[SOLVED] Need advice on building system for Flight Simulator 2020

Dec 27, 2020
16
3
15
Advice on building a new or upgrading my old system would be appreciated, though I doubt upgrading will be recommended. Perhaps the box and the power supply can be reused.

The immediate object is to play MS Flight Simulator 2020 gifted to me, but I want something good for future use. I am not a gamer, but am retired and may find I like gaming. Years back I enjoyed earlier versions of FS and before that “The Hunt For Red October”.

I would like to keep costs down to $1,000. Of course, the less the better.

MD: ASRock 880G Extreme3
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 3.0 GHz
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 5670
Pwr Sup: Corsair 400W Bronze (CMPSU-400CX)
SSD: Crucial CT275MX300SSD1 ATA Device
RAM: 12 GB
HD: None
Opt Drive: None
Tower: Rosewill Destroyer ATX, Micro ATX
Monitor: Samsung SD24D590 1920X1080 Rewsolution
OS: Windows 10 Home Version 2004 installed 8/18/2020. This is 64 Bit.

In addition to a mouse and keyboard I have an “Attack 3” joystick from Logitech.

MS says the following about minimum and recommended specs.

Minimum specs
Operating System:
Windows 10
Processor: Intel i5-4460 | AMD Ryzen 3 1200
RAM: 8 GB RAM
Video card: NVIDIA GTX 770 | AMD Radeon RX 570
Hard drive: 150 GB available space
Sound: Sound card, speakers, or headset
Peripherals: Keyboard and mouse or compatible game controller (Xbox One Controller for Windows)
Recommended specs
Operating System:
Windows 10
Processor: Intel i5-8400 | AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
RAM: 16 GB RAM
Video card: NVIDIA GTX 970 | AMD Radeon RX 590
Hard drive: 150 GB available space
Sound: Sound card, speakers, or headset
Peripherals: Keyboard and mouse or compatible game controller (Xbox One Controller for Windows)
So far I was only able to download FS 2020 using Steam, but the game crashes after opening XBOX Artificial Intelligence and half way through installing updates.
I am located in South Orange County, California. I don’t plan on buying a new monitor. The last couple of systems I put together were with parts from Newegg. Though my current system allows for overclocking, I don’t understand it, SLI, or Crossfire. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try it.

I have the feeling that my current PC is beyond upgrading.

Thanks.
 
Solution
Advice on building a new or upgrading my old system would be appreciated, though I doubt upgrading will be recommended. Perhaps the box and the power supply can be reused.

The immediate object is to play MS Flight Simulator 2020 gifted to me, but I want something good for future use. I am not a gamer, but am retired and may find I like gaming. Years back I enjoyed earlier versions of FS and before that “The Hunt For Red October”.

I would like to keep costs down to $1,000. Of course, the less the better.

MD: ASRock 880G Extreme3
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 3.0 GHz
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 5670
Pwr Sup: Corsair 400W Bronze (CMPSU-400CX)
SSD: Crucial CT275MX300SSD1 ATA Device...
Your pc is unfortunately way out of date for that game,but i think we can keep the ssd.Everything else has to go imo.
So i've made this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/VhhNsX
10400F/1660 super/16gb of ram should be more than capable of giving you more than 30fps on medium/high settings at 1080p.I needed to replace the case since the old one wasnt really good for this kind of hardware.With new,stronger components u need good airflow or you will run into overheating problems.The psu also needed to be replaced since 400W isnt enoug for this kind of hardware.I put a B460 motherboard for future upgrades like the new Rocket Lake processors.I also put a 2TB hard drive in there for storing games.The 500GB ssd can be used for windows and related programs.
Thoughts?
 
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i5-10400f/
Intel Core i5-10400F Review

https://www.tomshardware.com/featur...or-benchmarks-performance-system-requirements
Microsoft Flight Simulator Performance and Benchmarks


https://www.newegg.com/black-corsair-110r-atx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811139146
Corsair Carbide Series 110R CC-9011183-WW Black Steel $64.99

https://www.newegg.com/evga-supernova-650-gt-220-gt-0650-y1-650w/p/N82E16817438186
EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GT, 80 Plus Gold 650W, Fully Modular $89.99

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157918
ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4 LGA 1200 $149.99

https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i5-10400f-core-i5-10th-gen/p/N82E16819118132
Intel Core i5-10400F 6-Core 2.9 GHz LGA 1200 65W BX8070110400F $161.99

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-16gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232882
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Intel XMP 2.0 $74.99

https://www.newegg.com/crucial-bx500-1tb/p/N82E16820156231
Crucial BX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5-Inch Internal SSD $84.99

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-rtx-3060-ti-gv-n306teagle-8gd/p/N82E16814932379
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 Ti $399.99

Total: $1,027 (*not including rebates)

