New PC Build advice for high end VR and MSFS2020

[Kjaye]

Thanks, just found the option. It looks like the RTX 3090 is £747 more.

As I'm going to almost exclusively using it for high end VR with a HP Reverb G2 do you think a 3080 can cope with what I want to use it for? It seems the FPS are really slow on Flight Simulator anyway, so getting a 3090 will ensure I get the best experience?

 

[Kjaye]

I've been sent an email saying my likely build date is November 30th. I think the 6800XT releases before then so I may change from the 3090 and save myself £700...

I also have another question about ram. I'm getting 2 x 16 GB 3200 mhz ram but 4 x 8 GB 3600 mhz is available for £31 more. Is that a worthwhile upgrade? 2 x 16 doesn't seem to be available, does it make a difference?

 

[Scott]

£747 more = huge waste of cash. Sure you may get an extra 4 FPS in high end gaming but it's definitely not a worthwhile price for such a performance. The money in the card is in the extra RAM, which gaming doesn't use in any way shape or form. It's a productivity card, similar to the Titans from the previous gen.

The 3080 is every bit the gaming card the 3090 is IMO. Noone will notice any difference in the experience.

 

[Kjaye]

What about the 3200 vs 3600 mz ram?

 

[Scott]

I would go with 4x8GB personally. The faster the better

 

[Kjaye]

I would go with 4x8GB personally. The faster the better

Thanks. I've emailed PCSpecialist to ask about swapping graphics cards to the AMD6800XT when available and swapping the ram. I don't really understand the memory speeds very well. I've seen online that all memory is 2400mhz by default unless you enable the faster ram profile, I'm hoping PC Specialists do that and I don't have to learn how?!

 

[Kjaye]

So the first reviews started to come in for the HP Reverb G2, and it hasn't been very well received so I've reluctantly cancelled the pre-order. It also means there is less rush for this system so I've made some further changes including downgrading the graphics card. The more I've been reading online the more I felt my build was kind of massive overkill so I've toned down a couple of components.

Basically I've ditched the 3090 for a 3080 saving around £750. I might change that for a 6800XT if the reviews are good but I also had a question. There are rumours a 3080Ti might appear in January. If that's a case, might be able to postpone the build date and make sure I'm first in line when the 3080i's release or will I have to get in the queue just like a new customer? I'm thinking PCSPecialist will be my best bet at sourcing a 3080Ti and I won't be able to get one online so could wait. If not I could just order the PC without a graphics card and wait and order one myself? Or settle for a 3080 or 6800 XT? Not sure what to do, decisions decisions!

I also decided to change my storage I increased the Samsung 980 Pro from 500 GB to 1 TB as it seems better value, and offset that by downgrading the Firecuda 520 2 Tb for a slower Intel 660P 2 TB. It will only be a game drive and from what I can see in Youtube reviews and benchmarks the Firecuda was would be wasted overkill just reading games and I'd see no real-world benefit to it.

The 660P seems to run just as fast a 970 Samsung Evo at running games and I don't care about the lower endurance as I have never uninstalled a game before so its basically archival storage.

The ram and cooler conundrum still cause me to go back and forth. Currently, I've downgraded the H115i to an H100i so that I can fit in 32 GB RGB ram. The configurator won't allow RGB ram with the H115i as it says the ram is too tall.
I don't plan to overclock and now I'm not getting the Reverb or the 3090 my performance demands are a bit less so I think I can give up a couple of degrees cooling and a couple of FPS having 3200 rather than 3600 Hz ram in exchange for a prettier system.

As long as the cooler is competent it should be ok...