I need to get a new PC build happening in the next month or so. I would like to have a machine capable for high end use of MSFS2042 (graphics, performance).
Suggestions?
The best hardware in a month’s time will likely be:
- RTX 5090
- 9800X3D and X870 motherboard to suit
- 360mm AIO CPU cooler
- 64GB+ of DDR5-6000+ CL30-
- 4GB+ Gen4+ SSD
- 1200W+ quality PSU
- Case that fits everything with good airflow and bling to suit your taste
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Thanks!
Not sure about AIO though.
The 9950X3D should be out soon? I have heard March in Australia.
I personally like AIOs because what hangs off your CPU is relatively small and light, but if an air cooler floats your boat go for that instead.
9950X3D will be out shortly but will offer only a small boost over the 9800X3D, but since you want the best go for the 9950X3D then.
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Yeah I was thinking air, like Noctua NH-U12A
It is going to be interesting to see what the real world prices and availability of this are. I’m betting you won’t be able to get one for 6 months and they’ll cost £2500 (in the UK), assuming the bots and scalpers hoover up the Founders Editions.
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You forgot to mention how much money you have to spend. Could you please convert your currency into US dollars and euros and include that information in your response?
Is this PC going to be solely for MSFS? Or at least solely for gaming? If it is, then I’d recommend the 9800X3D over the 9950X3D. The 9800X3D has a single CCD (that is, it’s not a multi-chiplet design) so there’s no bottleneck between sets of cores as there is with multi-CCD chips like the 9950X3D. Also, all the 9800X3D’s cores have vcache, whereas only half of the 9950X3D’s cores do (ie one of the CCDs only). When running games, the 9950X3D should have its non vcache cores parked, that is, not used; so the extra cores that you get over the 9800X3D don’t help you with MSFS.
On GPUs - not sure where you are in the world @CaptBrowne but higher-end GPUs are super-low stock here in the UK. I doubt anyone will be able to buy a 5090 here at non-scalper prices before the summer at the earliest unless they are very lucky with wait lists. I expect early pricing to exceed £3K, given that the tiny number of 4090s that are in stock here are still selling for £2K+. YMMV if you’re in the US, generally I think there’s more stock available there.
Easy for me to say sitting here with my 4090, but I don’t see the attraction of the 5090, other than being able to say you’ve got the highest-end GPU in existence. I don’t think it’ll dramatically improve performance in MSFS, because the best non-DLSS-related uplift I’ve seen in benchmarks is maybe 10-15%. The huge ‘performance’ gains NVidia is trumpeting are mostly down to DLSS4 multi-frame-gen, which is coming to 4000 series cards anyway. The 5090 has 32GB VRAM versus the 4090’s 24GB but I’ve never exceeded the 24GB budget of the 4090 in MSFS irrespective of settings or add-ons. I suppose if I went 3x4K monitors maybe I might…
Also, I’ll add a thumbs-up for AIOs versus air coolers. My experience has been that they generally shift more heat than air coolers. I know there are some high-end air coolers that can beat AIO performance but I just prefer not having a huge block of metal fins sitting over my CPU. Less mass inside the case volume means greater air flow over the parts that are being air-cooled. Or that’s my theory, anyway.
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And I will echo the response to make sure your case has great airflow. I purchased a custom built PC with a 9800X3D, 870e motherboard, 1200w power supply, DDR5, etc. It is a great system. EXCEPT for the airflow. The GPU is jammed in and literally touching the front fans. That blocks airflow. So the GPU tends to heat up under heavy load. So I am buying a new case and new fans (and I decided while I was at it to replace the AIO that was in there so all lighting is just one brand and thus only 1 software running in the background).
I can tell you, what you are going to get will be an awesome system. I love mine. I just focused on the parts that were going into the system, and I didn’t focus on the importance of the case itself.
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AUD$10K
US$6.3K
EUR6K
but there is plenty of flexibility
With the budget you’re looking at, you can definitely build a very good gaming PC. I think most would agree that the best gaming CPU right now is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, as it offers excellent performance in demanding titles.
When it comes to CPU cooling, I can highly recommend AIO Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360. It’s a great AIO cooler with an offset design specifically for new Ryzen CPUs, including Ryzen 7 9800X3D mentioned earlier.
It offers excellent cooling performance and reliability for high-performance setups like this one.
As for the motherboard, with the budget you have, you can opt for a solid one with an X870E chipset. A good example would be the MSI MPG X870E Carbon WIFI or Tomahawk WIFI. I personally have the MSI MPG X870E Carbon WIFI, and I can highly recommend it – great stability and functionality.
When it comes to GPU I recommend choosing a Gigabyte model due to its high-quality coils, which do not produce coil whine like those of other manufacturers.
