New system advice on parts please.

Alcpone · Jan 29, 2013, 01:27 AM

Hi all, back on TPU for some much needed advice which is needed badly please. Basically I need advice on building a system from scratch, everything needed barring the OS. Would mainly basically use it for FSX as thats my passion, maybe future proof within budget. Looking to try and keep it within 1k, probably not possible? Would want it to run it flawlessly with all the addons I have taking extra oomph. If any FSX gurus are about that would be even better. So answers on a postcard :-)

PS I need a monitor also.

Thanks

SirKeldon · Jan 29, 2013, 01:32 AM

Didn't see that you finally moved the thread, so forget my question there, i'm gonna redo it here.

Are you planning to keep using MacOS (as your current iMac) in any way besides that Windows for FSX?

BarbaricSoul · Jan 29, 2013, 01:56 AM

So all your worried about is being able to max out FSX? And you need a monitor? FSX isn't very demanding hardware wise. This will max out FSX with room to spare-

AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz Socket AM3+ 14MB Cache Retail B...

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-D3 Socket AM3+ 7.1 Channel HD A...

Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Ballistix Tactica...

Sapphire HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Dual Mini.. | ...

Xfx Proseries 550w Power Supply Unit (core Edition...

Seagate 1TB Barracuda Internal Hard Drive

Antec All Black 302 Three Hundred Two Case | Ebuye...

HANNS-G HL272HPB LED TFT 27" HDMI Monitor | Ebuyer...

Cart total inc vat:

£768.46

McSteel · Jan 29, 2013, 02:25 AM

Here's a rough ballpark estimate.

You could go cheaper by going for a smaller/cheaper SSD or omitting it completely. However, load times will decrease significantly for a game such as FSX should you opt to keep it. Perhaps you don't need a terabyte of "traditional" HDD storage... Maybe you have an external HDD or something similar - in which case chuck the extra HDD out for some penny-pinching.

FSX is really CPU intensive, especially when you dial "traffic" up to high (or beyond, with addons), thus i5 3570K. You could very well do with a cheaper variant, or perhaps an AMD system, so there's that opportunity to save a few pounds.

GPU requirements are below what I suggest, but for maximum eyecandy, you probably don't want to go much lower (opting for, say, an HD7850 or a GTX660/650Ti). Chance to save some more money.

I'd say the motherboard is spot-on, since it gives the most for money spent. You could potentially pinch up to 20GBP there, but I'd recommend against it. A dedicated CPU heatsink is always welcome to keep noise and temps down. CM 212EVO is a classic, and does well for how cheap it is. I'd leave it, but it's not mandatory.

Case is a matter of taste, so I just suggested the one I like the most. Feel free to go cheaper, down to say Xigmatek Midgard or Antec 902 or Bitfenix Merc Alpha/Beta or something along those lines.

As for the monitor, the U2312HM is blazing-fast (for an IPS), has wide viewing angles, nice colors, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Perhaps you'd like a greater diagonal/resolution, but I believe 1080p is sufficient for now. You can always add some more to get a multi-display enjoyment, FSX sure knows how to make the best of it.

The PSU is a bit overkill as far as power requirements are concerned, but you can't go much lower in price without getting lesser quality, and much less power. You could go for a similarly priced Seasonic G 550 to gain a bit more efficiency, if you wanted.

Well, that's all from me, for now. Good luck with your build, and take your time choosing your components!

Alcpone · Jan 29, 2013, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirKeldon

Didn't see that you finally moved the thread, so forget my question there, i'm gonna redo it here.

Are you planning to keep using MacOS (as your current iMac) in any way besides that Windows for FSX?

The Mac is staying as is for the wife, I have a copy of win 7 so that will be going on the new system :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbaricSoul

So all your worried about is being able to max out FSX? And you need a monitor? FSX isn't very demanding hardware wise. This will max out FSX with room to spare-

AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz Socket AM3+ 14MB Cache Retail B...

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-D3 Socket AM3+ 7.1 Channel HD A...

Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Ballistix Tactica...

Sapphire HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Dual Mini.. | ...

Xfx Proseries 550w Power Supply Unit (core Edition...

Seagate 1TB Barracuda Internal Hard Drive

Antec All Black 302 Three Hundred Two Case | Ebuye...

HANNS-G HL272HPB LED TFT 27" HDMI Monitor | Ebuyer...

Cart total inc vat:

£768.46

That's a good price, I was expecting much more, I never thought about a AMD system as never had one. Will it clock well, not to the edge of it's life but something for me to fiddle with :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by McSteel

Here's a rough ballpark estimate.

You could go cheaper by going for a smaller/cheaper SSD or omitting it completely. However, load times will decrease significantly for a game such as FSX should you opt to keep it. Perhaps you don't need a terabyte of "traditional" HDD storage... Maybe you have an external HDD or something similar - in which case chuck the extra HDD out for some penny-pinching.

