Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2020 will be out next month, and it will be amazing. I am happy to play it. Many think this gorgeous game needs high-end specs to run, and while PC games always prefer expensive hardware, due to the added processing power, you won’t need a $ 3,000 desktop to enjoy Flight Simulator 2020. Go below for a list of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Minimum, Recommended, and Best Specs, along with the best custom, pre-built computers to run the game on.
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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 minimum requirements aren’t really that hard to get
The great people of Windows Central It has a list of the minimum, recommended and ideal specifications for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Honestly, these specifications are not as high as I imagined, and many of you may already have a machine that meets the minimum or recommended requirements.
Minimum specs allow you to play this game on old hardware easily
At a minimum, you’ll want the AMD Ryzen 3 1200 or Intel i5-4460 processor, Radeon RX 570, or NVIDIA GTX 760 GPU, at least 8GB of RAM, and 150GB of storage. Yes, that’s a lot of storage, but with a game as beautiful and deep as Microsoft’s Flight Sim 2020, it’s no wonder it takes up so much space.
Recommended specifications give mid-range players the ability to enjoy a smooth experience
However, Microsoft recommends a little more robustness for smoother gameplay. For this, you’ll want at least the Ryzen i5 1500X or Intel i5-8400 processor, the Radeon RX 580 or NVIDIA GTX 970 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM. When it comes to a gaming platform this is probably pretty easy to accomplish for most people as these specs come from graphics cards and processors released a few years back which makes the components quite inexpensive these days , or maybe even something you already have. own.
Ideal specifications are high, but not extremely high
When it comes to playing the game “ideally”, in Microsoft’s mind, you’ll want a little more girth in your setup. The AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 2700X or Intel i9-9900K takes center stage as the processors of choice, along with the Radeon VII or NVIDIA RTX 2080 graphics card and 32GB of RAM. Now these specs are pretty high there, but found in abundance in high-end gaming setups owned by many. No Xeon required, 128GB of RAM required, or dual 2080 Ti, just high-end, common components that can be easily purchased at most computer retail stores.
Make sure your internet connection is up to it
You might be wondering why an internet connection is required after the initial installation of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2020. Well, it will use streaming to bring the virtual world to life. There’s a whopping 2 petabytes of mapping data the game uses, which equates to around 2,000 1TB hard drives … this is way more than an average computer can handle. Because of this, Microsoft streams the graphic world around your plane to your computer over the Internet, so the faster the speed, the better.
At a minimum, you’ll want to have at least a 5Mbps download speed. But, Microsoft recommends 20Mbps and says the ideal speed is 50Mbps. Honestly, the bridge between the minimum and the recommended is not that difficult to reach for most people. While 50Mbps may be faster than some can achieve with your ISP, many should be able to easily reach between 5Mbps and 20Mbps.
Best gaming computers for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020
Whether you want to build from scratch, or just upgrade one or two parts, our custom build guides below will guide you step-by-step with a budget-focused team, mid-range setup, and high-end battle station. .
Low-cost gaming is finally a reality: $ 545
For those on a tighter budget, we’ve developed a budget-focused gaming right that has plenty of room to update in the future, but is powerful enough to handle Flight Simulator 2020. Exceeds some of the minimum requirements Microsoft lists above and he meets the rest of them.
Topping this build is the AMD Ryzen 3 3100 processor and Gigabyte B550M DS3H motherboard. Both combine well and offer PCIe 4.0 compatibility, which doubles the bandwidth capabilities of PCIe 3.0 for high-speed devices. As for the graphics, we have the XFX Radeon RX 570 4GB GPU, which will easily handle Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2020. For RAM, the Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB 3200MHz DIMM will give you the ability to upgrade to 16GB by adding another stick in the future. The Western Digital NVMe M.2 SN550 500GB SSD is the perfect choice for storage as it offers 2.4GBps speeds and adheres to the budget-focused design we want here.
When it comes to the case and power supply, the NZXT H510 Center Tower and Thermaltake Smart 430W 80+ Power Supply are great options and offer enough space and power to last for multiple updates in the future.
This entire build, if purchased from Amazon or B&H, will cost around $ 545 in total. If you consider that this system has a lot of room to update in the future and will easily handle most of the titles on the market today outside of Flight Simulator 2020, such as Warzone, Apex Legends, CS: GO, Valorant, Fortnite and more, it is an investment fantastic. Plus, it can easily be used to complete school projects this coming semester if you’re going to be staying home instead of going to the classroom.
