Flight simulator gaming pc - advice!!

[trebor737]

Hi all,

I am looking to upgrade from my rubbish typical over-priced pcw computer! I intend to use my pc mainly for flight simulator and having looked at the systems on pcs, i like the look of this one below:-

based on the fsx850, but with 8GB Kingston Hyperx 1866MHz RAM and Nvidia GTX 670 graphics card, two 500Gb SATA hard drives

Whats you thoughts on it and have you any tips or maybe changes i can make to it?

cheers

Rob

 

[keynes]

What is your budget? The fsx 850 has an i5-3570, flight simulators are CPU intensive and an overclocked i7-3770k will provide better performance. The GTX 670for 1 monitor is a good choice. You can have a look at the link below for more information:
http://jetlinesystems.com/performance.php
If you can afford the spec below I'd go with a pre-overclocked system from PCS. A caviar black hdd is faster than the standard hdd in the configurator.
Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE

Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-3770k Quad Core (3.50GHz @ max 4.60GHz)

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V: PCI-E 3.0 READY, WIFI, SLI, CROSSFIREX

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W PRO SERIES™ HX750-80 PLUS® SILVER MODULAR (£119)

Processor Cooling
SPIRE GEMINI REV.3-THERMAX HDT TWIN FAN CPU COOLER (£39)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days

Quantity
1

Price: £1,275.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-1155-overclocked/qKP8dcoL5N/

 

[trebor737]

cheers for your reply,

I have a max budget of £1100 really and that is pushing it abit, do you think its better reducing the graphics card for the i7?

 

[keynes]

cheers for your reply,

I have a max budget of £1100 really and that is pushing it abit, do you think its better reducing the graphics card for the i7?

Since most of the work is done by the CPU I'd stick with the i7. You could get the GTX 570 and downgrade the motherboard/PSU.
Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 MKII ADVANCED CASE

Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-3770k Quad Core (3.50GHz @ max 4.60GHz)

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)

Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)

Processor Cooling
SPIRE GEMINI REV.3-THERMAX HDT TWIN FAN CPU COOLER (£39)

Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)

Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days

Quantity
1

Price: £1,058.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-1155-overclocked/akEFu3NgTo/

 

[vanthus]

An i5 CPU will suffice for Flight simulator,downgrading the GPU would be a backward step in my opinion.

 

[trebor737]

Will performance on just the normal i5/7 be than different from the i5/7 overclocked? I think for the best fs computer is way belong my budget!!!

 

[keynes]

Will performance on just the normal i5/7 be than different from the i5/7 overclocked? I think for the best fs computer is way belong my budget!!!

My understanding from FSX is that most frame rates are generated from the CPU, if you refer to stock speed (no overclock) i5/i7 vs overclocked i5/i7 there should be a significant improvement in performance.

 

[trebor737]

I think you might be right, looking at the jetliner websites! What about the difference between the 670 graphics card and the 570? Is there a big difference? Sorry for all the questions!!

 

[keynes]

I think you might be right, looking at the jetliner websites! What about the difference between the 670 graphics card and the 570? Is there a big difference? Sorry for all the questions!!

Not sure, browsing through FSX forums I found some posts mentioning not a significant improvement in frame rates going from a GTX 570 to GTX 670 but since I am unable to find any benchmarks online on those 2 cards running FSX I can't be certain. If you are able to push your budget to £1132 and compromise on the 2nd hard drive you would be able to get a spec with the i7 + gtx 670.

 

[trebor737]

Wot do you think of the I5 overclocked instead of the I7?

 

[keynes]

Wot do you think of the I5 overclocked instead of the I7?

If you want to spend under £1100 and get the GTX 670 then go for it.

 

[vanthus]

Wot do you think of the I5 overclocked instead of the I7?

Any 4 core CPU with at least 3.0GHz will give you max performance with Flight simulator,
no need for overclocking either.I have an AMD PHENOM II X4 970 & which is not as good as an i5 according to all reports & have no problems running Flight simulator on max performance.

 

[trebor737]

Which one do you think?
Case
COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH (£39)
Quantity
1

Price: £1,069.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-ivy-bridge-pc/3zPxoWr4PX/

Or

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i5-3570k Quad Core (3.40GHz @ max 4.60GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
Processor Cooling
SPIRE GEMINI REV.3-THERMAX HDT TWIN FAN CPU COOLER (£39)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
FAST TRACK 5 WORKING DAY DISPATCH (£39)
Quantity
1

Price: £1,119.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-1155-overclocked/0TmJveJa27/

 

[vanthus]

I would go with the first build,might be worth considering homeplugs instead of the wireless card & don't forget silver warranty.

 

[keynes]

Which one do you think?

I'd go with the 2nd one, for whichever built you choose try to get at least silver warranty for £5.

 

[trebor737]

What are homeplugs?

 

[keynes]

What are homeplugs?

Homeplugs are a more reliable alternative to a wireless card. You need to connect them to an electric socket, one is connected close to your desktop and the other one close to your router. You connect your desktop/router to the homeplugs using an ethernet cable.

 

[Rakk]

They are used instead of using a wireless card, you plug one into a plug socket next to your router and then connect that to the router with an ethernet cable, and plug another into a plug socket beside your PC and plug it to your PC with anotehr ethernet cable and they use the wiring in your house as a network, works just like a wired network except you don't have wires trailing all round the house

For most people they are an improvement over wireless, definitely better stability, none of this 'where's my signal gone' problem

 

[trebor737]

Cool, will look into them. Cheers for the help.

I have been searching the net about overclocking, am abit worried about overheating? Is this a major issue or is the cooling on the system enough to handle it? Also because it's build overclocked rather than home done, is that better? But if something does go wrong will pcs fix it because it was overclocked by them?

 

[keynes]

Cool, will look into them. Cheers for the help.

I have been searching the net about overclocking, am abit worried about overheating? Is this a major issue or is the cooling on the system enough to handle it? Also because it's build overclocked rather than home done, is that better? But if something does go wrong will pcs fix it because it was overclocked by them?

The pre-overclocked system is tested by PCS to avoid any instability issues. The cpu cooler you chosen is fine and any issues with your system (including issues with your overclocked CPU) will be covered by your warranty.