Upgrade PC to support MS Flight Simulator 2020

[Taz]

I built a PC back in 2017 with the following specs:

• CPU: Intel Core i5 7600K
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z270 HD3P
• RAM: Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3200C16R Vengeance LPX 16 GB
• Storage: Samsung 960 EVO M.2-2280 500GB (PCIe) + 1TB Sandisk Ultra II SSD (SATA)
• GPU: Asus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 OC
• PSU: Corsair CS550M 550W Hybrid
• Case: NZXT Source 340 + 4 x be quiet! Silent Wings 3 fans
• OS: Windows 10 Pro

It was a good mid-specced PC at the time and I could run X-Plane 11 reasonably well on it. I want to upgrade bits of it as cheaply as I can to run MS Flight Simulator 2020. MSFS 2020 requires a lot more memory, CPU and graphics power.

Which upgrades to those components would yield the biggest improvements. The motherboard has four memory slots and I'm only using two of them, so adding another two sticks of the same RAM would get me to 32GB of RAM. Storage-wise I think I'm fine. That leaves the graphics card and CPU. I think I can get away with the graphics card that I have if I play MSFS 2020 on low to moderate graphics settings. It's really the CPU that I need the most advice on. Would a Intel Core i7-7700k be a big jump from the existing i5-7600k?

[Domestic_Ginger]

I know very little about msfs. Watch out matching your ram as corsair use a lot of different ram in their sku s. I think the ver. no. relates the IMC.

I imagine there is premium on the 7700k as it is the best chip on the socket, I think I would try an OC unless the extra cores will help. The 1070 should fetch a decent price if you sell it but finding a new GPU at a decent price.....

[Taz]

I know very little about msfs. Watch out matching your ram as corsair use a lot of different ram in their sku s. I think the ver. no. relates the IMC.

I imagine there is premium on the 7700k as it is the best chip on the socket, I think I would try an OC unless the extra cores will help. The 1070 should fetch a decent price if you sell it but finding a new GPU at a decent price.....

I found the exact same RAM part number at Scan so I'm hoping it'll be okay. Surprisingly, the i7-7700k is still fairly expensive as a used CPU. The graphics card is the money-pit as a new one is seriously expensive so I'm trying to avoid changing that.

I checked the recommended specs for MSFS 2020:

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Recommended System Requirements
CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or better
RAM: 16 GB
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
VIDEO CARD: Radeon RX 590 or GeForce GTX 970
PIXEL SHADER: 5.1
VERTEX SHADER: 5.1
FREE DISK SPACE: 150 GB
DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 4096 MB

According to that I could get away with my GTX 1070 and RAM. It's just the CPU that is falling short.

[cptwhite_uk]

I'd look at switching the CPU and Motherboard first, it can really bottleneck on the CPU, and I suspect your GTX1070 will run it reasonably well, as long as you can accept 1440p medium, or 1080p high.

Ryzen 5600X and MSI B550-A Pro would be a good starting point. It favours 6 cores, but any more is normally wasted, so go for a modern CPU with higher IPC - the 5600K or wait for Intel Alderlake, which I believe is due next month.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It recently had a patch which improved performance notably in CPU limited scenarios. Before the patch Intel CPUs tended to do better than even Zen3 in the game(despite Zen3 usually being faster). So for example a Core i5 11400 would match/beat a Ryzen 5 5600X and a Core i5 11600K was faster at 1080p:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...-review?page=2
https://overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_...rime_review/21

However,annoyingly I can't find any post performance patch comparisons to see if Zen3 now beats Intel or not.

WRT to core scaling,the game can see scaling to 6C/12T and 8C/16T even before the performance patch,but the performance patch apparently improves multi-core scaling.

At least from the pre-patch reviews,the Core i5 11400F was slightly ahead of a Core i5 10600K. The Core i5 11400F is out of stock everywhere,but Scan apparently have the Core i5 11400 for £170 in stock tomorrow:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/inte...che-65w-retail

Another alternative is the Core i5 10400F but the Core i5 11400 is worth the extra for this game I suspect:
https://www.box.co.uk/Intel-Core-i5-...r_2939890.html

This motherboard should be fine:
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-...2-gen2x2-m-atx
https://www.box.co.uk/MAG-B560M-BAZO...d_3611550.html

I would then plonk on an aftermarket CPU cooler,and unlock the TDP so the CPU will run closer to the max boost clockspeeds.

You could wait until next month to see how Alderlake looks,as it will also work with DDR4. However,from what I gather the more value orientated Core i5 12400 is being released a few months later.

[Taz]

Thank you for the advice, @CAT-THE-FIFTH. I'll look into those components. My absolute limit is £450 for a decent upgrade. The reason for this is that I can buy an Xbox Series X for that price, which handles MSFS 2020 very well (better than most PCs). However, the issue is stock availability. I could be waiting well into 2022 for an Xbox Series X to be available to buy in the UK, by which time another Xbox could be on the horizon. So that's why I'm exploring the PC upgrade option at the moment.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I do wish review sites actually bothered to retest the newer AMD and Intel CPUs together with the performance patch! However,tests on Ryzen 9 CPUs,did see decent jumps as I think multicore utilisation improved,but again I couldn't find any proper tests comparing core scaling after it. There is also a new DX12 update too.

[jimborae]

I think you'll be fine with your current spec tbh. My rig is not that much better than yours barr the cpu (I7, 9700K). It runs MSFS 2020 just fine at 1080P.

[Taz]

I think you'll be fine with your current spec tbh. My rig is not that much better than yours barr the cpu (I7, 9700K). It runs MSFS 2020 just fine at 1080P.

This is good to know. 1080p is fine. I have X-Plane 11 running fine on my Mac as a study level flight simulator. What’s missing from X-Plane 11 is the fun multiplayer element, hence my desire to get MSFS 2020.

According to my motherboard manual, the i7-7700k is the ‘best’ CPU that I can fit, or I could try overclocking the i5-7600k that I already have.

How much RAM do you have in your PC?

[DanceswithUnix]

Erm, have you actually tried running the game? You might be just fine.

The 7700 is still only a 4 core CPU, vs the recommended 8400 is 6 core. That doesn't make the 7700 sound like a big enough step if you are putting money in.

I notice the 11400F at Scan is a super price, but as in stock as the unobtainable X Box.

If you are putting money in, then given you already have DDR4 ram (and making no effort to shop around):

£270 5600X CPU https://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Ryzen-5...dp/B08166SLDF/
£120 B550 mobo https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-TUF-B5...dp/B089HG351D/

There are cheaper motherboards, but probably not for your windowed case.
The bundled cooler the 5600X comes with that isn't the best, you might want to add a cheap fan:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCTIC-Free...dp/B083V3L12Y/

A 5800X would nail it, but takes you over budget (and doesn't come with a fan, so that spend isn't optional).

[spacein_vader]

I'd be tempted to run the game with your current system and see what the result is before committing to any spend. You might find performance satisfactory as it stands.

[Jonj1611]

You can get the game pass for £1 for a months trial if you haven't used it before. I would get that, install FS and see how you get along

[jimborae]

This is good to know. 1080p is fine. I have X-Plane 11 running fine on my Mac as a study level flight simulator. What’s missing from X-Plane 11 is the fun multiplayer element, hence my desire to get MSFS 2020.

According to my motherboard manual, the i7-7700k is the ‘best’ CPU that I can fit, or I could try overclocking the i5-7600k that I already have.

How much RAM do you have in your PC?

It varies between 16 & 32Gb. IIRC I’ve played it with both and it was fine. My gpu is a Radeon 5700xt by the way, apologies when I first posted I’d forgotten I’d upgraded it from my 1070, so that may make a difference.

The previous advice of getting it on Game Pass trial is a really good idea. Do that & see how you go before potentially wasting big bucks on an unnecessary upgrade.

[Taz]

Erm, have you actually tried running the game? You might be just fine.

The 7700 is still only a 4 core CPU, vs the recommended 8400 is 6 core. That doesn't make the 7700 sound like a big enough step if you are putting money in.

I notice the 11400F at Scan is a super price, but as in stock as the unobtainable X Box.

If you are putting money in, then given you already have DDR4 ram (and making no effort to shop around):

£270 5600X CPU https://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Ryzen-5...dp/B08166SLDF/
£120 B550 mobo https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-TUF-B5...dp/B089HG351D/

There are cheaper motherboards, but probably not for your windowed case.
The bundled cooler the 5600X comes with that isn't the best, you might want to add a cheap fan:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCTIC-Free...dp/B083V3L12Y/

A 5800X would nail it, but takes you over budget (and doesn't come with a fan, so that spend isn't optional).

I have not tried just installing and running the game, so that's a great suggestion. The PC is installed in my garage for ad-hoc stuff like watching instructional YouTube videos on things like bike repairs. I'll bring it indoors, give it a good clean and try out MSFS 2020.

[Taz]

I thought I'd update this thread on what I have done to get MSFS 2020. Firstly, I bought an Xbox Series S and installed MSFS 2020. It works fine but doesn't support my existing flightsim hardware so it has limitations. I did buy a Thrustmaster t.flight HOTAS One but that didn't work out for me as I am left-handed and operate the flightstick with my left hand and the throttle with my right hand (Airbus captain's seat config). I just use the Xbox controller for MSFS 2020 on the Xbox and it's acceptable.

What I also did (this week) is upgrade my PC. I bumped up the RAM from 16GB to 32GB - when eye-watering prices of hardware are rampant at the moment, I got the 16GB DDR4 RAM for £70.

I also purchased a used Intel Core i7-7700K from an auction site to replace the current i5-7600K.

I partially dismantled the PC and cleaned up everything that was accessible. The PC had been in a cold, dusty garage for the last three or so years but it was still in fairly clean condition. The upgrade went well and I spent last night installing MSFS 2020 onto it. It seems to run fine but my spare monitor only does 1080p so that's pretty much minimum resolution. I did a test flight using the AI Pilot which took 2.5 hours and the PC did not crash.

Performance was perfectly adequate but I haven't added real-world weather and live air traffic yet. I was quite surprised that it performed at an acceptable level.