MS2024 Flight Sim Build

[Stickybloke]

Sorry, there’s probably going to be a lot of these spec check requests coming up with the forthcoming release of MS Flight Sim 2024. I appreciate there’s also a very similar post to this one just the other day, however…

I’m a (slightly tragic) airline pilot that wants to pretend to do his actual day job in his spare time on his PC (my wife despairs) and is looking to “invest” in a new machine. Budget up to about £4k if required for the machine, with a setup that will drive 3 monitors.

Anyway, this is the spec - grateful for any inputs, particularly CPU, mobo and CPU cooling. I’d like to future-proof for as long as possible but happy to be talked down from any obvious overkill 😂

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16 Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.7GHz/144MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
128GB PCS PRO DDR5 3600MHz (4 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
24GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4090 OC EDITION OG - 2x HDMI, 3x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Braided Power Supply Cables
CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit Pro (40 Series) - Red/Black
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK H100i RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
LED Lighting
50cm ARGB LED Strip
Extra Case Fans
2 x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT

PCSPECIALIST - Top Spec Custom PCs & Laptops Built to Order

Manufacturer of performance custom computers and laptops. Customise your ideal gaming PC or laptop using our advanced configurator.

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[FigmentOfYourImagination]

I was dubious about the need for 128GB RAM....however, Microsoft are recommending 64GB for the "ideal" spec (it's related to how a lot of stuff is through the cloud or something)....128 may end up being overkill but possibly a future-proofing for future titles. Not sure about the CPU...whether the 7800x3D (the best gaming chip around) is the better or whether MSFS24 would benefit from the extra cores the 7950x3D brings:

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE - Given the heat the system will generate, a bigger case is preferable
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16 Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.7GHz/144MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM)
128GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 3600MHz (4 x 32GB) - Swapped to Corsair RAM as it is known. 3600MHz seems extraordinarily low but that's the only speed PCS offers for 128GB
Graphics Card
24GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4090 OC EDITION OG - 2x HDMI, 3x DP - Normally would switch to the non-OC version but this one is bizarrely cheaper so left it in
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti / RX 7700 XT AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SOLIDIGM P44 PRO GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 7000MB/sR, 6500MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SOLIDIGM P41+ GEN 4 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 4125MB/sR, 3325MB/sW) - Switched this to a slightly slower speed but I'm not sure how vital speed is to MSFS
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W RMx SHIFT SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET - 850w was lowballing it. The Shifts are the newest gen of PSUs and are better all around..plus they handle GPU transient spikes much better
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT RGB CPU Cooler - Went for a H150i as it looks better in the case and has more fans; put in the LCD version as it's cheaper than the normal version for some reason.
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING - The Corsair coolers come with high grade paste pre-applied so no need for this option
LED Lighting
50cm ARGB LED Strip - I left this in but, from what I have seen of these strips, they look tacky and spoil the aesthetic.
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) - Not sure what option you chose...SIlver is really the minimum (extra 11 months C&R for a fiver). personally, with a build this high end, I'd opot for Gold minimum, but that's personal preference
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 3 to 5 working days
Price: £3,661.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/hMFFqk6ffH/

I would definitely wait for a second opinion from someone with more MSFS knowledge though

 

[Stickybloke]

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply, much appreciated.
I did wonder about which CPU would be better for MSFS - as you say, that needs a flight sim expert.
The RAM thing was odd - I’m sure I can spec faster stuff but, as you saw, PCS are only listing it as pairs.
I initially went for a 1000W but the configurator suggested that was excessive. You’re right though and I think I’d feel more comfortable with power available.
I thought I’d deleted the RGB strip 😂 as you say, a bit tacky!

Thanks again for the input! Cheers

 

[Scott]

You won't know until the game is getting benchmarked in reviews but with 2020 MSFS the 7950X3D gave a little more performance than the 7800X3D did. Not entirely sure of the mechanics of why this was the case, or if it is still applicable, but it's worth keeping in mind. With that said, the difference was marginal and not something you would really see anyway.

With the RAM, I wouldn't touch 128GB personally. The RAM speed absolutely tanks when you use 4 slots (as you can see). It's not something I would do with gaming in mind, it would likely be fine where the capacity is more important than the frequency. If 64GB is stated to be the ideal then it's going to be the ideal throughout the lifetime of the game. I would guess they would look to lower the utilisation rather than increase it over time.

 

[TonyCarter]

The other option would be to get the bare minimum RAM for testing and replace it with 2x48GB 5600MHz+ kit direct from Corsair/Crucial...which would get you somewhere between the capacity of 'above ideal', use only 2 slots, and get a much faster speed.

 

[Stickybloke]

@Scott - great stuff, thank you very much. Good gen on the RAM utilisation and just sticking with two slots. Must admit, I didn’t realise that using 4 slots would have such a big impact, thank you.

@TonyCarter - likewise and yes, that sounds like a good idea, I’ll look into that.

Thanks gents - all useful stuff, appreciated!

 

[Scott]

Out of curiosity I've been searching around the AV Sim forums to see what the thoughts are. Consensus is that 32GB is probably enough. The "Ideal" description for 64GB is to cover the bases of all the modding that often goes on, additional content, 3rd party content, etc).

It looks like the key bottleneck is going to be internet speed and vRAM.

With RAM itself, no need to look past 64GB. This gets you the optimum speed, which falls in line with "Ideal". I don't think there's any point in going past ideal, even just considering the meaning.