A Fool And His Money...or, MSFS runs great on an old PC

[Republic DC9 234]

When MSFS first came out I ran it on a 2015 build PC (potato) that couldn’t run P3D without black or blurry textures...it did OK but stuttered in Seattle and elsewhere.

Its specs a 6700K 4.0 GHz, 16GB RAM, 1070 8GB graphics card that I installed in this old Dell runabout ordered off of Amazon with little knowledge of gaming PCs.

So a year ago I bought a 10900K RX 6800 16GB GPU and 32GB PC and it’s awesome for pinball simulation...but MSFS stuttered until recent updates.

So for fun and to blow any moisture and dust off the mothballed old PC after over a year I installed MSFS from scratch on a 500GB SSD I also had wedged into the old girl and my goodness it runs MSFS just as smoothly (maybe even more so?) than the $2400 new wonder PC at similar settings?!

Ugh...so basically I didn’t need to buy a new PC at all...I guess I now have a nice backup if the new one fails me, which is reassuring in this environment of but boy do I feel dumb.

I’m going to try to leave this old PC as a “vanilla” installation of MSFS where I can enjoy the sim at its core without a stuffed community folder or add ons....an elegant simplicity installation if you will...and I shall think very deeply before any future hardware upgrades....this sim seems to run great on at least one old clunker PC.

 

 

[irocx 292]

1 hour ago, Republic DC9 said:

Ugh...so basically I didn’t need to buy a new PC at all.......this sim seems to run great on at least one old clunker PC.

I downloaded MSFS2020 with the full intent of having to finally build a new sim rig, but decided to give it a whirl on my 4790K/24GB/1080 rig anyway.  I was and still am astounded at the level of performance. 

I'm by no means perfectly smooth: I still get stutters on the ground and now running full tank AIG traffic I feel I'm definitely at CPU limit (especially without systems rich, complex AC), but compared to all other sims it's truly amazing. Mostly Ultra/High settings, too.   

Performance is one area where Asobo deserves every bit of praise possible.  A++++++ IMHO.  

[Ricardo41 5,936]

I'm running MSFS on a 7 year old PC, with 8 gigs of system ram and it runs extremely well at medium settings. The occasional stutter as scenery loads doesn't bother me one bit. 

I kind of feel sorry for all the guys who waste money on overpriced hardware. 

[abrams_tank 7,393]

1 hour ago, Republic DC9 said:

When MSFS first came out I ran it on a 2015 build PC (potato) that couldn’t run P3D without black or blurry textures...it did OK but stuttered in Seattle and elsewhere.

So my understanding is that when you add all the add-ons for P3D to make the graphics look as good as possible, the FPS is still worse than MSFS, right? And ditto for XP 11 with all the add-ons to make the graphics look as good as possible?

Edited February 22, 2022 by abrams_tank

[SubtotalGuide 133]

A high end PC is no longer required because graphics nowadays must be downgraded optimized to achieve parity with the console.

Everyone gets a High/Ultra sticker! Now go buy some super awesome stuff from us.

 

Spot the fool.

[BillC 135]

My PC is mostly about 10 years old: a i7-2600k at 3.5ghz, 16gb DDR3, 1060 gpu,1tb SSD and it runs the PMDG DC-6 totally smoothly, no stutters at all. Just prudent use of graphics settings, nothing dramatic, and I'm totally fine with it. It's far better than I ever expected it to be. Btw, my last CTD was in September 2019 and it was my own fault!

The thread title is totally correct. I don't expect to have to do any upgrading for the PMDG 737 which I never thought I'd be able to say!

[Holdit 551]

I do my flight-simming on an i5-6600k overclocked to 4.1 GHz, 16GB RAM and a GTX1060 and I was sure I was going to have to update..until I got into XP11 and was delighted with its performance. Then P3Dv4.5 came along and I saw a huge improvement there too...and then MSFS was optimised for the Xbox and now I get great performance from that. My sliders are on a mix of medium to high on MSFS and even at that the graphics still look amazing. Three great-running sims for no additional hardware outlay (apart from a new 500GB SSD). This is truly a great time for simming.

