New PC for MS Flight Sim 2020

[Graeme1873]

Hi there.

With the announcement that MS FS2020 is available to pre order the time has come to replace my 8 year old PCS computer and invest in a new PC to make it “fly”. I've been saving hard so now have funds available to buy something that will hopefully run it really well for the next few years.

im assuming the MS ideal specs are a good starting point but I’d appreciate your help in creating a spec. My budget is £2000 but could push it to £2500 if the extra £500 would significantly future proof the set up.

I’ve also 2 or 3 specific questions

- I’m not sure whether I’d need a new monitor - my current one is Dell S2419H 24 Inch FHD IPS LED-backlit LCD 2019 Monitor - (Black) (5 ms Response Time, Full HD 1920 x 1080 at 60 Hz, Waves MaxxAudio, 2 x HDMI, Tilt)

- Space is quite limited in my study. I was looking at the mini PCs but get the impression they are not a good option for gaming. Is that right? Are there any good reasonably compact gaming cases you’d recommend? My current Master Cooler case is huge but guess it helps with cooling?

- I have recently cloned my FSX set up onto a new Seagate 1tb barracuda. Can I use this in my new rig or am I best just starting with a new fresh storage HDD?

Appreciate any help you can offer.

thanks
Donald

 

[Graeme1873]

Meant to post these are the ideal specs per MS

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 2700X, or Intel i7-9800X
• GPU: Radeon VII, or Nvidia RTX 2080
• VRAM: 8 GB
• RAM: 32 GB
• HDD: 150 GB SSD
• Internetspeed: 50 Mbps (6.3 MB/s)

 

[Scott]

Checking the requirements from the XBox site it suggests far lower required specs.

Given the monitor that you are employing I would definitely consider a far lower spec. There's no way anything like the above is going to be needed to drive it. If you think about it, the game is designed for 4k HDR use. Logically this would suggest that if you are aiming for that level, you would want the recommended specs...... otherwise, you would be as well lowering them.

My favoured choice would be the samsung 49" super-ultrawide. This would be fantastic for peripheral vision from the cockpit etc. The G9 should be out soon, which is VERY expensive, but I think it would add far more to the experience with a £1500 PC than spending up to £2.5k on a PC paired with a 1080p monitor.

Everything needs to be in balance for good value

 

[Scott]

And that is why I asked for a second opinion as I thought the 3900 chip would help drive MS2020 at 1440p. I was always under the impression that flight sims needed much more CPU power than normal games but it seems I am misinformed at least when it comes to MS2020 (which also would then require a second opinion on all my recent specs from people asking about MS2020 )

MS2020 is more of a normal game as I understand it. The issue with previous flight sims is the engines that drove them were physics related and relied on the CPU. With the lack of multi-core use, the high frequency single core chips were always favoured (and even overclocking).

As most of the graphics will be generated at the server end, there's not really a LOT of power going to be required from the system. I believe this means we are going to see some serious visual fidelity for less power than it would normally take to generate. The CPU requirements are actually really low, this is the reason the entire FS community is salivating at this game

 

[mrlip]

MS2020 is more of a normal game as I understand it. The issue with previous flight sims is the engines that drove them were physics related and relied on the CPU. With the lack of multi-core use, the high frequency single core chips were always favoured (and even overclocking).

As most of the graphics will be generated at the server end, there's not really a LOT of power going to be required from the system. I believe this means we are going to see some serious visual fidelity for less power than it would normally take to generate. The CPU requirements are actually really low, this is the reason the entire FS community is salivating at this game

As a serious Flight Simmer myself, I'm hoping that the new MSFS takes advantage of multiple cores etc and, as you say, it is less reliant on single core clock speed like the current gen of Flight Sims are. I am currently waiting on a Nova 15 machine to arrive (3700X, 32GB 2666 Ram, and RTX 2070 config) which will primarily be used for P3D and the new MSFS. One thing I will say on the recommended\ideal MSFS requirements, whilst they don't look too bad, I think most people will want to have plenty in reserve in terms of specs for when 3rd party addons are thrown into the MSFS mix.

 

[Scott]

Just an FYI on the requirements. A lot of people are still quoting the presumed requirements released a while back. Here is the current level of system required. You can see just how much of it is going to be cloud based from this IMO.

Buy Microsoft Flight Simulator: Standard - Microsoft Store en-GB

This title does not support Korean, Vietnamese, Thai or Indonesian localization. Microsoft Flight Simulator is the next generation of one of the most beloved simulation franchises. From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and stunning aircraft in an incredibly realistic world...

www.microsoft.com

 

[Graeme1873]

Wow that 49” ultra wide monitor looks absolutely awesome but i think it’s just to long too fit my study. Is there a slightly smaller ultra wide you’d recommend?

 

[mrlip]

Just an FYI on the requirements. A lot of people are still quoting the presumed requirements released a while back. Here is the current level of system required. You can see just how much of it is going to be cloud based from this IMO.

Buy Microsoft Flight Simulator: Standard - Microsoft Store en-GB

This title does not support Korean, Vietnamese, Thai or Indonesian localization. Microsoft Flight Simulator is the next generation of one of the most beloved simulation franchises. From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and stunning aircraft in an incredibly realistic world...

www.microsoft.com

Yeah they do look pretty modest. Looking at those I guess the base sim won’t need too much in terms of spec but I would still want a decent rig for when demanding 3rd party stuff gets added in such as PMDG, Fslabs and payware sceneries. Exciting times ahead though for the new platform!

 

[MichaelSmith457]

If I could just say for those that don't have a great WIFI/Internet connection there is going to be a system whereby you can download the area where you specifically want to fly like perhaps just the UK, then I think the computer spec will come into question.
by the way Scott, Nursemorth my PC is being delivered tomorrow, thanks for all your help with choosing my specs.

 

[Graeme1873]

Hi Guys

Based on your suggestions I’ve come up with the following and was thinking of linking it up with a new G7 32” monitor SAMSUNG LC32HG70QQUXEN Quad HD 32" Curved QLED Gaming Monitor - Dark Blue Grey

What do you think? Also the auto generated message alwhen I created the spec also suggested I don’t need a 750w power supply but instead a 650w supply would be ok. Would you recommend downgrading this?

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
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Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 21 to 23 working days
Price: £2,012.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/q2TSY3eZf9/

 

[Deleted member 17413]

Isnt that still a HD (1080p) monitor?
Wouldnt you want a 1440p monitor with a build like that? seems pretty overpowered for 1080p.

 

[SpyderTracks]

You could happily drop the GPU down to a 2070 super for that monitor at 1440p 144hz, wouldn’t be any benefit to the 2080 super.

The PSU, I’d leave it as 750w as it’s the RMx version which is higher rated. The extra watts although not needed now, allow you for any GPU upgrade in the future. Next gen cards are set to be more hungry power wise.

I would also up the os drive to the firecuda if budget allows.

 

[Graeme1873]

Wow that GPU made a difference in price! Is there anything elseI should look to change with the £150 that has saved me? Have upgraded to the Firecuda.

Also I think that monitor is 1440 - the price looks to be c£600 online and happy to look at alternatives around that price range if there is better out there.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
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Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 21 to 23 working days
Price: £1,842.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/4gXraWuGHV/

 

[SpyderTracks]

Wow that GPU made a difference in price! Is there anything elseI should look to change with the £150 that has saved me? Have upgraded to the Firecuda.

Also I think that monitor is 1440 - the price looks to be c£600 online and happy to look at alternatives around that price range if there is better out there.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 220T RGB AIRFLOW MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2070 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 21 to 23 working days
Price: £1,842.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/4gXraWuGHV/

I would personally suggest a better case, the iCue is very budget, and fans are static speeds, so you can't adjust the fan rates and it can be quite loud. The Lian Li is far better and still nice RGB.

With the 2080 Super you had configured previously, we would normally recommend a 1440p Ultrawide like this:

AOC CU34G2/BK 34” Widescreen WLED Black Monitor (3440x1440/1ms/HDMI/USB 3.0 x4): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Buy AOC CU34G2/BK 34” Widescreen WLED Black Monitor (3440x1440/1ms/HDMI/USB 3.0 x4) at Amazon UK. Free delivery and return on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

That's essentially 1.5 x 1440p across the horizontal and 1 x 1440p on the vertical. It gives you a much more immersive experience, especially for flight sims. I would say it's worth going back up to the 2080 Super and aiming for that kind of monitor. Price wise that would balance out as well.

Other than that, it's a really nice spec, and has excellent upgradeablity.

 

[Graeme1873]

Cheers

Final draft spec below. Is this good to go?

Can I just check,. The monitor you sent me a link to -I assume it’s the 144mhz 2k option I should select?

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 21 to 23 working days
Price: £2,057.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/6cm33vtCrS/

thanks
Donald

 

[SpyderTracks]

Spec looks good to me. As to the monitor, yes, you will want the 144Hz option

Actually, no, it’s was the 3440x1440 100hz, the link should take you straight to it. It’s an ultrawide rather than 1440p.

 

[Graeme1873]

Thanks - that’s all good. Thanks for everyone’s help.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Here's the spec list for the 144Hz one on the AOC site:

AOC 144Hz Ultrawide

Yeah, you’re absolutely right, my bad. In that case might as well get the 144hz 3440x1440 one, looks about the same money.

 

[Graeme1873]

Cheers guys. Will go with the 144 2k option then 👍

 

[Graeme1873]

Hi there

Quick question. ive ordered a new PCS system for FS2020 with. 2TB HDD and 1TB M2 SSD see below.
My plan is to put both the OS and FS2020 on the SSD but was reading that some people recommend putting the OS and sim software on separate drives. Is there any benefit to that approach and getting two smaller M2 SSDs instead of the single one I have currently?

If I did this would I need to amend my order to change any of the other specs as well?

thanks
Graeme

Case	LIAN LI LANCOOL II GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X Eight Core CPU (3.9GHz-4.5GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard	ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)	32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card	8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 SUPER - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive	2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive	1TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W)
Power Supply	CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable	1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste	STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card	ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking	WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language	United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media	NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software	FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus	NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser	Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse	ASUS TUF K1 Gaming Keyboard & M3 Mouse Bundle
Warranty	3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery	STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time	Standard Build - Approximately 21 to 23 working days
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