Best Flight Simulator Hardware

Browse by Simulator

Top Picks by Budget

The highest-scoring desktop or laptop in each price tier, across both simulators.

• Budget
  Skytech Shiva · RTX 4060 Ti RTX 4060 Ti · Core i5-13600KF · 16 GB RAM
  61.2 /100 MSFS 2024 score
  Check price on Amazon
• Mid-Range
  CLX SET · RTX 4070 Ti Super RTX 4070 Ti Super · Ryzen 7 7700X · 32 GB RAM
  82.2 /100 MSFS 2024 score
  Check price on Amazon
• High-End
  Alienware Aurora R16 · RTX 4080 Super RTX 4080 Super · Core i9-14900KF · 32 GB RAM
  88.2 /100 MSFS 2024 score
  Check price on Amazon

Flight Sim Guides

• Best Flight Simulators of 2026: Ranked and ComparedBest flight simulators of 2026 ranked — MSFS 2024, X-Plane 12, Prepar3D, FlightGear, and more. Hardware demands, flight physics, and which suits your flying goals.
• How to Build a Home Flight Simulator Cockpit (2026 Guide)Step-by-step guide to planning and building a home flight simulator cockpit — from setting a budget and choosing software to selecting controls, displays, and a cockpit frame.
• Types of VR Headsets: Which Works Best for Flight Simulators?Breakdown of every type of VR headset — PC-tethered, standalone, and console — with recommendations for MSFS 2020 and X-Plane 12 sim pilots.
• All guides →

How We Score Flight Simulator Hardware

• Scored per simulator

  Each product is scored with that simulator's own weighting: MSFS 2024 is 45% CPU and 40% GPU, X-Plane 12 is 55% GPU. The same hardware scores differently in each sim.

• Specs, not hands-on tests

  Scores are calculated from each product's published specifications. We don't own or test this hardware, so we never present a score as a measured result.

• AI-assisted summaries

  Verdicts, pros and cons are drafted with AI from the same product data that drives the scores. Frame-rate figures in them are estimates, not measurements.