[fireman15]

In the past, starting with the original IBM PC compatible, I put together dozens of desktop computers for myself, family and friends. People were always calling me for help. At one point this became irritating enough that I put together a dozen identical computers with identical setups for my friends and family so that I had a reference machine to use when assisting them over the phone.

Back then I had a number of suppliers that I trusted, and it really did save quite a bit compared to purchasing one that was already put together. Plus, we didn't have to deal with all the crap-ware that became more and more of a problem over time.

Eventually I started doing most of my computer activities on a laptop. And like that my computer assembly days were behind me.

Recently, I have been spending a lot more time with Flight Simulators and my current laptop is not really up to the task. I started wondering if I should put together a gaming desktop with this use in mind. Tom's Hardware claims that you get more for your money if you roll your own. After shopping around and pricing parts I am not actually convinced. Costco has some excellent specials at the moment that I have not figured out how to match for the same price. The following computer is currently $1150.

iBUYPOWER SlateMesh Gaming Desktop- 13th Gen Intel Core i7 - 13700F -NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4060 Graphics, 8GB - DDR4 RAM RGB Memory at 3200Mhz - 2TB NVMe Solid State Drive - Windows 11

[FreedomPoster]

I’ve been considering buying one of those not for gaming, but for messing around with large political databases. Plus some AI.

[Jonty30]

There is a local business in my area that will build a custom computer for me if I want for a couple hundred dollars.

[daniel1212]

Gaming waste of time, but intended to be used for good in God's eyes I would offer for essential parts (did I miss any?):

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor	$124.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	ARCTIC Alpine 23 CPU Cooler	$9.16 @ Amazon
Thermal Compound	ARCTIC MX-4 2019 Edition 4 g Thermal Paste	$6.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B550 GAMING GEN3 ATX AM4 Motherboard	$109.99 @ Amazon
Memory	TEAMGROUP Elite 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory	$103.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Silicon Power A55 512 GB M.2-2280 SATA Solid State Drive	$32.97 @ Amazon
Case	Cougar MX330-G Pro ATX Mid Tower Case	$59.90 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Thermaltake Smart 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply	$39.95 @ Amazon
Keyboard	Verbatim 99201 Wired Standard Keyboard	$10.00 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$496.95
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-01-28 22:28 EST-0500

[VeniVidiVici]

I haven’t built anything for quite some time but the specs on that for the price seems really good!

I wonder what the motherboard is?

[Bob434]

thaT computer has some pretty decent hardware- goo price too-

[SaveFerris]

I might be able to spend $500

6 months from now

[Poser]

If you haven’t been to Logical Increments before starting a new build, I recommend it. They have lists of builds tested for compatibility starting around $200 all the way to $5000. The list for each build has prices and clickable links for all components.

[steve86]

In general, FS2020 playability isn't going to benefit much from extreme FPS, so unless you have money to be scattered in the propstream it probably doesn't make sense to go with an extreme GPU. I think you mentioned you even got by with 20 FPS. In FSX I thought 25 was ok as long as it was smooth.

But adding VR changes things a lot, especially with respect to avoiding nausea symptoms.

Virtual Reality (VR): VR gaming, in particular, benefits from higher frame rates. Achieving frame rates of 90 fps or higher is often recommended to reduce motion sickness and improve the sense of immersion.

Get your checkbook out!

[SecondAmendment]

This past April replaced my trusty old i7-870/Nvidia 760 rig with an ii7-1300K/Nvidia 4070 12 GB setup (my awesome wife got the i7-1300K/Asus Z790-P/32 GB DDR5 mobo package for my birthday from MicroCenter).

After getting the setup, I of course bought FS2020 and I have been enjoying it a great deal. However I would recommend the following :

• Get at least 32GB RAM.
• Used a dedicated NVMe SSD for FS2020, it can easily use 500GB if you load everything locally..
• Get a GPU with at least 12GB of memory.
• By the premium edition of FS, since you can't really upgrade it to another edition later (I made this mistake)

As for going Intel vs AMD, I think AMD is better if you are going to build a dedicated gaming machine. I went the Intel route since I also use my PC for software development and multi-media stuff (mostly video editing).

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

BKMK

[DaxtonBrown]

I used to roll my own. But my brother is in IT and gets me three or four year old ones that are good enough. And I’m a power user (not gaming though).

For most business stuff, or databases, you don’t need top of the line.

