Mike,
And here I’m cringing over the thought of replacing a 9-year-old laptop that originally cost $1300 with $2800 on a desktop I’ll have to assemble myself.
I last built a custom system myself in high school, circa 1999. It’s the system I ran Fly! with the PMDG 757-200 when I originally joined on in the AWVA days. My last desktop was purchased about 15 years ago and was ordered to my specs. As you’ve said, a lot has changed and it’s becoming a massive learning curve.
This is what I’m currently playing with as a potential build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9QQ9jy