Your opinion needed please

[NZ255]

Hi, been noticing with every new add on (I cant help myself ) the frame rates get lower and lower. Cant help think about what a new system would be like. Anyway I've been browsing the tech forum here but I want a updated opinion about what is needed to make a good system. Obviously I don't want to spend a lot of money, and want to use as many parts from me old comp too.
Here's my current specs (Don't laugh)

P4 2.8 GHz
1.25 GB Ram DDR
IDE 40 GB HD - Win XP
Sata 160 GB HD - flightsim/other
PCI 256mb FX5200

Not to sure about the other stuff without opening her up but probably not worth mentioning.
Need a new mobo, hasn't got PCIe or AGP so need that, but yeah, I don't have a job yet, want to get into flying for real, so I need all the money I can save, also need to be able to convince little bro to go half's even though his time on the computer is minimal, but with the upgrade maybe he will be able to buy his kind of games.

At the mo just FS9, but i guess FSX is the future, so keep that in mind, also not looking at Vista at all.

Thanks a lot

Nick

[NZ255]

Sorry to be a pain but...anyone?

[s0cks]

Well in my opinion I wouldn't even start learning to fly. With the massive increase in crude oil and petrol prices (only set to go up and up) it will become a very expensive hobby, very quickly. I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of smaller airlines going out of business over the next few years. But that is another story completely.

Anyway, onto your computer. I have FS9 with heaps of addons and it almost always runs at 29fps locked. My computer is:

Q6600 Quad Core 2.4GHz
4GB RAM DDR2-800
8800GT 512MB nVidia
3 SATA drives

That's probably what you should aim for. FSX runs ok on my system. I'm a bit miffed at how slow it is, but I guess it was to be expected. I average around 15-25fps with most settings at the high end, but you need to do a cr@p load of tweaking before you can get it to something desirable. For example, if I didn't care about autgoen I'd be flying along, but I want it, so I have to make other sacrafices.

If thats a little over budget I would at least try and get a good Core 2 Duo. In my opinion CPU's are a bargain at the moment for the mid-range user. The "extreme" CPU's cost a bomb, but some of the mid-range like the Quad Q6600 are a bargain for the performance they pump out. You won't see any benefit from extra cores on FS9, but it will come in handy on FSX and most new games. It also speeds up video encoding and related stuffs. RAM is your friend so buy as much as you can (also the faster the better DDR2-800 over DDR2-667 for example). Remember that a 32-bit OS can only handle 4GB MAX. I would buy another SATA disk. Use your 160GB for Windows and get a 250GB or larger for FS and other stuff. They are dirt cheap. Try and get one with 16mb cache. Graphics card wise, you will want to get the 8800GT 512MB or the 8800GTS 640MB. But if you do get the 8800GTS make sure you get the NEW one with the "G92" core. The old version is not as fast by a long shot.

That's about it. My minimum reccomendation would be:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz
2GB DDR2-800 (RAM is so cheap now, its not even funny, I would try and get 4GB if possible)
GeForce 8800GT 512MB
Western Digital 7200RPM 16Mb Cache (size up to you)

Please please put as much money into the CPU as you can. MSFS has, and always will be very CPU dependant. MSFS also loves RAM. Its so cheap I might even upgrade to 8GB! Damn only $50 for 2GB!

Hope this helps some.

Forgot to add. The motherboard! Your best bang for buck is probably anything with a P35 chipset (motherboards are usually named after the chipset, for example: Asustek P5K-SE Intel P35 ATX). But please try and find some online reviews of any motherboard you consider purchasing. There a lot of cr@p ones. I would try and stick with Asus/Asustek or Gigabyte.

[NZ255]

OK, thanks for this info, having a browse on Ascent, and even though I'm good with computers, its abit hard trying to find everything and matching the parts so it will work. How much did your omp cost BTW if you don't mind me asking?

Oh well I guess I could join the RNZAF.

Nick

[s0cks]

Hmm, I think it was around $2000. A little bit more perhaps. But I bought the shebang. Everything for a computer bar the monitor and case, so I got Vista, DVD RW, hdd, fans, etc... Plus the 8800GT was brand new and got almost $200 more than now :/

[NZ255]

Quick question, the 8800GTS's say 512mb DDR3. Does that mean I have to have DDR3 ports in my motherboard? Don't think it does but could be wrong?

[s0cks]

QUOTE (NZ255 @ Mar 16 2008, 03:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Quick question, the 8800GTS's say 512mb DDR3. Does that mean I have to have DDR3 ports in my motherboard? Don't think it does but could be wrong?

You can't get a 8800GTS 512mb? Do you mean the 8800GT? Anyway, that just means the graphics card uses its own DDR3 memory. Nothing to do with motherboard. By the way, you will also want to invest in a power supply. Something around 500w should do it, but make it a decent brand like Enermax, Zalman, Thermaltake, etc...

[brownbox]

Check out the price on
www.pricespy.co.nz

For $1251, you will get the following
Core 2 Duo Q6600
4GB DDR2 800
700W Enermax Liberty PSU
Geforce 8800GT
Asus P5N-E SLI
500GB SATA2 HDD

You may need a case depending on your current one.

