MSFS in VR Pc Upgrade Advice

[MarcusF]

I’m really enjoying MSFSim in VR however my PC specs are probably quite well below what is required. As result I have pretty poor frames rates (28fps) on quite low in game settings.

I’m considering upgrading my system probably starting with a GPU initially. My PC specs are;

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Graphics Card

Processor: Intel Core i5-8600K Coffee Lake CPU, 6 Cores, 3.6 - 4.3GHz

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z370 HD3

Ram: 28Gb
3x 4Gb DDR4 - 2400
1x Vengeance LPX DDR4

PSU Corsair CX650

I have been looking at RTX 3070 or AMD equivalent so budget wise at the time of £620. 00 ($770)

Would this be a good use of my money or are there other system components I would be better changing as well or instead of?

 

[Tetras]

You might want to wait for the new cards, since even if you go high-end, judging from these articles performance still isn't that great, relatively speaking.

Microsoft Flight Simulator PC Performance Review and Optimisation Guide - OC3D

Introduction Microsoft Flight Simulator is unlike any other game on the market today. This is a game that lacks the spectacle and story-rich aspects of most modern AAA titles and focuses instead on simulation accuracy and the wonders of flight. This is no combat sim, just a simple game about...

www.overclock3d.net

MS Flight Simulator (2020): the 2021 PC graphics performance benchmark review

Welcome aboard Guru3D airlines, after an amazing start of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, we decided to look at the sim again in 2021 in our PC graphics performance and PC gamer way. Surely a lot of ... Article - Guide - Review

www.guru3d.com

 

[JollyJamma]

Well you’re probably best getting a 3080 as the extra VRAM really helps.

Your ram is running in single channel though so that won’t help your performance.

 

[Haz123]

If you upgrade just the gpu then you will still get very similar fps but you will be able to use much higher graphical settings so it will look prettier. 3070 is not a bad choice at that price bracket, is pretty even scaling with £/performance in the mid range.

MSFS in VR is a very particular game so you will have to look at benchmarks specifically for that game. If hope you are running the game from an SSD and if you are not then thats a good use of your money.

P.s. You do not say what your actual cpu is ?

 

[MarcusF]

Well you’re probably best getting a 3080 as the extra VRAM really helps.

Your ram is running in single channel though so that won’t help your performance.

Thanks for the response JooyJ, what do you mean by running in single channel, unfortunately as you can probably tell I’m not very tec savvy!

 

[MarcusF]

If you upgrade just the gpu then you will still get very similar fps but you will be able to use much higher graphical settings so it will look prettier. 3070 is not a bad choice at that price bracket, is pretty even scaling with £/performance in the mid range.

MSFS in VR is a very particular game so you will have to look at benchmarks specifically for that game. If hope you are running the game from an SSD and if you are not then thats a good use of your money.

P.s. You do not say what your actual cpu is ?

Thanks for your help with this, sorry I’ve added my cpu spec now, it’s an Intel Core i5-8600K Coffee Lake CPU, 6 Cores, 3.6 - 4.3GHz

 

[JollyJamma]

Thanks for the response JooyJ, what do you mean by running in single channel, unfortunately as you can probably tell I’m not very tec savvy!

So you have mismatched ram modules which means the motherboard will downclock The ram to run in the most compatible settings, including setting the channel to single.

It’ll reduce your memory bandwidth and isn’t ideal but I’d take more ram with MSFS rather than faster speeds and low capacity.

 

[JollyJamma]

Thanks for your help with this, sorry I’ve added my cpu spec now, it’s an Intel Core i5-8600K Coffee Lake CPU, 6 Cores, 3.6 - 4.3GHz

Have you tried overclocking? Does it make a difference?

Looking at some sites, MSFS is very demanding on all fronts. CPU, SSD, VRAM etc

Judging by the fact that it constantly downloads data from the internet for weather and maps, that’ll hurt your CPU and SSD performance.

The others can tell me if I’m wrong but would an 8 core 16 thread CpU really improve things?

 

[andy_mk3]

You might want to wait for the new cards,

This. Been holding out on my 1080 still as current cards still aren't amazing in VR for FS2020.

 

[JollyJamma]

Single Channel vs Dual Channel Memory: Which is Better for Gaming?

Single-channel vs dual-channel memory. Which memory configuration is better for gaming and high-performance PCs? Also, what’s the difference between single-channel and dual-channel memory? And is dual-channel worth the extra investment? Impact of Memory Speed on Gaming Performance RAM speed, in...

www.hardwaretimes.com

 

[Slam62]

Well you'll need a new cpu before too long, if you get a 3080 now it should still be OK with a new cpu for a while.
I do believe fs 2020 is single main thread limited though probably not with your 1070 ti.

 

[Tetras]

So you have mismatched ram modules which means the motherboard will downclock The ram to run in the most compatible settings, including setting the channel to single.

It should have uhm..

channel a: 4+4
channel b: 4+16

so 16GB dual channel, 12GB single channel. 2400 is pretty slow mind, nowadays.

 

[MarcusF]

It should have uhm..

channel a: 4+4
channel b: 4+16

so 16GB dual channel, 12GB single channel. 2400 is pretty slow mind, nowadays.

That's very helpful, I’ll have a look into this

 

[JollyJamma]

It should have uhm..

channel a: 4+4
channel b: 4+16

so 16GB dual channel, 12GB single channel. 2400 is pretty slow mind, nowadays.

Does MSFS scale with memory speed?

 

[andy_mk3]

It should have uhm..

channel a: 4+4
channel b: 4+16

so 16GB dual channel, 12GB single channel. 2400 is pretty slow mind, nowadays.

I know that some configurations can run both single and dual channel with odd setups. Like 3x8GB can run dual channel on 2 sticks and single on the other. Still not an ideal setup though.

 

[JollyJamma]

this kit of 32gigs of RAM was £99 recently. Out of stock at the moment.

Patriot Viper Steel 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C18 3600MHz Dual Channel Ki

Order Patriot Viper Steel 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C18 3600MHz Dual Channel Ki now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

That plus a 5700X and a B450 motherboard is an upgrade for £440

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 5700X Eight Core 4.6GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3D1-AM) = £269.99
• 1 x AMD Xbox Game Pass - Ryzen - Equipped for Battle Game Bundle (SKU: XX-036-AM) = £0.00
• 1 x MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX II (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-35U-MS) = £59.99

Total: £340.48 (includes delivery: £10.50)​

​

 

[JollyJamma]

Intel option (add the RAM above or keep your current setup)

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x MSI Pro B660M-A DDR4 - Intel B660 DDR4 Micro ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-36K-MS) = £139.99
• 1 x Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.70GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-69Y-IN) = £259.99

Total: £410.48 (includes delivery: £10.50)​

​

 

[Tetras]

Does MSFS scale with memory speed?

It is quite CPU heavy, so... maybe?

 

[Tetras]

I know that some configurations can run both single and dual channel with odd setups. Like 3x8GB can run dual channel on 2 sticks and single on the other. Still not an ideal setup though.

It is how Intel setups work, I think Ryzen can do the same, but I don't recall seeing it mentioned.

 

[JollyJamma]

It is quite CPU heavy, so... maybe?

I feel like it's one of those all or nothing games. You need allll of the resources to make it really work.

I'd use more RAM rather than faster RAM for it but faster RAM can't hurt.