Build of the Week: Dec 1 2024
- Tomiax
- Dec 1, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 2, 2024
This Build of the Week (BotW) will be centered around the recommended system requirements of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Each component will be chosen to meet or exceed these requirements at the best prices found today. We are only going to be concerned with the specs. No LEDs or unnecessary visuals unless it's a better price for the performance! Even then, we'll want to be prepared to spend $1600 to $1700 after taxes on the system. At the end, we'll also look at a couple of prebuilt system options. Let's start with the listed specs:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X or Intel Core i7-10700K
Memory: 32 GB RAM
Graphics: Radeon RX 5700 XT or GeForce RTX 2080
DirectX: Version 12
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 50 GB available space
Additional Notes: Network Speed of 50 Mbps Bandwidth
And now, let's choose our parts:
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 8700F 4.1 GHz 8-Core Processor
8 Cores, 16 Threads
4.1 GHz Base Clock
5 GHz Boosted Clock
Includes a fan cooler
Max supported RAM is 256 Gb
Best price seen (and available) today was $277.99 @ Amazon
Graphics Card
Asus DUAL EVO OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card
8 GB GDDR6 of dedicated video memory
Base Clock of 1830 MHz
Boosted Clock of 2535 MHz
Best price seen today was $398.98 @ Amazon
Memory
TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL38 Memory
High frequency rating to make the most of the CPU
T-Force Vulcan memory sticks have a good heat sink on them
Best price seen today was $109.97 @ Amazon
Storage
TEAMGROUP MP33 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Fast boot and load times with the M.2-2280 PCIe X4
Enough capacity for the OS and a handful of your favourite apps (such as Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024)
Best price found today was $67.48 @ Amazon
Motherboard
Gigabyte B650M GAMING PLUS WF Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard
2.5 Gb/s ethernet and wifi-6 internet connectivity
2x M.2 slots (2580 M-key and 2280/22110 M-key)
4x SATA 6.0 Gb/s slots
4 RAM slots with 192 Gb total capacity
Best price found today was $169.50 @ Vuugo
Power Supply
Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply
Wanted about 500 W for best efficiency and room to upgrade
Least expensive 80+ Gold rating seen today
Best price found today was $62.99 @ Amazon
Case
Deepcool CC560 V2 ATX Mid Tower Case
Comes with 4 LED fans (what? Had to add some colour!)
Inexpensive
Has a power supply shroud
Has plenty of room for components and air flow
Best price found today was $54.99 @ Canada Computers
Game Controls (Optional)
Logitech G PRO Flight Yoke System
Realistic Yoke Controls
Three modes
75 Programmable Controls
Lower end of the mid-range price
Available today for $199.96 @ Amazon
Conclusion
As advised in the opening, this system is going to be a bit costly. Just adding up the prices as they are listed, we are spending $1241.80 without the optional controls, and $1441.76 with them. Adding 15% HST brings the total from $1428.07 to $1658.02. Some of the components are newer, better, and more capable than the listed requirements, but they were chosen because they are either less expensive or similar in price to the listed requirements. The main benefit to building your own system is the ability to choose your own parts. The benefit of buying something prebuilt is how easy it is. With a prebuilt system, you don't have to put it together, update the bios, or set up the OS. But, how does the cost of building this compare to buying a prebuilt system? As we will see, the custom built system will be a little less expensive than a couple of the available prebuilt ones. Here are a couple of prebuilt systems that should also be capable of running Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024:
STGAubron Gaming Desktop: $1519.99 +tax
Intel Core i7-11700KF w/ 8 core, 16 threads, and base to boosted frequencies of 3.6 to 5.0 GHz
32 Gb DDR4 RAM
2 Tb SSD
Radeon RX 6800 XT w/ 16 Gb GDDR6
Comes with keyboard, mouse, and mousepad
Has a lot of fans with RBG LEDs
Graphics card has more VRAM than the BotW, but the BotW has generally newer components that might have better response times (particularly the newer DDR5 RAM style)
ROG Strix G13 Gaming Desktop PC: $1750.26 +tax
Intel Core i7-14700F w/ 20 cores (8 performance and 12 efficiency) and 28 threads, and base to boosted frequencies of 2.1 to 5.4 GHz (performance cores) or 1.5 to 4.2 GHz (efficiency cores)
32 Gb DDR5 RAM
1 Tb SSD
GeForce RTX 4060 w/ 8 Gb GDDR6
ROG by Asus is a reputable gaming hardware brand
Slick exterior case design
Bluetooth, ethernet, and wifi enabled
More expensive and less cost-effective than the BotW for similar performance in games, but a much more powerful processor with an insane core and thread count if multitasking is a requirement for some of your intended applications.
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