Windows 10 64 bit Home - $100
 
Last edited:
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i5-10400f/
Intel Core i5-10400F Review

https://www.tomshardware.com/featur...or-benchmarks-performance-system-requirements
Microsoft Flight Simulator Performance and Benchmarks

https://www.newegg.com/black-corsair-110r-atx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811139146
Corsair Carbide Series 110R CC-9011183-WW Black Steel $64.99

https://www.newegg.com/evga-supernova-650-gt-220-gt-0650-y1-650w/p/N82E16817438186
EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GT, 80 Plus Gold 650W, Fully Modular $89.99

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813157918
ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4 LGA 1200 $149.99

https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i5-10400f-core-i5-10th-gen/p/N82E16819118132
Intel Core i5-10400F 6-Core 2.9 GHz LGA 1200 65W BX8070110400F $161.99

https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-16gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820232882
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Intel XMP 2.0 $74.99

https://www.newegg.com/crucial-bx500-1tb/p/N82E16820156231
Crucial BX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5-Inch Internal SSD $84.99

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-rtx-3060-ti-gv-n306teagle-8gd/p/N82E16814932379
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 Ti $399.99

Total: $1,027 (*not including rebates)

Windows 10 64 bit Home - $100
3060Ti for 400$?!?! in my country its 750$.
 

Zerk2012

Titan
Ambassador
Advice on building a new or upgrading my old system would be appreciated, though I doubt upgrading will be recommended. Perhaps the box and the power supply can be reused.

The immediate object is to play MS Flight Simulator 2020 gifted to me, but I want something good for future use. I am not a gamer, but am retired and may find I like gaming. Years back I enjoyed earlier versions of FS and before that “The Hunt For Red October”.

I would like to keep costs down to $1,000. Of course, the less the better.

MD: ASRock 880G Extreme3
CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 3.0 GHz
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 5670
Pwr Sup: Corsair 400W Bronze (CMPSU-400CX)
SSD: Crucial CT275MX300SSD1 ATA Device
RAM: 12 GB
HD: None
Opt Drive: None
Tower: Rosewill Destroyer ATX, Micro ATX
Monitor: Samsung SD24D590 1920X1080 Rewsolution
OS: Windows 10 Home Version 2004 installed 8/18/2020. This is 64 Bit.

In addition to a mouse and keyboard I have an “Attack 3” joystick from Logitech.

MS says the following about minimum and recommended specs.

Minimum specs
Operating System:
Windows 10
Processor: Intel i5-4460 | AMD Ryzen 3 1200
RAM: 8 GB RAM
Video card: NVIDIA GTX 770 | AMD Radeon RX 570
Hard drive: 150 GB available space
Sound: Sound card, speakers, or headset
Peripherals: Keyboard and mouse or compatible game controller (Xbox One Controller for Windows)
Recommended specs
Operating System:
Windows 10
Processor: Intel i5-8400 | AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
RAM: 16 GB RAM
Video card: NVIDIA GTX 970 | AMD Radeon RX 590
Hard drive: 150 GB available space
Sound: Sound card, speakers, or headset
Peripherals: Keyboard and mouse or compatible game controller (Xbox One Controller for Windows)
So far I was only able to download FS 2020 using Steam, but the game crashes after opening XBOX Artificial Intelligence and half way through installing updates.
I am located in South Orange County, California. I don’t plan on buying a new monitor. The last couple of systems I put together were with parts from Newegg. Though my current system allows for overclocking, I don’t understand it, SLI, or Crossfire. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try it.

I have the feeling that my current PC is beyond upgrading.

Thanks.
If your thinking of running that game with a Minimum listed your going to have a rather bad experience.

It's doable on 1K but your not really going to get a good video card since their none for sale.

About the best your going to get with the parts that are available. Waiting on a RTX 3060ti would be a better choice for the video card if you can wait a few months or longer to get one.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-10400 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor | $159.00 @ B&H
CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler | $23.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard | MSI MAG B460M BAZOOKA Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard | $98.98 @ Newegg
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $72.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $87.49 @ B&H
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB FTW2 GAMING iCX Video Card | $399.99 @ Amazon
Case | Fractal Design Focus G Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $53.27 @ Amazon
Power Supply | Corsair CXM 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | $83.99 @ Best Buy
Case Fan | ARCTIC P12 PST 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan | $9.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $999.69
| Mail-in rebates | -$10.00
| Total | $989.69
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-12-28 17:46 EST-0500 |
 
Last edited:
Solution
Dec 27, 2020
16
3
15
Thanks to all. You have been very helpful. As for the video card, I believe I will wait as it doesn't appear that a good one is in stock. By the time all is said and done, I imagine I will go two or three hundred over budget, but to me a factor of 30% is in budget.

I learned long ago that running applications on minimal specs is a bad move.
 
Last edited:
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Dec 27, 2020
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Ended up getting a build from Micro Center since I couldn't get a graphics card. Came with a RTX 3070 Ti and it plays FS 2020 with no problem at 60 FPS on my old 1080 monitor, which is its maximal definition. I wonder how it does if I get a better monitor?
 
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