I had the chance to test RTX 4090 GPU from MSI and Gigabyte. 3 MSI cards had loud coil whine which was very annoying.
RTX 4090 Gaming OC from Gigabyte didn’t have any issues with coil whine. Currently, the king of gaming graphics cards is the RTX 4090. However, it will soon lose its crown to the upcoming RTX 5090, which will be the recommended choice. In any case, I personally have the RTX 4090 Gaming OC from Gigabyte and highly recommend it.
It’s a great card and it comes with an anti-sag bracket which is really important because RTX 4090 Gaming OC is heavy.
When it comes to RAM it should be selected based on compatibility with the motherboard and CPU. Currently, DDR5 memory and motherboards supporting DDR5 are the standard. Memory modules are also divided into two categories: those dedicated for Intel with XMP profiles (XMP compatible) and those specifically for AMD with EXPO profiles (EXPO compatible).
There are also universal memory kits that support both XMP and EXPO profiles, with Corsair being an example of a manufacturer that produces these. On the other hand, companies like G.Skill produce memory specifically tailored for either Intel or AMD.
Of course there are exceptions. Some G.Skill memory modules are compatible with both XMP and EXPO profiles.
It’s worth mentioning that there is another classification of memory modules. For example, G.Skill produces A-die and M-die memory modules. The key difference between them is that A-die memory typically allows for better tweaking and overclocking compared to M-die.
This detail is crucial because certain timing values won’t work with M-die while they should be fine with A-die.
Currently, it’s recommended to go with 2x32GB of RAM - 6000 CL30 or 6400 CL32.
PC case - I recommend purchasing a large case that won’t limit the possibility of installing a bigger graphics card now and in the future.
Be Quiet Silent Base 802 - the case offers excellent airflow and plenty of space making it ideal for high-performance components.
Additionally, when it comes to cleaning your PC components everything is easily accessible which makes maintenance a breeze.
As for the power supply, think long-term. My gaming PC is powered by MSI PSU and I also recommend that PSU - MSI MEG Ai1300P.
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I’m in Perth, Western Australia
General PC, work, application development etc etc. But I do play games, and can afford a top end rig for that, esp MSFS2024.
With 9950X3D would there be be better performance with add-ons like BATC etc, Navigraph, live weather etc giving a more fluid and responsive game?
Well sort of based on all comments and a bit of extra love (I hope), this is what I have so far:
-
AMD Ryzen 9950X3D CPU
-
MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi AM5 ATX Desktop Motherboard
-
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 5090 GPU
-
Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB 64GB Kit (2x32GB) XMP DDR5-6400 C32 RAM
-
Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 AIO
-
Seasonic PRIME TX 1600W Titanium PCIe 5.1 ATX 3.1 Modular PSU (Noctua Edition)
-
be quiet! SILENT BASE 802 TG - Full Tower Case (Black)
AUD$7925
The Carbon has four M.2 ports - two Gen 4 and two Gen 5. I like to keep the C: to just system. Separate drive for games. Another for applications. Then another for documents etc. So two Gen 4 and two Gen 5? And a RAID.
For the Gen 5 ports I am thinking:
Corsair MP700 PRO SE Hydro X PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD - 4TB
and Gen 4:
Corsair MP600 PRO NH PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD - 4TB
So all up in AUD:
-
AMD Ryzen 9950X3D CPU - $1029
-
MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi AM5 ATX Desktop Motherboard - $920
-
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 5090 GPU - $4000
-
Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB 64GB Kit (2x32GB) XMP DDR5-6400 C32 - $529
-
Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 AIO - $199
-
Seasonic PRIME TX 1600W Titanium PCIe 5.1 ATX 3.1 Modular PSU (Noctua Edition) - $999
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be quiet! SILENT BASE 802 TG - Full Tower Case (Black) - $249
-
Corsair MP700 PRO SE Hydro X PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD - 4TB x2 - $2198
-
Corsair MP600 PRO LPX PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD - 4TB Black x2 - $1358
AUD$11481
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Monitor
I have room for just one monitor (1.5m width available).
I currently have a ROG PG279Q
So I am thinking of a ROG Swift PG43UQ
Those PC components all look like good choices.
I have an intel version of the MSI Carbon Wifi motherboard under my 13900 KS S, and it’s very good. MSI products don’t have quite such a flashy finish as Asus or Gigabyte, but they focus on the performance and connectivity.
GPU wise, the 5090 is unlikely to be heavily taxed by the proposed gaming and work uses but it’ll be top of the tree for a while, and as the 4090 is thin on the ground in most places then why not.
Seasonic PSU’s and be quiet! PC cases are very good. I have the Shadow Base 800DX, and there is plenty of space for both components and cooling.
