SafetyThird wrote:After trying out x-plane on my laptop (Dual-Core Intel Core i7, 3.3 GHz, 16Gb, Intel Iris Graphics 550 1536 MB) I've found that it just doesn't really work with my 32" 4k display. The frame rate just isn't there and, not being IFR rated, it's the VFR stuff I really need.
I've decided to sell the Playstation 4 Pro with it's VR gear and instead buy a dedicated PC for flight simming (x-plane and probably FS2020 for it's VFR scenery) and the occasional game.
Having been a Mac laptop user exclusively for thirty years, this is a bit of a dive into the unknown, hardware wise, so I have a few questions.
Firstly, is there any reason to pick between Intel and AMD? Does it make sense to choose an AMD processor if you're going for AMD graphics or doesn't that matter?
My plan is to buy the box, PSU, a decent motherboard and processor (currently looking at the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X) and a mid range graphics card. The idea is to eventually get a card that can cope with VR and get a VR headset but that may have to wait for a while due to cost of setting all this up.
Any suggested hardware vendors or just buy individually. I'm tempted to source processor and graphics second hand unless I can find a good deal somewhere. Also, Any suggested size/spec for power supply and motherboard?
Note this is purely a games machine, I have my Mac systems for everything else.
Thanks.
There is no real reason to choose between AMD or Intel, the difference is purely bang per buck and I would recommend you get a system specced the way you want it. If you buy something from (eg) Currys, you'll pay too much or have some sort of bottle neck.
To get a reasonable performance, I would recommend a computer with:
AMD Ryzen 3700x
Mainboard with B550 chipset
32GB RAM
1TB SSD
RTX 2070 Graphics card
600W PSU
You should be able to run 4K with 35 - 40FPS with these components.
I would never buy a CPU or graphics card second hand - a relatively new board / CPU might have been overclocked and damaged - what warranty will you have? Yes, you might be lucky if it's from someone like me, then you could have a second hand GTX 1080 which hasn't been clocked but such a card it's not up to the performance if you want to run ultra setting. You'll then regret not splashing out on the 2070 in the first place....
For VR, all you'd need to add would be the Oculus Quest 2 and the Oculus Link cable... add 300 quid.. done....
just my 0.02 worth....
20.000v in his arms but the bulb inside his head still doesn't light up........