Requesting a little bit of hardware help:
Currently my PC has an intel i5 9600KF, 32GB RAM and an RTX 2060 Super. MSFS is running pretty nice on 1440p. I’m entertaining the thought to upgrade the VGA to an RTX 4070 and hopefully play at 4K leaving all other settings the same.
As far as I could find out the 4070 actually delivers the required extra performance to the 2060S, but I’m not sure the CPU could handle the difference either.
Could anyone knowledgeable confirm if the step up to 4K is achievable with only the 4070 (and a new PSU of course) without a MB/CPU upgrade?
Thanks in advance
You can achieve 4K on any CPU; the question is whether the performance in the planes and areas you fly, with the graphics settings you prefer, and any additional tooling you like, is acceptable to you. And that’s an open enough question it’s hard to answer – but people may have specific experiences about, say, specific airliner or GA planes at specific airports they can relay. 
[Generally speaking the CPU only makes a difference to display resolution insofar as the resolution affects the size/detail and number of objects on screen; some processing is done on the CPU before the GPU gets to it.]
Indeed, I remember when I was desperately changing settings because my sim was stuttering left right and center and in the end it turned out that the solution is to RAISE the terrain “level of detail” and “objects level of detail” to shift load from the CPU to the VGA.
That is why I was even assuming that I might be working the CPU already as much as possible. Hence the thought that if I leave every other setting as is, but change the resolution to 4K, then it might also raise the load on the CPU too, not just the VGA.
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First step would be to get a 4k monitor. This guy is pretty good at explaining them for flight sims. You can always run the 4k monitor at 1440p if you don’t like the 4k results. Be sure to get one with DisplayPort connections.
Just want to make a point of semantics
VGA is often refers to the old 15-pin connector that used to be the standard in video connections. You’re looking to replace the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). I think most people here know what you meant anyway lol
Now for the relevant bit:
You should be able to get 4K out of your 2060 but you’ll absolutely want to upgrade your monitor and CPU. It should save you some money. 9th gen intel kinda mid now. If you stuck a 4070 in there the it would be “waiting” on your CPU and you could see worse performance especially at higher resolutions AKA ‘CPU Limited’.
MSFS is CPU-heavy since you need high clock to manage all the data getting streamed
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I use a 49" 4K TV as my main monitor. I know it is not ideal for gaming, but i do not notice latency issues and 60Hz is not an issue with MSFS either.
Uhh yeah, true point about the GPU/VGA, I just got used to calling the graphics card a VGA card a few deacdes ago 
I know the hardware config might be mismatched, hence the topic. However so far I got two absolutely contradictory answers, so I feel none tge wiser…
I think people are still thinking that for MSFS, bigger GPU = better graphics but that only tells half the tale.
Vibstronium mentioned something similar to what I did and thats CPU Performance affects display resolution. This is something that’s more true for MSFS: The higher the resolution, the more your CPU has to work to process the data and send it to the GPU for rendering unto your monitor.
The short answer is: Yes, you’ll get 4K if you just upgrade the graphics card. If you’re concerned about performance issues, yes you could see those too since the i5 is a mid-range chip but it should be able to handle it but there’s no guarantee due to the age and grade of the chip.
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I would go along with Portalearth420 here.
I think the i5 9600kf and the rtx 4070 is a reasonably well balanced combination so I also think that you should be able to get reasonable ( though not outstanding) 4k performance from both the two of them.
I think it is feasible but to be on the safe side I would manage your expectations. It may well come down to your other in game settings which tax your GPU and settings like LOD and traffic which tax your CPU. This and what other addons you have (eg Pilot2Atc, AAO, FSRealistic, SimShaker PACX etc etc) and whether you are siming in demanding aircraft e.g. Fenix. Also important is how well optimised your PC is and what else you might have running in the background. On my system for example I get quite a hit just running Windows Defender in the background with MSFS (believe it or not).
So, from me, a qualified definite maybe as long as your performance/fps expectations are not too high 
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