Hey avsim community, 

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving weekend. 
I will try to keep this as short as possible. 
I also know that this might not be the ideal spot for this thread, but I am trying to cover a wider array of topics here after having read through various other threads. 

Long story short, I am currently in the process of making a comeback to flight simulation. I got into flight simulation around 2012, and for about five years I would say I was very involved, flying pretty much every day on IVAO on a virtual airline, constantly looking for mods, updates and software to make my FSX more immersive, until, well, life happened. In the process of moving from Germany to the U.S my PC more or less broke and I never found the time and the resources at college to continue something that I was actually very passionate about. I have more or less been completely out of touch since then, just following the progress on Youtube dreaming about getting back to this one day.
A lot has changed since then, and it is incredible to see how far flight simulation has come in the last six years. 
Being at a much different stage in life now, with the flying bug still there, it is time to make a return. 

Please let me know your thoughts on my ideas: 
1. Definitely set on MSFS2020. I used to be an FSX and then P3D guy, and I saw that XPlane12 will be coming, but I don't think I am budging on this. 

2. Any must have add-ons or software for the MSFS2020 in your opinion that makes for more immersion? I used to fly the iFly 737 and PMDG MD-11. I remember using several airport add-ons, REX and an add-on for more realistic ground operations, I believe it was GSX. Probably going to stick to stock aircraft for a bit until TFDi comes out with the MD11

3. Once I am "back in the game", I will be flying mostly online. What is the current state of IVAO/VATSIM? Like I said, I used to be an IVAO guy, but I am leaning towards VATSIM. I remember IVAO being more Europe focused while VATSIM had more NA users, not sure if this still applies.

4. Space is limited at the moment. Until we move into our house, it will be a more confined setup. So definitely PC and monitor(s) for now, no projector (yet at least). 
I was thinking a curved monitor. I was thinking either one of these:
- SAMSUNG 49” Odyssey G9 Gaming Monitor, 1000R Curved Screen, QLED, Dual QHD Display, 240Hz
- 49" Odyssey Neo G9 DQHD 240Hz 1ms G-Sync Compatible Quantum HDR2000 Curved Gaming Monitor 
What are your experiences with the MSFS2020 and a 4K monitor?

5. I know you are going to say that performance on the monitors above depends on my hardware. I find myself in the lucky scenario that I do not really have a set budget. I don't need to decrypt and NSA files with my new PC, I just want my setup to: 
- Run MSFS2020 as high as possible with the above monitor and be relevant for bit of time before having to do this all over again.
- Add a few touchscreens and other modules for my home cockpit. How do my hardware requirements change if I eventually want to add these? Dual cards share the workload and should provide better framerates, higher resolutions etc. So should I just add these to the build right away? 

I definitely would love to hear your ideas on the build (disregard budget for now, but if a cheaper part does the trick, that’s great): 

CPU:
Motherboard:
GPU:
Memory: 
Storage:
SSD: 
Power Supply:
CPU Cooler:
Case: 

I probably forgot a lot here and did not think of everything. If so, please let me know. 
I thank everyone in advance for their help and thoughts on this and wish you a great weekend. 

Super excited to be back soon,

Hi there, and welcome back! 🙂

MSFS is the perfect choice for those returning to the hobby. Out of the box you will get amazing worldwide scenery, beautiful graphics, very good weather generation, dozens of hand-crafted airports and some advanced aircraft like the A310 or all the GAs packing free-of-charge WT avionics.

Here are some answers to your questions:

8 hours ago, germangeneral17 said:

3. Once I am "back in the game", I will be flying mostly online. What is the current state of IVAO/VATSIM? Like I said, I used to be an IVAO guy, but I am leaning towards VATSIM. I remember IVAO being more Europe focused while VATSIM had more NA users, not sure if this still applies.

Both are pretty active and even though I am in Europe, I have been using VATSIM exclusively for a while as I find their software to be a bit more functional. Nowadays VATSIM is pretty popular in Europe as well.

8 hours ago, germangeneral17 said:

2. Any must have add-ons or software for the MSFS2020 in your opinion that makes for more immersion? I used to fly the iFly 737 and PMDG MD-11. I remember using several airport add-ons, REX and an add-on for more realistic ground operations, I believe it was GSX. Probably going to stick to stock aircraft for a bit until TFDi comes out with the MD11

Regarding add-ons, I would perhaps recommend that you use the vanilla Sim with the free stuff included in the Marketplace like the World Updates, Aircraft, Scenery and Avionic improvements. Once you get a good feel for MSFS, then the possibilites are endless..

Freeware: There is a lot of free-stuf available for MSFS. Check the most downloaded content at flightsim.to and you will get a good idea of what I am talking about that. When it comes to freeware, I would highly recommend the FBW A320 and FSTL (included within the FBW installed) or AIG AI Traffic models (I use them with RealTraffic + PSXT, but free AI injectors are available as well).

Payware: As for paid add-ons, my shortlist would be the PMDG 737, Fenix A320, Milviz/Blackbird MV310R with the TDS GTNXi, FSRealistic and a Navigraph subscription for nav data and an amazing Charts App. As mentioned above, I also use the subscription based RealTraffic with PSXT as this provides me with real air traffic all around the globe.

