Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - Where are people getting their desktops these days?

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | Where are people getting their desktops these days?

DVA9655
Senior Captain, B747-400
Diamond
OLP

Joined on January 01 2011
50 State Club
Everett 500 Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
Golden State Club
Two Million Mile Club
Globetrotter
Online Double Century Club
Nine Century Club

"DAL9655, you are cleared for takeoff"
New York, NY

999 legs, 5,366.4 hours
242 legs, 882.9 hours online
799 legs, 4,425.5 hours ACARS
12 legs, 40.6 hours event

Posted onPost created on September 14 2023 14:55 ET by Remy Mermelstein

Hi All,

Beginning to test the waters about getting a desktop... it's been 5 years since i had a desktop, and the industry is eons from where it was when I last went through the process of getting one. Where are people getting desktops for Simming nowadays? building them? obviously cost is a consideration, but I also want to build a really good rig that is somewhat futureproofed / can upgrade in the future if needed.

Many manufactures out there... digitalstorm, cyberpowerpc, etc. I've had good success w/ cyberpowerpc in past but open to other suggestions.

I have never built a PC and not sure I trust myself to build one myself.

Finally, what kind of specs are people building these days to run MSFS2020 w/ addons at the higher end of settings?

thanks,
remy

Remy Mermelstein (DVA9655)

DVA3310
Chief Pilot, A320

Joined on July 07 2006
50 State Club
White Knuckles Club
Million Mile Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Globetrotter
Eurocap Club
Toulouse 500 Club
Flying Colonel

Littleton, CO

1,525 legs, 4,580.3 hours
34 legs, 60.9 hours online
1,486 legs, 4,451.7 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on September 16 2023 09:42 ET by Axel Guillebastre

I went to my local Micro Center store to buy my rig and widescreen.

Axel Guillebastre (DVA3310)

DVA14023
First Officer, B767-300

Joined on August 08 2021
50 State Club
Globetrotter
US Coastal Club
B757 100 Club
US Mountaineer Club
Commuter Conquest
Everett 500 Club
Two Million Mile Club
DVA Two-Year Anniversary
Online Eight Century
Flying Colonel

"What goes up must come down, gently ..."
New Zealand

1,527 legs, 5,356.6 hours
815 legs, 1,793.1 hours online
1,486 legs, 5,170.7 hours ACARS
9 legs, 12.1 hours event

Posted onPost created on September 16 2023 12:21 ET by Mike Bell

I'm in New Zealand so not much advice for USA but I have built many PC's just for sim. Sims in the past have been CPU hungry and now graphics card hungry too.
You certainly need a high power supply. The day you buy or build will also be the day it is outdated by one or more components. I have always spec'ed my PC's higher than what is asked for each flight sim FS3 through to MSFS and all the P3D's. It soon catches up and leaves you wanting for more.
I'm never content until all the sliders are to the max and I fuss over it quite a bit. $$$$'s Biggest recent mistake was I should have put in a 2 gig SSD.

Mike Bell (DVA14023)

DVA2887
Senior Captain, A320
OLP, 737-ATP, VFRADV
E-MAIL

Joined on January 30 2006
50 State Club
Globetrotter
Tri-Jet Triumph
US Coastal Club
Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
US Mountaineer Club
Toulouse 250 Club
Online Eight Century

Charlotte, NC

1,283 legs, 1,792.7 hours
837 legs, 1,044.3 hours online
1,265 legs, 1,770.7 hours ACARS
31 legs, 49.6 hours event
3 legs dispatched, 2.5 hours

Posted onPost created on September 17 2023 12:07 ET by Andrew Vane

HI Remy. I built my own system Not hard. Just youtube vids.

My system:
i7 12700 3.7 Ghz
32GB ram
3 SSD's (2 or 1TB and 1 is 500GB I think)
Nvidia 10gb (I think) 3080 GPU

I don't run MSFS2020 but XP12 runs just fine (and XP11 did as well). I dont have all the sliders to the right but mid-way mostly and runs smoothly with good visuals and experience for me.

Andrew Vane (DVA2887)

Posted onPost created on September 17 2023 14:44 ET by Remy Mermelstein

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated!

Remy Mermelstein (DVA9655)

DVA9545
Senior Captain, B777-200
OLP, 737-ATP

Joined on March 03 2011
50 State Club
Globetrotter
Quad-Jet Quartermaster
US Coastal Club
US Mountaineer Club
Million Mile Club
Events Double Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
Toulouse 500 Club
Bi-Millennium Club
Online Twenty Century

"YUPIIIII"
Goiás Brazil

2,492 legs, 5,039.3 hours
2,321 legs, 4,760.9 hours online
2,484 legs, 5,009.7 hours ACARS
271 legs, 683.8 hours event

Posted onPost created on September 18 2023 11:33 ET by Thiago Braga

Andrew Vane wrote:

HI Remy. I built my own system Not hard. Just youtube vids.

