My old PC, that I ran FSX on, died from a power surge during Hurricane Ida. Due to property damage I’m looking for a just a budget gaming rig. I’ve never run FS 2020, but would like to now. Although these meet the minimum system requirements, what kind of performance can I expect from these options? Will I be frustrated with performance issues or would they run the flightsim at decent settings? My other option is just to wait until I make it through the home repairs and get a more robust computer next year. Also, any advantage to an Intel processor for this program over AMD or vice versa? Thanks
On both of those two . Absolute NAY.
Whats your budget ? If you can find 1361.89 You can have a baseline to work on
Mind you i hate a few things in this build (PSU/Case ) and i would prefer to see 16 gigs ram vs 32 gigs and 1 tb of nmve vs 512 in a budget build but the upside is that you would get something to work with in order to upgrade later and on top of that your already starting out with an RTX 3060 non ti … which isnt the greatest but it will get your foot in the door.
Actually i just balanced that too much memory too little storage issue out.
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Thanks, I am not up on current hardware. So that GC in your link is a better card than the RX 5300? Also, wouldn’t I need a second HD for storage to go with the SSD one? I could build that, maybe not this week but in a month or so.
Miles better… laughably better.
As for storage. Yeah i do prefer to have my OS on 1 nvme and the sim on another but thats just me being OCD … 1 terabte nvme is a very good start. you can add another later on. or a 2 tb SSD if you need mass storage.
now I see your second link with the larger SSD
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My personal recommendation would be to wait until you make it through the home repairs and by then hopefully the supply chain will have improved enough to bring prices somewhere back into a sane range… Otherwise, spec-wise, I had a system consisting of a R5 3600X with a GTX 1070 and 64 GB of RAM and was able to run FS2020 at 1080P in the medium to high-end graphics range with only minimal issues so a 1660Ti system would not be a bad option… As for pre-built systems, right now I would look into Neweggs custom pre-built (ABS systems). You may also want to check out some of the Gamers Nexus videos on prebuilt systems they have been putting out over the last couple of months.
One other question/issue that you could look into is whether there are any parts from your old system that are salvageable like the RAM or the HDD/SSD.
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Hi. The only thing I have found running MSFS 2020 is the SSD storage capacity is important - get one with at least 1 TB or larger, minimum. Also, make sure your RAM is 32 GB, also needed is a good GPU (preferably a Nvidia brand), and minimum CPU like a intel i7. I have these and my flight sim runs very smoothly locked at 30 fps. I turn off the AI airplane thingy, and no more crashes.
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I’ve been running it since December '20 with a Ryzen 5 1st gen and an RX580 8GB (a GTX1060 equivalent), 16GB System RAM. I can run easily at medium-high in the high 40s low 50s, with key things like Glass cockpit and Clouds at same settings (those will drive your system into the ground when this launched in August '20).
SU5 has increased the growth capacity for low-end systems. Don’t discount the enjoyment you’ll get from a low-end rig. The money you save can go to add-ons or in my case, I replaced all my flight hardware with new TM stick, Logitech Throttle, dedicated trim wheel, etc.
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That system will run MSFS 2020 in 1080p no problem. Medium for sure and probably high settings also. I started on a i56600k 16 gig ram and a gtx1070 and it ran 1080p not very well though. Now I’m on i7 9700k with 32 gig ram,1TB nvme, and still the gtx 1070. I’m running ultra settings on 1080p and couldn’t be happier! Just my 2 cents.
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Even though it’s a budget build I always try my best to avoid using last Gen components.
Post su5 32gs of ram is not absolutely necessary… buy 16 now… with a decent motherboard upgrade later…
1 terabyte of a decent ssd or nvme is necessary
though.
I’m aware post su5 that you may get away with using gtx level cards to play the sim. I however disagree with using them if your spending money up front to build or buy a rig… they definitely don’t play well with other current Gen titles. Budget in these times Is a 3060. Yes its 400 dollars but it’s in these times. Costs have simply gone up.
Makes no sense spending 1000 dollars for mostly proprietary oem junk when you can spend a little more and get proper upgrade able current Gen stuff that you can improve on.
