3070 to 5070TI Upgrade

Plan on moving up. My system is slowing down. Besides FS2020, I do some video, photo and audio. I can get a Gigabyte Gaming GeForce 5070TI for about $970 before applying about $270 in gift cards. Would like suggestions for CPU/Motherboard. I work 2k, no VR, 3 32" curved monitors, 1440. 2 26" Touch, 1 13" touch.
It will be a liquid cooled system. Power, 1000 or more.

Given the GPU market right now, the 5070Ti that I bought for about that amount a month ago is probably the best value out there, given that nothing is going for list. If you go for an AMD CPU like a 9800X3D or 9950X3D, an X670E or X870E MB will have the extra ports that content creator folks like to have. Myself I have the 9800X3D on an MSI Tomahawk X670E MAG WiFi with an 850W PS. There are lots of options but a content creation friendly MB will cost more than a gamer only MB.

MSI Carbon Wifi X870E with a 9800X3D has been performing amazingly for me the last month or so. Also tossed in a 5080.

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Glad to hear, no buyer’s remorse?! LOL. The ability to get native 60FPS in TAA without resort to DLSS or FG is really something that I’m enjoying. You have a multi monitor set-up, right?

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None at all, money well spent.

8 display setup, 4 driven off the GPU, 1 HDMI to USB, 3 Spacedesk.

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Thanks everyone. I was looking at Intel I7 14700KF and MSI Z790 Pro. I mentioned doing video etc., but MSFS2020 is primary. I’ve not given AMD much thought since I’ve been with Intel so long. Reviews/comments on the NET seem so partial it became impossible to arrive at any sort of balanced comparison. All results I found are for ‘Shoot-em Up’ games. AMD is favored for some games, Intel for others.

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When it comes to MSFS (at least 2020 anyway) the AMD X3D rules the roost.

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My new Ryzen 7 9800X3D 64G 5070Ti PC is cranking out 2020 in 4K TAA at 50-60 FPS when not belabored by bad scenery, even then it works above 30 FPS. 2k should be a breeze as that’s all you need? There are other AMD Ryzen processors that you might look at for the dual content creation/flight sim mission, but they are more complex, expensive, and you may not even need them for 2k?

The AMD/Intel dilemma has also played out in a few recent threads this year as folks built their new PCs, so why not do some searching here and see how they made their choices? I myself collected anecdotal data here for about 3 months before buying and it was hands down AMD and 90% 9800X3D. Intel was not recommended to me once for an FS PC, but I don’t do content creation or mixed media either.

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I used to discourage buying AMD CPUs, but now I wholeheartedly recommend AMD X3D series. After 30 years of using Intel, I switched to AMD and have no regrets. Until recently, I had an Intel i9 13900K but I returned it to Intel for obvious reasons and they refunded my money. I bought a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and on its release day a Ryzen 7 9800X3D. I gave the Ryzen 7 7800X3D to my son. I don’t regret switching from Intel to AMD and plan to stick with AMD CPUs for a long time because (right now) there’s nothing better for gaming.

I’ve had no issues with AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D or the motherboards designed for Ryzen X3D CPUs. Additionally, my latest CPU, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D stays cool during gaming like snow in Antarctica.
Right now, much to my pleasant surprise, AMD CPUs, specifically Ryzen 7 9800X3D are the true gaming king offering low temperatures and excellent performance. If someone had told me a few years ago that AMD would surpass Intel, I would have laughed at them. But now, it’s AMD that rules the market and I say that with full conviction.

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This could go on forever. Time to make a choice and live with it. Ordered, MSI X870E, 9800X3d, Gigabyte 5070TI Gaming OC. The case is ANTEC Flux Pro. Could be 3 weeks or so for all to be in. Ram will be 64, cooling liquid.

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Good choice! Keep us up to date when you get it!:+1:

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Moderator Edit:

Hello, I too have been at Intel for so long. Currently, i7-14700K cooled by EK-Nucleus CR360 with MSI GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Gaming X Trio plus 4x16 GB G-Skill Ripjaws V F4-3200C14D (CL 14-14-14-34) on MSI MPG Z790 Edge Wifi DDR4 motherboard in a large Fractal case (5 fans at the input, 3 fans of the processor cooling and 1 extractor fan that spins faster than the others) and a symmetrical 8 Gb/s wired connection. A 32-inch Samsung screen. A VelocityOne Flight. All of this works quite well. Of course, I rowed like the other Alpha Testers I was part of. Now it’s working pretty well. CPU and GPU temperatures are around 60 degrees Celsius. All this hardware is at the service of a complex package consisting of Windows and MSFS 2020 or 2024. So I remind you that you should not hesitate from time to time to reset MSFS in Xbox or Steam as well as reinstall Windows. I make it easier for myself because the Windows SYSTEM is on 1 SSD Flight Sim on another Les Caches on a 3rd The rest (Photos, Docs, Music and others) on a 4th. With a mediacreationtool USB key, it takes me 45 minutes all included and I do it very often. I’m not afraid of anything, I’m a beta tester. Good flight. Kind regards to Simmers around the world.

