Which Graphics Card
- Thread starter Pips
- Start date
collensr
SOH-CM-2023
Notwithstanding the output from Jorg about 2024 being more cloud based and less hard-drive hungry etc I, probably like many, am thinking about a PC/Monitor upgrade before November. So very helpful to hear the endorsements of the 4060Ti. Any observations on monitors welcomed - I am a "curved convert" btw.
jmig
SOH-CM-2024
Yes! The more memory on the GPU the better. If you are going 4k on your monitor I doupt that 8 GBs GDRR is enough.
fallenphoenix1986
SOH-CM-2022
Seconded, I built a new system with a 4090 around Xmas and it's yet to even blink at anything either MSFS or DCS can throw at it.
DennyA
SOH-CM-2023
4090 is stupid expensive, though. (I know, I own one.) The 4070Ti/4070Ti Super will do 4K MSFS with detail cranked and is probably the lowest you want to go if investing in a new system to get smooth performance. I have the 4070Ti on our PC that’s connected to a 4K OLED TV and it does well.
Fastest CPU you can afford and 32 or 64GB of RAM is also important.
On monitors, go for ultrawide 1440p over 4K 2160p. The extra width makes things much more immersive. 2 years ago for my birthday I went from an ultra wide 34” to a 49” (5120x1440 resolution) and it’s amazing. Especially with a Tobii eye tracker.
Fastest CPU you can afford and 32 or 64GB of RAM is also important.
On monitors, go for ultrawide 1440p over 4K 2160p. The extra width makes things much more immersive. 2 years ago for my birthday I went from an ultra wide 34” to a 49” (5120x1440 resolution) and it’s amazing. Especially with a Tobii eye tracker.
I think that people going for XFX Radeon RX 6600 or the MSI GeForce RTX 4060 don't necessarily have the funds to go for the absolutely crazy priced 4090. In that respect AMD would be the better choice as they have cards that offer the same performance as the 4090, or better, and cost half as much.
I have a 4090, but only because I'm single and don't have any kids (that I know of). Some people have other priorities, are on a fixed income or have a family to support.
Making people wish for cards that they can't or won't afford is neither helpful, nor constructive.
*Getting off my soapbox*
Priller
collensr
SOH-CM-2023
Out of interest which AMD card would you say was the performance equivalent of the 4090 please?
jmig
SOH-CM-2024
I have built over a couple dozen computers, both using AMD and Intel CPUs, and Nvidia & ADM GPUs. While the RTX 4090 is impressive, I think too many it is overkill. I offer two reasons for this opinion.
One, in order to fully utilize the RTX 4090, you have to have a matching CPU. It does no good to have a giant GPU if you are maxed out on your CPU. The bottleneck of the CPU struggling to feed info to the GPU will cause your high price 4090 to spend more time waiting than processing graphics. Think of a gym rat who spends all his time doing arm exercises and neglects his legs.
Most of us try to save money by buying just enough CPU. Later we attempt to increase performance by upgrading the GPU (which is far easier than a CPU). However, we only get a partial improvement because our CPU is now bottlenecking the new GPU.
Second, anything over 30-60 frames per second is wasted. MF2020 is not a first person shooter and you are not in competition with a living opponent. Movies are shot around 24 FPS. Did you notice any studders or gaps in Top Gun one or two? Flying at 30-45 FPS will give you a smooth flight. One possible exception to this may be VR headsets, which tend to run a bit higher in frame rates. I run my Meta Quest 3 at 60 fps with good results.
Setting your global settings to High or Mid-High will give you an almost imperceivable visual difference from Ultra settings, at a much nicer frame rate experience.
While an RTX 4090 will give you bragging rights, for another six months, the RTX 4070Ti seems to be the sweet spot at this time. If you are running an AMD processor, I recommend you looking that the RX 7900 XT or XTX. The XTX will come close to the 4090 in performance at half the price. I am seriously considering the RX 7900 XTX as an upgrade to my RX3080, which performs nicely. However, the RX 7900 XTX will match my 7800 X3D CPU. The combination should serve me well for years.
