I am debating between two PC builds and would appreciate any input from anyone who could help me choose.

System 1;

Alienware Aurora R12, Nvidia RTX 3080, i9-11900F, 32GB RAM DDR4, 1TB SSD

System 2;

Alienware Aurora R13, Nvidia RTX 3070, i7-12700KF, 32GB DDR5, 1TB SSD

Prices for both are similar.

 

Which would you choose and why?

Thank you in advance

Edited May 23, 20224 yr by airlinejets

Before you buy any Alienware, goto Youtube, search on 'gamers nexus alienware' and watch those so you don't waste your money.

Aside from the above advice, the 12700KF has an unlocked multiplier for easy overclocking.  If those are pre-built systems though, I'm not sure how awesome the fan/heatsink is on the CPU.  The GPU's listed are about the same - obviously the 3080 is a bit stronger.  Sounds like the newer model with 12700 is using a DDR5 board and RAM.  This is basically what I use now.  But I still have my 1080 Ti video card.

I went DDR5 because I decided I didn't want 8 year old RAM standard in a brand new build.  It is likely though, that the ddr4 vs ddr5 will yield a negligible difference in MSFS.

I'd say if you're going 4K resolution I'd probably get the system with the 3080...  but.... if the cooler on the CPU is decent I'd go for the 12700K system and take the 3070 - and I'd run a 27-32" 1440P monitor.  I'd say that's the sweet spot.  4K can be too demanding unless you're running a 3090 or 3080 ti etc (and you want eye candy like I do)

Edited May 23, 20224 yr by ryanbatc

2 hours ago, pgde said:

Before you buy any Alienware, goto Youtube, search on 'gamers nexus alienware' and watch those so you don't waste your money.

Yes, I did watch many videos on YT including the Nexus ones. The R12 has a small case making it difficult to keep things cool inside without modding. The R13 is a step up as the case is larger and design is better suited to cooling. The interior architecture is well thought out.

Some buyers complain and some love these R builds. Thank you chiming in, I appreciate it.

42 minutes ago, ryanbatc said:

Aside from the above advice, the 12700KF has an unlocked multiplier for easy overclocking.  If those are pre-built systems though, I'm not sure how awesome the fan/heatsink is on the CPU.  The GPU's listed are about the same - obviously the 3080 is a bit stronger.  Sounds like the newer model with 12700 is using a DDR5 board and RAM.  This is basically what I use now.  But I still have my 1080 Ti video card.

I went DDR5 because I decided I didn't want 8 year old RAM standard in a brand new build.  It is likely though, that the ddr4 vs ddr5 will yield a negligible difference in MSFS.

I'd say if you're going 4K resolution I'd probably get the system with the 3080...  but.... if the cooler on the CPU is decent I'd go for the 12700K system and take the 3070 - and I'd run a 27-32" 1440P monitor.  I'd say that's the sweet spot.  4K can be too demanding unless you're running a 3090 or 3080 ti etc (and you want eye candy like I do)

Thank you Ryan for taking the time to answer. I'm looking to use MSFS in VR and in 1080P when using the monitor.

I'm still hesitant as the 2 systems are a toss up. System 1 has a better GPU and system 2 has a more modern CPU and more recent DDR5 RAM.

Decisions, decisions...😄

Just a quick note concerning the CPU models. I noticed in another thread that you are/were considering the Fenix A320. Users have reported getting good results by offloading the rendering of the displays to the on-board (integrated) GPU, but Intel's "F" models are the "GPU-less" CPUs (ugh, what a nice acronym soup... 😉).

27 minutes ago, tymk said:

Just a quick note concerning the CPU models. I noticed in another thread that you are/were considering the Fenix A320. Users have reported getting good results by offloading the rendering of the displays to the on-board (integrated) GPU, but Intel's "F" models are the "GPU-less" CPUs (ugh, what a nice acronym soup... 😉).

Good point. That's another plus for the i7-12700 KF.

edit: I just looked it up. The KF does not have on-board GPU.

Edited May 23, 20224 yr by airlinejets

8 minutes ago, airlinejets said:

Good point. That's another plus for the i7-12700 KF.

edit: I just looked it up. The KF does not have on-board GPU.

You need to look at the "F" (or lack of it), this indicates whether the CPU has an on-board GPU ("F" means NO GPU). The letter "K" stands for unlocked multiplier, which makes overclocking easier.

Edited May 23, 20224 yr by tymk

I ended up getting the system 1, the R12. Time will tell if I made the right choice. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

 

 

On 5/23/2022 at 5:53 PM, airlinejets said:

I'm still hesitant as the 2 systems are a toss up. System 1 has a better GPU and system 2 has a more modern CPU and more recent DDR5 RAM.

Given most people are GPU limited with MFS, I'd go for the stronger graphics card. Having a K series CPU is only worthwhile if they've got a decent overclock on it or you're comfortable overclocking it yourself. Ignore the DDR5, it's a red herring right now because it's no faster than top-end DDR4.

6 minutes ago, ckyliu said:

Given most people are GPU limited with MFS, I'd go for the stronger graphics card. Having a K series CPU is only worthwhile if they've got a decent overclock on it or you're comfortable overclocking it yourself. Ignore the DDR5, it's a red herring right now because it's no faster than top-end DDR4.

Thanks for commenting. I ended up getting the 3080 RTX system. I'm waiting for an extra NVME drive to install MSFS on.

Ah sorry I missed your post from Friday! Fortunately we agree 😅