New PC for Flight Simulator [FSX]

[Dene76]

Hi all,

Please comment on the below for a PC just for flight simming:


NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE



Processor (CPU)

Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache



Motherboard

ASUS® SABERTOOTH Z77: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s, THERMAL ARMOR



Memory (RAM)

16GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 4GB)



Graphics Card

2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready



2nd Graphics Card

NONE



3rd Graphics Card

NONE



Memory - 1st Hard Disk

2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE


CORSAIR 750W PRO SERIES™ HX750-80 PLUS® SILVER MODULAR (£114)



Processor Cooling

TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)

Thanks
Dene

 

[Wozza63]

For flight sims i recommend maybe going for a 6 core intel on the extreme section and maybe overclocked, then you can drop to the GTX670 and 8GB RAM, also upgrade to a caviar black HDD for better speeds

 

[Fear]

Can you post your budget and we can give you some suggestions, and just to add a little more from what Wozza suggested above you do not really need to push the CPU up to the 6 core as the quad core already has 8 threads that FSX will utilise but it only utilises 10 of the 12 threads on the 6 core versions so unless you have lot's of spare cash to add 1 in i would just stick with a quad core, but definately change the standard HDD to a caviar black and drop the ram to 8GB as you won't need 16GB unless doing lot's of HD video editing.

 

[Dene76]

Thanks.

My budget is up to £2000 but I could go a bit further.
I will only use it for Flight Sim and don't want to pay extra for things that won't be utilised.
Advice is much appreciated.

Cheers
Dene

 

[Fear]

Not sure if you need monitor/mouse/keyboard or speakers so there is plenty of room left in your budget if you do, anyway take a look at this spec below i kept the case you had chosen but upped the CPU to the K version while these are unlocked ready to be overclocked (you do not need to get it overclocked) i would not normally recommend spending the extra but as you are playing FSX the slightly higher standard clock speed will help as FSX is very CPU intensive, you could also drop back down to the 1333MHz samsung ram as you will notice no difference in speed but with the case you have it will look a bit nicer inside with having the side window, how much stuff do you have for your FSX as 2TB seems like a lot just for the one sim but i suppose depends how much extra scenery and add ons you have anyway if it's not too large you can consider either dropping the size of the drive down to save a bit of money or you could put an SSD in there to speed the loading up but the SSD's do come with a high price.

Case
NZXT PHANTOM 410 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
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
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] 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
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)
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: £1,411.00 including VAT and delivery.

 

[Dene76]

Thanks for the advice.
That looks good.

Would it be worth looking at something in the Extreme section and using a CPU from there?

 

[Fear]

I will try and run FSX over the weekend just to double check but i think that it would only make use of 10 of the 12 threads the 6 core CPU's have to offer and tbh the spec above also has the benefit of the motherboard, GPU and the CPU all being 3.0 compatible which is the latest faster tech so that is where i would put my money but like i said i will set FSX up over the weekend and let you know.

 

[Dene76]

Hi,

What is the significance of choosing the motherboard.
I'm liking the spec above but was wondering about the Sabertooth motherboard and what differences it would make.
Any impact here to the graphics card as well?

Cheers
Dene

 

[Fear]

Hi Dene76 sorry not got back to you been a little busy and not had chance to run FSX yet, with regards the motherboard i would save yourself the money as the main difference with the dearer boards are more features for overclocking and things like that also sometimes they extra ports but unless you are going to be overclocking or wanting the option of Sli (you can Sli on the board i selected but would lose a bit of performance with the second GPU as there is only 1 PCI3.0 slot) which i presume you won't be so it would be a waste of money getting any of the dearer motherboards.

 

[Dene76]

Thanks Fear,

I'm now looking at an overclocked rig, spec is below, comments appreciated:


Case

COOLERMASTER COSMOS 2 ULTRA TOWER


Overclocked CPU

Overclocked Intel® Six Core i7-3960X (3.3GHz @ max 4.8GHz)

Motherboard

ASUS® SABERTOOTH X79: SOCKET 2011, R.O.G



Memory (RAM)

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



Graphics Card

2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready



2nd Graphics Card

NONE



3rd Graphics Card

NONE



Memory - 1st Hard Disk

1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

Power Supply

CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£86)



Processor Cooling

TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)



Thermal Paste

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

 

[Fear]

Right i just been on FSX and i know it used to use either 10 or 12 threads but it was only using 6 tonight but it may be something to do with the extra scenery i installed as there is only that and updated GPU drivers that i have altered so i either way i would recommend sticking with the quad core i had on the spec i did, just to make you aware if you get the CPU OC'ed then you might get a performance boost but you also have the risk of the machine being unstable as there are no guarantees with OC's so personally i always advise against it, you would not need the 750W PSU either the 650W will be more than enough for your system the only reason worth getting a 750W is if you go for the modular one which does not have all the cables fixed and you will only have the cables required plugged into the PSU (this can help by not having to hide all the extra cables that are not being used and also they will not be disturbing airflow in the case), lastly the case you have chosen is an absolute beast and really not needed so you would be spending a lot of money there where you don't really need to.

 

[Dene76]

Thanks again Fear,

The only dilemma I have now is whether to get an OC'd or not.
Most flight sim forums nearly all have their machines OC'd and get great results, but obviously I wouldn't want to sacrifice that too much against an unstable machine.

Would the i7 3770k CPU at 3.5 ghz be better than the i7 3820 at 3.6 ghz?

 

[Fear]

Yeah as i have already said i would stay away from the OC it just depends what you want to do but the possible risk of having an unstable gaming system (don't get me wrong i am not saying it would be as many people have OC'ed systems) i would avoid especially when it is not needed.

I would also go with the i7 3770K, i think i might have said this already but just incase i didn't you are looking at getting a new 6XX series GPU so it makes sense to get a motherboard and CPU that also make use of the new 3.0 tech for faster speeds and better performance.