Which CPU/GPU/OCUK Pre-Built for FS2020 and WoW at 1080 or 1440?

dubcat · 22 Oct 2023 at 08:37

Hi - I need to buy a PC as I'm about to be made redundant and will lose the laptop I do everything on today. I've wanted to build a PC for ages but I'm opting for a pre-built one as I'm scared I'll take too long to build it or will run into problems, causing delays. I need one sooner rather than later to apply for jobs and do remote interviews.

Once I've got a new job, the main use will be World of Warcraft and some limited Adobe Lightroom. However, I'm thinking about getting something that can run Flight Sim as my daughter uses one at Air Cadets and loves it. I'd like something that is not going to go obsolete too quickly. I can't share a budget number as I don't know how much I need to spend to do what I want. I don't want to overspend given my current job situation but also this PC will have to last me quite some time so I don't want to skimp too much.

Could you give me 3 recommendations, please?

Option 1) World of Warcraft at 1440p - no flight sim
Option 2) World of Warcraft at 1440p and FS2020 at 1080p (I assume FS2020 is way more demanding than Warcraft which is mostly CPU bound)
Option 3) World of Warcraft and FS2020 at 1440p

Will worry about the monitor once I know what system I should buy.

Thanks,
Sad and worried Dub.

Quartz · 22 Oct 2023 at 09:49

I suggest you look into getting a non-gaming PC - iGPU only - that can be easily upgraded later. The GPU is going to be the most expensive element. That also extends to the monitor: get yourself a cheap 60 Hz 1080p or 4K monitor and then buy a gaming monitor later - the old monitor then becomes a secondary monitor.

JollyJamma · 22 Oct 2023 at 10:13

OP, what’s your budget?

dubcat · 22 Oct 2023 at 10:26

I wanted to get an idea of how much I need to spend to meet the three different requirement levels in the original post. I will then figure out a budget based on these.

JollyJamma · 22 Oct 2023 at 10:30

dubcat said:
I wanted to get an idea of how much I need to spend to meet the three different requirement levels in the original post. I will then figure out a budget based on these.

MSFM 2020 will run ok at low settings on a lot of hardware.

If I had to make a recommendation for you, I’d get a cheap used laptop and an XBOX for gaming.

Laptop for job applications and console for just being able to run games whilst you need to work.

Any gaming PC with 6 cores 12 threads, a good GPU with good amounts of VRAM (10gigs or more) and 32gigs of RAM would work.

I would not get a 60hz display. Get at least a 75 or 90 hz display as they aren’t expensive and nobody deserves the punishment of 60hz in this day and age.

JollyJamma · 22 Oct 2023 at 11:24

I have put this together.

RX6750XT (you could get the 7700XT or 4070 but for pure rasterisation performance, AMD is a better choice)
I5 13400 (plenty of cores, the i3 13100 is still good for entry level gaming tho)
32gigs of RAM at 6000 MT/s (fast enough and cheap )
650 watt PSU (enough for a future upgrade)

You could adjust certain parts to fit your budget if you wanted but it represents a great midrange gaming machine that will last

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dubcat · 22 Oct 2023 at 15:55

JollyJamma said:
I have put this together.

RX6750XT (you could get the 7700XT or 4070 but for pure rasterisation performance, AMD is a better choice)
I5 13400 (plenty of cores, the i3 13100 is still good for entry level gaming tho)
32gigs of RAM at 6000 MT/s (fast enough and cheap )
650 watt PSU (enough for a future upgrade)

You could adjust certain parts to fit your budget if you wanted but it represents a great midrange gaming machine that will last

Login | OcUK

Leading the way in bespoke PC systems and PC gaming, any and all of your components & peripherals needs are met with our vast range of products and services.

www.overclockers.co.uk

Thanks very much - i will spec up a system like this in the custom PC prebuilt section of the retail site. Any reason you went for Intel CPU rather than AMD? I thought AMD was more bang for the buck these days (I've been out of the loop for yonks so maybe I've misunderstood this bit).

I'm also looking at cheap used laptops on ebay for the job application side of things.