FSX is really CPU intensive, especially when you dial "traffic" up to high (or beyond, with addons), thus i5 3570K. You could very well do with a cheaper variant, or perhaps an AMD system, so there's that opportunity to save a few pounds.

GPU requirements are below what I suggest, but for maximum eyecandy, you probably don't want to go much lower (opting for, say, an HD7850 or a GTX660/650Ti). Chance to save some more money.

I'd say the motherboard is spot-on, since it gives the most for money spent. You could potentially pinch up to 20GBP there, but I'd recommend against it. A dedicated CPU heatsink is always welcome to keep noise and temps down. CM 212EVO is a classic, and does well for how cheap it is. I'd leave it, but it's not mandatory.

Case is a matter of taste, so I just suggested the one I like the most. Feel free to go cheaper, down to say Xigmatek Midgard or Antec 902 or Bitfenix Merc Alpha/Beta or something along those lines.

As for the monitor, the U2312HM is blazing-fast (for an IPS), has wide viewing angles, nice colors, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Perhaps you'd like a greater diagonal/resolution, but I believe 1080p is sufficient for now. You can always add some more to get a multi-display enjoyment, FSX sure knows how to make the best of it.

The PSU is a bit overkill as far as power requirements are concerned, but you can't go much lower in price without getting lesser quality, and much less power. You could go for a similarly priced Seasonic G 550 to gain a bit more efficiency, if you wanted.

Well, that's all from me, for now. Good luck with your build, and take your time choosing your components!

Thanks for the indepth description. I would quite like a SSD so will definitely consider that, I have a few old skool HDD that are still chugging along for storage, 1 is 10 years old and is still kicking into life every time I stick it in my enclosure, it will probs die now haha. Does that i5 clock nicely? Again not to the edge of its life but a good bit more than stock. A nice nvidia will do nicely as I know they are a bit better for FSX. I will have a good look through what you suggest and thank you all, muchly appreciate the help :-)

Altered · Jan 29, 2013, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcpone

That's a good price, I was expecting much more, I never thought about a AMD system as never had one. Will it clock well, not to the edge of it's life but something for me to fiddle with

From what I have read Vishera processors do quite well. I have just ordered a 8320 myself based off the reading and from what I read a frequency of 4.5 to 4.7 has been pretty common. Here is a good thread to read up on as well. http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=153443

BarbaricSoul · Jan 29, 2013, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcpone

That's a good price, I was expecting much more, I never thought about a AMD system as never had one. Will it clock well, not to the edge of it's life but something for me to fiddle with :-)

Thanks for the indepth description. I would quite like a SSD so will definitely consider that, I have a few old skool HDD that are still chugging along for storage, 1 is 10 years old and is still kicking into life every time I stick it in my enclosure, it will probs die now haha. Does that i5 clock nicely? Again not to the edge of its life but a good bit more than stock. A nice nvidia will do nicely as I know they are a bit better for FSX. I will have a good look through what you suggest and thank you all, muchly appreciate the help :-)

AMD newest CPUs are very good performers. Not quite equal to Intel, but not far off either. Definently worth considering. Add a SSD to the build and it'll be one sweet gaming rig. Also cosider that my build has a 27" monitor as compared to McSteel's build with a 24" monitor. Personally, between the two builds, I'd go with the AMD build with the 27" monitor. I built a system for my newphew using the FX6100, and during the 3 days I had it running before turning it over to my nephew, it impressed me. In everyday use, and some gaming, I couldn't tell a difference between it and my 2600k system.

Oh, and about your comment about AMD/Nvidia video cards. The 7950 is an excellent performing video card capable of equaling any Nvidia card save maybe the GTX680. And even then, with a good OC'ing 7950, it is possible to match a stock GTX680.

RCoon · Jan 29, 2013, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbaricSoul

AMD newest CPUs are very good performers. Not quite equal to Intel, but not far off either. Definently worth considering. Add a SSD to the build and it'll be one sweet gaming rig. Also cosider that my build has a 27" monitor as compared to McSteel's build with a 24" monitor. Personally, between the two builds, I'd go with the AMD build with the 27" monitor. I built a system for my newphew using the FX6100, and during the 3 days I had it running before turning it over to my nephew, it impressed me. In everyday use, and some gaming, I couldn't tell a difference between it and my 2600k system.

Oh, and about your comment about AMD/Nvidia video cards. The 7950 is an excellent performing video card capable of equaling any Nvidia card save maybe the GTX680. And even then, with a good OC'ing 7950, it is possible to match a stock GTX680.

