Flight Sim 2020 Rig!

[DarkeVortex]

Budget (including currency): $800-1000 USD

Country: USA (shipped / taken to India)

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc):

My uncle is a commercial airline pilot who lives in India. He expressed excitement in Flight Sim 2020, and I'd love to surprise him with a computer that can play this after everything he's done for me over the years! Most likely, he's going to end up hooking it up to a TV in his bedroom or living room, and (for now) play with keyboard/mouse/gamepad. He might get a yoke later. I'm primarily wondering what mid-tier CPU/GPU combo would allow him to play this game at decent detail and refresh rate - nothing extreme is necessary. At first I was thinking along the lines of a Ryzen 5, maybe Ryzen 7 at good price? I've never built with Ryzen before, and I'm not familiar with anything other than a 3700X I helped a friend spec out for his mid-high tier gaming rig. I was also considering something like a 2070, or maybe a 5700 XT - the Radeon is definitely cheaper, but what is the performance like?

 

A mini-ITX form factor would be ideal, as an aside.

 

Lastly - I know that FS2020 detail is dependent on your internet speed, and India's internet speeds aren't the best. I think he gets something like 15-20Mbps, so I figured I'd include that in case it would be some kind of bottleneck!

 

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[Skipple]

Just now, BlueScope819 said:

FS2020 isn't gonna be out for a while

It's coming out next week I think?

[Quinnell]

I am definitely happy to see Microsoft bringing back Flight Simulator.  I remember playing the old ones growing up.  The new one looks amazing.  Starting list of planes feels a bit anemic though.

 

3 minutes ago, Skipple said:

It's coming out next week I think?

Yes.  According to Steam:  Planned Release Date: 8/18/2020

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1250410/Microsoft_Flight_Simulator/

[Skipple]

1 minute ago, Quinnell said:

Starting list of planes feels a bit anemic though.

The pricing makes me want to vomit.

 

Quote

Pre-orders are now live and FS 2020 will come in three editions, standard ($59.99), deluxe ($89.99) and premium deluxe ($119.99), with the more expensive versions featuring more planes and handcrafted international airports.

Spoiler

 

GTFO Microsoft. 

[Quinnell]

1 minute ago, Skipple said:

The pricing makes me want to vomit.

      [image snip]

GTFO Microsoft. 

Yeah... I feel the same way.  Feeling like the hand-crafted airports is definitely going to be their DLC/cash cow plan.  That and additional planes.

[Skipple]

ANYWAY getting back to the original topic... Yes @DarkeVortex a 3600 paired with a 5700x or 2070s should do him just fine. 

[SFFDesigns]

58 minutes ago, Skipple said:

 

Quote

Pre-orders are now live and FS 2020 will come in three editions, standard ($59.99), deluxe ($89.99) and premium deluxe ($119.99), with the more expensive versions featuring more planes and handcrafted international airports.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

GTFO Microsoft. 

Ok tbh the pricing is actually ok. Having seen the handcrafted airports, they are each at around same quality as a $20 XP/P3D add-on so imo the value is actually pretty good considering how good the airports are.

 

And yes it's coming out next week guys!

 

@DarkeVortex one sec I'm building a list for you right now, but I'd try to wait for RTX 3000 if I were you

 

[SFFDesigns]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$174.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard	$179.00 @ Best Buy
Memory	G.Skill Aegis 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$96.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$59.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Video Card	$379.99 @ Amazon
Case	NZXT H210 Mini ITX Tower Case	$79.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$99.99 @ Best Buy
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1070.93
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-12 15:12 EDT-0400

If you must build now, here you go! It's mini-ITX as you requested!

 

[DarkeVortex]

I can definitely wait a few weeks until RTX 3000 comes out. I guess I’ll have to wait and see the pricing / lineup, unless the 2070s is expected to drop price when they launch?

[SFFDesigns]

5 minutes ago, DarkeVortex said:

I can definitely wait a few weeks until RTX 3000 comes out. I guess I’ll have to wait and see the pricing / lineup, unless the 2070s is expected to drop price when they launch?

Alright sounds good! By waiting you might be able to get a 2080S/2080 Ti for the same price as a 2070S now.

[DarkeVortex]

Sounds great. Will hang on for that then. But in terms of specs, something like the 2070S / Ryzen 3600 is sufficient? Just in case all the prices do drop, it may come out that saving money and sticking with an even cheaper 2070s may be better than bumping to a 2080 etc!

[DarkeVortex]

You guys have already been ridiculously helpful, I love this community  but just a quick follow-up... If one was to want a build that could play FS2020 for closer to $500-600 USD, what would you suggest? Basically COVID sucks and budgets might be tighter 

[SFFDesigns]

9 hours ago, DarkeVortex said:

You guys have already been ridiculously helpful, I love this community  but just a quick follow-up... If one was to want a build that could play FS2020 for closer to $500-600 USD, what would you suggest? Basically COVID sucks and budgets might be tighter 

Maybe a 3300X and 1650S or RX580?