intel numbers)

GTX 1060 with 3 gigs.

16 gigs system memory.

Sim is installed on the mechanical drive. OS on the SSD

 

I play in medium settings. Looks a million times better than FSX. Runs better too. 

The denser cities are problematic, but I stay way from them.

Up shot is, I still want to build a machine that gets me a consistent 30 or greater fps on ultra settings, but I can wait for hardware to get easier to find.