Questions about Hardware Upgrades

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I’m currently running a GTX 1050ti with an i5-10400F and 8gb of RAM. I’ve been making it work for a while now (since launch), but I’m ready for an upgrade. My first step will be to install 32gb of ram since memory is cheap. But I was curious whether I should upgrade to a 4060 and an i7-10700, or keep my CPU and upgrade to a 3060.

I’m planning on playing 1440p, I mainly fly the PMDG 737 and Fenix A320. I’m new to all this, so feel free to recommend any other setups! But I’d like to keep CPU + GPU under about $600.

Thanks!

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After RAM upgrade, the very first next step would be to ensure the CPU is working at its very high limit and if yes to upgrade it, then ensure the newest is also at the highest rate and if yes check if the botleneck have switched to the GPU side.
For this, there’s a very nice too on the net, which is called GPU-Z and helps in observing the bandwith usage on GPU side : if low usage is shown, the CPU isn’t able to bring througput, if high usage is shown, the GPU is on saturation.

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Personally, I’d go AMD. Get one of their X3D chips. The extra cache does wonders for MSFS, and FS24 will be able to make use of the high core count even more.

I’d also go with an AMD GPU for the raw rasterization performance, unless you’re really invested in Nvidia’s software (DLSS, etc.). 1440p is the sweet spot for the current GPUs.

You’re on the right track with 32gb of RAM though, MSFS can make full use of it and you’ll have capacity left for other programs. I’d tackle this with a view to future proofing since FS24 is coming this year.

You’ll probably blow out your budget, but I’d spend as much as you’re comfortable. The stronger your PC is now, the longer you’ll be able to run FS24.

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Hi LeoadnIX

Generally, I’d suggest holding off on any upgrades (as opposed to purchasing a new PC) until we have a better idea of what the requirements will be for MSFS 2024, though I’d speculate that these might not be announced until Oct or Nov of this year.

I have not researched this much (see this comparison), but I don’t think you would get a significant improvement in performance or get value for your money by upgrading from a i5-10400F to an i7-10700. Upgrading to one of the i7-14700 CPUs is a different story.

Because you like to fly the PMDG 737 and Fenix A320, I think you would see a better return on your investment by upgrading your GPU vs. your CPU, if you can only purchase one item.

If you choose to upgrade your GPU, you might also need to upgrade the power supply and / or fans and /or case, as any new GPU will draw more power & generate more heat than your GTX 1050ti, and the latest GPUs may not fit in your case, depending upon what you have now. If you replace the GPU, I’d strongly recommend that it has at least 16 GB VRAM or more (the RTX 3060 only has 12 GB).

The same applies, to a lesser extent, to replacing the CPU - you might also need to upgrade the power supply and / or fans and /or case, depending upon if you need you upgrade your CPU cooler too.

As you have determined, it is best to consider GPUs, CPUs & memory (both VRAM & onboard RAM) together. Upgrading just the GPU will likely just push any FPS bottleneck to the CPU, & visa-versa.

So, if you don’t want to wait until the MSFS 20204 specs are announced, with your current specs, it may be more cost-effective purchase a new PC, if you can afford it, or wait until you can, rather than just replace the GPU and/or CPU and/or memory. You don’t mention the name of your motherboard or if you plan to get DDR4 or DDR5 RAM.

This thread may be of interest to you if you decide on the latter option.

Hope this helps!

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I believe @SmotheryVase665 hit the nail on the head in that you will not get a significant improvement with a CPU upgrade with your current motherboard (nor would you get much improvement with more memory). The main issue is that you are GPU limited - you can verify this by turning on Dev mode in the sim and go to the debug menu and turn on the FPS counter.

So, the best bang for you buck in the near term would be to upgrade the gpu and leave the cpu/memory/motherboard alone as it is old technology and not worth upgrading. You will need to make sure your existing power supply will support the additional watts to handle the new gpu.

This way, the new gpu can be re-used with any new PC down the road that you may choose to invest in.

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