7 minutes ago, bobcat999 said:

Some good points here.  I wonder what effect DLSS will have on VRAM usage?

Just tested with Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition to get an idea.   Using the same settings for both native and DLSS on Quality,  DLSS on used 300 MB less vram  (6330MB native 6020MB DLSS)

1 minute ago, bobcat999 said:

Some good points here.  I wonder what effect DLSS will have on VRAM usage?

There is a difference but it is rather small, and not nearly as large as just reducing the resolution. This is mostly because, per NVIDIA's guidelines, DLSS should be implemented with a negative LOD bias so that the textures are presented with the correct mipmaps according to the final output resolution (and any shimmering will be cleaned up by DLSS). Some game developers forget to adjust this, so you end up with lower-resolution textures when using DLSS in those cases.

So for example, 8GB might still not be enough for 4K and ray-tracing even when using DLSS.

I believe the OP never answered the question about what screen resolution he is using or willing to use in the future. That would be one if not the most relevant factor to consider.

 

1 hour ago, bobcat999 said:

That used to be the way Jose (P3D / FSX etc.), and certainly those upgrades are always useful, but now the GPU is very important to MSFS I have found.

Last night, my 3080Ti was getting noisy at 70-85% utilisation (4k), while my CPU was barely touching 7% across all cores (only 40% on the one main thread even), so it is a bit of a change with MSFS compared to other sims - this was planned by MS / Asobo to be this way, they way they have designed the sim.

To the OP, I would say pick the resolution you want to run at first and then get the card that will do this at 80% utilisation.
I spent a lot of money on a 3080Ti as I had designs at running it at 4k ultra at 60 fps.  Still no chance - couldn't hold it even with an overclock.
It may be feasible with DLSS implementation later on hopefully.

I run at 30 fps 4k ultra now, and the card is coping.  It is smooth (no stutter at all) which is the main thing.  
The thing is, I could have run 30 fps at these settings with a cheaper 3070.

All true if you want to run at 4K. But, your CPU better not be a bottleneck. It's all about a balanced system.

26 minutes ago, DJJose said:

All true if you want to run at 4K. But, your CPU better not be a bottleneck. It's all about a balanced system.

Yes it is true, for those that run at 1080 (apparently still quite a few) then the CPU will become more important.  This is why the OP's intended screen resolution is important, as Peroni says above.
 

You need a balanced system and upgrading your gpu at these prices may not be the appropriate approach.

As jose said.

CPU / MB/ and Ram/ + a 1 TB NVME if the budget allows it.

Being that your target GPU is a 3060 12GB we can automatically assume you arent trying to run 4k or VR in this sim.. So focus on processing power and the platform and then balance with the appropriate GPU to match.

Tackle the (Possible PSU) and Graphics Card later in the year. GPU prices are very very slowly trending downwards right now. I also would not get the 3060 12GB. I would be looking for a 3060ti which would be more equivalent to the performance of an RTX 2800 Super. Yes you will be losing out on some VRAM but your not running in 4k so you wont need any excessive amounts.

I would recommend starting with an Alder lake CPU like an Intel Core i5-12600KF and start from there. You can always ask for help in the hardware forum and there are tons of of pc building videos on youtube so building a pc or replacing components should be absolutely no problem. 

Edited February 3, 20224 yr by Maxis

One big consideration is the Intel Arc Alchemist range which should release in March or April if you can wait. Might get more bang for the buck based on the early leaks (and also as the market will saturate better).

3 hours ago, bobcat999 said:

To the OP, I would say pick the resolution you want to run at first and then get the card that will do this at 80% utilisation.
I spent a lot of money on a 3080Ti as I had designs at running it at 4k ultra at 60 fps.  Still no chance - couldn't hold it even with an overclock.
It may be feasible with DLSS implementation later on hopefully.

I run at 30 fps 4k ultra now, and the card is coping.  It is smooth (no stutter at all) which is the main thing.  
The thing is, I could have run 30 fps at these settings with a cheaper 3070.

As I solely use the FBW A32NX and in future perhaps PMDG's 737 I don't mind all that much about razor sharp textures or buildings. I would love, though, to have my clouds set at ultra, which I now simply cannot afford without losing smoothness and causing a lot of stutters. And hence I though a better graphicsboard would come in handy instead of spending a lot of money on a new PC. So I am still in doubt whether or not to buy a better graphics board, perhaps yes it is a waste of money, or just be happy with what I have got now.