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I can run the A320neo at a JFK on ultra settings in multiplayer at 25-30 FPS on a R5 3600 (AIO cooled, not overclocked) and a RTX2060S @ 1080p. I do get better performance (30FPS+) with the Aerosoft CRJ than I do with the default A320neo.
I jump between Main Thread and GPU limited. In the above scenario of A320 out of JFK its Main Thread limited. Less complex areas where im getting higher FPS is GPU limited.
GA aircraft or flying outside of busy airports I get 30-60 FPS on Ultra @1080p.
I have 32 GB of ram I dont think that is a strict requirement.
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Thanks, I am thinking that may be the best thing, especially since its been 10 years since I built my last rig and I need some time to catch up on the current components. Also I have a Cessna 172M that is about to go through annual and I have to buy an overhauled DG, for starters, in addition to possibly a new roof for the house. I am hoping the GC prices will come down some.
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Thanks for the good guidance. I didn’t even know he GTX was passe. I have some catching up to do. I did talk to a friend who said the latest FS releases have fixed a lot of the performance issues., but at the same time I don’t want to buy too low of specs, mainly to plan for some elbow room in the future. The RAM and ssd don’t seem to be a price/supply issue, but the GC still seems to be. Hope that changes sometime soon.
Off topic for this thread, but when I do have a new rig, would PC download or Steam platform be a better option? I have fiber internet to the prem with 1000mb/sec up and down, if that matters. I just don’t know the technology and weather bandwidth for streaming scenery is more important than GPU or CPU performance.
By the way, that RTX 3060 is now out of stock and it shows a used one for over $900.00
That’s ok if that card goes out of stock.
What usually happens is that Newegg will get another similar RTX 3060 and you can swap it out. They will normally have stock or something equivalent as long as you are using their PC builder and have the components built by them (They reserve stock for that purpose). Which is why i specifically used it so if you wanted to purchase it right then and there you could.
Prices will fluctuate by around a hundred bucks or so. Example yesterday prices went down to 1339.00 Today after swapping out out of stock stuff to available stock items price went up to 1439.91. I am sure prices will fluctuate as parts get swapped.
I went with the Microsoft store download because i didn’t want to download a client to run the sim (a pet peeve of mine) however their are pros and cons.
If you buy it from the MS store then you can use the sim cross platform (pc/xbox). You may also get into beta programs if you so desire. However, once installed the game update process is not as streamlined as the steam version and a lot of people are complaining about it.
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What about this instead of a desktop?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1642956-REG/asus_tuf506hm_bs74_i7_1180h_16_512_3060.html
It might serve as a half way decent holdover but I’m not sure I would want to use it long term… Some of the issues with laptops are that:
- They are harder to upgrade (basically you can only upgrade the RAM and SSD)
- They tend to run at higher temperatures
- The fans are going to be quite a bit louder
The nice thing about it is that it would probably take up less desk space, it has a dedicated ethernet port and you could take it with you on the go (just count on plugging in for any long term use).
As for this particular laptop, I would probably look into whether you could upgrade the RAM to 32 GB over the standard 16GB and whether you could install a second M.2 SSD so increase the onboard storage. I would also look into setting it up to use an external display as well as whether you would want an external USB hub for any peripherals.
Here is a review of this series of laptop to provide some insight as to what to expect if you do go with it.
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Yeah … For me laptops are for if youre going to be permanently mobile or of light duty work. Im a little old school and really loath the fact that you really cant do anything much with them once purchased. Added to that over time those fans do get clogged up and its a ROYAL PAIN to open the enclosure to get in and clean.
I run Simbrief/Spotify on my laptop and some productivity apps. That’s it.
One thing I was thinking about a laptop is, I am a news photog, and my company macbook is a bit old and I don’t see them upgrading me for a couple years. This could serve well to take flightsim or gaming with me when I travel. Also, although I primarily shoot stills, I sometimes edit and export video on Adobe Premiere in the field, and it would be a step up, particularly for faster exporting. I looks like upgrading RAM and storage is easy enough, not sure if there is a second port for a second ssd. I think the guy at B&H said there was. Alternatively, a faster desktop would allow me to work on Adobe Premiere faster at home.