In my period quest for Aces High bang for the buck, I just built the following for $640 (no monitor).
i3-12100f cpu, $93
gigabyte h610m motherboard, $90
thermaltake 700w psu, $50
16gb ddr4-3200, 8gbx2, $40
1tb wd nvme, $50
thermaltake s200 case, $90
logitech kb and mouse, $17
rx 6600 gpu, $210
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total = $640
I tested it with all settings and sliders maxxed out (turning on reflections, shadows, pilot mesh, etc.; environment map slider maxxed; all ranges maxxed).
I had a GTX 1060 gpu installed when I tested it, instead of the RX 6600. The RX 6600 is 1.5x to 2x faster than the GTX 1060. I still got 60 fps with everything maxxed out using the GTX 1060 -- except when I flew low over the town, in which case I got 40-50 fps. I think the RX 6600 would get me back to 60 fps there.
I don't like reflections and shadows, so even with higher-end hardware, I turn off reflections, shadows, pilot mesh, and environment map slider. The above is just to test performance of the setup.