My system:
i7 12700 3.7 Ghz
32GB ram
3 SSD's (2 or 1TB and 1 is 500GB I think)
Nvidia 10gb (I think) 3080 GPU

I don't run MSFS2020 but XP12 runs just fine (and XP11 did as well). I dont have all the sliders to the right but mid-way mostly and runs smoothly with good visuals and experience for me.

+1
You should try to build it. It`s fun. You may want to use this site for help in getting going: https://pcpartpicker.com/
TB

Thiago Braga (DVA9545)

Posted onPost created on September 18 2023 13:40 ET by Remy Mermelstein

The things that eek me out when it comes to building my own rig are:

1) I have never done it and am not the most... delicate person, I dont want to mess up a 1k component
2) I would value warranty, and when you build your own rig you either get for each component, which adds up to a lot more than from a known builder company; and yuou do not have a central resource to deal with it. (correct me if I am wrong please)
3) I just quickly did a build based on first impression what parts I may want, and for that price, I can get something almost the same from a real builder and not have to worry about 1/2:
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor ($275.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($136.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($581.71 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: NVIDIA Founders Edition GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card ($1339.97 @ Amazon)
Case: Anidees AI Crystal XL AR 3 ATX Full Tower Case ($319.89 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000x (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $3283.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-18 13:40 EDT-0400

Not sure if I am not making sense here.

Remy Mermelstein (DVA9655)

Posted onPost created on September 18 2023 15:14 ET by Thiago Braga

Remy Mermelstein wrote:

The things that eek me out when it comes to building my own rig are:

1) I have never done it and am not the most... delicate person, I dont want to mess up a 1k component
2) I would value warranty, and when you build your own rig you either get for each component, which adds up to a lot more than from a known builder company; and yuou do not have a central resource to deal with it. (correct me if I am wrong please)
3) I just quickly did a build based on first impression what parts I may want, and for that price, I can get something almost the same from a real builder and not have to worry about 1/2:
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor ($275.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($136.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($581.71 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: NVIDIA Founders Edition GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card ($1339.97 @ Amazon)
Case: Anidees AI Crystal XL AR 3 ATX Full Tower Case ($319.89 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000x (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $3283.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-18 13:40 EDT-0400

Not sure if I am not making sense here.

Just look at this build at Lenovo: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/desktops/legion-desktops/legion-t-series-towers/legion-tower-7i-gen-8-(34l-intel)/90v7003bus?orgRef=https%253A%252F%252Fslickdeals.net%252F&clickid=0jBzGHQXBxyNREVVHD2hrVLtUkFU%3AGVdww9VTo0&irgwc=1&PID=10451&acid=ww%3Aaffiliate%3Abv0as6&cid=us%3Aaffiliate%3Acxsaam
Put this code: BENGEXTRA6 at the check out ; USD2660.00 total... A very good price for RTX 4090

Thiago Braga (DVA9545)

Posted onPost created on September 18 2023 15:24 ET by Remy Mermelstein

Thiago Braga wrote:

Remy Mermelstein wrote:

The things that eek me out when it comes to building my own rig are:

1) I have never done it and am not the most... delicate person, I dont want to mess up a 1k component
2) I would value warranty, and when you build your own rig you either get for each component, which adds up to a lot more than from a known builder company; and yuou do not have a central resource to deal with it. (correct me if I am wrong please)
3) I just quickly did a build based on first impression what parts I may want, and for that price, I can get something almost the same from a real builder and not have to worry about 1/2:
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor ($275.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($136.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($581.71 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: NVIDIA Founders Edition GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card ($1339.97 @ Amazon)
Case: Anidees AI Crystal XL AR 3 ATX Full Tower Case ($319.89 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000x (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $3283.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-09-18 13:40 EDT-0400

Not sure if I am not making sense here.

Just look at this build at Lenovo: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/desktops/legion-desktops/legion-t-series-towers/legion-tower-7i-gen-8-(34l-intel)/90v7003bus?orgRef=https%253A%252F%252Fslickdeals.net%252F&clickid=0jBzGHQXBxyNREVVHD2hrVLtUkFU%3AGVdww9VTo0&irgwc=1&PID=10451&acid=ww%3Aaffiliate%3Abv0as6&cid=us%3Aaffiliate%3Acxsaam
Put this code: BENGEXTRA6 at the check out ; USD2660.00 total... A very good price for RTX 4090

Thanks so much Thiago, I'll take a look.
How'd you get the code?

