Best pre-built PCs for Microsoft Flight Simulator in 2025: These pre-built rigs deliver a high-end experience.

Microsoft's Flight Simulator and Flight Simulator 2024 are some of the best games for anyone who loves playing pilot, but the titles won't run on just any PC.

You need a PC with enough ports to handle all your Flight Sim peripherals, you need enough power to run the game comfortably on your display setup, and you need something that fits into your gaming room's cockpit.

That opens up your pre-built PC options to several levels of price and performance. For example, my top pick — Maingear's deeply customizable MG-1 — has more than enough power to handle either game, and it starts at a reasonable price.

We've spent countless hours testing a wide range of pre-built desktop gaming PCs, and I've handpicked the best for Flight Simulator in 2025.

With Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days event (and many competing sales at other retailers) kicking off on October 7, I've noted any early deals spotted during my most recent update.

Ben Wilson

I've built more custom gaming desktops than I can count, and I understand how daunting it can be for a first-time PC gamer. Pre-built PCs are great if you make the right pick, and I'm here to help you meet the recommended specifications for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Cale Hunt

I've been building and tinkering with PCs for decades, which gives me a clear idea of where pre-built PCs excel and where they falter. I understand how convenient pre-builts can be, and I aim to help you get the best of the best.

Best PCs for Microsoft Flight Simulator in 2025

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Best overall gaming PC for Flight Simulator

Maingear is a "boutique" builder that puts its PCs together by hand and with great care. In my Maingear MG-1 review, I noted that "it's the next best thing to building your own system" and that "it's clearly built by people who love PCs."

Cable management is stellar, Maingear uses non-proprietary motherboards and other performance hardware for easy future upgrades, and it offers an impressive range of configuration options. You can build the PC you want, and it can all be visualized within a 3D building tool on Maingear's website.

Maingear MG-1 models range from $1,492 to $5,000 and beyond, depending on how much performance you need. Looking at Flight Simulator alone, even the base model will do a decent job with its RTX 5050 GPU and Intel Core Ultra 5 225F CPU.

But with up to a Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, and more RAM and storage than you'll ever need, there's a PC here for all types of users.

Customer support is stellar, and you get a strong warranty where Maingear handles practically everything, no matter the piece of hardware that gives you trouble.

Although I'm used to building my own systems, what I've seen come out of Maingear's assembly line puts all worries to rest. If, like me, you prefer a PC that doesn't feel mass-produced, this should be the way to go.

👉 Read the full Maingear MG-1 review

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Also great

Lenovo's Legion Tower 7i (Gen 10) is a powerful desktop PC that can be configured with several different hardware options.

It might not be the best for enthusiasts who plan on full conversions in the future — Lenovo still uses a proprietary part here and there that gets in the way of major hardware overhauls — but for anyone who wants a premium PC that just works, it should be a great choice.

In their Lenovo Legion Tower 7i (Gen 10) review, Windows Central's Zachary Boddy remarked:

"The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i (Gen 10) reuses the same general design, but trims down the dimensions and offers greater performance and cooling than ever before. This is a highly capable desktop PC that's easy on the eyes and even easier to upgrade, but it's mighty expensive — even when you compare it to similarly specced pre-built desktops from other companies."

Lenovo offers up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, 128GB of DDR5 RAM, and up to six storage drives. These pieces can be changed out easily, so you can buy less hardware from the factory and wait for big sales to upgrade.

That's a lot of power, no matter what, and there are plenty of stops along the way for anyone who wants a more affordable build. Liquid and air cooling are available, and the 34L case is quite stylish.

At the time of my most recent update, discounted prices start at $3,499 at Lenovo for a model with an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5080 GPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

👉 Read our full Lenovo Legion Tower 7i (Gen 10) review

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Best custom PC for Flight Simulator

iBuyPower has a wide range of pre-built desktop PCs, but the Slate 8 Mesh I tested probably suits the most people.

Models start at as low as about $1,099 at Best Buy — with Core i7-14700F CPU, RTX 4060 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD — but you can also check out the official iBP website for the ability to customize everything from the case up.

In my iBuyPower Slate 8 Mesh review, I noted that I was impressed with the clean cable management and build quality, as well as the performance and competitive pricing. I ultimately came to this conclusion:

"iBuyPower's Slate 8 Mesh gets a lot right. The build has clean cable management and came assembled with no issues. The parts used in the build are mostly pieces you can buy on your own, save for the PSU and CPU cooler, which can be replaced after purchase. There's no bloatware installed, allowing you to choose exactly what sort of RGB software you want to use."

The only serious drawbacks I experienced involved a fan curve that needed adjusting via the BIOS, as well as a non-modular OEM PSU that isn't ideal. At this price, though, you can make the PSU one of the first targets for an upgrade.

If you're in search of a pre-built model with an NVIDIA RTX 5070 GPU, you can find one paired with an Intel Core i7-14700F CPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD for $1,788 at Amazon.

