Davidflies
welcome to PPrune.
A great deal of advice offered I agree with, some not. I can only offer my experience from what I have done so far.
You may note my age so you can see I am no youth. Nor am I a wannabe, my involvement with aircraft has been as a fitter on Nimrods after my RAF apprenticeship at RAF Halton and came to sims several years ago when the plan was to go for PPL. Medical problems put an end to that, hopefully not for ever.
My computer is a E6300 dual core with X1950 graphics which runs FSX ok and gives passable frame rates so do not consider anything more to be required. This can be picked up at very small price these days.
I remember advice from years ago when PCs were not ubiquitous which was - first decide what you want or NEED to do, choose the package then get computer to run it. This still holds true.
In software, you have quite a choice and it may depend on how far you have progressed so far - if you have not been in cockpit yet take a trial lesson or so before committing anything. If beyond that go for FSX to do basic instrument stuff, no experience of others.
If you are further progressed ie doing PPL, you need to think more of hardware and getting something more than a joystick. So far I have only used my cyborg eveo joystick so bow to the experience of others. I would consider rudder pedals essential (Saitek seem value) and anything else superfluous but saitek's quadrant could be useful to configure as trim control.
After PPL you may be thinking of twins so quadrant(s) needed and yoke.
from then on hopefully you will have no time for sim and too busy flying.
To others who may be reading this with a look down their nose to simmers, some of us do it as no longer able to pursue our dream due to other factors, in my case medical. I would not dare dispute any matter of flying with you but will not be told to keep my opinions on other matters such as airline industrial industrial relations to myself as I am a 'mere' simmer. Possibly one final piece of advice to Davidflies, do not turn into such a conceited as a bar steward such as that.