That config would work well for 4K and VR should be good too.
Not a fan of the price from Dell, but honestly it might be worth it to not have to hunt for a 3080 like I did (takes a ton of time and a lot of frustration)
So how does the i7-10700K compare to the 5600X (just in relation to MSFS, as this will be my only use for this new machine)?
I found the following HP Omen 30L config, but it is Intel-based, and unfortunately they only offer the RTX 3070 as an option (well they have a 2080 Ti, but I’m not sure if $320 more for a rather dated card is worth it):
i7-10700K
RTX 3070
HyperX 32 GB DDR4-3200 XMP RGB SDRAM
750W PSU
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
That one would only set me back $1920, so quite a difference. The important question for me is how much would it set me back in regards to MSFS performance…
Dirk
Just google for ‘compare ryzen 5 5600X to 10700’ and you’ll find a bunch of links.
Here’s one:
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X vs Intel Core i7-10700 (hwbench.com)
Although I feel the price difference here is mainly due to the RTX3070 vs. the RTX3080. Maybe you could find a system with a 5600X and RTX3070?
If not, and the budget is limited, I’m sure you’ll have an enjoyable experience on the 10700 as well.
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Yeah I looked at a few online comparisons already, and it seems the 5600X is overall the better choice, I’d just be interested in how much of a difference it actually would make for MSFS
Indeed I could configure the same Dell system with a RX3070 instead of a RX3080, though this would only bring the price down to $2300. Then again I really don’t know how much of a difference a 3080 makes in MSFS compared to the 3070…
I’ll look through past posts in this forum again, maybe I can find some more answers…
Thanks for your feedback!
Dirk
In general, for gaming, I would suggest a GPU upgrade over a CPU upgrade. But since MSFS relies on the main thread so much I’m not 100% sure on what to suggest to you, so yeh, gather some more opinions.
Happy to have been of assistance.
I would not consider Dell, as they are sometimes doing builts with Dell-specific, not compatible (to non-Dell components) Mainboards, powersupplies… In case of upgradinging components later or displacing defective parts, yeah that’s bad obviously. Maybe that is not always the case, i have seen recently a vid of linus that suggests that it is more often then not…
The System with the 3070€, given the prices normalizing over the next months, has a hardware worth of around 1600-1700 bucks, so you pay for the complete system a significant upmark… but if you want it now and/or not willing to build it yourself… 
PS: 5600x is better then the 10700 as for IPC improvements, 3080 is significantly better then the 3070(€, like that typo of yours) 
So after all the good info here I think I’ll follow the advice and not use any of the ‘mainstream’ dealers like Dell or HP, but rather go with something like iBuyPower or CyberPowerPC where I know exactly what I get and can be sure that I can replace/upgrade any component in the future.
I priced out a similar 5600X / RTX3080 system on iBuyPower (just using the preselected components) and it came out around $100 more than the Alienware, which would be ok for me. Unfortunately I just found that today the 3080 option is gone (and on CyberPowerPC they mention an additional lead time of 6-8 weeks for that option), so I guess I have to decide whether to wait another couple of months for the 3080 to become available, or go with the 3070 for now. Not sure if those sites allow to order a rig without any GPU at all, because then I’d even consider just keeping my 1660 Super for now (and stay with 1440p) until the 3080 can be purchased again…
Another dilemma I’m facing is that I now have too many options to choose from 
, which seems a bit overwhelming. Not only to decide which gives me the best bang for the buck, but also to avoid potential issues between components. I guess for the former I have to do my own research one by one, looks like a daunting task
Here’s a sample config that I have from iBuyPower, any feedback welcome if you see anything that pops out to be problematic / not ideal:
- AMD 5600X with iBUYPOWER 120mm Liquid Cooling System
- ASUS TUF GAMING B550-PLUS motherboard
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 - 8GB GDDR6 - GIGABYTE GAMING OC
- 32 GB [16 GB x2] DDR4-3200 Memory Module - Certified Major Brand Gaming Memory
- 500 GB WD Black 3D Series SN750 M.2 PCIe NVMe
- 750 Watt - GIGABYTE GP-P750GM - 80 PLUS Gold, Fully Modular
- InWin 305 Tempered Glass RGB Gaming Case (240mm Processor Cooling Support) with default case fan
Thanks!
Dirk
Beware- some AMD motherboards won’t work with the HP Reverb G2 if you ever plan on VR in future.
I would go with the i7 or an i9 CPU-the highest clock speed affordable.
Get a larger nVme SSD maybe 2TB.
Get a 1000w PSU.
Go for more VRAM than 8GB-so go for the the 3080 or 3090 or 2080Ti if it is cheap -P3Dv5 and XP11will eat up 8GB (if you use them) and when DX12 comes to MSFS you may need it.
Speak to customer service and say you will fit the GPU yourself (if you can do this).
What did you end up purchasing?
I know people on this site knock Alienware due to the Dell-centric components, but they sometimes have decent sales, and it seems to get respectable reviews from its users - at least noticeably better than the HP Omen - which has gotten terrible reviews due to just having 1 fan. I think the Alienware has at least 3 fans.
iBuyPower looks promising, but the GPUs are overpriced (at least now), and I’m not sure how support works if anything goes wrong.
Wow, has it been already 7 months…? 
I ended up buying a machine from iBuyPower, and I am totally happy with it. Sad thing was that the day before I actually pulled the trigger I already had everything configured in my cart with a RTX 3080, and the next day all 3070/3080s became unavailable. Ended up just adding the cheapest video card they offered (you can’t place an order without) and then replaced it with the one (1660 Super) that I currently had when it arrived. It sucks that now after so many months I’m still on a hunt to find a decent priced 3080…
Overall I’m super satisfied with my purchase. Yes I paid quite a bit more than if I had gone with an Alienware ($1700 for a 5600X 32MB B550 Aorus Pro Wifi 750W Corsair 500GB WD Black, and I still have to factor in the missing GPU), but now I have a system that has all standard components which I can easily upgrade in the future, and it’s also quite a beauty (glass panel, LED lighting) compared to the Alienware. I have to say the service and quality from iBuyPower was superb - the rig is very nicely built - cabling of all components looks very professional and clean (paid a few bucks extra for professional wiring), everything is easy to access, and they included all original accessories / manuals etc down to the last screw. Packaging was also very well done, the rig was well protected and no shipping damage whatsoever. True it took quite a while (I think 4 weeks to build/deliver), but the waiting was well worth it. Can’t say anything about support, because so far I didn’t need any, I haven’t had any issues yet.
I now get consistently 30-40 FPS in 1440K with with a mix of Medium to High settings (bottleneck of course is still my ■■■■■■ 1660) and now enjoy the Sim tremendously. Haven’t even bothered to look at overclocking yet. And I’m confident that one day when I can snag up a 3080 or 3080ti I should be able to run the same in Ultra, maybe even 4K with some of the settings turned down.
Well, it’s a subjective experience, and everyone else’s mileage may vary, but maybe this helps