This. Everything this.
See my system specs for the speed of AMD chips and gpus, they clock to kingdom come, and without crossfire you can hit a 7950 on the head at 1.3ghz core. Max FPS of something stupid like 212... probably on Sleeping Dogs though.

Alcpone · Feb 3, 2013, 03:49 AM

If I was to run the OS on a run of the mill 1Tb SATA HDD and FSX off a 256Gb SSD would that work out ok or would I have problems and if I was to go the AMD route would a AMD/ATi GFX card be a better performer than nVidia? Probably a stupid question but I am very much out of the loop when it comes to hardware.

Cheers

Cotton_Cup · Feb 3, 2013, 05:58 AM

side note: just curious what is FSX?

n0tiert · Feb 3, 2013, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcpone

If I was to run the OS on a run of the mill 1Tb SATA HDD and FSX off a 256Gb SSD would that work out ok or would I have problems and if I was to go the AMD route would a AMD/ATi GFX card be a better performer than nVidia? Probably a stupid question but I am very much out of the loop when it comes to hardware.

Cheers

depends on how much u wanna spend ,

a nice AMD setup could look like :

(newegg)

well u could save a few bucks on different hardware pieces....... but if u want 3 years+ of fun that´s a setup i would recommended.......
my old rig is build 2008 and i still run latest games in good modes, without being updated with Hardware

close to your 1k budget:

drdeathx · Feb 3, 2013, 07:00 AM

What's the budget?

Jetster · Feb 3, 2013, 08:09 AM

FSX is MS Flight Sim. And no put your OS and FSX on the SSD

Aquinus · Feb 3, 2013, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drdeathx

what's the budget?

Then read the OP again. He did say what his budget was. No need for caps either, we're not grilling the guy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcpone

Looking to try and keep it within 1k, probably not possible?

I suspect he means 1k in £ since he lives in the UK. Correct me if I'm wrong, Alcpone.

Alcpone · Feb 3, 2013, 01:31 PM

Yeah 1k = 1 thousand £.

I thought the best way to go with FSX was to have it on a separate HDD to the OS?

£1200 is probably abit much to justify it to the one in charge haha.

I just want a system that will run FSX and all my addons at full eye candy with headroom for the future and so I can clock the CPU and GFX but not have to change the GFX cooler so will be very moderate clocking on that.

Writing in CAPS is not needed as my eyesight is fairly good :-)

JrRacinFan · Feb 3, 2013, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbaricSoul

So all your worried about is being able to max out FSX? And you need a monitor? FSX isn't very demanding hardware wise. This will max out FSX with room to spare-

AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz Socket AM3+ 14MB Cache Retail B...

Gigabyte GA-990FXA-D3 Socket AM3+ 7.1 Channel HD A...

Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Ballistix Tactica...

Sapphire HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Dual Mini.. | ...

Xfx Proseries 550w Power Supply Unit (core Edition...

Seagate 1TB Barracuda Internal Hard Drive

Antec All Black 302 Three Hundred Two Case | Ebuye...

HANNS-G HL272HPB LED TFT 27" HDMI Monitor | Ebuyer...

Cart total inc vat:

£768.46

Got some room here to play with
Could go up to the 8320
AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz Socket AM3+ 16MB Cache Retail B...

Throw an SSD in there
Crucial 128GB M4 SSD - 2.5" SATA-III - Read.. | Eb...

Maybe look into a cooler.

Cotton_Cup · Feb 3, 2013, 05:51 PM

just in case you are wondering on how to put a thermal paste here is a some what of a guide....

How to Apply Thermal Paste the Kentucky Way - YouT...

blibba · Feb 3, 2013, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcpone

If I was to run the OS on a run of the mill 1Tb SATA HDD and FSX off a 256Gb SSD would that work out ok or would I have problems

It'd work, but I don't see why you wouldn't put both on the SSD. You can always relocate My Documents, My Music etc. to the HDD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcpone

and if I was to go the AMD route would a AMD/ATi GFX card be a better performer than nVidia? Probably a stupid question but I am very much out of the loop when it comes to hardware.

Cheers

That very much depends on the particular cards in question. What I will say is that current gen AMD cards are having some driver issues, which are not yet fully resolved in all games - see the last few articles at http://techreport.com/graphics/.

Anyway, he's my recommended build. It's a little overkill, as FSX is a fairly old game now, and your budget is £1000. You could play this game very comfortably for half that. I'm presuming here that you're into overclocking. I'm also presuming that you don't need an optical drive, what with it being 2013 and all.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Bh17

n0tiert · Feb 4, 2013, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcpone

Yeah 1k = 1 thousand £.

I thought the best way to go with FSX was to have it on a separate HDD to the OS?

£1200 is probably abit much to justify it to the one in charge haha.

