NZFF

Hi guys i have just recently started to build a new Desktop and so far i have a Sapphire Ati 2gb 6570 hd and http://www.asus.co.nz/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A87TD_EVO/ most of this i had planned to get around to at some stage but became bumped up on to do list after my older desktop died and was deemed to costly to repair by my local pc repair shop due a failed mobo i hope have made a good chioce with motherboard and if anyone can offer any advice i would very greatfull as i know alot about computers in terms of what need it to do and how to build older mobos but have no idear when it comes the new board and all its features / gadgets what i hope to get from it is good all round gamming rig on a budget that can still cope with newer games and fsx

Hiya! I thought someone might have chimed in by now, but I'll give my ten cents worth!

My current FSPC platform is AMD/ATI based - and I'm constantly disappointed by its lack of performance. I don't want to start an AMD vs Intel fanboy war, but in my opinion, you just can't beat a good Intel/Nvidia system for FS.

Ever since the release of Sandy Bridge I've been researching a new build - but when I got wind of Ivy Bridge I decided to wait and see what that evolution had to offer. I have a work trip to Oz coming up, so I'll be taking advantage of the strong Kiwi dollar and no GST for the purchase from MSY!

Intel Core i7 3770 CPU
Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Motherboard
G.Skill 16GB 1600mHz DDR3 RAM Kit
Sandisk Extreme 120GB SSD
Existing case, PSU, GTX460 (Saving for a GTX670), HDD

Total build price? NZD$690!

You didn't say what your budget is so I'm guessing a modest system? Because FSX is CPU bound more than it is GPU, I'd say go for the fastest/best Phenom CPU you can afford - remember that SPEED as much as CORES count. Sadly you're going to have to search around for a suitable processor as the higher spec Phenoms are hard to come by now (Also why I decided to go Intel Core!). For a videocard - the GTX460 is a great card and there's lots floating around on TradeMe right now, otherwise I'd say a GTX560 or upwards. Match your RAM to the board speed and get at least 8GB (Or more!). DDR3 is cheap as chips nowadays! One thing alot of builders forget about is a powerful enough PSU. Look at this PSU calculator- but I'd suggest at least 550-600W for a modest system. 800+ if you're going to have lots of devices or cards attached.

Again - just my thoughts. Let us know how you get on. I'll post some pics and benchmarks of my build when I get the parts next month.

Cheers all,
Mat

Old days was the G/card and ram , today the processor .. $700 bucks is doing dang well , be interesting to see your response with a new G/card

Ian Warren wrote:

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Aug 10 2012,9:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Old days was the G/card and ram , today the processor .. $700 bucks is doing dang well , be interesting to see your response with a new G/card

Thanks Ian - the same kit would've cost me around $1400 if I bought the gear here in NZ! Sadly I couldn't slip the GTX670 past her-indoors so it stays on the wishlist! There's lots of positive reviews on Youtube with the 670 and FSX so I hope Santa will be kind to me!

thanks for for that as luck would have it i mangaged to find AMD Phenom II X4 840 @ 3.2 ghz to fit the board on trade me so far on just the parts i have spent $214 so i have a budget of about $300 iam unsure at the moment if it worth the extra cash to take the ram up to the 16 gb limit on board

dnkiwi wrote:

QUOTE (dnkiwi @ Aug 10 2012,9:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i have a budget of about $300 iam unsure at the moment if it worth the extra cash to take the ram up to the 16 gb limit on board

RAM is relatively cheap, and 16GB is a little excessive, so if your budget is that tight then you'll get away with 8GB of RAM without probs.
Good luck with the build, exciting times huh

I'm off to Melbourne in 2 weeks and have for a few weeks been looking at MSY. Been looking at the Asrock extreme9 or the gigabyte G1 Assassin2. Im stuck though - Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge? I need the system for FSX, need grunt for adobe CS6 and prefer a motherboard with Wifi, coaxial SPDIF connection and something with a decent integrated sound chip.

I'm ditching my Phenom 965BE and Gigabyte AM3 UD5 mobo - AMD just isnt cutting it - and keeping my EVGA GTX460, case, memory and PSU etc.

I would suggest getting the better Z77 mobo as there is a clever addon that will enable you to use your discreet graphics and your intel HD graphics similtaniously. I forget the name of the technology but have read amazing results with the new gen HD graphics on the ivybridge cpu's coupled with mid to high end nvidia cards.

Update..

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Soc.../P8Z77V_DELUXE/

Scroll down to "LucidLogix Virtu MVP" to read about this new technology.

Since I'd about limited out on my 775 socket board, I upgraded to a z77 and stuck the moderate 'ivybridge' i5 3570k on it. 4 sticks of DDR3 (8gb) and she's smooth as silk.

Olderndirt wrote:

QUOTE (Olderndirt @ Aug 17 2012,1:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Since I'd about limited out on my 775 socket board, I upgraded to a z77 and stuck the moderate 'ivybridge' i5 3570k on it. 4 sticks of DDR3 (8gb) and she's smooth as silk.

I'm envious. I upgraded a little early with a sandybridge 2500K, its no slouch but I'd love an Ivy bridge. mmmm. Would probably come with a divorce though.

AndrewJamez wrote:

QUOTE (AndrewJamez @ Aug 16 2012,8:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm envious. I upgraded a little early with a sandybridge 2500K, its no slouch but I'd love an Ivy bridge. mmmm. Would probably come with a divorce though.

From what I read the sandybridge is still king of the overclockers.

Interesting, worthy of consideration. I did read somewhere that the 1155 socket was dead (by Q3 this year) after Ivy Bridge - wonder if thats the case? Socket 2011 is around until Q4 2013.