This is a very nice gaming pc

Depending on whether or not you feel comfortable putting it together or not, another 100-150$ will be needed for a computer shop to do it. Nothing major though

[creator2003]

QUOTE

Does that mean I have to have DDR3 ports in my motherboard[/quote]
Like what they have said above ,though to kinda answer the question you mite be asking about your motherboard ,you will need a PCI express slot on your motherboard ,there are lots of good brands out there ,but i would look at ASUS brand for parts "opinion"
as for cards i have a 8600gts 256mb ddr3 and it runs X just fine ,yes they are cheaper too, but in saying that i would of like the 8800 range if i had more money at the time i got the 8600gts
hope this helps
mike

[NZ255]

QUOTE (s0cks @ Mar 16 2008, 06:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can't get a 8800GTS 512mb? Do you mean the 8800GT?

Um, no http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecificati...x?ItemID=361461

[s0cks]

Well, you learn something new everyday. Thats a good card.

[HardCorePawn]

the 'new' GTS's can be identified by having either 512 or 1024megs of ram... as the G92 has a 256bit bus... as opposed to the old (G80?) ones that had a 320bit bus so it came with 320megs or 640megs ram...

[NZ255]

OK, finally convinced brother that 360's and PS3's are old hat and that PC's are the way to go.....and he's converted!!

SO here's the specs and please coment and add your opinion, but I dont want to spend to much more!!

Asus Mobo $210
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecificati...x?ItemID=360517

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz $285
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecificati...x?ItemID=356471

Asus GeForce 8800 GTS 512mb $560 or $400 on Trademe
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecificati...x?ItemID=361461

1x2GB, DDR2 RAM $75
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecificati...x?ItemID=360043

600W PSU $127
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecificati...x?ItemID=361371

Total $1097 with GFX card on Trademe or $1257
Please coment and add your opinion, but I dont want to spend to much more!!

Thanks,

Nick

[HardCorePawn]

I'd be tempted to spend a few more dollars and get something like Corsair, Crucial or G.Skill RAM....

something like this stuff...

it has better timings (CL4) and is a matched pair so'll you be able to use dual channel interleaved mode (should give a slight performance increase)

You may also want to consider stepping up to the 1066MHz RAM, as the mobo will support it... Other than that, it looks like a relatively decent setup... that GTS should make it really hum!

[brownbox]

I really dont get everyones fascination with ascent. They seem to always be $20 more expensive than everyone else, and I always seem to have trouble getting them on the phone during business hours....
Also, dont I repeat DO NOT get anything that is a no name brand. Always stick with quality. You wont regret it, especially in the long run. it actually lasts

[NZ255]

QUOTE (HardCorePawn @ Mar 18 2008, 09:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd be tempted to spend a few more dollars and get something like Corsair, Crucial or G.Skill RAM....

something like this stuff...

it has better timings (CL4) and is a matched pair so'll you be able to use dual channel interleaved mode (should give a slight performance increase)

You may also want to consider stepping up to the 1066MHz RAM, as the mobo will support it... Other than that, it looks like a relatively decent setup... that GTS should make it really hum!

OK how about this? What about the bandwidth PC2-8500? Will that affect anything or that that kind of like speed?

[s0cks]

I'm not very keen on that CPU. Why not try for a:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz CPU or
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz CPU

They'll blow the E6550 away. Remember that FSX is a single CPU game essentially (scenery is loaded with other cores but thats about it). You need speeeeeed! Unless you really only want it for FS9.

[NZ255]

QUOTE (s0cks @ Mar 18 2008, 09:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not very keen on that CPU. Why not try for a:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz CPU or
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz CPU

They'll blow the E6550 away. Remember that FSX is a single CPU game essentially (scenery is loaded with other cores but thats about it). You need speeeeeed! Unless you really only want it for FS9.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz CPU maybe, but at least getting Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.66 this

Also brother wants to know will this setup match or be similar to a PS3 (Apart from blue ray and stuff)? We plan to buy a PS3 controller and use it to play on the comp to, apparatly you can do this, but what about the wireless?

Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.66
Asus P5KR Motherboard
Corsair Dominator, TWIN2X2048-8500C5D, 2x1GB, DDR2, DIMM, DDR21066 (Maybe, HCP?)
Asus GeForce 8800GTS, 512MB,
650W ATX PSU
Asus DRW-2014L1T DVD Writer

Thanks,

Nick.
Sorry if I mis-scelled ne ting

[HardCorePawn]

Yeah... well your board supports DDR2-1066MHz RAM, which in theory should be faster than DDR2-800... but I'm not really sure what the real world performance gains are... you might want to check out Tom's Hardware and do some research on that... they should have some benchmarking results...

Corsair is a well respected branded... so I doubt you will have too many issues...

And brownbox is right about Ascent, they tend to be a bit more expensive than others, but have a fairly solid reputation.

[NZ255]

QUOTE (HardCorePawn @ Mar 19 2008, 09:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And brownbox is right about Ascent, they tend to be a bit more expensive than others, but have a fairly solid reputation.

Yeah I know about that, I'm getting stuff mostly from PC online and ascent, checked prices on pricespy and if i buy all the parts from the cheapest store i'll save about $150 compared with just buying from ascent. I just use ascent to find and compare stuff and sometimes buy stuff. Also ascent give you a saving when you pay direct criedet and has free shipping, so some things balance out in the end.

Nick