I just want a system that will run FSX and all my addons at full eye candy with headroom for the future and so I can clock the CPU and GFX but not have to change the GFX cooler so will be very moderate clocking on that.

Writing in CAPS is not needed as my eyesight is fairly good :-)

hi,

i think you have been introduced to enough systems....
it´s up to you to pick one and make your choice
they all run FSX smooth..... take your gear

if u find some betta & cheaper let us know, we all gonna buy there then

Quote:

Originally Posted by blibba

It'd work, but I don't see why you wouldn't put both on the SSD. You can always relocate My Documents, My Music etc. to the HDD.

That very much depends on the particular cards in question. What I will say is that current gen AMD cards are having some driver issues, which are not yet fully resolved in all games - see the last few articles at http://techreport.com/graphics/.

Anyway, he's my recommended build. It's a little overkill, as FSX is a fairly old game now, and your budget is £1000. You could play this game very comfortably for half that. I'm presuming here that you're into overclocking. I'm also presuming that you don't need an optical drive, what with it being 2013 and all.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Bh17

if u count all mail & send fees u are over 1k

Alcpone · Feb 4, 2013, 03:37 AM

Thanks for the replies. I will have to make a decision on what to get, most likely a AMD chip with a nVidia card. With FSX taking up a fair chunk of 200Gb on my current system I might need to get a chunk sized SSD : )

Alcpone · Feb 5, 2013, 02:09 AM

What do you guys think of this setup? Anything that won't work together?

Cheers

xenocide · Feb 5, 2013, 03:25 AM

Not bad, but I'd consider the FX-8320, since it shouldn't cost much more and you get a fantastic CPU for heavily threaded applications. Not sure how FSX is threaded, but I know most simulation-based games tend to go bananas when it comes to threading, so it may be in your best interest. It also buys you a tiny bit more future-proofing.

Alcpone · Feb 6, 2013, 07:48 AM

Do you think a faster 1gb gfx card will be a better buy than a slightly slower 2gb? Cheers

Aquinus · Feb 6, 2013, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcpone

Do you think a faster 1gb gfx card will be a better buy than a slightly slower 2gb? Cheers

No, invest in a 2Gb card, you will be glad you did long term. A powerful 1Gb card will work better until you run out of VRAM which hits your performance a lot harder than a slightly slower card with more VRAM.

blibba · Feb 6, 2013, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcpone

What do you guys think of this setup? Anything that won't work together?

Cheers

Why that particular case and PSU?

And what put you off an SSD?

Also, what are you going to use the optical drive for?

Jan 29, 2013, 01:27 AM	#1
Alcpone Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Tyne & Wear, UK Posts: 1,792 (0.73/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 97 Times in 57 Posts System Specs	New system advice on parts please. Hi all, back on TPU for some much needed advice which is needed badly please. Basically I need advice on building a system from scratch, everything needed barring the OS. Would mainly basically use it for FSX as thats my passion, maybe future proof within budget. Looking to try and keep it within 1k, probably not possible? Would want it to run it flawlessly with all the addons I have taking extra oomph. If any FSX gurus are about that would be even better. So answers on a postcard :-) PS I need a monitor also. Thanks

System Name:	AMD '13
Processor:	FX-6300 @ 4.43GHz (1.35v)
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 rev 1.0 (F6)
Cooling:	Cooler Master T2 + x2 case fans
Memory:	2x4Gb Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600 (Stock)
Video Card:	Gigabyte GTX650 Ti OC 2Gb @ 1110/1500
Hard Disk:	Corsair 240Gb SSD / Seagate 500Gb HDD + old skool IDE HDD's x 3
Optical Drive:	LG DVD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer 23'' LED
Case:	Billy Basic
Sound Card:	Onboard 8.1 HD
PSU:	Corsair CX600
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Benchmarks:	Smenchmarks

Jan 29, 2013, 01:32 AM	#2
SirKeldon Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain) Posts: 426 (0.22/day) Thanks: 167 Thanked 155 Times in 92 Posts System Specs	Didn't see that you finally moved the thread, so forget my question there, i'm gonna redo it here. Are you planning to keep using MacOS (as your current iMac) in any way besides that Windows for FSX? __________________ "I have no special talents, i'm just passionately curious" - Albert Einstein Last edited by SirKeldon; Jan 29, 2013 at 01:38 AM.

