Buying this for my son, Im just needing some advice on the Hard drive dont want it any bigger but is there any other recommendations?

[barlew]

I'm willing to consider a laptop if you have any suggestions? Only thing I'm dubious about is the upgrading possibility in the future with a desktop

There is no point me suggesting a laptop for a number of reasons. The first is for the money you would have to spend to get a laptop which could play MSFS 2020 you could build a top of the range PC. Secondly as you alluded to there is zero future proofing.

Thirdly if you don't need a gaming machine to be explicitly portable it's just a really bad investment.

I'm just putting my daughter to bed then ill try to put a desktop together for you.

 

[NoddyPirate]

I seem to remember that @NoddyPirate specced a built with a modest graphics card and was going to play FS. Perhaps he might fly in to comment and make some recommendations for a budget FS build.

I have a Ryzen 5600X and a 4GB Nvidia GTX 1650. My graphics card choice was budget limited of course, but was ultimately perfectly adequate for what I really needed it for which was Photoshop and Lightroom in particular.

I can play FS 2020 with it - however with middle of the road to lower end settings on almost everything the best I can manage is about 30-40 fps at 1080P. That is low enough fps to be noticeable in my opinion and not nearly good enough to make it enjoyable for really long term play. The only conceivable case I can think of would be if you just want to fly IFR or at high altitude all the time - in which case you basically have a cockpit simulator with no environmental visuals. But that sounds too much like work to me. 😃 (See what I did there? )

FS is a beast really - turning settings way down does not give me any significant fps improvement - turning them way up makes everything come to a complete halt! If you want the best experience with it, you really do need a really beefy graphics card - and I mean REALLY full of cow. 🐮

 

[AgentCooper]

I think I’d be looking in this direction as BASIC but upgradable…

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £1,295.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/CKeX7euuTm/

And this one as a bit more luxurious. Flight Sim will get some benefit from the cuda cores of an RTX card…

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 2500MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £1,574.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/P0hJ!NeuTV/

 

[sck451]

Here's what I'd consider the "minimum" spec recommendable, though as @NoddyPirate says, it's hardly going to set the world on fire. (Though the 1660 Super is a decent step ahead of the 1650.)

It's compromised in terms of motherboard (though it's a decent entry-level board), RAM (in an ideal world MSFS wants more), storage (I'd really want faster storage and ideally more!) and power (upgrading to 750W or even 850W would make the machine much more upgradable and therefore increase its lifespan signficantly).

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B550-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £1,220.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/PpKam93Snu/

 

[barlew]

Right this is a rough and ready build.

Please bear in mind I have been out of date building towers for some time.

Hopefully this is a good start and someone will tweak it.

Case
LIAN LI LANCOOL 215 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B450-PLUS II (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB PALIT GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
128GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (1000 MB/R, 600 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 2018 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £1,502.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/EFJGJwyS5r/

 

[barlew]

Recommendations are like busses....

 

[AgentCooper]

Sorry, just green boxed two of you at once!

 

[sck451]

Or this as another alternative, where in addition to the compromises in the build I posted above, you're also adding a compromised CPU/general system architecture: the Intel 10th gen is cheap and halfway decent as a budget build, but it is kind of old and hardly top of the line.

Case
CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-10400F (2.9GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B560-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 14 to 17 working days
Price: £1,073.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z490-pc/mw8P5tgPK9/

 

[3qtrsamericano]

Apologies, a bit late to the party (bl00dy born fire night fireworks! LOL).

As @Martinr36 mentioned earlier, my core spec is listed below.

I don't play the game myself, but my son hasn't had any issues and we have quite a few settings on High or Ultra with FPS restricted to 60. I'll be honest, I've not bothered to see what FPS he's getting when flying through highly detailed areas such as London, NYC etc.

What I would say is, especially with a game like MSFS2020, it would be prudent to spend the money now (if affordability isn't an issue). Not only would you get a build that can handle the game relatively well, but will be future proof if you want to upgrade in the future without having to spend loads of money because you find out that your case isn't big or cool enough, or your power supply isn't strong enough or your MOBO isn't suitable etc.

That said, loads of amazing people on here who, while it may seem like are trying to milk you dry , will only offer you their best possible advice which gets you the best bang for your buck. Happy spec'ing!!!!

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8GB
ASUS® ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 3070
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
500GB Samsung 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe
1TB Samsung 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe
Corsair 1000W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD
Corsair H115i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series

AOC CU34G2X/BK 34"

 

[Martinr36]

That said, loads of amazing people on here who, while it may seem like are trying to milk you dry

@3qtrsamericano , what are you insinuating

 

[3qtrsamericano]

Another point to make is that MSFS isn't really a game. It's a proper SIM. And I really can't stress that enough. I love aviation, but I don't have the patience to do all the stuff my son does before a flight - create a flight plan in SimBrief, then import into MSFS and the MCDU, do all the pre-flight checks blah blah blah...it literally is like a 60 min job before he starts taxing!

If your son's interest is more around just getting in a plane and flying around then perhaps X-Plane 11 or DCS World 2.7 could be viable alternatives.

 

[3qtrsamericano]

@3qtrsamericano , what are you insinuating

Nothing but love and gratitude for you all.