Question CPU for upcoming Flightsim 2020

[svalbaard]

Hi all.

In advance of returning to virtual flight next year I am just trying to get ahead of the curve in planning an initial spec for a new tower for Flightsim 2020 that I'll keep updated as we near release date. I'm pretty savvy on building generic PC's, but I thought I'd just garner any opinions on the selection of CPU manufacturer (AMD or Intel) and any specific differences to be taken into account for that specific application.

If there are any simulator experts out there, happy to receive replies as I'd like to have a multiple monitors running and am also not sure if I need a special adapter to power them from a single graphics card, or if there is another solution that I'm not aware of to get this working.

Many thanks.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Hi all.

In advance of returning to virtual flight next year I am just trying to get ahead of the curve in planning an initial spec for a new tower for Flightsim 2020 that I'll keep updated as we near release date. I'm pretty savvy on building generic PC's, but I thought I'd just garner any opinions on the selection of CPU manufacturer (AMD or Intel) and any specific differences to be taken into account for that specific application.

If there are any simulator experts out there, happy to receive replies as I'd like to have a multiple monitors running and am also not sure if I need a special adapter to power them from a single graphics card, or if there is another solution that I'm not aware of to get this working.

Many thanks.

I've never known any release of FlightSim to be CPU bound (within reason) as the best effects are visual that generally depend much more on the GPU. So saving some money on CPU and motherboard is probably not a bad idea so you can go all-out on GPU and even a dual monitor setup.

This time around, though, the budget option doesn't mean having to compromise on performance. Go with a 3700X, 8 cores/16 threads, will almost certainly be a great...but even a 3600X would do it. If you expect to 'fly' with several other apps open (maybe a flightlog app, or especially a streaming app) or plugins the 3700X will become increasingly preferred for the extra hardware threads.

You can get very cost-effective motherboards for the processor to sit on with a B450, moving up to X470 and finally X570 if you really feel the need. But B450 would do the job and leave some cash for the second display.

 

[RodroX]

Besides what drea.drechsler pointed out already, there should be a new chipset comin out soon B550 for Ryzen AM4 CPUs. It will be an up to date and cheaper option than X570 (we will see when the reviews comes out). Then again, yeah any good B450 or X470 motherboard will do the trick fine.

As for "adapters" to plug many monitors, it will depend on how many you are planing to use. Most modern midrange video cards can handle 4 monitors without issues. There could be some consideration to be taken before hand on the gpu and monitor port choice and how to plug them, to avoid mixing DP with HDMI, resolution and refresh rate stuff, but that will vary on the final setup, brand and models of GPU and Displays you use (most of this can be fixed by adjusting which cable goes to each monitor, etc.)