Thank you everyone for your comments - it’s great to hear a variety of opinions and experiences. Hopefully this discussion will be useful to others also considering a new desktop for MSFS.
@Maki152 - Yes, I’ve heard a lot of bad reports about the 13th/14th-gen Intel CPUs, but also plenty of people who seem quite happy with them. I hope to play in 4K (even if at a lower FPS), as I will not be playing competitive multiplayer (I am my own worst enemy!). I’m glad you’ve had a decent time with your i9!
@Sling380 - You’re absolutely right - if you read car websites, everyone has a Lamborghini or a modified JDM Nissan from 1992 that does 0-60 in half a second. I doubt that a 5080 is the crushing disappointment that the YouTube commentariat would have you believe! The 5090 really seems to be aiming (and priced) for a non-gaming consumer, but there are still tolerably-priced 4090 systems which seem to offer a reasonable uplift over a (non-overclocked) 5080. Bah - this is impossible!
@WaterLattice34 - Sounds like I might end up with a very similar system to yours, so glad to hear that you’ve enjoyed your time with it!
@JOEDANCEN - Thanks for sharing your experience. How are your getting along with VR? I have a Sony PSVR2 headset which I will try to use with my new system - which will help justify a purchase which will only otherwise be used for Gran Turismo on PS5!
@oledurt - I am surprised at how many people seem to be pleasantly surprised by their experience of frame generation and upscaling in MSFS. Of course, nothing replaces graphical horsepower for resolution and framerates. It seems the 5080 is easily overclocked to within spitting distance of the 4090 - I’ll have to ask the manufacturer whether this has any warranty or longevity implications, but perhaps that is a half-way house?
@GAFlyer24 - I’m sure you’re right, but sadly this combination will be dramatically more expensive than a 5800/9800X3D or 4090/14900KF. So it’s either an overcooked steak with crisp golden chips or a lovely juicy steak with a limp three-day-old salad for me. How I love choosing between two prospective disappointments!
Thanks again everyone.
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I have done a several upgrades of my pc since msfs2020, and I have learned this;
Going from intel platform to AMD AM5 7800x3d really did make a big change in smooth frames.
I am now on 9800x3d, 4090, 64 gb and have no reason to upgrade as it is right now, booth msfs2020 and msfs2024 is butter smooth in pancake and VR.
I am using 1440p 35” monitor and pimax crystal lighr in VR.
Happy upgrading😀
If you’re planning to build a new PC (e.g., switching from Xbox), we generally don’t recommend buying pre-built PCs. It’s better to assemble the PC yourself to ensure better value and customization. If you’re not confident doing it alone, consider asking a tech-savvy friend or a local PC shop/service to help with assembly - they can guide you or handle it for a reasonable fee.
With support from our community, several users here have successfully built their own PCs and now take pride in having done it themselves!
For example @TinnyPaladin232 built his rig solo and is loving the results.
https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/hardware-do-brands-matter/653587/98?u=tenpatrol
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I think the decision on whether to prioritise the CPU or the GPU may come down to your intended use case and specifically the resolution you will be playing at. If you intend to play in 4k, in VR, or on multi high resolution screens (common in racing sims) then the 4090’s performance and VRAM would probably be helpful. If just playing on a single monitor then the 5080 may be sufficient and you could get more benefit from using the AMD CPU to turn up other CPU intensive settings like traffic, LOD etc.
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Maybe in terms of speed but not in terms of VRAM. The 4090 will always be a better card than the 5080.
Really, just do a custom build with the 9800X3D and the 4090.
You can never have too much VRAM for future proofing.
When I first started on MSFS2020 I had 8GB VRAM, it was fine, and then as more complex addons came out, technology changed, etc. etc., 8GB was just not enough, and I had to lower settings. And this was DX11 which uses much less than DX12. The same thing will happen with 2024. As I say, I’m already well over 16GB VRAM.
So do yourself a favour and get 24GB, so you won’t be frustrated when you run out!
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I agree - to an extent.
I believe that the developers failed to implement DX12 memory management correctly in FS2024. DX12 is much more difficult to do right than DX11, and I think they took shortcuts. It’s showing up as excessive VRAM usage. I think they took shortcuts (diminished LOD quality, for example) early on once they admitted it was a problem, and not a “hardware limitation.”
