New PC to Support MSFS Triple 55" 4K TV Build

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Hi everyone - I posted in the concurrent dream rig thread but I don’t want to de-rail from the OP in that thread so I will post my own, I hope this is the right thing to do :slight_smile:

I’ve been thinking for many years of biting the bullet and going for a multi TV sim build. I basically stopped simming back in 2021 as the constant setup/takedown of peripherals on the family PC was a nightmare. Personal circumstances have given me the time, space and resources to actually build something dedicated. I used to fly on P3D but I’ve decided it is time to switch and join the MSFS revolution.

Unfortunately though I am nowhere near tech savvy enough to go down the full cockpit design and build project. For me it will be very much plug and play style. I have done some research and I have identified pretty much the equipment I want - 3x 55" 4K TVs, Next Level Racing Flight Simulator Pro, Flight controls etc. The one big question is the dedicated PC to drive all this.

At the risk of this being yet another “please help me build my PC” thread, I’m finding this aspect really difficult. There is a sea of info out there! I have read much of the info on the intel vs AMD CPU debate, and given this will be a dedicated PC to run MSFS, it looks like the Ryzen 7800X3D is the way to go. Similarly, 4090 GPU seems to be the best choice given the demand from the triple screens. It’s the rest of it that has me really uncertain. My budget, while not completely open ended, is good enough to do this properly - enough that for the purposes of the debate I am happy to try and identify the optimal PC to drive this. But I’m also concerned that I don’t want to overcook it and buy components that can’t be utilised by MSFS. While I am happy to future proof to some extent - and noting MSFS 2024 is on the horizon - there’s no point wasting money on bleeding edge gear that won’t be utilised effectively.

So given those parameters - happy to provide any additional information required - what would you recommend to complete this PC build?

Many thanks in advance!

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Lots of options, and in turn, lots of opinions.

The main things I’d be going for, for MSFS2020 and beyond.

nVidia RTX 4090 GPU
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D
32GB DDR5 memory (or more if you like)
M2 NVME SSD
Ensure a Power Supply Unit (PSU) that is rated to handle that GPU and CPU plus everything else.

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Hi BuzzJungle. Out of curiosity, which TV model did you choose, & what was it about the TV that made your decision?

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The 7800X3D and 4090 are solid choices for triple screen MSFS.

Similar to @skypilotYTS, I also recommend:

32GB fast (6000+) DDR5 RAM
At least 2TB M.2 SSD just for MSFS stuff, and another one for good measure for everything else.
At least a 1000W name brand PSU with 12VHPWR cable direct to GPU
Either a wide case to accommodate the clearance needed for bend radius of cable going to the stupid power connector placement that 4000 series cards have or a vertical GPU mount kit that avoids card sag and keeps the power cable straight. eg.

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The current option is this one: 55" ULED Mini-LED Series U7KAU - Hisense Australia

Honestly the main reason is that I found a youtuber who had the setup closest to what I had imagined, and he went with a similar model. This appears to have low input lag and variable refresh rate. He seems happy with the picture quality. If cost was no issue then I would look at OLED but what would probably add another $3000 to the budget which is a bridge too far.

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Looking at RAM, I’ve seen opinions that anything more than 32GB is overkill - would you agree with this? This machine will only be used for MSFS. As per the original post it is tempting to go 64GB because more feels better but perhaps this is wasted money?

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It all comes down to how many addons / mods you are running / plan to run.

I’m in flight now and currently using 30GB of my 64. That said, I run allot of mods and addons.

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I’m running MSFS in VR right now for the last two hours with a bunch of external apps plus two web browsers and a Microsoft Visual Studio development session and my system is using 20G out of 32GB, so I’d say 32GB is plenty.

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ok thanks on the RAM. Looks like 32gb is enough then.

ok power supply. Can you recommend me a specific unit if you were building? I understand choosing a good “brand name” - but I don’t know which are the good ones :slight_smile:

@ResetXPDR thats interesting on the case, again is there a specific one you’d recommend?

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Well I recommend NOT mine :laughing: but I don’t think you have to worry as mine is 4 years old and probably no longer available. Sorry but I have no recommendations for cases as I haven’t built for that long and don’t know what’s considered good out there now.

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For just MSFS, yes. I have 32 GB. Right now, with MSFS & Edge running, task manager is showing 8.8 GB = 28% utilization.

I have the Enermax Revolution DF 850W 850 PLUS Gold. No problems at all with it. For your rig, I’d go with at least 1000W. As per @ skypilotYTS comment: “Ensure a Power Supply Unit (PSU) that is rated to handle that GPU and CPU plus everything else.”
Have a look at their 1050 Watt model. They also have 1200, 1350 & 1650 watt versions in the DF range. Double check that the model comes with enough cables for all your parts - motherboard, GPU, HDDs (if any), etc.

Don’t forget to purchase a surge protector! Shame to fry a $2,000 PC for the want of a $20 surge protector! Also, make sure the max total load of PC, monitors & other equipment drawing power is less than what your AC wall outlet
can provide. I have heard of situations where the total load trips the circuit breaker! :slightly_smiling_face:

If you are not interested in fancy rainbow LED cases, fans, memory sticks, etc, have a look at the bequiet! range of cases, CPU coolers & fans. I have the bequiet! Pure Base 500DX case, (came with 3x140 fans) & bequiet! Pure Loop 240 CPU cooler. Super quiet, highly recommended. Just make sure your chosen GPU will fit in the case you choose & that the cooler is compatible with your CPU.