One, in order to fully utilize the RTX 4090, you have to have a matching CPU. It does no good to have a giant GPU if you are maxed out on your CPU. The bottleneck of the CPU struggling to feed info to the GPU will cause your high price 4090 to spend more time waiting than processing graphics. Think of a gym rat who spends all his time doing arm exercises and neglects his legs.
Most of us try to save money by buying just enough CPU. Later we attempt to increase performance by upgrading the GPU (which is far easier than a CPU). However, we only get a partial improvement because our CPU is now bottlenecking the new GPU.
Second, anything over 30-60 frames per second is wasted. MF2020 is not a first person shooter and you are not in competition with a living opponent. Movies are shot around 24 FPS. Did you notice any studders or gaps in Top Gun one or two? Flying at 30-45 FPS will give you a smooth flight. One possible exception to this may be VR headsets, which tend to run a bit higher in frame rates. I run my Meta Quest 3 at 60 fps with good results.
Setting your global settings to High or Mid-High will give you an almost imperceivable visual difference from Ultra settings, at a much nicer frame rate experience.
While an RTX 4090 will give you bragging rights, for another six months, the RTX 4070Ti seems to be the sweet spot at this time. If you are running an AMD processor, I recommend you looking that the RX 7900 XT or XTX. The XTX will come close to the 4090 in performance at half the price. I am seriously considering the RX 7900 XTX as an upgrade to my RX3080, which performs nicely. However, the RX 7900 XTX will match my 7800 X3D CPU. The combination should serve me well for years.
collensr
SOH-CM-2023
Thanks this is really helpful. Personally for me it's hard to justify the near £1,000 financial step up to the 4090 so the suggestion of "overkill" is useful.
Boss86001
Boss
Thats why I stated, "Always buy the best if you can afford it"! It's the truth like it or not when it comes to performance and computer hardware, so I disagree with you. People have to understand that the video card alone even a 4090 will not perform that well if you put it in a sub-par computer meaning that all the hardware has to be working together to achieve maximum results. My computer, although very expensive plows through any game available right now and I do not regret the purchase at all.
Pips
Charter Member
Thanks for the replies , I appreciate them. 
Good point about the Ti, it's only slightly more expensive, so I'll plan for 4060Ti (around $500). The Radeon RX 6600 16g is around the same price, but I've read that AMD doesn't manage flight sims as well as Nvidia.
Sadly anything more powerful is well beyond my budget. GPU prices in Oz are silly. The 4070Ti is over a $1,000. The Asroc 7900 is around $1,500 and the 4090 is almost $2,850.
Good point about the Ti, it's only slightly more expensive, so I'll plan for 4060Ti (around $500). The Radeon RX 6600 16g is around the same price, but I've read that AMD doesn't manage flight sims as well as Nvidia.
Sadly anything more powerful is well beyond my budget. GPU prices in Oz are silly. The 4070Ti is over a $1,000. The Asroc 7900 is around $1,500 and the 4090 is almost $2,850.
That used to be true, Nvidia over AMD, but that is no longer the case! Ask Cazzie!Thanks for the replies , I appreciate them.
Good point about the Ti, it's only slightly more expensive, so I'll plan for 4060Ti (around $500). The Radeon RX 6600 16g is around the same price, but I've read that AMD doesn't manage flight sims as well as Nvidia.
Sadly anything more powerful is well beyond my budget. GPU prices in Oz are silly. The 4070Ti is over a $1,000. The Asroc 7900 is around $1,500 and the 4090 is almost $2,850.
Priller
collensr
SOH-CM-2023
Do you mind me asking which Monitor you went for please?
Cazzie
SOH-CM-2024
Yep, I listened to my son, who is a computer engineer and built my codebreaker. His partner is also a major gamer and he recommended AMD. I have an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT GPU and an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core Processor, currently 32 GB RAM, but my son is adding another 32 GB next time he is down. Power supply is 900 watts. Monitor is a 4HD 32-in Samsung.
And thanks Priller for that lead on Lossless Scaling. I finally learn how to use it with my GPU and MSFS, nice.
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