Going as far back as early November I was made aware that the possibility that reviewing the Wired2Fire Sim X-2020 Valkyrie was on offer. Safe to say I jumped at the chance to test a PC tailor-made for Microsoft’s Flight Simulator (2020). Let’s see if I think it’s worth the £1920 asking price in the video review below…
Wired2Fire Sim X-2020 Valkyrie: Specifications
- Case: MSI Creator 400M
- CPU: Intel Core i7 10700K
- CPU Cooler: MSI MAG CoreLiquid 240R
- Motherboard: MSI Z490-A PRO Gaming
- RAM: 32GB Standard DDR4 3000MHz Dual Channel
- GPU: MSI GeForce Ventus OC 3X RTX3080 10GB
- Storage: Wired2Fire 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD
- PSU: Kolink Enclave 700W Gold Modular
- OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Product page: HERE
Wired2Fire Sim X-2020 Valkyrie: Video Review
Wired2Fire Sim X-2020 Valkyrie: Roundup
So overall, the Sim X-2020 Valkyrie gets a big thumbs up from me for its gaming performance. I have also included links to PCMark and 3DMark testing in the description below the YouTube review so please check out those scores and let us know how your PC compares. Granted, it’s not as accurate as a Steam survey but it’ll help us provide relevant content for you to enjoy.
Talking performance, again mentioning that the Sim X-2020 Valkyrie has been put together for maximum flight sim 2020 performance, and it delivers in that regard. Delivering smooth, solid performance consistently throughout, with zero hiccups at all, especially when it comes to lag spikes when loading scenery and details which Flight Sim’s are prone to do. This highlights the included 1TB NVMe SSD is working well here too.
It’s super satisfying to see it chew through all the other game tests I threw at it: Battlefield V, Apex Legends and Modern Warfare in this round of testing. There isn’t a single game I don’t think would struggle on this PC, except maybe for Cyberpunk 2077 which may make it sweat a little, but is a relatively new title to market at the time of this review and performance is expected to improve with driver and game updates, as is the norm.
Usually, there’s a trade-off for such good performance, and that’s in the noise department. However, the Valkyrie remains cool and quiet throughout even prolonged gaming sessions. Don’t misunderstand quiet for silent, you can hear it when it’s on the desk next to you. But place it on the floor or hidden behind your sim setup and you‘d never know it was there.
Aesthetically, the Sim X-2020 Valkyrie is clean and tidy, with minimal RGB on offer for those that like that. Though, I think it has just the right amount.
The MSI Creator 400M case is, in my opinion, an underrated case. It’s well thought out and has plenty of options and upgradeability. It’s also marketed as a workstation case, making it a very good choice for a flight simulator PC as the case itself, as we saw earlier, is stuffed full of sound dampening material in the front, top and rear panel as well as the bonded glass panels which aid in keeping it as quiet as possible, even while under a heavy load, which is something to consider when you are simming. The last thing you want is loud fans distracting you removing more of the realism factor.
Touching back on the case. I didn’t mention earlier but the front panel opens up to reveal a large filter on the front. Behind this is a pair of included 140mm fans, which add additional airflow into the radiator mounted in the front of the case, well thought out from the Wired2Fire team.
Talking I/O, the rear panel has 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1xUSB 3.2 Gen 2 and 1x Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 2 connector. Displayport and HDMI make an appearance for iGPU connections, 7.1 channel audio and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet connector, dragging Ethernet out of the Gigabit stone age!
Front I/O brings us another USB Type-C connector, 2x USB 3.2, 2x USB 2.0, headphone and microphone jacks, power and hard drive indicator LEDs, reset, LED on-off, and power buttons.
Finally, the RTX3080 offers 3x DisplayPort and a single HDMI 2.1 connector again highlighting the option of multi-monitor setups as well as large 4/8K displays and ultrawide options, all things a simmer would likely consider.
Swiftly moving on to the price. I mentioned at the start of the video that the Sim X-2020 Valkyrie comes in at £1920, making it a seriously good price to performance offering. Taking into account, at the time of filming, the worldwide availability of RTX cards, and therefore price points, it’s hard to price up a system as a comparison, especially when you add scalpers into the fray. But I was able to price up a similar system for around the same price using as similar parts as possible.
Also considering that you get the service of Wired2Fire building the system for you, which I might add is done to a high standard, and a “standard” 24-month parts and labour warranty the asking price becomes all the better, meaning the Sim X-2020 Valkyrie system gets the Play3r Editors Choice and Value award.
Big thanks to MSI and Wired2Fire for sending over the Sim X-2020 Valkyrie in for review.
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