No questions. Only awe. 
That’s awesome! Congrats!
If I could get that system for that price out-the-door, I’d pony up too, but options presently available for me I’d be looking at least $1-1.5k more before tax, which will not work. 
When looking at games, I’m convinced there are effectively 4 bottlenecks, not just 2: CPU limited, System RAM limited, GPU - speed limited, GPU - VRAM limited. Any one bottleneck can throw off an otherwise top notch system.
It’s easy to get 64 GB system RAM, so that can be eliminated, but the other three can be real limits. For example, I’d think a 5080 would be better than 7900xtx in most typical gaming situations, with 5080 performing better, except when it is VRAM limited. 7900xtx will have slightly lower frame rates than 5080 for most higher altitude flying, but 5080 will run out of VRAM when flying over dense PG cities, with the sim using 14-18GB VRAM in 4K Ultra, so having 20 GB VRAM is a minimum. In that case the 7900xtx would be fine and the 5080 turn into a stuttering mess, solely because of insufficient VRAM.
What do we think? Should I get the 14900 / 4090 / 64 GB combo now or wait until Black Friday?
Guess that now depends on tariffs and one’s full faith in the global economy. FWIW, I’m making all my major, and some minor, purchases right now while there is price transparency. GPU prices are already high and not going down due to AI, and that is before tariffs kick in. What happens after that is anyone’s guess, but prices going down are so unlikely that one could bet on higher prices and win that bet, if someone would take it!
That’s disappointing. If that’s the case and I don’t buy now, I may have to settle for a 275hx / 5090 laptop around Black Friday. That is far worse than 9800x3d / 5080 for 99% of games, save for my one trick pony VRAM hog, which is what I’m interested in.
So, what kind of flying do you do, or want to do in MSFS 2020 or 2024? FPS is one thing, having fun sim flying is a much broader goal with many good options to consider. For me, it’s all about the flying, so I’m not chasing FPS as long as I have control of my aircraft. You?
I mention it in my first post. Want to play in 4K Ultra, MSFS2024, but also MSFS2020 until MSFS2024 gets its act together. My monitor is a 43" Samsung QN90D 4K that offers VRR up to 120 or 144Hz.
I’m fine using 1x frame gen, either TAA or with DLSS Quality, but not MFG. I don’t need 100 fps. I’m looking to get at least a smooth 30fps with 4K Ultra settings native without hitting VRAM limit and then using 1x frame gen either TAA Or DLSS Quality to get it in that ~60 fps range.
No question 9800x3d RTX 5080 would have been “it” had 5080 offered at least 20 GB VRAM, but it does not.
Thanks. At my age might as well have fun👍
GlobalFlyer what about a 9800x3D/4090 combo?
Ok thanks but that’s not what I asked. What kind(s) of aviation interest you? Airliners, General Aviation, Military? Flying high and fast, low and slow, low and fast? LOL there are so many different ways to enjoy MSFS and I’m always amazed at the vast diversity of flight goals folks have. What about flight simming interests you and what do you expect from MSFS?
BTW some Microcenters seem to be getting a few 5090s in.
I was lucky. The sign said the 5080 was in stock but when the salesman knew I wanted a 9950x3D he said “I think I might have a 5090 back in stock”
Sure enough he did.
To be honest, I enjoy all of the above. I started off flying airliners and still do, but then I enjoy flying low and slow to “explore” a place that I just flew to from an airliner - in those cases I want 4K Ultra to explore NYC, Tokyo, London, etc. I also will fly military supersonic to have fun and something like Concorde if I want to go far faster. But I’m 100% free flight - no time or interest in career mode at this time, especially with the bugs.
The 14900k / 4090 no doubt would easily meet my needs performance-wise, but only if the 14900k is stable enough to last a good 3-4 years with the bios/micro-code update. Otherwise, it’s a hard pass, and a very disappointing one, given tariffs and 50 series pricing/availability.
Same here, 100% free flight! I hope you can get the new PC you want for all this fun!
If you’re aiming to truly enjoy gaming in 4K, a laptop just won’t cut it. Only a proper desktop PC can deliver the power for smooth 4K gameplay. Unfortunately, virtual flying isn’t a cheap hobby—but once you’re up in the air with max settings, it’s worth every penny.
14900K is brand new or is it a used CPU?
14900k would be brand new. It would be in a new “mainstream” pre-built gaming PC where I’d have the ability to purchase up to a 3 or 4 year warranty. That is the only practical way I can access the higher end desktop GPUs with > 16 GB at this time.
No doubt a proper desktop PC would be better. My point was just that the 5090 mobile has 24 GB VRAM, so that wouldn’t be a 7 fps slide show that the 5080 can get when it becomes VRAM limited.
You might want to ask the seller if there’s an option to swap the i9-14900K for an AM5-compatible CPU—something like a Ryzen 7 7800X3D or 9800X3D. If that kind of change is possible, it would be an excellent choice, especially for gaming.
Great suggestion, but that is not possible. We’re talking Alienware R16 or HP Omen. Those are my only ways to reasonably get 4090 at this time and they come with 14900K. Lenovo Legion already sold out of that combo. If that’s not “good enough” then I may be SOL for a very long time.
As I mentioned earlier, one might be skeptical about Intel, but the 14900K comes with an extended 5-year warranty. So if it’s brand new, it theoretically shouldn’t suffer from the known issues. Another key aspect is the motherboard. Could you ask which motherboard is included in the set? That detail is crucial in making a well-informed decision.
Thanks to the great advice on this forum I finally bought pretty much what you did except I couldn’t bring myself to pay a scalper so much for the 5090 so I got the 5080 and my total was $3000. I’m downloading drivers as we speak, can’t get the darn wifi to work 
UPDATE: After 2 hours searching online for a solution and trying everything and failing, I finally got wifi to work !! 
VacaMooApt:
How is your rig running?
Spent most of the morning transferring my 6 panel Saitek instrument panel setup together with the radio panel, Autopilot panel and multi panel from my 5900x rig to the new 9950x3D rig.
Fortunately I had saved all of the Saitek drivers in my download file on the 5900x rig so a quick copy to a USB stick and install on the 9950x3D rig and all is running well in MSFS2020.
2024? That’s a work in progress.
I’m using a TurtleBeach VelocityOne yoke and throttle setup and TurtleBeach rudder pedals.
I moved my Samsung CR9 49” widescreen monitor to the new rig from the 5900x rig.
So far so good.