System Name:	macJuiced Pro (LiquidMac i5)
Processor:	Intel Core i5 2500K @ 4.11 GHz (1,260V idle - 1,248V load)
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 (F6 BIOS)
Cooling:	Phobya DC12-400 + Swiftech Apogee XT rev2 + MCW82 GPU + MCR-220XP (push->pull) + Micro Res v2
Memory:	16GB (4x4GB) Kingston HyperX DDR3 @ 1600Mhz (9-9-9-24 @ 1.65V)
Video Card:	Asus Radeon EAH6850 1GB DDR5 DirectCU (OC'd from factory @ 790MHz/1000MHz)
Hard Disk:	WD Caviar Black (1x1TB SATA3) + Seagate Barracuda (1x1TB SATA II + 1x2TB eSATA III)
Optical Drive:	Hitachi LG DVDRAM GH20NS10
CRT/LCD Model:	LG IPS231 1920x1080 @ 60Hz
Case:	PowerMac G5 Modded (Late 2005 version)
Sound Card:	Realtek ALC889 w/ Tritton PC510HDa // Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1 w/ Logitech Speakers
PSU:	Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775W
Software:	MacOS X 10.7.5 "Lion" // Windows 7 Ultimate

Jan 29, 2013, 01:56 AM	#3
BarbaricSoul Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Southeastern Virginia Posts: 3,789 (1.95/day) Thanks: 381 Thanked 1,106 Times in 814 Posts System Specs	So all your worried about is being able to max out FSX? And you need a monitor? FSX isn't very demanding hardware wise. This will max out FSX with room to spare- AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz Socket AM3+ 14MB Cache Retail B... Gigabyte GA-990FXA-D3 Socket AM3+ 7.1 Channel HD A... Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Ballistix Tactica... Sapphire HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Dual Mini.. \| ... Xfx Proseries 550w Power Supply Unit (core Edition... Seagate 1TB Barracuda Internal Hard Drive Antec All Black 302 Three Hundred Two Case \| Ebuye... HANNS-G HL272HPB LED TFT 27" HDMI Monitor \| Ebuyer... Cart total inc vat: £768.46 __________________ “Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.” “Amd....definitely a blond female.....not much on the cpu side, but always strutting about showing off her gpus......wow that was bad. I apologize.” -ensabrenoir Last edited by BarbaricSoul; Jan 29, 2013 at 02:41 AM.

System Name:	Barb's Domain/ Barb's Cruncher
Processor:	I7 2600k @ 4.2ghz/ I7 860 @ 3.2ghz
Motherboard:	MSI Z68A-GD80(G3)/ Gigabyte P55-UD3R
Cooling:	Corsair H60/ Corsair A50
Memory:	8gig(24gig) DDR3 1600/ 4gig(22gig)DDR3 1600
Video Card:	XFX HD7970 OC'ed 1100core, 1400mem/ 2*MSI HD7770
Hard Disk:	180gb Vertex3 SSD & 500gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.12/ WD Caviar Blue 160gb
CRT/LCD Model:	HP ZR30W 30" 25601600/SOYO Topaz S 24" 19201200
Case:	Lian Li V1200b Plus II/ NZXT Source 210 Black
Sound Card:	Realtek High Definition Audio
PSU:	XFX PRO750W XXX edition/ PC Power Cooling Turbo Cool 860
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Benchmarks:	http://3dmark.com/3dm11/4037778

Jan 29, 2013, 02:25 AM	#4
McSteel Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: North Disturbia Posts: 299 (1.41/day) Thanks: 5 Thanked 138 Times in 101 Posts System Specs	Here's a rough ballpark estimate. You could go cheaper by going for a smaller/cheaper SSD or omitting it completely. However, load times will decrease significantly for a game such as FSX should you opt to keep it. Perhaps you don't need a terabyte of "traditional" HDD storage... Maybe you have an external HDD or something similar - in which case chuck the extra HDD out for some penny-pinching. FSX is really CPU intensive, especially when you dial "traffic" up to high (or beyond, with addons), thus i5 3570K. You could very well do with a cheaper variant, or perhaps an AMD system, so there's that opportunity to save a few pounds. GPU requirements are below what I suggest, but for maximum eyecandy, you probably don't want to go much lower (opting for, say, an HD7850 or a GTX660/650Ti). Chance to save some more money. I'd say the motherboard is spot-on, since it gives the most for money spent. You could potentially pinch up to 20GBP there, but I'd recommend against it. A dedicated CPU heatsink is always welcome to keep noise and temps down. CM 212EVO is a classic, and does well for how cheap it is. I'd leave it, but it's not mandatory. Case is a matter of taste, so I just suggested the one I like the most. Feel free to go cheaper, down to say Xigmatek Midgard or Antec 902 or Bitfenix Merc Alpha/Beta or something along those lines. As for the monitor, the U2312HM is blazing-fast (for an IPS), has wide viewing angles, nice colors, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Perhaps you'd like a greater diagonal/resolution, but I believe 1080p is sufficient for now. You can always add some more to get a multi-display enjoyment, FSX sure knows how to make the best of it. The PSU is a bit overkill as far as power requirements are concerned, but you can't go much lower in price without getting lesser quality, and much less power. You could go for a similarly priced Seasonic G 550 to gain a bit more efficiency, if you wanted. Well, that's all from me, for now. Good luck with your build, and take your time choosing your components! __________________ Careful what you wish for... You just might get it.