Thanks for you response.

A GTX 1060 would be the limit even at 1080p. The i7-6700 is a bit old but far from terrible. After Sim Update 5, it would only become a problem at Ultra settings, which the GTX 1060 cannot handle anyway (even at High-End it struggles to maintain 30 FPS).

I think upgrading the CPU or anything else before the GPU would be a total waste of money, but then so would be upgrading the GPU nowadays. My recommendation would be to wait more, especially if it opens up the possibility of upgrading the entire system.

3 hours ago, ChaoticBeauty said:

I would highly recommend not buying a GPU right now. Although it is unlikely we will ever return to normal (2019 prices), things will get better in H2 2022 with new wafer and substrate capacity coming online, shipping issues getting resolved, and maybe the Ethereum 2.0 merge (which will greatly reduce mining demand).

But if you can't wait anymore, then go for the RTX 3060. At that price it's a lot better, and the RTX 3050 isn't a huge upgrade (performance is similar to the GTX 1660 Ti/GTX 1070). Also you might want to look into getting a pre-built system, and then selling off either the rest of the parts or your current system, you could end up saving a lot.

If you are playing at 1080p and don't care much about ray-tracing, DLSS and other NVIDIA-specific features, you can also look into the RX 6600 which is sold at ~500€.

I might consider going for your recommendation for the RX 6600. As I mentioned before I only fly the FBW A32NX and don't care all that much about textures and buildings being displayed at maximum. I only wonder if this RX 6600 will give me better performance than my old GTI 1060 that I am using now. 

3 hours ago, MichaelLowl said:

I'm also from Europe and yes, I got an MSI 3060TI from Amazon for exact 802,- Euros. For sure it will be his decision, I only told my opinion 😉

And thank you so much for that. Much appreciated.

3 hours ago, fppilot said:

But for that thousand bucks more you have a complete system including that new GPU in that price.  GPU's are still difficult to find, but new systems that contain those same GPUs are now relatively easy to find.

Talked with my budget again and it still says No way, Jose 🙂

2 hours ago, peroni said:

I believe the OP never answered the question about what screen resolution he is using or willing to use in the future. That would be one if not the most relevant factor to consider.

 

I am using 1920x1080 and will continue to do so. I haven't got a 4K and will continue to use the current setup of monitors (2)

21 minutes ago, hvw said:

I might consider going for your recommendation for the RX 6600. As I mentioned before I only fly the FBW A32NX and don't care all that much about textures and buildings being displayed at maximum. I only wonder if this RX 6600 will give me better performance than my old GTI 1060 that I am using now. 

As you have now confirmed you are playing at 1080p, the RX 6600 should perform very close to the RTX 3060. There is also the RX 6600 XT which will perform even better while still costing less (starts at ~600€). However, do keep in mind that those GPUs will lose more performance with ray-tracing and at higher resolutions compared to their NVIDIA counterparts (because they only feature 32MB of Infinity Cache), and you will be giving up on DLSS support (which Asobo have confirmed is coming). But if you do not care about ray-tracing and plan to stick with 1080p, they are great choices.

I would still highly recommend waiting as much as you can though. As it becomes increasingly harder to meet the return of investment when starting up a mining operation, GPU prices can only get lower from now on.

Edited February 3, 20224 yr by ChaoticBeauty

27 minutes ago, hvw said:

Talked with my budget again and it still says No way, Jose 🙂

I just checked US prices... That 600 bucks you were going to use on a gpu would have completely upgraded the rest of your machine and have you ready for the GPU later on in the year When prices are assumed to be returning to Sanity.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FvRsY9

Not sure what those prices would translate to in the EU but again I think this is a better avenue to pursue than just upgrading the gpu at the moment. 

Still too expensive ? Drop the addon cooler.. The non K variant of the 12600 comes with a cooler. Still expensive ? Drop the ram from 32GB to 16 GB.

 

With that your platform is upgradeable for a few more years and you can upgrade at your leisure.

Edited February 3, 20224 yr by Maxis