The Arctic liquid freezer III is OK (my son’s PC has one), but it is a little plasticky and it’s also quite noisy. This is possibly due to the additional VRM fan, but the 3 x Arctic fans are no great shakes either. My PC has the Asus Pro-Art 420mm cooler which has much quieter Noctua fans. As well as the Asus, I’d recommend be quiet! AIO coolers - they have quiet fans as expected, but they can also be topped up with coolant to extend their efficient working life. If you decide to stick with the Arctic cooler, you can always update the fans to something better at a later date.
Corsair M2 SSD’s are good - I had an MP600 in a previous build which was fast and reliable, and is still used in my son’s computer. The only note of caution with this manufacturer is that I would personally go to great lengths to avoid having to use their iCUE app / system / program for updates & RGB control. It’s bloaty, slow, clunky and frustrating, and it doesn’t play well with other manufacturers RGB controllers.
You will have to use MSI center / Mystic Light to control the RGB on the mobo and GPU anyway, so if you really want RGB RAM as well I would look for a set that can be linked & controlled by the MSI software, rather than having to use iCue as well.
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Good suggestion about the AIO thanks. I will look into the Asus Pro-Art 420mm cooler. I am trying for a quite PC.
Thanks
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If you are building this yourself you might consider using the Fractal Meshify 2 Case. It supports up to 420mm radiators. The top radiator mounting bracket dismounts from the case, so you can fit the radiator with fans to the bracket out of the case and then fit the bracket - I found that a real help. I always build my own computers and found this to be the best case I’ve used. Plus, it’s massive and supports lots of quiet filtered 14cm fans. Have fun with your build!
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Happy to help. I have my PC up on the side of my desk quite close to me, so I also value anything that reduces the noise.
The be quiet case comes with decent 140mm fans, and I would always go for this size over 120mm versions where possible, as they spin a little slower but still move loads of air. This is why I wanted a 420mm cooler in preference to a 360mm.
If you still go for the Arctic cooler (which is very reasonably priced after all), you can always change the standard Arctic fans for better items from be quiet or Noctua. At speed, the Noctua fans have a slightly deeper sounding whirr, and the be quiet ones a slightly higher pitched whoosh, but both are very effective and similar in overall sound level.
I’d also suggest possibly looking at be quiet PSU’s, if the overall noise level is a concern. I have the Dark Power Pro 12 in my PC, and it is noticeably quieter than the previous Seasonic one I had.
One final thing I have found to be really helpful is the Fan Control app, which you can find here: https://getfancontrol.com/
This gives you complete control over every fan inside the PC including on the GPU, although with the exception of the PSU. You can create your own curves to limit noise and temperature as you prefer, and you can also mix & link the curves. This means that if one particular component is hot, you can have some or all of the other fans ramp up a bit. There are loads of tutorials and reviews out there, but with a little experimentation and tweaking it works really well. It’s also free, but if you like it you can always make a donation to the developer. (It’s not me, for the avoidance of any doubt!)
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You have chosen RAM that is typically optimized for Intel CPUs. For the latest Ryzen CPUs, I would recommend going with G.Skill F5-6000J3036G32GX2-TZ5NR instead.
https://www.gskill.com/product/165/390/1692167426/F5-6000J3036G32GX2-TZ5NR
You have chosen Be Quiet Silent Base 802 and Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420. Given the size of the radiator, you will need to install it at the front of the case. This type of installation can result in higher internal temperatures since the heat from the radiator will be pushed into the case, increasing the temperatures of components like the GPU, CPU, RAM, etc.
It’s worth noting that the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is not a particularly hot CPU so it doesn’t require a 420mm radiator. For this CPU and your case, Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 would be sufficient. Its radiator can be installed at the top of the case, which would help maintain better overall airflow and lower internal temperatures.
However, if you still prefer to use Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420, you will need to choose a different case. For example Lian Li Lambo would be a suitable option.
O11D EVO RGB Automobili Lamborghini Edition - LIAN LI is a Leading Provider of PC Cases | Computer Cases
So You need to decide whether you prefer 420 or 360 radiator.
If you opt for 420mm radiator and plan to install it at the front,Be Quiet Silent Base 802 will be sufficient.
However, if you want 420mm radiator installed at the top, you will need a different case, such as the Lian Li Lambo.
If you decide on 360mm radiator, both Be Quiet Silent Base 802 and the Lian Li Lambo will work well for your build.
I’m not sure about now, but in the past, Seasonic didn’t have the best reviews. Maybe things have changed, I’m not sure. If I were in your position and wanted to buy a 1600W PSU I would go with something like an MSI PSU
MEG Ai1600T PCIE5 | Power Supply｜MSI
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