System Name:	Chaos
Processor:	Intel Core i5 3570K @ 4.0 GHz / 1.0625 V
Motherboard:	MSI Z77 MPower
Cooling:	Arctic Cooling Freezer i30 + MX4
Memory:	2x4 GB Kingston HyperX Beast 2400 GT/s CL11
Video Card:	MSI GTX465 1 GB @ stock
Hard Disk:	256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD + 320 GB Samsung SP F3 + 320 GB WD Blue + 200 GB Hitachi DeskStar 7200
Optical Drive:	None
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer V223HQ
Case:	Fractal Design Define R3
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	Seasonic SS-380GB

System Name:	Demented
Processor:	AMD FX-8320 Vishera @ 4.5
Motherboard:	ASRock 970 EXTREME3
Cooling:	Thermaltake Frio
Memory:	G.SKILL Ripjaws Sniper Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Video Card:	XFX HD-695X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6950 1GB
Hard Disk:	(1)WD 500GB Black Edition (2)WD Raptors 74GB in RAID 0
Optical Drive:	Lite-On iHAS324 24X SATA DVD RW and Lite-On LTN-486S
CRT/LCD Model:	Hanns-G HZ251HPB 25" w/ Acer X163W 16" secondary
Case:	Antec P183 w/ Logitech M500 mouse & G11 keyboard
Sound Card:	Realtek High Definition Audio (On Board 7.1)
PSU:	Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W
Software:	Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium
Benchmarks:	3DMark03: 78527 3DMark05: 23530 3Dmark06: 3Dmark11: 5504 Vantage: 20888 AMD Overdrive: 13170

System Name:	White 'Coon - Hudson File Server
Processor:	Delidded i5 3570k 4.4ghz - AMD Phenom x6 1055t
Motherboard:	MSI Z77 GD65 - Asus Evo M4
Cooling:	Corsair H100 2xNidec Beta V 2x200mm - CM Hyper 212 Evo Push/Pull
Memory:	Kingstom Beast 2133 16GB - Corsair XMS 3 1333 16GB
Video Card:	Gigabyte GTX 780 1175mhz\|7ghz\|1.2v + XFX GTX 275 Physx
Hard Disk:	Corsair Force 3 120gb\|2 x 2TB Seagate Barracuda 6Gbps - OCZ Agility 3 60GB\|WD Blue 500GB
Optical Drive:	Samsung LiteScribe 22x - None
CRT/LCD Model:	BenQ XL2411T 144hz \| BenQ G2420HD 60hz - Shared
Case:	NZXT Phantom Full - AVP K1 300
Sound Card:	Asus Xonar D2X 7.1 - Onboard
PSU:	Corsair HX1050 Gold - OCZ ZS 650w Bronze
Software:	Win 7 Ultimate 64 - Win 7 Ultimate 64
Benchmarks:	Fire Strike: 9196 Combined

Feb 3, 2013, 03:49 AM	#9
Alcpone Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Tyne & Wear, UK Posts: 1,792 (0.73/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 97 Times in 57 Posts System Specs	If I was to run the OS on a run of the mill 1Tb SATA HDD and FSX off a 256Gb SSD would that work out ok or would I have problems and if I was to go the AMD route would a AMD/ATi GFX card be a better performer than nVidia? Probably a stupid question but I am very much out of the loop when it comes to hardware. Cheers

Feb 3, 2013, 05:58 AM	#10
Cotton_Cup Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Rizal, Philippines Posts: 339 (0.74/day) Thanks: 75 Thanked 35 Times in 29 Posts System Specs	side note: just curious what is FSX? __________________ Building PC and knowing about their components is FUN.

System Name:	Cotton Chair
Processor:	Intel i7 3960X 4.9Ghz Sandy Bridge E
Motherboard:	MSi X79A-GD65 8D
Cooling:	XSPC 360 and 240 mm rad
Memory:	64gb G.SKILL 8X8GB
Video Card:	Sappphire 7970 OC Edition Xfire
Hard Disk:	Intel 520 240GB SSD x2 /x2 WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM 64MB Cache
Optical Drive:	Samsung Blu-ray
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung 23" LED LCD Monitor 1920x1080 x3
Case:	Silverstone TJ 11
Sound Card:	Asus Xonar Phoebus
PSU:	Seasonic X-1250 1250W 80PLUS Gold
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate (FPP)