Bonjour, moi aussi, je suis chez Intel depuis si longtemps. Actuellement, i7-14700K refroidi par EK-Nucleus CR360 avec MSI GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Gaming X Trio plus 4x16 GB G-Skill Ripjaws V F4-3200C14D (CL 14-14-14-34) sur carte mĂšre MSI MPG Z790 Edge Wifi DDR4 dans un grand boitier Fractal ( 5 fans en entrĂ©e 3 fans du refroidissement processeur et 1 fan extracteur qui tourne plus vite que les autres ) et une connexion filaire 8 Gb/s symĂ©trique. Un Ă©cran Samsung 32 pouces. Un VelocityOne Flight. Tout cela fonctionne plutĂŽt bien. Bien sĂ»r, j’ai ramĂ© comme les autres Alpha Testeurs dont j’ai fait partie. Maintenant ça fonctionne plutĂŽt bien. Les tempĂ©ratures CPU et GPU sont autours de 60 degrĂ©s Celsius. Tout ce matĂ©riel est au service d’un ensemble complexe composĂ© de Windows et MSFS 2020 ou 2024. Je rappelle donc qu’il ne faut pas hĂ©siter de temps en temps Ă  rĂ©initialiser MSFS dans Xbox ou Steam ainsi que rĂ©installer Windows. Je me facilite la tĂąche car le SYSTEM Windows est sur 1 SSD Flight Sim sur un autre Les Caches sur un 3eme Le reste (Photos Docs Musique et autres) sur un 4eme. Avec une clef USB mediacreationtool, cela me prends 45 mn tout compris et je le fais trĂšs souvent . Je n’ai peur de rien, je suis bĂȘta testeur. Bon vol. AmitiĂ©s aux Simmeurs du monde entier.

MSI is a great choice when it comes to motherboards – definitely a reliable and high-quality brand. I’m curious, did you go with the MSI X870E Tomahawk WIFI or the Carbon WIFI?

I have the MSI MAG 870E Tomahawk WiFi in my rig and am very happy with it.

I went with the Carbon. Is the Tomahawk just as good ? I see it’s about $200 cheaper. Should I switch, if it will give me essentially the same service ? It’s no problem since It wouldn’t be unpacked until next month.

If we’re limited to 16GB VRAM, which is better, 4080 Super or 5070 Ti in MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 for 4K Ultra? Is 5080 worth it, since it also has 16GB VRAM? It’s $600-800 higher than 4080 Super / 5070 TI offerings available to me, and not the $250 MSRP delta. Seems steep.

Here’s the thing. When I was shopping for a PC two months ago, there were NO 40xx series cards to be found. They came off the same assembly line as the 50xx series do now, so no more 40xx production, done. Then if one is going to buy a 16GB VRAM card, why not get the fastest VRAM one can? The 50xx series cards use the next generation faster memory chips, so why buy last gen unless it is to get 24 or 32 GB?

It really depends on your specific needs - like how many M.2 drives you plan to install. For example, if you’re planning to use four NVMe drives, the Carbon WIFI does have a limitation you should be aware of.

On that board, the PCI_E1, PCI_E2 and M2_2 slots share bandwidth. So, if you install an NVMe drive in the M2_2 slot, your GPU slot (PCI_E1) will drop from x16 to x8. It’s not a dealbreaker for most setups, but something to consider if you’re aiming for maximum performance.

In my case, I bought a PCIe x4 to M.2 adapter and installed it in the PCIe_3 slot- works great and keeps everything running at full speed.

So if you think you’ll go with a simpler storage setup, the Carbon is still a great mobo. But if you’re planning on heavy M.2 usage, it might be worth considering the Tomahawk WIFI.

That said, both boards have their own trade-offs.

Even X870E Tomahawk WIFI comes with some limitations. For example:

  • The M2_2 slot will be unavailable when using Ryzenℱ 8500/8300 series processors.
  • Also, the USB 40Gbps Type-C ports on the back panel and the M2_2 slot share PCIe 5.0 x4 bandwidth. So if you install a drive in the M2_2 slot, both the M2_2 and the USB4 ports will run at PCIe 5.0 x2.
  • You can switch M2_2 to use full PCIe 5.0 x4 in the BIOS, but doing that will disable the USB 40Gbps Type-C ports.
    (Worth noting: the USB4 host controller only supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4 anyway.)

So yeah - both motherboards are excellent, but it’s really about what kind of setup you’re planning. If you’re going heavy on M.2 storage or need full-speed USB4, it’s worth looking closely at these details.

I actually have Ryzen 7 9800X3D, DDR5 64GB CL26 G.Skill and the MSI X870E Carbon WIFI myself and recommended it over on the MSFS forum. I know a few users took my advice and went with the Carbon too. At this point, I feel like MSI owes me a commission, a mug, or at least a “Carbon Crew” badge or something :rofl:

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Thanks. A lot to consider, but there’s plenty of time.

Is there any advice on liquid cooling systems ?
Ryzen 7 9800x3d on MSI X870E Carbon WIFI. Or this RAM - G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB Series (AMD Expo) DDR5 RAM 64GB (2X 32GB) 6000MT/s CL26-36-36-96