Upgrade Advise for MFS

hp7909 · 8 Sep 2020 at 15:27

Thanks to this pandemic & the new Microsoft Flight Simulator (MFS) game I need to upgrade my (neglected) desktop PC. I've been out of the loop but from some of the reviews & benchmarks I've read/watched, very impressed by AMD's Ryzen line-up. Wish I could build a new system based on that but budget is tight at the moment. Therefore, want to upgrade what I currently have:

Intel Core i5-6600
Asus Z170-K
Panram Ninja-V 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C15 2400MHz
250GB Samsung NVMe SSD 960 EVO M.2 (OS drive)
1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200-RPM (currently where the game files for MFS are installed)
SAPPHIRE HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB GDDR5
Seasonic M12II 520W
Dell UltraSharp U2415 (16:10 WUXGA 1920 x 1200)

Looked into upgrading the CPU but, i7-7700 which is compatible with the motherboard is so pricey even used ones
Therefore focus for now will be on RAM & GPU...
GPU-wise, I would like something that can handle MFS without breaking bank & consider my current i5-6600 CPU & PSU.
RAM I believe any DDR4 should work so I can pick up some 16GB 3200MHz sticks & will even be compatible with my, hopefully future AMD build
TIA

orbitalwalsh · 8 Sep 2020 at 15:47

i7 k and overclock !!

FM uses 4 cores, so speed is key !

large system ram !

vram and good gpu. 8gb of vram

my GOD SSD. takes over 5 mins to get in your plane via HDD

Saul Farrell · 16 Sep 2020 at 10:20

I'd upgrade you CPU and then get a better SSD. If you can then spend around £255 then change to a Ryzen 5 3600 and a B450 motherboard. All the other parts will still work. Then I'd double the ram or just replace those 2 sticks for some corsair ram (you can get 2x8gb DDR4 3600mhz for around £80 on amazon and corsair sticks have a lifetime warranty. Then the next upgrade would be the GPU and I'd get a 1660. What is your budget because if you can afford to spend more then a better GPU would be pretty good.
All in all these upgrades would get a 34% CPU improvement and a 378% increase in the performance of the graphics and would cost around £505

orbitalwalsh · 16 Sep 2020 at 13:23

^^^ cpu & mobo upgrade wouldn't do much as clock speed is more key running on 4 cores . Granted you'd have to score an i7 k for under £100

hp7909 · 17 Sep 2020 at 08:57

Thanks guys. Decided I'll wait for next Ryzen gen & do a proper, full system upgrade

orbitalwalsh · 17 Sep 2020 at 09:34

hp7909 said:
Thanks guys. Decided I'll wait for next Ryzen gen & do a proper, full system upgrade

Might want to grab rtx 3080 today or 3070 next month haha. Ryzen 5000 should be November In Stores, would be nice if sooner