I’m hopeful they recognize this, and are working hard to rewrite the code in SU2 to fix it.
I’ve been running an Intel 14900k for maybe a year or so with the 4090. All VR with most settings on ultra. Have had zero issues. Granted I don’t do any of the overclocking etc so maybe that has something to do with it. Always surprised when I see guys suggesting an AMD over Intel but I was in the game when they were born and still haven’t got past their horrible stability issues. They made horrible processors. Was a constant blue-screen-of-death fest. Im guessing you guys are in the younger crowd? I can only assume after all these years that they’ve improved but I haven’t forgot. At this point I’m thinking both intel and AMD will be forgotten in the near future with the next generation of chips. Don’t know exactly where it’s going to go but have a feeling it’s gonna be crazy in a good way.
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You have to be fluid with your thinking. Intel used to be king but not anymore. AMD has been the way to go for a bit now. But don’t take anyones word for it and do your own research. If almost every review is saying the same thing what does that say. I have AMD after being on Intel, stable as anything and old enough to have owned computers before the first IBM PC’s were even a thing.
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Oh, a fellow dinosaur! 
My PC journey started with the ZX Spectrum, hopped over to Atari, cruised through Commodore, then fell head over heels for Amiga 500 and 1200. So I guess I’m not that young, right? Hahaha!
Do you remember those early AMD CPUs with their bare dies? That adrenaline rush when mounting the cooler - one wrong twitch and your CPU became modern art. Back then, it was just part of the norm. Now they rebrand it as direct die deliding/ direct die cooling and warn mortals not to try it. Turns out we were hardware pioneers with a death wish 
For us, it was normal - today, it’s a whole different story.
So, you can probably guess that I’ve had both AMD and Intel CPUs in my life. I ditched AMD pretty quickly due to the issues you mentioned - high temperatures, frequent CTDs and those lovely BSODs.
Since I had enough of AMD, I didn’t have a choice but to switch to Intel. The difference was enormous and it was all in Intel’s favor. So for over 30 years, I remained loyal to Intel – always buying their CPUs, new motherboards every two to three years. I don’t even want to think about how much money I’ve spent
But in 2022-2024 Intel betrayed us all. They sold me - and thousands of others - CPUs with a hidden manufacturing defect - i9 13900K. They knew about it and failed to inform us and that’s when I said enough is enoug.
After the Intel processor scandal hit the headlines (thanks to GamersNexus) I returned my i9 13900K and got my money back. I had no choice but to switch from Intel to AMD.
I purchased a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and paired it with an MSI X670E Tomahawk WIFI motherboard. Performance-wise, that CPU was comparable to i9 13900K, so I didn’t lose anything. On launch day, I upgraded to Ryzen 7 9800X3D and an X870E Carbon WIFI motherboard. Ryzen 7 7800X3D and X670E Tomahawk WIFI went to my son, who has now also abandoned Intel.
He’s never asked me for help and he’s never experienced any BSOD - seamless gaming.
I’ve never had any issues with Ryzen 7 7800X3D, nor with Ryzen 7 9800X3D I’m currently using. In fact, I’ve forgotten what a BSOD even looks like - no blue screens here.
So, let’s leave behind that outdated stereotype that AMD CPUs are inferior.
P.S
The only remnant of my i9-13900K is its packaging, which I’ve retained as a reminder - as a memento, a stark reminder of Intel’s antic and I have to admit, it’s actually pretty nice 
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10 PRINT
Well I started with an Acorn Electron with a massive 32KB of RAM and games loaded from cassettes (which was much faster than installing MSFS 2024).
I still remember my delight at getting 10-liner programs to do something useful!
In many ways, I’m not sure that I’ve progressed much from 30-odd years ago - standing in an electronics shop - staring at the Microsoft stars screen saver and opting for an IBM with a 486 DX 33 processor, purely on the basis that the stars looked smoother than on the SX.
Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this thread!
20 END 
Good insight. Glad to see they did in fact get it together. My impression to date has been that the only reason they have succeeded at all is they dominated in price point which younger people are all for. Good to hear an educated opinion. I’m still thinking it’s all going to be pointless in the very near future. Glad to have been witness to the whole evolution. Flying in VR? Absolutely fantastic. Who’d have thought???
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