Mid-tier game without breaking the bank: $ 1,130
When it comes to mid-level games, there are a few things to improve. That is, add a little extra RAM and a more robust graphics card. For this, we switched the processor and motherboard to the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and ASUS PRIME X570-P, which offer more power and features than previous budget-focused alternatives. You’ll also find that we’re sticking with Kingston HyperX Fury RGB 3200MHz RAM here, but upgrading it to a single 16GB device, making it easier to access 32GB in the future.
Western Digital’s SN550 NVMe M.2 SSD also remains in this build, though we’re swapping it out for the larger 1TB model to give you more storage overall. And the updates continue with the ASUS NVIDIA RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB graphics card, which offers twice the VRAM of the previous budget-centric model and will easily handle whatever it throws at you. Plus, with real-time ray tracing, games will look even more realistic. As for the case and the power supply, we still recommend the NZXT H510 central tower, although we have changed the 430 W power supply for the Thermaltake Toughpower DPS 750W RGP power supply.
While this build doubles the price of the previous budget-centric option, it adds quite a bit of performance. It will go from having 1080p graphics set to medium to easily handle 1080p high or ultra, and even delve into the 1080p 144Hz or 1440p 60Hz range depending on which route you prefer. Overall, this build is priced at just under $ 1,130 when purchased through the above links on Amazon or B&H, and you’ll find that it will be more than adequate for all your gaming needs, and may even last a few years earlier. it’s time to update.
High-end gaming takes things to a higher level: $ 2,300
If you want to dive into high-end gaming, it will cost you a penny. The graphics card alone costs more than our budget-focused build, but it’s going to offer some killer gaming experiences. You’ll find the AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT processor and Gigabyte X570 Gaming X motherboard topping this build. Unlike previous Ryzen 3 3100 or Ryzen 5 3600 processors, however, you won’t find a cooler included here, so we recommend choosing the Cooler Master ML360R RGB All-in-One Liquid Cooler to keep things under control.
On the RAM side, we’ve stuck to the same Kingston HyperX Fury RGB kit we’ve been using throughout this post, but we’ve upgraded it to 32GB at 3600MHz, giving you slightly faster speeds and more memory. to extract. The SSD has been changed for the CORSAIR MP600 Force NVMe M.2 model, due to its incredible speeds of being a PCIe 4.0 drive. 1TB of storage is available here.
For graphics, the ASUS GeForce RTX 2080 Super 8GB reigns supreme and will deliver high-end graphics for any game you play. However, we are left with the same NZXT H510 central tower case and Thermaltake Toughpower DPS 750W RGP power supply.
This system will handle everything you throw at it, including intense 1440p 144Hz gaming. He even starts digging into 4K 60 gaming and handles ray tracing graphics like a champion. And it should, considering that the full setup will cost you less than $ 2,300. The point is: this setup will last you for years to come, or at least until the update bug bites you and you have to switch teams for the latest and greatest. But, if you can wait, it will be a killer gaming platform for the next generation of games by keeping you updated with just a few minor tweets as the years go by.
Going pre-built saves the hassle of building your own computer
If you want to play Microsoft’s Flight Simulator without creating your own desktop, there are many pre-built options. You could choose desktop or laptop computers alike; It’s up to you. Razer makes some killer gaming laptops, and the latest CORSAIR desktops would handle Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2020 like a breeze.
But honestly, the best way to experience Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2020 on a pre-built machine is to wait until vacation and pick up the Xbox Series X. If you’re a Game Pass member, the title is included at no additional charge, and Microsoft is designing all around your next console.
However, if you want a breakdown of some of the best pre-built computer systems we recommend for Flight Simulator 2020, we have a quick bullet list below.
Pre-built game computers for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020
- ASUS TUF laptop: $ 700
- 2.4GHz i5 / 8GB / 512GB
- GTX 1650
- SkyTech Blaze II Desk: $ 800
- 3.4GHz Ryzen 5 / 8GB / 500GB
- GTX 1660
- SkyTech Archangle Desktop: $ 1,000
- 3.6GHz Ryzen 5 / 16GB / 500GB
- GTX 1660
- Acer Predator Helios 300 laptop: $ 1,130
- 2.6GHz i7 / 16GB / 512GB
- GTX 1660 Ti
- ASUS ROG Zephyrus M laptop: $ 1,700
- 2.6GHz i7 / 16GB / 1TB
- RTX 2070
- OMEN by HP Obelisk Desk: $ 2,000
- 3.6GHz i9 / 32GB / 1TB
- RTX 2080 SUPER
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