Ryzen for Prepar3D / Flight Simulator

[rowdy739]

I am researching a PC build; I started out Intel but some folks are steering me towards Ryzen. I am looking for commentary on a Ryzen build where a lot of the use will be for Prepar3D and/or Xplane 11.

In general it seems people favor Intel. I understand the base arguments, and I'm not a tweaker... I'm a 44 year old professional pilot building a rig for fun and to help teach my kid to fly. Oh... I also do some work in Adobe Lightroom. Other than that, maybe the occasional FPS.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Intel is faster (in gaming) but more expensive. Ryzen has more value and more potential with its many cores/threads. Intel will force you to upgrade your motherboard if you want to upgrade to their next new, more capable CPU. AMD will support their current motherboards until 2020.

Could you let us know your budget so we can give you an idea of what you could build?

 

[rowdy739]

Intel is faster (in gaming) but more expensive. Ryzen has more value and more potential with its many cores/threads. Intel will force you to upgrade your motherboard if you want to upgrade to their next new, more capable CPU. AMD will support their current motherboards until 2020.

Could you let us know your budget so we can give you an idea of what you could build?

Yes, and thanks. I'd like to spend $1,800 including a monitor. If that is unrealistic I will re-evaluate, of course.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Okay, here's something I just came up with. It's just for an idea. You can switch and swap parts if you want. Also not sure if you need keyboard, mouse, speakers in your budget. I included the Windows 10 USB directly from Microsoft. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($196.74 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 GAMING PRO CARBON ATX AM4 Motherboard ($103.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($127.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($149.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($523.89 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Corsair - Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($30.82 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair - Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($30.82 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC - Q2778VQE 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($249.98 @ Amazon)
Other: Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit (USB) ($119.99)
Total: $1726.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-20 20:06 EDT-0400

 

[rowdy739]

I really appreciate it. I came up with something similar, believe it or not. I was looking at the 1080Ti card... any thoughts?

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

I really appreciate it. I came up with something similar, believe it or not. I was looking at the 1080Ti card... any thoughts?

Yes very good card. I was just trying to fit it in your budget, but with a 4K monitor also.

 

[rowdy739]

I really appreciate it. I came up with something similar, believe it or not. I was looking at the 1080Ti card... any thoughts?

Yes very good card. I was just trying to fit it in your budget, but with a 4K monitor also.

Why not go with a Ryzen 7 ? Is it just a cost equation?

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Why not go with a Ryzen 7 ? Is it just a cost equation?

Well I originally had a Ryzen 7 1700 in the build and it was within your budget, but you said you aren't a tweaker and the 1700 is clocked 200MHz slower than the R5 1600. But either could be tweaked in the BIOS to overclock and run at the same or higher speed.

So whichever one you decide. Both will be sufficient for just about anything you'd want to do for the next few years.