PC Build for 11yr old to Play Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

[JUNI0R]

@MehHus Are you buying without VAT? There's two prices on the configurator- without VAT and with VAT. The without VAT is still just under £1500 but the with VAT price has well exceded £1500 and is now sitting closer to £1800 on that last spec (which admittedly can be scaled back). We tend to assume people are buying with VAT included unless they state otherwise, just want to make sure there's no nasty surprises once you come to pay!

 

[3qtrsamericano]

@MehHus Are you buying without VAT? There's two prices on the configurator- without VAT and with VAT. The without VAT is still just under £1500 but the with VAT price has well exceded £1500 and is now sitting closer to £1800 on that last spec (which admittedly can be scaled back). We tend to assume people are buying with VAT included unless they state otherwise, just want to make sure there's no nasty surprises once you come to pay!

With VAT. Have scaled it back now so it's coming in at £1,639 (inc. VAT).

 

[JUNI0R]

With VAT. Have scaled it back now so it's coming in at £1,639 (inc. VAT).

What's the full build looking like now? We can see if we can scale it back some more if you'd like

 

[Scott]

The EVO drive that you have selected increases the cost significantly. I don't think it's worth it over the Intel 670. If you're going all out on the primary drive you want the 980 pro over the 970.

It's a HUGE jump though and you won't notice much difference.

The RAM is still the big one though.

 

[3qtrsamericano]

What's the full build looking like now? We can see if we can scale it back some more if you'd like

Hi @JUNI0R. Now looking like this....

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 WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W 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
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 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
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/8b2F9A3FUd/

 

[3qtrsamericano]

Hi all,

Okay, so have submitted the order as of yesterday (thanks for all your feedback!). I figure I still have time to amend so thought I'd post the spec. just to be 100% sure.

PC will mainly be used by 10 year old playing Microsoft Flight Sim (may play Minecraft etc. as well - other games TBD) on a 1040p 24" or 27"monitor.

Thanks in advance!

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)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB) (mainly to support MS Flight Sim - original order was for 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR (Is it worth upgrading to the 10GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX3080 - HDMI, DP, LHR? It's an additional £324.00) - Assuming will need to up the PSU to 850W as well?
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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 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 (reduced from CORSAIR 850W 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
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 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 13 to 16 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
Price: £0.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/MA7MFxKVv5/

 

[Bhuna50]

on a 1040p 24" or 27"monitor.

Do you mean 1440p or was it supposed to be 1080?

 

[3qtrsamericano]

Do you mean 1440p or was it supposed to be 1080?

Whoopsie! Meant to say 1080p (still a N00b!).

 

[MrWilson]

For 1080p the 3060ti is more than ample. If MSFS wasn’t listed as the primary use I would say you could comfortably drop to the 3060. To make use of the 3080 I would want at the very minimum a 1440p Ultrawide, but to make the best use of it I would want a 1440p Superwide or a 4K 144hz monitor. This is in a whole new ballpark for your budget though; we can find you a 1080p display for £180-200, to get a monitor that makes full use of the 3080 you’re looking at £700+.

I would recommend sticking with the 850W PSU though. This gives you the flexibility to upgrade the GPU down the line without having to worry about needing a new PSU. Better to spend an extra £20 now then needing to fork out an extra £100 for a new PSU later on.

 

[3qtrsamericano]

For 1080p the 3060ti is more than ample. If MSFS wasn’t listed as the primary use I would say you could comfortably drop to the 3060. To make use of the 3080 I would want at the very minimum a 1440p Ultrawide, but to make the best use of it I would want a 1440p Superwide or a 4K 144hz monitor. This is in a whole new ballpark for your budget though; we can find you a 1080p display for £180-200, to get a monitor that makes full use of the 3080 you’re looking at £700+.

I would recommend sticking with the 850W PSU though. This gives you the flexibility to upgrade the GPU down the line without having to worry about needing a new PSU. Better to spend an extra £20 now then needing to fork out an extra £100 for a new PSU later on.

Thanks @MrWilson for your advice. I'll update the PSU but leave the rest as is now. If a year from now, he's still properly into it, then I can look to upgrade the GPU and monitor.

 

[Scott]

When I click the link it comes up with a slightly different spec from that listed. Just to make sure everything is ideal I've re-listed it below with the setup that I would personally have. I'll start another post below this one with another idea for you.

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 WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
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 INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W 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
NOT REQUIRED
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 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 13 to 16 working days
Price: £1,598.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/!xsPMahx45/

 

[Scott]

Ok so as it's for a young lad, you could properly trick it out without spending too much money. It would be more for bragging rights than anything else, but depends if the light show is something he would fancy or not.

Bling build:

Case
COOLERMASTER MASTERBOX TD500 MESH ARGB GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING B550-PLUS WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
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 INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i ELITE CAPELLIX RGB Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
2x 50cm ARGB LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NOT REQUIRED
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 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 13 to 16 working days
Price: £1,715.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/uKP9sM56eW/

 

[3qtrsamericano]

Thank you @Scott. For some reason, when I select "Post to Forum", it shows the older spec. w/o the Amendments.

Here is the current spec. taking on-board recommendations from yourself and others....

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! (removed the WiFi option - blame Google search!)
Memory (RAM) 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB) (probably overkill - blame MSFS!)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW) (removed the more expensive Samsung Evo 970)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (upgraded from 750W)
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
LED Lighting
2x 50cm ARGB LED Strip (added some bling - I blame YOU!)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0

 

[3qtrsamericano]

When I click the link it comes up with a slightly different spec from that listed. Just to make sure everything is ideal I've re-listed it below with the setup that I would personally have. I'll start another post below this one with another idea for you.

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 WiFi (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR
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 INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W 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
NOT REQUIRED
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 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 13 to 16 working days
Price: £1,598.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/!xsPMahx45/

Any reason why you've selected the 3600MHz for the RAM rather than the 3200MHz?

 

[Scott]

It's faster

Unsure what you mean regarding the Wifi though?

 

[3qtrsamericano]

So the problem with having your order submitted is that you have all this time to research and read and ponder and well, think of ways to spend more £££

As the title says, would the experts on here choose the 8GB ASUS ROG STRIX RTX3070 over the 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti?

The monitor will most likely be a Samsung G5 (27"or 32" - TBC) and the PC mainly used for Microsoft Flight Simulator (at least to start with).

The rest of the (relevant) PC spec. is listed below. Have not posted the URL as it doesn't seem to include the changes that are in the actual order submitted.

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! (if changing the GPU, will this work or would I need to change to either the ASUS TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CorssFireX) - ARGB Ready! or the ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - ARGB Ready!?)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3060 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR (swap to ASUS ROG STRIX RTX3070??)
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
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 INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler Black Edition
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING

 

[AgentCooper]

No, it’s not worth it. The Strix card uses slightly higher binned components but the extra expenditure is not worth it. You’d be better off getting a standard 3070Ti, which would be cheaper than a Strix 3070.

 

[Martinr36]

I would keep with what you've ordered

 

[Bigfoot]

Welcome to your new hobby of continually amending your PC order while it is in pre-production. You don't need to change the motherboard to change the GPU. The ASUS ROG STRIX 3070 is an expensive version of the card. I believe that MSFS will use the performance available in the upgraded card suggested by @AgentCooper

 

[AgentCooper]

I believe that MSFS will use the performance available in the upgraded card suggested by @AgentCooper

I believe in your belief. By all accounts, Flight Sim is a beast and will eat whatever your GPU can throw at it 👍

@Scott is the enthusiast among us who has the most experience with the title, I imagine he’ll drop by to share his two cents.