Remy Mermelstein (DVA9655)

Posted onPost created on September 18 2023 16:14 ET by Thiago Braga

At slickdeals.net

Thiago Braga (DVA9545)

Posted onPost created on September 18 2023 17:32 ET by Andrew Vane

that 4080 is making my mouth water just thinking about it.

Andrew Vane (DVA2887)

Posted onPost created on September 18 2023 20:16 ET by Thiago Braga

Andrew Vane wrote:

that 4080 is making my mouth water just thinking about it.

No Andrew, is the RTX4090: Legion Tower 7i Gen 8 (Intel) with RTX 4090
And it does our mouth watery! drool

DVA2481
Senior Captain, A320
E-MAIL

Joined on July 15 2005
Iditarod Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
US Capital Club
50 State Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
Toulouse 250 Club
Seven Century Club

Madrid Spain

723 legs, 1,394.4 hours
461 legs, 924.5 hours online
621 legs, 1,110.2 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on September 20 2023 05:53 ET by Jimmi Cranford

I built mine. Used google and https://pcpartpicker.com/ for inspiration.

Jimmi Cranford (DVA2481)

DVA13420
Assistant Chief Pilot, B737-800
Diamond

Joined on February 25 2018
50 State Club
Comrade Club
Winter Olympics Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
Millennium Club
Globetrotter
Everett 500 Club

Springfield, MO

1,081 legs, 1,880.1 hours
1,080 legs, 1,878.0 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on September 26 2023 02:24 ET by Adam Magiera

I've built my own for the most part recently

Adam Magiera

Assistant Chief Pilot, B737-800

DVA13438
Captain, A350-900
OLP

Joined on March 04 2018
50 State Club
B757 100 Club
Gulf Breeze Club
US Coastal Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
Millennium Club
Toulouse 500 Club
Online Seven Century Club
Globetrotter

Portland, TX

1,360 legs, 2,978.6 hours
767 legs, 1,496.8 hours online
1,359 legs, 2,976.9 hours ACARS
7 legs, 16.3 hours event

Posted onPost created on September 26 2023 08:52 ET by Darrell Arview

I bought mine from a company called Xforce, I believe they are in north or south Carolina They build them just for online flying. I am very happy with what they built for me.. I have had this for about 10 years now and still works great. I have since done a couple of upgrades.

Darrell Arview

Captain, A350-900

Posted onPost created on September 26 2023 09:14 ET by Remy Mermelstein

Darrell Arview wrote:

I bought mine from a company called Xforce, I believe they are in north or south Carolina They build them just for online flying. I am very happy with what they built for me.. I have had this for about 10 years now and still works great. I have since done a couple of upgrades.

Do they have a good warranty/support system? Ill take a look.

Remy Mermelstein (DVA9655)

Posted onPost created on September 27 2023 11:08 ET by Mike Bell

RTX 4090 $NZ 3,399.00 ouch

Mike Bell (DVA14023)

DVA8037
Senior Captain, B777-200

Joined on November 01 2009
50 State Club
Globetrotter
US Coastal Club
DVA Fleet Master
US Mountaineer Club
Six Millennium Club
Four Million Mile Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Long Beach 1500 Club

"If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going"
Rosedale, NY USA

6,975 legs, 13,755.8 hours
6,968 legs, 13,737.1 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on November 14 2024 21:25 ET by Eric Haack

Right in the middle of a rebuild for FS2024 release. I'm all AMD. Windows 11, 7950X CPU 4.7Mhz w/16 cores, MSI X670E Motherboard, WD Black 850X 2TB Nvme SSD, 64G Memory at 6000 CL30 Mhz, 7900XT Radeon. 850Watt MSI PS and NZXT Kraken Cooler because the Corsair has a weird wiring harness that is impossible to get to.
Looking forward to installing Windows 11 through the United States English (World) mode to eliminate all the bloatware. You can reconnect to the Microsoft store later.
I've built systems with Windows 95, 98, 98SE, 2000 professional, XP, 7, 10, so I have some experience.
I've used FS95, 98, Sierra Pro Pilot, XPlane 11, Prepar3D, FS2000, 2004 and right now FSX.
My Gateway 2000 made me a computer survivalist!
I was taught computers by a guy who used card readers, mag tape drives and who used memory cards with magnets on them and a 512MB hard disc the size of a record album.
It's all standardized, small, fast, cheap and simple and you don't need a dust-proof room!

Eric Haack (DVA8037)

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