Hi,
I’d like to upgrade my PC. I’ve got an i9900k with DDR4 and a Radeon 6700XT.
I’d like to upgrade my CPU for an i7 13700kf or even i7 14700kf with a new motherboard and DDR5.
Is it worth upgrading my PC config ?
Thank You.
Damien.
Hi Damien. Can you give folks some idea of what you don’t like right now about your flights that is making you think about upgrading? For example, you want to increase certain scenery settings to Ultra, or your FPS are always falling below “x” whenever you fly into large airports, or you would like to increase certain LOD values, or…
Knowing what is not working for you, & what you’d like to see in the sim with your upgraded PC, will help folks provide relevant suggestions!
What else do you use the PC for?
Were it me I wouldn’t be considering anything other than one of the AMD X3D CPUs.
I think your current system is probably fairly balanced for MSFS and would run well with a 1080p monitor on ultra settings and also run well at 1440p with a mixture of high/ultra settings (my opinion 
).
If you wanted to upgrade and run the sim at full 4k HDR10 on all ultra settings the best 1st step would be to update the cpu/motherboard/memory as you mentioned above. The 6700XT would then be the weakest link and would require some lower settings in the sim to run 4k. That’s ok as you could always upgrade the GPU down the road.
So it all comes down to what you want to do with the new PC as @SmotheryVase665 and @dectenor1 have asked above. Pls also let us know if VR is something you’re considering as that would be an important point to consider.
Btw - I agree with @dectenor1 that the AMD X3D CPUs work best with the sim due to the extra level 3 cache they have. The 7800x3D in particular is attractive given it’s great price to performance ratio.
I upgraded my 9900K to an I5-13600K & MB and 64GB of 7200 DDR5.
This is my temporary upgrade to the Intel Battlemage GPU and
Intel Gen 15 CPU (Arrow Lake) & motherboard this year when they come out.
If you want to stay with Intel, I would get the Battlemage GPU for your present 9900K and wait for the Gen 15 & motherboard and DDR5.
Thank you for your answers.
MSFS runs smoothly with my PC config, excepted over large and very busy (ai aircraft) airports where I meet some stutters but It’s mostly flyable.
I want to upgrade my PC config since there is bottleneck between m’y CPU and my graphic card (the CPU is weaker according to the test).
My Radeon 6700XT is a PCI-Express 4.0 whereas my motherboard is 3.0, my motherboard has a LAN 1Gb whereas new motherboards have LAN 2.5 … Perhaps it’s time to upgrade or shall I wait …
Have a nice day !
Damien.
You’re going to get stutters with pretty much every PC over large and very busy (ai aircraft) airports, even the high end PC’s albeit with less stuttering. Just trying to set expectations here.
I agree and a new MB/CPU/memory would definitely help smooth things out and reduce the stuttering.
The difference in PCI-E versions is going to have minimal to no effect and unless you have over 1 Gb internet service, LAN 2.5 is not going to have an impact. The real challenge is your ISP and all the servers between you and Microsoft playing well as high latencies will easily negate any increase in speed. Again, just trying to set expectations.
As I mentioned above, I think a CPU/MB/memory upgrade will definitely improve your experience with MSFS. I think the impact will be minimal if your monitor is only 1080p as having an upgraded PC with a 1080p monitor is like having a race car on bicycle tires with regards to visual immersion! (not sure what resolution you currently use or want to use in the future). Also, I think it would be a good investment in a solid platform which will support future upgrades.
Keep in mind also that MSFS 2024 will be introduced by Microsoft/Asobo sometime this year. Microsoft has hinted that the sim will be less demanding on PC hardware however, I think you should be good!
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I agree with all of WingWarper1 's comments above.
I have an i7-12700K, DDR5 memory and an Intel Arc A770 with 16 GB onboard memory. With all settings at Ultra & AI at 100%, I’ve seen stuttering at airports in Singapore & Adelaide, Australia. However, I rarely fly into major airports (I prefer bush flying), so this is not a problem for me, but if you spend most of your time flying into & out of major airports, then it may be much more of a concern to you.
Your Radeon 6700XT has 12 GB of onboard memory, so it is probable that your GPU will become your bottleneck in your new configuration. It will not be stutter free.
As WingWarper1 says, your proposed specs “would be a good investment in a solid platform which will support future upgrades”, but unless you really, really want to get rid of those stutters today, I’d recommend waiting for a few months to see what the recommended specs will be for 2024. It would be a shame to have spent $1,000 - $1,500 on new components, only to see that you need not have done so at all because improvements to the underlying architecture of the 2024 sim reduces stuttering at big airports!
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Hi,
I’m at 1080p since my PC monitor is 24".
Damien.
Screen size and display resolution are only one part of the equation. It and viewing distance together determine the minimum satisfactory screen resolution. Pixel density, and the human eye’s resolving power determine the distance at which a given screen size will look good.
A 24" 1920x1080 image will look fine at a viewing distance no closer than about 2.5 ft. Any closer and the human eye will begin to see individual pixels, which can ruin the experience.
You can sit about 1.5 ft. from a 24" 4K (UHD) monitor displaying a 2840x2160 image before you start to resolve individual pixels, simply because the image has a higher pixel density.
Similarly, a 1920x1080 image on a 50" screen any closer than 6 ft. would appear pixellated, whereas a 4K (UHD) image on a 50" screen would only start to become pixellated at a much closer 3 ft.
This is important to me because I use Tobii and lean into my screen to view cockpit gauges up close. If I had a 1080 monitor it would look pretty bad. My 32" 4K UHD monitor makes it a good experience. It would look even smoother on a 24" 4K UHD monitor (higher pixel density.) Point is, display resolution sets a limit on screen size and viewing distance, and also determines the GPU needed, which directly affects budgetary concerns.
The huge wraparound LED screen inside the Sphere in Las Vegas runs at 16K resolution. That’s 64 times the pixel density of a 1920x1080 image. That’s what allows video to appear so sharp when viewed from inside the sphere.
Also why I want to fly my sim inside the Sphere.
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