My Possible New FSX Rig!

[Jayden]

Hi Guys, I have been searching around for a computer that will run FSX with no issues and good performance. I have found a decent one at Dragon PC, take a look at the specs and see what you think!

Processor: Core i7 3770K 3.5 GHz

Cores: 4

Graphics: Gigabyte GV-N66TOC-2GD Overclocked Geforce GTX 660 Ti 2GB

Memory: 2x 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 Non-ECC DIMM

Hard Drive: 1 TB

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H Intel Z77 mATX Ivy Bridge Socket 1155 4xDDR3-1600 PCI-E3.0 RAID CrossFireX USB3.0 SATA3 Onboard VGA DVI HDMI

Power Supply: 500W

Price: $1,800

[Nzeddy]

Sounds good!

[Dontcopy]

QUOTE (Jayden @ Jan 17 2013,9:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Guys, I have been searching around for a computer that will run FSX with no issues and good performance. I have found a decent one at Dragon PC, take a look at the specs and see what you think!

Processor: Core i7 3770K 3.5 GHz

Cores: 4

Graphics: Gigabyte GV-N66TOC-2GD Overclocked Geforce GTX 660 Ti 2GB

Memory: 2x 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 Non-ECC DIMM

Hard Drive: 1 TB

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H Intel Z77 mATX Ivy Bridge Socket 1155 4xDDR3-1600 PCI-E3.0 RAID CrossFireX USB3.0 SATA3 Onboard VGA DVI HDMI

Power Supply: 500W

Price: $1,800

Usually if you get those kind of specs at that price, somewhere they have cheaped out. A couple of things, the 500W PSU doesn't have a brand (That I can see anyway) it also won't allow significant for expansion or upgrades. Also the RAM doesn't specify a brand, which would be important if you ever decided to overclock.
The CPU, Motherboard and Graphics cards are fine, I just wouldn't trust the rest

Have you looked at this?
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/systems/sy...amp;systypeid=4

It has an i5 3570k, (You don't need an i7 for FSX) also has good quality parts (Better than the one you stated) and an SSD! and is overclock ready.

[deeknow]

Overall specs look good, as DC says an i7 may not give you much of an advantage but hey it's not costing much more and is bundled with the deal
I too would be looking at that PSU and maybe see if you can get a brandname PSU (update: sorry, said CPU here originally) of higher wattage, matbe 650-700W?
I'd also think about a second drive, put FSX on one, OS on the other, drives are pretty cheap.

[Jayden]

Thanks guys for your opinions on that it helps a lot, especially when I am spending this must money on a new PC.
The Computer in the link looks good and will have a think.
Thanks

[Yob]

Or you could do the old trick and buy the parts and make your own pc

[Olderndirt]

With the onboard overclocking of my ASUS P8/Z77-V, my i5-3570k is clocking 4.2mhz. Get a roomy case with lots of fans and as much name brand PSU wattage as you can afford. Build your own - read the instructions, it's really simple.

[Jayden]

If I were to build one myself will it cost me much more $$$ ? I don't want to go much over 1,800 + the case

[IslandBoy77]

Building your own will save you dollars - but you need to know what you are doing. If you've never built a PC before, you either need to do one of those free online tutorials, or get a friend whose done at least 2 full system builds to help. And don't forget, you MUST use anti-static wrist straps, and double-check that everything is "seated" and firmly connected properly before you switch the power on first time. Plenty of people "come a cropper" thinking they can save money by building their own. But it's not just a matter of slapping a few bits together. You'll also need to make sure, once Windows is installed, that you've got the latest and / or best drivers for all the hardware, and that you've configured Windows properly (indexing off, virt mem to same size for max / min, hibernation off). In fact, now that I think about it, the list to "properly" build & setup a new PC is quite long: taken me 10 years to perfect a system build, and I still find ways to do it better, more efficiently or get surprised by something I hadn't anticipated.

In terms of the parts, there are quite a few threads that talk about system builds here on NZFF, but the take-aways are:
- Use quality parts. That includes RAM & PSU. Don't scrimp for the sake of $20 or $30.
- The PSU must have at least 2 x 12v rails, and be able to put out 550W TRUE (not max), preferably 600W. The brand is important. A sign of a good brand is warranty. Cheapos have 12 months, good ones 2-3 years (or more).
- Hard drives and SSDs are very much a personal preference. I prefer Western Digital over Seagate (warranty & support is much better, historical build quality has been better), and have a slight preference for Kingston for SSDs. Again, warranty is important, but also seriously consider the specs. HDDs need to be at least SATA3, 64MB cache, 7200rpm. SSDs need to have the highest throughput, sustained transfer rate and burst rate that you can afford. Do your homework on these: an SSD will be a big difference, but a cheap / poor-spec one will end up being almost as much of a hindrance as a help
- Overall, think about warranty. Are the people you are buying from long-termers, or have they only been around for a year or so? Will they give you only a 1 year warranty on the system as a whole, or will they let you have access to the actual warranty periods of the individual components? For example: CPUs & RAM usually have 5 years, motherboard & video cards usually 3 years, hard drives either 2 or 3, PSU anywhere from 1 to 5 years. When I do a system build for my customers, I offer a 1 year RTB warranty on the system as a whole, but then give my clients access to the "extended" part warranties as well.
- If you can get access to the component warranties in addition to the main system build warranty, check what is involved in claiming on warranty, including things like asking "How long is a lifetime warranty" for any parts that carry this (usually only RAM). A few companies (Corsair being the most notable), mean YOUR lifetime when they use that term. MOST companies mean the expected life of the product, which will vary from 5 years (common) through to 20 years, with a number settling around the 10 year mark.