[31R1O]

I buy a new ASUS or equivalent gaming laptop every 6 or 8 years. Just bought one this year with a 4070m. Works for me and I haven’t found anything I couldn’t play (although I game less than I did before I had kids).

[Col Freeper]

I purchased an I-Power PC a while back: Order Date:04-06-2019

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Item: [Gaming RDY ELIBG205] Intel i9 9900K, MSI Z390 Tomahawk Motherboard, GIGABYTE GAMING OC RTX 2080 Ti 11GB Video Card, XPG 16GB RGB (8GBx2) DDR4-3200 Memory, 1TB Western Digital SSD, RGB Liquid Cooler, Windows 10

Case: iBUYPOWER Element Front and Side Tempered Glass RGB Gaming Case

Processor: Intel® Core™ i9-9900K Processor (8x 3.60GHz/16MB L3 Cache)

Processor Cooling: iBUYPOWER 240mm Addressable RGB Liquid Cooling System - Black

Memory: XPG SPECTRIX D41 RGB 16 GB [8 GB x 2] DDR4-3200MHz - White

Video Card: GIGABYTE GAMING OC GeForce® RTX 2080 Ti - 11GB (VR-Ready)

Storage: 1 TB Western Digital Blue SSD

Motherboard: MSI MAG Z390 TOMAHAWK w/ RGB

Power Supply: 750 Watt RGB Power Supply - 80 PLUS Gold

Network Card: Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Operating System: Windows 10 Home + Office 365 Trial [FREE 30 Day Trial]

Keyboard: iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard

Mouse: iBUYPOWER Gaming Optical Mouse

Warranty: 3 Year Standard Warranty Service

Subtotal: $2,549.00

Tax: $178.43

Ground Shipping: $0.00

Total Price: $2,727.43

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Good News: Overall the PC performs well (most of the failures were post-warranty period and/or not worth the effort/cost to utilize their warranty approach).

Bad News: I-Power cuts their costs by using their "in-house" peripherals and components wherever possible, which are cheap and/or have a short life span.

For example:

Mouse: Junk (Replaced with a Logitech unit).

Keyboard: Junk (Replaced with a Logitech unit).

Cooling System: Low quality, caused me many headaches because of an intermittent CPU cooling fan (finally tracked down problem and replaced with a good brand name Cooling System - that eliminated my overheating problems). (Also found that I-power install of heat transfer paste between cooling head and CPU was done poorly).

Just some info for You on my experience.

Gest to You and Yours.

[minnesota_bound]

There are also refurbished pc’s at Amazon for sale at big discounts. About 11 months ago I bought two HP z240 SFF pc’s from Amazon. One for my sister and with a credit I got from a credit card company it cost just $17+ : )
For mine it was the $135+ listed with s/h. Mine was built in 2018.
When the model first came out it sold for $3,265 !!
https://www.amazon.com/HP-Z240-Worksation-Bit-Multi-Language-Supports/dp/B085LMQQLC

It has a 1TB Samsung SSD (room for 3 HDs), 16gb ram (can take 64gb). i5 7500 cpu. Windows 10 Pro. The cpu is not good enough according to microsoft for Windows 11 but you can still install with workarounds but I do not want to be a Windows 1 beta tester.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Interesting. I sat down next to my 23-year old son just last evening to take a closer look at his world of computers and 3D printing.

In the course of our conversation I asked him what it would take to upgrade my computer so I could play the latest, greatest flight simulator. He said I would need a faster graphics card and processor, at least.

I know there are some interfaces that are both reakistic and expensive. I would be content to “fly” with just keyboard and mouse.

[31R1O]

Just saw this one.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-laptops/alienware-x14-gaming-laptop/spd/alienware-x14-r2-laptop/useahctox14r2rpl04?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=abd9312fbebb11ee81e9ed840a1eba23&dgc=CJ&publisherid=1583972&publisher=&aff=Ziff+Davis%2C+LLC&affid=1583972&aff_webid=100831117&aff_user_id=037ywozGW2sf1Nt3tAA4HDz&gacd=9684992-28463632-5750457-345576786-177846717&dgc=af&VEN1=12578053-100831117-037ywozGW2sf1Nt3tAA4HDz-Ziff%20Davis,%20LLC&dclid=CNbBveD1goQDFdOQ7gEd_c0DiQ

[daniel1212]

Time for upgrade: