help me spec a pc for the new flight sim

[Jamesgt]

Can anyone help me spec a machine for my dad to use the new flight sim (when it comes out)? I used to be into this stuff but family/work has ruled my life so I don't have a clue what I'm looking for. My dad is thinking of the below machine. Is this overkill? or should he go for something else?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/infin8-swarm-mk2-in...

[Jamesgt]

FYI, I think he's mad but it's not my cash!

[muppetman74]

Yes, it's complete overkill, but you probably knew that already!

I don't believe MS has released min specs for 2020 but although that machine will cope admirably, your dad could probably get very good performance for about £1k to £1.5k, depends on how much he is attached to his money!

[geeks]

Jamesgt said:

Can anyone help me spec a machine for my dad to use the new flight sim (when it comes out)? I used to be into this stuff but family/work has ruled my life so I don't have a clue what I'm looking for. My dad is thinking of the below machine. Is this overkill? or should he go for something else?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/infin8-swarm-mk2-in...

Homebuild or prebuilt?

I wouldn't bother with water cooling unless overclocking is really what he wants.

With that kind of budget and if I were wanting it pre-built I would head over to scan and spec the machine I want. The base specs of that are fatnastic though, Core i9 etc etc.

[DoctorX]

I would imagine that would do the job!

[FourWheelDrift]

Does MS Flight Sim 2020 actually utilise 2x graphics cards?


SLI in 2020 is pretty pointless now though. In case he doesn't know he won't get double the power and double the VRAM as it only uses one card at a time to draw alternating screens.

And RTX 30xx is on the way.

£2,500 will get a great system for MS FS 2020 - https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/9xwFrV

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Monday 11th May 16:22

[geeks]

FourWheelDrift said:

Does MS Flight Sim 2020 actually utilise 2x graphics cards?


SLI in 2020 is pretty pointless now though.

You only get 2 gfx cards if you select the additional one in the spec adding another £1100 to the price!!!!

[FourWheelDrift]

geeks said:

FourWheelDrift said:

Does MS Flight Sim 2020 actually utilise 2x graphics cards?


SLI in 2020 is pretty pointless now though.

You only get 2 gfx cards if you select the additional one in the spec adding another £1100 to the price!!!!

Oh......let me just pick myself off the floor.



In that case I'll add, does the OP's father know about servicing (draining, cleaning and refilling) and looking after a custom water loop and looked at any youtube videos of some professional builds that weren't looked after being drained and the scum left behind in the pipes and the corrosion on the blocks ruining them requiring new blocks.

[Jamesgt]

All very helpful posts. I had no idea about draining and cleaning maintenance of a water cooled machine unless it has a combustion engine. I’ll talk him down!

[tangerine_sedge]

FourWheelDrift said:

£2,500 will get a great system for MS FS 2020 - https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/9xwFrV

This, plus £1500 on pedals/throttles/joystick and 1-3 monitors depending on space.

[mattley]

I assume you mean the new MS flight sim. I'd wait until it's out and let other people discover what components are best for it. That link you posted has a £1400 Ray tracing graphics card in it which would be a waste if the final released product doesn't support real time ray tracing.

[maffski]

If he's not after it immediately the new Intel chips are out at the end of the month (i9-10900k)

[geeks]

tangerine_sedge said:

FourWheelDrift said:

£2,500 will get a great system for MS FS 2020 - https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/9xwFrV

This, plus £1500 on pedals/throttles/joystick and 1-3 monitors depending on space.

I would rotate the spec and drop the 5400 spinner and the Ryzen for an Core i7/9 (both personal preference) but other than that I think these chaps are correct.

[scjgreen]

Better off waiting for 4th Gen Ryzen and 3xxx Series GPU's

[Jamesgt]

That’s learnt me. I think I’ve learnt enough to put him off clicking the “pay” button. I think he’s bored at home.

[brman]

I think you will be surprised how low a spec is needed for MS FS2020. The recommended spec is nothing special and the "ideal" is not top end.....
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/microsoft-flight-simula...

As someone else said, save the money for monitors, controls, VR etc etc.....

ETA: I just looked at that overclockers PC and fell off my chair! You can get the "ideal" spec for about 1/3 that!

Edited by brman on Monday 11th May 16:53

[FourWheelDrift]

What is his home internet speed?

[geeks]

Yup even going between recommended and ideal could still be had relatively cheaply.

[130R]

SLI is mostly pointless now. This is an absolute top end PC and still cheaper than that pre-built one: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/vnQYzN

[Blippy]

I wouldn't throw money at the problem until it's clear whether it prefers absolute single-thread performance (sheer GHz) or takes full advantage of a multicore beast. Same for graphics and gucci features like SLI and raytracing. I suspect that sort of performance will be largely un-necessary as it's a brand new engine and the spec sheets are fairly reasonable.

I won't be buying any new hardware until it's released. I'm lucky to have a machine that just about meets the recommended spec already but I don't trust the spec sheets yet. FS is historically seen as a PC-killer, because previous versions were never really optimised for modern multicore architectures. Obviously this is a brand new game with a brand new engine but once-bitten twice-shy.

In any case that first PC is utterly mental!