The better you do your homework and learn what needs to be learned, the happier you will be after the PC is complete.

[deeknow]

As the others say yeah its a great exercise to build your own, but I'd also exercise a little caution if you havent done one before, find someone to supervise
Oh, and don't drink more than one beer before the build ..

[Jayden]

If I build, I will most defiantly get the best components I can find within my price range, no doubt about it. Thanks Guys

Oh, and by the way how will FSX run on windows 8? I have been meaning to ask this question for a while.
Thanks!

[Jayden]

QUOTE (Dontcopy @ Jan 17 2013,10:39 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Usually if you get those kind of specs at that price, somewhere they have cheaped out. A couple of things, the 500W PSU doesn't have a brand (That I can see anyway) it also won't allow significant for expansion or upgrades. Also the RAM doesn't specify a brand, which would be important if you ever decided to overclock.
The CPU, Motherboard and Graphics cards are fine, I just wouldn't trust the rest

Have you looked at this?
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/systems/sy...amp;systypeid=4

It has an i5 3570k, (You don't need an i7 for FSX) also has good quality parts (Better than the one you stated) and an SSD! and is overclock ready.

Thanks man!
This is PERFECT for me! and I am glad that the processor is unlocked and overclock ready, because I will be overclocking

[scaber]

QUOTE

Thanks man!
This is PERFECT for me! and I am glad that the processor is unlocked and overclock ready, because I will be overclocking[/quote]

That's alright mate, just a note on that. You realise its running Windows 8? Of course you could change it if you wanted.

[IslandBoy77]

That's an interesting note: has anyone tried FSX on W8 yet? I got my first hands-on with W8 this week. I'm not fussed at all. I will probably eventually end up on 8 one day (unless 9 comes out first...), but I agree with a number of people that it feels a lot like a solution hunting for a problem. I know, I know - Microsoft needs to get a unified OS that will work across all the different computing devices: I get that. And while W8 probably will be pretty good on phones & tablets, it doesn't at all look like an OS I will enjoy on the desktop. Funny: my wife looked over my shoulder while I was trying to figure out how W8 works, and she made a comment that the metro interface (or whatever we're supposed to call it...) look like a kiddies Fisher Price deal. My thoughts exactly. I was pleased with the startup / shutdown speed of the relatively old laptop I was playing with that had 8 on it, but I wonder how it will all play out once one has an AV and all the other countless "bits" of software that one accrues for various things?

Anyone else?

[scaber]

QUOTE (Jayden @ Jan 17 2013,5:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks man!
This is PERFECT for me! and I am glad that the processor is unlocked and overclock ready, because I will be overclocking

I notice that it's specs only mention the SSD so if you require it for more than FSX you will almost cerainly need to add a standard hard disk to that machine.

[freaknout]

QUOTE (IslandBoy77 @ Jan 17 2013,9:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's an interesting note: has anyone tried FSX on W8 yet? I got my first hands-on with W8 this week. I'm not fussed at all. I will probably eventually end up on 8 one day (unless 9 comes out first...), but I agree with a number of people that it feels a lot like a solution hunting for a problem. I know, I know - Microsoft needs to get a unified OS that will work across all the different computing devices: I get that. And while W8 probably will be pretty good on phones & tablets, it doesn't at all look like an OS I will enjoy on the desktop. Funny: my wife looked over my shoulder while I was trying to figure out how W8 works, and she made a comment that the metro interface (or whatever we're supposed to call it...) look like a kiddies Fisher Price deal. My thoughts exactly. I was pleased with the startup / shutdown speed of the relatively old laptop I was playing with that had 8 on it, but I wonder how it will all play out once one has an AV and all the other countless "bits" of software that one accrues for various things?

Anyone else?

Slightly off topic but someone else raised it

Windows, and operating systems in general, are going through this transitional phase from geek toy (computers) to consumer appliance. We have Apple to blame for this as they are really the company that took pretty complicated technical devices and made them work for everyday people. I think we'll "see" the worst of both worlds for a while until the software becomes smart enough to work out what hardware is in use and the users preferences. My guess is that then it will just "hide" what doesn't make sense to the user and you'll have a more seamless experience.

Jay