 

8 hours ago, germangeneral17 said:

4. Space is limited at the moment. Until we move into our house, it will be a more confined setup. So definitely PC and monitor(s) for now, no projector (yet at least). 
I was thinking a curved monitor. I was thinking either one of these:
- SAMSUNG 49” Odyssey G9 Gaming Monitor, 1000R Curved Screen, QLED, Dual QHD Display, 240Hz
- 49" Odyssey Neo G9 DQHD 240Hz 1ms G-Sync Compatible Quantum HDR2000 Curved Gaming Monitor 
What are your experiences with the MSFS2020 and a 4K monitor?

I have both the 49" Odyssey and a 48" 4K OLED TV. After trying both, I kept the OLED TV for flight simulation, while using the Odyssey for light gaming and productivity. The image quality on those new OLED TVs is great and flying at night is a total blast! Perhaps you can order both and return the one you don't like so much?

8 hours ago, germangeneral17 said:

5. I know you are going to say that performance on the monitors above depends on my hardware. I find myself in the lucky scenario that I do not really have a set budget. I don't need to decrypt and NSA files with my new PC, I just want my setup to: 
- Run MSFS2020 as high as possible with the above monitor and be relevant for bit of time before having to do this all over again.
- Add a few touchscreens and other modules for my home cockpit. How do my hardware requirements change if I eventually want to add these? Dual cards share the workload and should provide better framerates, higher resolutions etc. So should I just add these to the build right away? 

I definitely would love to hear your ideas on the build (disregard budget for now, but if a cheaper part does the trick, that’s great): 

CPU:
Motherboard:
GPU:
Memory: 
Storage:
SSD: 
Power Supply:
CPU Cooler:
Case: 
 

With the rig on my signature, I am able to run MSFS at high fps on all scenarios. The new 4XXX GeForce cards offers a life-chaning Frame Generation tech for sims which basically doubles your framerates without much compromise. So, I would definitely recommend a 4090 if you can find or pay for one...if not, getting a cheaper 3080, 3080Ti or 3090 would also be sufficient.

As for CPUs, you may opt for an AM5 Ryzen for platform longevity or just go with an Intel 13600k, 13700k or 13900k if you prefer. A cheaper option might be the 5800X3D, which is amazing for sims, but cannot be upgraded down the road. Finally, if you are starting from scratch, I would recommend going for a DDR5 build.

Have fun!

 

 

Thank you for the quick response and sorry for the late answer. 

You definitely helped me moving forward in this process here. i will go MSFS2020 and VATSIM. GSX and the Navigraph subscription seems like a good start. Not too worried about the AI traffic for now if I am flying on VATSIM. 

In terms of the PC, I will do the DDR5 build. I am not particularly an expert on PCs, while I understood that the AM5 Ryzen platform may have a longer longevity compared to being limited to the 12th or 13th generation with Intel, I don't quite get the technicality as to why the 5800X3D cannot be upgraded in the future. Could you explain that to me? I might learn a thing or two about PC parts here, which is always nice. 

CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi
GPU: RTX4900
Memory: Crucial RAM 32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR5
Storage:
Power Supply: ASUS ROG STRIX 1000W Gold PSU
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display Liquid CPU Cooler
Case: 

What do you think of the build so far? I did quite a bit of research on the parts, but I am not 100% sure that they all fit together. Also, there might be some overkill there that I don't recognize. Maybe there is a cheaper part here or there that does the trick? (I do want it to be somewhat future proof though). 

Also, I see in your specs that you are using "2TB NVMe + 2TB SSD + 8TB HDD." What is the thought process behind this? Do you have Windows installed on one and then the sim on another?

Thank you for your help, 

41 minutes ago, germangeneral17 said:

GPU: RTX4900

Meaning RTX4090 of course

6 hours ago, germangeneral17 said:

Thank you for the quick response and sorry for the late answer. 

You definitely helped me moving forward in this process here. i will go MSFS2020 and VATSIM. GSX and the Navigraph subscription seems like a good start. Not too worried about the AI traffic for now if I am flying on VATSIM. 

In terms of the PC, I will do the DDR5 build. I am not particularly an expert on PCs, while I understood that the AM5 Ryzen platform may have a longer longevity compared to being limited to the 12th or 13th generation with Intel, I don't quite get the technicality as to why the 5800X3D cannot be upgraded in the future. Could you explain that to me? I might learn a thing or two about PC parts here, which is always nice. 

CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi
GPU: RTX4900
Memory: Crucial RAM 32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR5
Storage:
Power Supply: ASUS ROG STRIX 1000W Gold PSU
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display Liquid CPU Cooler
Case: 

What do you think of the build so far? I did quite a bit of research on the parts, but I am not 100% sure that they all fit together. Also, there might be some overkill there that I don't recognize. Maybe there is a cheaper part here or there that does the trick? (I do want it to be somewhat future proof though). 

Also, I see in your specs that you are using "2TB NVMe + 2TB SSD + 8TB HDD." What is the thought process behind this? Do you have Windows installed on one and then the sim on another?

Thank you for your help, 

The 5800X3D is based on the AM4 socket. While a very good CPU, the platform AM4 is presumably dead, as all new releases (including a possible 7800X3D) will be made on the AM5 platform. 

Regarding the build, it looks pretty good to me, just keep in mind that there should be no upgrade path for the CPU in the future. If you would like to save some money and also have a generally cooler and more power-efficient build, a 13700K would also be a good option. The small FPS increase is not enough to justify the significant price increase imo...

Finally, as for my storage config, as I also use other sims, including X-Plane 12 which demands a large amount of storage to hold photographic terrain, I've opted to save same cash and just store those in spinning disks. For MSFS alone, a good quality 2Tb NVMe drive should be sufficient.

Edited December 1, 20223 yr by GCBraun