System Name:	Shaman of Sexy
Processor:	AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE@4Ghz EK Supreme Block
Motherboard:	M3A79-T Deluxe Anfi-Tech Waterblocks
Cooling:	Magicool 360 + 120 + 120 Slim scythe slipped Laing DDC-1/T
Memory:	4GB Corsair Dominator CM2X2048-8500C5D
Video Card:	Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 EK 4870 X2 Block
Hard Disk:	RAID 0 Seagate
Optical Drive:	SAMSUNG DVD-Drive 20x
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung 226BW 22"
Case:	CoolerMaster Cosmos RC-1000 in mod progress
Sound Card:	onboard
PSU:	Coba Nitrox 750W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate
Benchmarks:	http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dmv=1056967

Feb 3, 2013, 07:00 AM	#12
drdeathx Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chicago burbs Posts: 1,770 (1.18/day) Thanks: 45 Thanked 406 Times in 327 Posts System Specs	What's the budget? Last edited by Tatty_One; Feb 3, 2013 at 10:00 AM. Reason: No blind members as far as I can tell.

System Name:	Halloween Boo!
Processor:	Intel Core i7 3770K
Motherboard:	Gigabyte Z77-Up7
Cooling:	Custom Water/ Thermalchill TA 120.3/ Swiftech Apogeee XT/ MCP655/ Swiftech M icrores/ XSPC RX 240
Memory:	16G G.Skill trident 2400MHz
Video Card:	3 x Radeon 7970
Hard Disk:	OCZ Revo Drive 240G
Optical Drive:	Asus
CRT/LCD Model:	24 inch Viewsonic
Case:	Phobia WayCoolIt Test Bench
PSU:	Nexus 1100 watt

Feb 3, 2013, 08:09 AM	#13
Jetster Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,951 (2.36/day) Thanks: 979 Thanked 897 Times in 655 Posts System Specs	FSX is MS Flight Sim. And no put your OS and FSX on the SSD

System Name:	Delta // HTPC
Processor:	Intel i7 3770K // Intel i3 550 3.2Ghz
Motherboard:	ASRock Z77 Extreme6 // Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H Socket 1156
Cooling:	Corsair H100 // SILVERSTONE NT07-1156 90mm
Memory:	Corsair Vengeance 1866 16gb //Corsair DDR3 1600 4 Gb
Video Card:	HIS 7950 3 Gb //Sapphire 6670 1 Gb
Hard Disk:	Samsung 840 250 SSD, WD Caviar Blue 500// Corsair M4 64 Gb Solid State, SAMSUNG F4 2 Tb, WD 1 Tb
Optical Drive:	LG DVDR 24X // Lite on DVDR 24X
CRT/LCD Model:	HP 23xi IPS 1080p" // 50" Samsung Plasma 720p
Case:	Corsair Obsidian Series 550D // Silverstone Granada GD05
Sound Card:	ASUS Xonar DS // HDMI Bit Stream to Yamaha RX V571
PSU:	Seagate M12II 750 // Corsair CX 430
Software:	Windows 7 64bit // Windows 7 64bit with XBMC Eden
Benchmarks:	I scored P9327 in 3DMark 11

System Name:	Kratos
Processor:	Intel Core i7 3820 @ 4.50Ghz (125.0x36) 1.41v
Motherboard:	ASUS P9X79 Deluxe
Cooling:	Zalman CPNS9900MAX 130mm
Memory:	G.Skill DDR3-2333, 16gb (4x4gb) @ 10-11-10-30-108-1T 1.65v
Video Card:	2x AMD (MSI branded) Radeon HD 6870 (Crossfire)
Hard Disk:	2x120Gb SATA3 Corsair Force GT Raid-0, 3x1Tb SATA2 RAID-5
Optical Drive:	Asus DVD Burner on Marval SATA3 Controller
CRT/LCD Model:	28" Hanspree (HDMI), 22" MAG Innovision (DVI)
Case:	Antec 1200
Sound Card:	Realtek® ALC898 8-Channel High Definition Audio
PSU:	Seasonic 1000-watt 80 PLUS Platinum
Software:	Windows 7 x64 Professional

Feb 3, 2013, 01:31 PM	#15
Alcpone Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Tyne & Wear, UK Posts: 1,792 (0.73/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 97 Times in 57 Posts System Specs	Yeah 1k = 1 thousand £. I thought the best way to go with FSX was to have it on a separate HDD to the OS? £1200 is probably abit much to justify it to the one in charge haha. I just want a system that will run FSX and all my addons at full eye candy with headroom for the future and so I can clock the CPU and GFX but not have to change the GFX cooler so will be very moderate clocking on that. Writing in CAPS is not needed as my eyesight is fairly good :-)