JollyJamma · 22 Oct 2023 at 16:11

Intel is faster for gaming (excluding X3D CPUs) but socket AM5 has just been launched and will get More CPU launches down the road.

Either will be great.

I like the 13400 as a CPU but you could easily get an AMD 7600 and be happy with that.

Have a look at the other build recommendations on the forum and see what they say. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here and some builds will have benefits over others.

AMDs GPUs are better value at the moment but Nvidia have some tech features that people want (Ray tracing and so on).

For what you want, you want the best gaming performance rather than fancy features.

Tetras · 22 Oct 2023 at 16:50

dubcat said:
Could you give me 3 recommendations, please?

Option 1) World of Warcraft at 1440p - no flight sim
Option 2) World of Warcraft at 1440p and FS2020 at 1080p (I assume FS2020 is way more demanding than Warcraft which is mostly CPU bound)
Option 3) World of Warcraft and FS2020 at 1440p

Will worry about the monitor once I know what system I should buy.

CPU: I believe World of Warcraft and Flight Sim both very much like X3D CPUs, but the 7800X3D is expensive and a 5800X3D would mean buying into an old (not upgradeable) platform.

GPU: ideally, at least a 4070 or 7800 XT.

dubcat · 23 Oct 2023 at 17:42

Update - I impulse purchased a used RX 5700 RT graphics card for £140. I trust the seller so am not worried about reliability but I hope I didn't make a mistake from a performance point of view. Worst case I will just game at 1080. It's a lot cheaper than the recommendations above and also a lot less performant I know.

Thinking about using it in a system @tamzzy recommended in another thread. What else would I need apart from an aftermarket cooler? Thermal paste. Anything else such as cables?:

My basket at OcUK:

1 x MSI B550M PRO-VDH WiFi (AMD AM4) B550 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-358-MS) = £109.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core 4.6GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3CC-AM) = £149.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 32GB (2x16GB) 3600 MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4 Memory Dual Kit (CMK32GX4M2Z3600C18) (SKU: MY-4CL-CS) = £79.99
1 x be quiet! System Power 9 600W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply **OEM NO BOX** (SKU: CA-13V-BQ) = £49.99
1 x Crucial P5 Plus 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 3D NAND NVMe Solid State Drive (SKU: HD-074-CR) = £56.99
1 x MSI MAG Forge M100R ARGB Tempered Glass Windowed Micro ATX Mid Tower Case - Black (SKU: CA-014-MS) = £59.99

Total: £518.93 (includes delivery: £11.98)

tamzzy · 23 Oct 2023 at 18:03

dubcat said:
Update - I impulse purchased a used RX 5700 RT graphics card for £140. I trust the seller so am not worried about reliability but I hope I didn't make a mistake from a performance point of view. Worst case I will just game at 1080. It's a lot cheaper than the recommendations above and also a lot less performant I know.

the 5700xt is about the same performance as a 6600 (non-xt), but uses more pwoer and noiser

dubcat said:
What else would I need apart from an aftermarket cooler? Thermal paste. Anything else such as cables?:

nothing else

Tetras · 23 Oct 2023 at 19:44

dubcat said:
Anything else such as cables?

There aren't really any cables in this build, apart from power (from PSU) for the motherboard and graphics card and the little ones for CPU and fans. M.2 SSDs avoid any need for power/data cables.

dubcat said:
What else would I need apart from an aftermarket cooler? Thermal paste.

Don't need that either, 5600 non-X and 5600X come with wraith stealth with pre-applied thermal paste.

dubcat said:
I hope I didn't make a mistake from a performance point of view. Worst case I will just game at 1080. It's a lot cheaper than the recommendations above and also a lot less performant I know.

As you have deduced already, they're 1080p cards nowadays. From what I can see on YouTube, both games will be playable at 1440p, but you may have to make some compromises with the settings. I think Flight Sim supports FSR 2 too, so that might help.

dubcat · 23 Oct 2023 at 19:51

Level of support on this forum is unbelievable. Maybe I’m feeling a bit fragile because of the work situation but you guys have really helped. Thanks.