GPU. I have the Intel Arc A770 with 16 GB of GPU RAM. MSFS runs on this & my Intel Core i7-12700K smooth as silk (If buying today, I’d go for the i7-14700K). AMD has good choices too, as per @ ResetXPDR comment: “The 7800X3D and 4090 are solid choices for triple screen MSFS.” Whatever you decide, go for a GPU with 16 GB RAM - MSFS will use it!

SSDs. If possible, put your Win11 OS & MSFS install on two separate SSDs. 2 x 2TB or 1 x 2TB & 1 x 4TB would be good, but 1 x 1TB for the OS & 1 x 2TB for MSFS should work fine. Avoid using HDDs for the OS or MSFS, but a 4 TB HDD for regular backups of the OS & MSFS would avoid having to reinstall the OS or re-download the sim - and be a LOT faster - if things go terribly wrong at some point in the future.

I’d also recommend checking that the CPU, GPU, SSDs & especially memory sticks are on your motherboard’s compatibility list (the manufacturers website support page for the product should link to this information). It is highly unlikely that the CPUs & GPUs listed in this thread are not on the list, but with memory & SSDs it is not so clear cut. When I built my PC, about 50% of the memory chips that I search for were not on the list.

w.r.t the TV - thanks for that info. I’ve been looking at getting a 50" & had narrowed down the choice between TCL & Hisense. The U8 range is a bit above my budget but I think it would work well for you.

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@SmotheryVase665 thanks for that comprehensive reply, really informative. On the TV point yes my info said TCL were also right up there. Looks like either would be good options. Also good point on the SSDs - OS vs MSFS.

I just had some advice from a friend who is way more computer savvy, but isn’t a flight simmer. So currently I am looking at the following:

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8 Core 16 Thread Up To 5.0GHz AM5
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4090 Windforce V2 24GB GDDR6X
Corsair RM1000e 1000W Gold ATX Modular PSU
Corsair iCUE H150i RGB ELITE Liquid CPU Cooler
Corsair 64GB Kit (2x32GB) DDR5 Vengeance C32 6400MT/s - Black
ASUS ROG Strix B650E-E Gaming WiFi AM5 ATX Desktop Motherboard
Samsung 980 Pro PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD - 1TB for OS, 2TB for MSFS etc

Havent got to the case yet. Think this fits the bill?

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Looks pretty solid to me.

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I had terrible coil whine with the RMe corsair, I swapped it for the RMx which have rifle bearing fans and don’t suffer coil whine. Nothing more annoying that a rattling cooler fan and not much more outlay.

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Interesting, anyone else have this issue?

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I have an RM850 Corsair which hasn’t caused me any issues, even hooked up to a 4090 for 8 months. I’m not sure where RM fits into the RMe, RMx range quality-wise though.

Edit: It seems RMe is the budget model with cheaper capacitors, smaller fan and shorter warranty. RM is better components and longer warranty and RMx has all that and a quieter fan. See Explaining the CORSAIR PSU Lineup (2023) | CORSAIR:EXPLORER

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Another issue is there seems to be about 2398716587612357815871 different variations on the 4090 card. I don’t need an overclockable one, right? This is the frustration, I have no idea of the pros and cons of all the variants and the prices vary wildly.

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I just went for one of the least expensive ones, a Gigabyte Gaming OC, and even that was overclocked out of the box. The cooling is way over engineered for stock speeds on all of them so if you aren’t planning on overclocking then go for one of the cheaper name brand ones with a long warranty. I even undervolt mine so it rarely cracks over 400W under load and is mostly in the mid 350W range where my 3080 used to run.

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That looks like a very solid list!

The only comment I can add from personal experience is perhaps to consider be quiet! instead of Corsair for the PSU and cooler.

Corsair AIO coolers modify the fan speeds based on the temperature of the coolant, as opposed to the direct CPU temperature. The reason for this (which is totally sound on paper) is that it avoids short, frequent bursts of high fan speed and noise in response to short bursts of high cpu activity, and instead provides constant cooling. But with MSFS, the cpu load will always be high and the Corsair fans are way louder and less efficient than those from be quiet! in use. The H150i would also require you to install and use Corsair’s iCUE for the dashboard and cooler settings, which I found to be bloaty, unintuitive and in need of frequent frustrating updates.

I had a Corsair H100i in my previous pc build and the noise levels led me very quickly to replace the ML120 fans with a pair from be quiet!, which improved things considerably. In my new build I went directly for the be quiet! Silent Loop 2 280mm cooler, which I have fitted with their 140mm Silent Wings 4 Pro high-speed PWM fans. These have fluid bearings and a switch to adjust maximum speed up to 2400rpm. There are 6 of these fans in my pc case, but the noise from them is completely drowned out by my MSI 4090, even with it’s bios switch set to “Silent” mode. I specifically wanted to use 140mm fans throughout, as they provide more air flow for lower speeds, and hence less noise.

The same thinking led me to the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 power supply, which is 80+ Titanium rated, beautifully made, totally silent and has been completely dependable.

One last thought on cooling - flights in MSFS are going to have your pc and it’s fans kept busy a lot of the time. I was recommended to try the excellent (and free) Fan Control app by a friend who contributed to it’s development. This app allows you to control and link all of the fans inside your pc, even those on the gpu. This avoids sudden bursts of high speed and noise in response to one particular hotspot in much the same way as the Corsair cooler attempts to do, but retains the ability to respond fast if it needs to. You can customise the temperatures permitted in all areas, and set start / stop times, custom curves and maximum speeds for each individual fan. This app is much more powerful and effective than any other cooling solution I have tried, but is still light on system resources.

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You may get lucky? After I had it with mine, and a little research I discovered it was quite common with the type of fan used in that model.
I can’t even notice when the fan is in use with the RMx.