One more question, i5 or i7? Whats the verdict for FSX?

raddragon wrote:

QUOTE (raddragon @ Aug 18 2012,8:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One more question, i5 or i7? Whats the verdict for FSX?

Hey Rad. If you play other recent games other than FSX, or maybe do heavy duty stuff like video editing, then yes you may get some benefit from an i7.
If this is predominantly a simming rig then stick with the i5/2500K, FSX will NOT take advantage of the extra threads in the i7

ps - have a good read thru the avsim h/w forums and FAQs before laying down any cash: http://forum.avsim.net/forum/326-mobo-ram-...other-hardware/

hi guys just a quick update on my pc build so far i have got the cpu and board and am still thinking about what kind of power supply i will need as my board requires 600 watts by default and as for the ram iam still looking for something that work well with the board

I have been buying computers for FS for years. Lost track of how many. My current rig is near perfect and though is is approaching it's first birthday I can't see how to improve it.
980x cpu.
ASUS P6x58d premiun M/B
2 gigabyte 480 cards in SLI
12 megs ram.
overclocked to 4.2
Run two 26" monitors. FSX on one and accessories on the other.
This runs FSX perfectly. No hesitations or stuttering.
I keep fps locked on 25 and it rarely drops below this.
I hate to say it, but the only way to improve performance is with a fist full of dollars.

Well, just purchased my parts today from MSY in North Melbourne. Got an i7 3770 and the Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe board. Saved approx 140 - 160 NZD by purchasing over here - you get a 10% refund under the Tourist Refund Scheme.
FSX really cheap over here - FSX deluxe is $22 ($44AUD for two copies at EB Games).

Cant wait to rebuild my PC with the new parts - super excited.

Finally got my rig built up (cost me an extra $400 for a new case Coolermaster HAF-XM and a 1TB WD Black). It is running pretty smooth - I have not tweaked it much (just the Jesus tweaks) and it's running a pretty solid 25 frames on ORBX NZNI and NZSI with VLC - it was struggling on the AS2012 clouds a little but I'm sure it just needs a setting tweak.

It does come down to what you spend:

I am now running:
Coolermaster HAF-XM Case $249
Coolermaster GX 750Watt PSU $170
i7 3770 CPU $400
Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe Mobo $405
8GB of Corsair Dominator Memory $440
EVGA GTX460 1GB Superclocked - $420
1TB Western Digital Black (SATA3) $159
23" Samsung BX2331 Monitor $330

Previous Rig Parts

Gigabyte UD5 Mobo $350
Phenom 965BE $400

Thanks for the update - 25fps sounds low though for such a high spec'd system?! As you say - more tweaking required! I'm building a very similar system (though with 16GB RAM and a GTX670) - I'll be disappointed if I get anything less than 40fps! I have to wait until the 19th before I collect my parts from MSY but I'll post my build results here too!

So no issues with the TRS? And I agree - I think it is definately worth the small hassle for the savings you make - NZD$265 in my case. And thats just using PriceSpy comparisons which doesn't take into account freight and credit card surcharges, so I suspect I'm probably saving more! Like you said - software is cheap too. I think I'll throw in an OEM copy of Windows 7 x64.....

Out of interest, what will you use your spares for? I'm turning mine into a media streaming HTPC

mfraser wrote:

QUOTE (mfraser @ Sep 8 2012,8:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the update - 25fps sounds low though for such a high spec'd system?! As you say - more tweaking required! I'm building a very similar system (though with 16GB RAM and a GTX670) - I'll be disappointed if I get anything less than 40fps! I have to wait until the 19th before I collect my parts from MSY but I'll post my build results here too!

So no issues with the TRS? And I agree - I think it is definately worth the small hassle for the savings you make - NZD$265 in my case. And thats just using PriceSpy comparisons which doesn't take into account freight and credit card surcharges, so I suspect I'm probably saving more! Like you said - software is cheap too. I think I'll throw in an OEM copy of Windows 7 x64.....

Out of interest, what will you use your spares for? I'm turning mine into a media streaming HTPC

What city are you going to in Oz?

I havent really had a chance to tweak it yet (got back from Melbourne early Wed am, spent Wed building/installing, Thursday/Friday at work and just back tonight from a weekend road trip!). I'm really not sure what to expect out of the rig (framerate wise), I know the video card is the weakpoint. I'd be happy with a solid 35. I'll let you know after I tweak it.

Absolutely no issues with TRS - counter was empty. As TRS is airside only, make sure you take your parts as carry on (place in a backpack - tell Air NZ or whoever that its fragile and cannot be checked) or you'll have to go into the arrivals area at the airport on departure and find someone in customs to verify the receipt, then check the stuff in, and finally then take the receipt to the TRS counter (you may not be able to do this though!). I did get quite a puzzled look at the customs guy in Melbourne - asked why I'd bother buying it in Oz. One thing to remember though - you only have $700 duty free, mine totaled $659 cough cough...I did buy some high end parts though! I worked it out, once I thrown in the AUS GST refund, I've saved $220 by buying in Oz.

It seems like a waste for a Phenom 965 as a home server, but I think I might. I doubt there would be any interest in the motherboard and CPU.

Hi guys so far my build is starting to look good i have now been able to source 90% of the parts i need and am now left the with power supply to get . i chose to upgrade the build with the addition of a 1 terrabyte sata 3 haddrive that has native support for sata 6 gig i am hoping that this will help in its own way givin that the board has sata 3 with 6 gig support which until now i never knew about . the ram i have choosen is kingston hyper x ddr3 8 gig kit thankfully i was able to locate these on trade me unopened and with full warranty for $72 i keep you updated with my progress. if anyone has any advice on the power supply i would be gratefull as i plan to add a second graphics card at a later stage but am confused which the differnt options of power supplys that are out there