Edited February 22, 2022 by Holdit

[pmb 5,137]

I thought I'd need a new machine the day MSFS was announced, too. Contrary to the OP I didn't buy and need one so far, and I'll at least wait until GPU board prices will be back to normal, should this ever happen.

This said, I'm slowly hitting the limit since I find me flying more and more under VR. While I get 20-25 fps and these mostly stutter-free, I'd certainly enjoy a bit more power in this case.

Kind regards, Michael

[6297J 692]

It is true that a fool might buy a new PC just so they could run a particular game. 

Every five or six years I am lucky enough to be able to buy a new system and I will get the best I can. 

Like many here, I use my PC for work and numerous other hobbies, some of which demand a powerful computer. MSFS takes up no more than an hour or two most days, maybe more on the weekends.

While it is true that my last PC and probably even the one before that could have run MSFS 'adequately', I don't feel the need to apologise for wanting it to run as well as it can possibly run with everything maxed out.   

And it does. 

 

[RaptyrOne 1,398]

3 hours ago, Nemo said:

Really? That's a strange statement.

Not really. Hardware prices have been driven upwards by a microchip shortage that is directly linked back to the pandemic. That all started 2 years ago and some normalcy has since returned to the business world, yet the ongoing issues with manufacture and international shipping show no sign of improving. Why? Maybe because they are creaming it with the inflated prices? I see it first hand, everyday in daily business and find it deplorable. There is no reason why manufacturing should not be normalising, except that with inflated pricing, there is little incentive to do so.  My opinion of course. 

[turbomax 3,269]

5 hours ago, Ricardo41 said:

I kind of feel sorry for all the guys who waste money on overpriced hardware.

all these guys would feel sorry if they ran a 10 year old pc at 4K or in VR on an HP reverb G2, that's why some guys want maximum power, me included. users who are happy with a 10 year old pc probably run at lower resolutions like 1K and may never have seen MSFS run at 4K. you can tell because they don't even mention their resolution. not sure the official MSFS promo videos (4K at 60 Hz) were recorded on 10 year old pc's. 😊 But I agree, it is amazing to see MSFS perform better on older systems than fsx did.

Edited February 22, 2022 by turbomax

[CFIJose 5,485]

I've been testing, like many others, MSFS since the day it was released on a 2600K, 32gigs of RAM, a Titan (Pascal) and a 1080P monitor, performance has stayed under control. As long as the user is willing to lower the LOD sliders, fps can remain acceptable.

I also have a ton of add-ons all organized and managed by the magnificent add-on linker.

Having said that, my 2600K processor will not last forever. I'm starting to look for an affordable upgrade path with the knowledge that MSFS is hardware friendly and that you don't need the most expensive processor to run it well.

[Car147 2,276]

I never buy the latest all singing and dancing PC. I build my own, and will source the likes of CPU, GPU that are around a year or more old . The savings are massive, and you end up with a PC that can handle just about anything.

[denny 28]

IF like me you are  using a 65 inch samsung at 3840x2160 4k resolution at 60hz you need a powerful set up, to get a smooth sim.  I have a rtx2080ti 11gb and a intel coffee lake i9 9900k and  32 gb ddr4 ram. no overclocking. With that large screen and high resolution and water cooling i  dont run vsync. my terrain level of detail at 300 objects level of detail at 150 every other option at ultra except trees at high Only fly ga aircraft love kodiak and bonanza. At newyork or sydney on ground 28 to 30 fps . above 3000 to 5000 alt with cloudy skies or scattered clouds 45 to 50 fps . in areas with little city scenery get 55 t0 65 fps. Please do not take as bragging. only mention to say a powerful system on msfs is unbeleavable. Simming since 1985 and i am amazed how good this simming hobby has become. i fly all over the world and spend 25 to 30 hours a week flying , adore this hobby. yes i am a old man pushing 80. never had a pilot license but have flown  many hours in real life with my son in his cessna 182. Regards gents and happy flying   Dennis

[turbomax 3,269]

4 minutes ago, DJJose said:

and that you don't need the most expensive processor to run it well.

I remember in one of the early MSFS press tours they recommended to invest in the best GPU you can afford (more effective than CPU upgrade), and I followed their advice.