👉 Read our full iBuyPower Slate 8 Mesh review

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Mid-size pick for Flight Simulator

There's just something about the HP OMEN 35L's style and design that I love. It's not particularly flashy, nor does it have an unconventional look. But it certainly draws the eye, especially with its compact design.

The mid-size tower doesn't take up nearly as much room as a full-size build that I've featured elsewhere in this guide, yet its cooling abilities are more than enough for the hardware. The smaller chassis might impede some future upgrades, but HP has been able to cram a lot of hardware in there as is.

Windows Central PC enthusiast Zachary Boddy reviewed the HP OMEN 35L, remarking:

"The HP OMEN 35L was already one of the most attractive and upgradeable pre-built gaming PCs you could buy, but the latest versions with Intel Core Ultra are also more efficient and intelligent. Gaming performance hasn't enjoyed a major upgrade, but this is an awesome tower regardless."

Cable management is clean, there's a modular PSU inside, and the CPU is water-cooled. HP offers up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 295K CPU, 64GB of Kingston FURY DDR5 RAM, a 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, and an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, but there are many other, more affordable options available to configure at HP's website.

👉 Read our full HP OMEN 35L review

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Best mini PC for Flight Simulator

Standard desktop gaming PCs tend to take up a lot of space, and that's where mini PCs become such an attractive alternative.

The Geekom A9 Max, while lacking a discrete GPU, is what I'm calling out here after in-depth testing from Managing Editor Richard Devine.

In his Geekom A9 Max review, Devine tried out Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 5, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on a 1080p monitor. The mini PC's integrated Radeon 890M graphics chip was able to hit 60FPS or more in each game, only getting better with FSR enabled.

Flight Simulator also supports AMD's FSR, so you'll be able to reap the benefits while flying. Despite its size, the mini PC has a generous selection of ports, and Wi-Fi 7 provides fast and reliable internet.

The Geekom A9 Max is relatively expensive for the gaming performance you get. It's currently discounted by 17% at Amazon ahead of Big Deal Days, dropping the price to $999. Still, you might want to consider a premium gaming laptop for extra mobility.

👉 Read our full Geekom A9 Max review

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Honorable mentions for playing Flight Simulator

Not seeing quite what you want from the list above? These gaming laptops might be more to your liking.

• Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 10): Lenovo's latest refreshed gaming laptop is the best we've tested in 2025, delivering outstanding gaming performance thanks to the latest hardware from Intel and AMD. Games look great on the 16-inch OLED display with QHD+ resolution and 240Hz refresh rate. 👉 Read our full Legion Pro 7i (Gen 10) review
• HP OMEN MAX 16 (2025): HP's latest gaming laptop features the most powerful mobile CPU that AMD has ever created, and it's paired with up to an NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU. The 16-inch display features an OLED display with QHD+ resolution and speedy 240Hz refresh rate. 👉 Read our full HP OMEN MAX 16 (2025) review

How we test pre-built gaming PCs at Windows Central

Every pre-built gaming PC that comes our way for testing and review here at Windows Central undergoes a similar process.

Not only do we measure the included performance with synthetic benchmarks and real-world gaming metrics, but we also closely examine how the PC is put together and what parts are used.

Pre-built gaming PCs range from mass-produced systems with slipshod cable management and the cheapest (often proprietary) hardware possible, all the way up to beautiful systems that are put together better than most people have time or patience to achieve at home.

Gaming PCs that indeed use custom parts that aren't easy to upgrade, cheap power supply units that have a higher chance of failure, and hectic cabling don't score nearly as high as those on the opposite end of the spectrum.

We also monitor the PC's airflow and cooling, which is an integral part of any desktop system. If a PC chokes itself with heat, it's not going to be able to deliver its hardware's full performance potential, thus not being worth the money.

How to choose the best PC for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020/2024) is an ambitious game, yet its system requirements aren't particularly demanding. That means it can run on a wide range of desktop PCs, including any options in this roundup.

But cooking up the best Microsoft Flight Simulator experience isn't solely about processing power. We also recommend finding room in the budget for extra gear, with accessories like yokes and joysticks adding that missing piece of the puzzle for virtual pilots.

Out of all the desktop PCs recently tested here at Windows Central, I'm placing the Maingear MG-1 at the top. It's competitively priced, starting at about $1,492, it has all the ports needed for a full setup with Flight Sim accessories, and it looks good no matter how you set it up.

If it's not quite what you have in mind, Lenovo's Legion Tower 7i (Gen 10) is the next best thing. It's a high-end PC with impressive performance hardware, all in a stylized case with RGB lighting. You can typically find high-performance models starting at about $3,499 at Lenovo.

iBuyPower's Slate 8 is another great custom PC with which I have personal experience. Models start at about $1,099, making it an excellent option for those who want to spend less.

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