System Name:	Mine; Hers; Our HTPC; NAS Box
Processor:	i7 2600k : i3 2120 : Celeron G440 : P4 2.6Ghz Nwood
Motherboard:	Asrock Z68 Extreme4 : Asus P8P67 Pro : Asrock H61M/U3S3 : Dell
Cooling:	CM 212+ w/ scythe jyuni : Stock : Stock :Stock
Memory:	2x4GB Ripjawx 1866 cl9 : 2x2GB Corsair 1600 cl9 : 2x2GB Ridgebacks 1066 cl5 : 768MB PC3200
Video Card:	Palit GTX560Ti 2Gb : XFX HD5770 : Integrated : Integrated
Hard Disk:	2x 750GB Raid 0 + Maxtor 500GB : WD Black 1TB+Corsair Nova 2 64GB : Toshiba 750GB : Leftover ATA133
Optical Drive:	Lite-On DVD-RW : Samsung DVD-RW : None : None
CRT/LCD Model:	AOC 21" : AOC 20" : Philips 42" HDTV : Headless
Case:	Rocketfish : CM HAF 912 : Bgears Cube Style case : Dell
Sound Card:	X-Fi Xtremegamer : Onboard : Onboard : Onboard
PSU:	Tt 750W Modular : Antec 500W Earthwatts : Corsair CX430 : Dell's OEM

Feb 3, 2013, 05:51 PM	#17
Cotton_Cup Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Rizal, Philippines Posts: 339 (0.74/day) Thanks: 75 Thanked 35 Times in 29 Posts System Specs	just in case you are wondering on how to put a thermal paste here is a some what of a guide.... How to Apply Thermal Paste the Kentucky Way - YouT... __________________ Building PC and knowing about their components is FUN.

System Name:	The one under the desk / The one next to the table / The one in the corner
Processor:	Xeon X3430@3.6GHZ / Pentium D 820 / Sempron 2800+
Motherboard:	Gigabyte P55M-UD4 / Biostar tp35d2-a7 / Abit NV8
Cooling:	AC Freezer Xtreme / AC Alpine 7 Pro / Generic+80mm
Memory:	8GB Kingston DRR3-1600 9-9-9-27 / 3GB DDR2-667 generic / 1GB DDR-400
Video Card:	GTX 460 (@800MHZ) with T'right HR-03 / HD2600XT IceQ Turbo 512MB / 8500GT
Hard Disk:	Kingston V200 128GB, WD6400AAKS, 2Maxtor Diamondmax 21 250GB / 4WD 80GB / Seagate 160GB
Optical Drive:	Sometimes.
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung 2343BW / Acer P193W / Generic 17"
Case:	C'M' Silencio 550 / C'M' 330 Elite / Sometimes
Sound Card:	No.
PSU:	Thermaltake Toughpower XT 675W / Antec 430W / Dell 210W
Software:	Windows 7 Ult x64
Benchmarks:	Nah.

Feb 4, 2013, 03:37 AM	#20
Alcpone Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Tyne & Wear, UK Posts: 1,792 (0.73/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 97 Times in 57 Posts System Specs	Thanks for the replies. I will have to make a decision on what to get, most likely a AMD chip with a nVidia card. With FSX taking up a fair chunk of 200Gb on my current system I might need to get a chunk sized SSD : )

Feb 5, 2013, 02:09 AM	#21
Alcpone Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Tyne & Wear, UK Posts: 1,792 (0.73/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 97 Times in 57 Posts System Specs	What do you guys think of this setup? Anything that won't work together? Cheers Attached Thumbnails

Feb 5, 2013, 03:25 AM	#22
xenocide Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Burlington, VT Posts: 1,709 (2.09/day) Thanks: 228 Thanked 405 Times in 298 Posts System Specs	Not bad, but I'd consider the FX-8320, since it shouldn't cost much more and you get a fantastic CPU for heavily threaded applications. Not sure how FSX is threaded, but I know most simulation-based games tend to go bananas when it comes to threading, so it may be in your best interest. It also buys you a tiny bit more future-proofing. __________________ “If BF3 doesn't turn out to be the biggest selling PC shooter of all time, then I will eat my graphics card.” -MatTheCat

Processor:	Intel i5-2500k
Motherboard:	MSI P67A-GD65
Cooling:	Corsair Hydro H60
Memory:	8GB (4x2GB) G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3-1600
Video Card:	eVGA GTX670
Hard Disk:	WD Caviar Black 1TB
Optical Drive:	ASUS DRW-24B1ST
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer GD235HZbid 120hz LCD
Case:	Rosewill Destroyer Mid-Tower
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	Corsair 650W 650-TX
Software:	Windows 7 Professional

Feb 6, 2013, 07:48 AM	#23
Alcpone Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Tyne & Wear, UK Posts: 1,792 (0.73/day) Thanks: 91 Thanked 97 Times in 57 Posts System Specs	Do you think a faster 1gb gfx card will be a better buy than a slightly slower 2gb? Cheers

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