Advice for new computer...

[guzler]

I am looking to either build a computer or have one made for me, but would like some advice on the assumption the primary use wil be for FSX and flight simming in general...

CPU
What would be better, a Duo 2 x 3.0Ghz 1333Mhz-6mb or Quad 4 x 2.33Ghz 1333Mhz 4mb ?

Also, when it comes to RAM, is 4mb 1066Mhz ram better than 4mb 800Mhz (Both DDR2) or 2Mb 1066Mhz DDR3 ?

Any advice appreciated, cheers

 

[Alexraptor]

Duo 3.0ghz would be way better, now on the other hand a Quad 3.0ghz would be better than the duo.

1066mhz 4gb DDR2 is much better than 800mhz obviously, but you will want 4gb DDR2 rather than 2gb DDR3, simple that they operate on the same frequency and more is better.

 

[guzler]

Please bare with my ignorance, but why would a 2 x 3ghz be better than a 4 x 2.33 ghz ? Is is because 2 cores will be unused anyway ?

Thats the ram decided, thanks.

 

[Brett_Henderson]

The "work" is not divided evenly across the cores.. So it's not like a.. "cores X speed" equation. The brunt of the work is still done by core #1, so clock speed is the most important factor. In FSX, the extra cores help a lot with things like autogen.

Also to consider is the OS.. If you're building new, and going with a quad-core (I would).. get the Vista 64-bit. It will recognize the 4GB of RAM, and if I'm not mistaken; when used with FSX SP2.. it will utilize all 4 cores without tweaking.

 

[N2056]

My advice would be to get in touch with Ted (txnetcop) :d

 

[harleyman]

Ted would say to get the Duo Core I believe for FSX...Cause he told me that already....And I did........And hes right....LOL


I got the OCZ @ 1066 too...2X2 E8600 @ 3.33

 

[guzler]

Ted would say to get the Duo Core I believe for FSX...Cause he told me that already....And I did........And hes right....LOL


I got the OCZ @ 1066 too...2X2 E8600 @ 3.33

That's what I am looking at, price wise, it is alot better !

Now, I am torn between Vista and XP. I have Vista on my laptop and it is a dog, where as XP on my PC runs like a dream, what do you advise ?

I hope this thread is useful for others too. See na great package for the E8600 kit here:

http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Pentium_Core_2_Duo_Upgrade.html

 

[kilo delta]

If you don't plan on overclocking go with the dual core...otherwise go quad and feed it some volts!!:d Regards memory.........go with the 4GB 1066mhz DDR2(or higher) with Vista 64bit.
You haven't mentioned GFX....i'd go with the ATi HD4850,4870 or top of the line 4870X2.

The E8600 should be a good overclocker too. I managed 4.4GHZ using it's precursor...the E8500.

 

[harleyman]

My specs......Awsome..Although I'm having some strange screen rippeling...It appears not releted to my build though..So far its a mystery....



Case: Thermaltake VH8000BWS BK
Power: ThermalTake W0178RU 850W RT SLI Edition
MoBo: GIGABYTE GA-X48-DQ6 775 X48
CPU: INTEL|C2D E8600 3.33G 775 6M
CPU Cooler: Artic Pro 7
GPU: VISIONTEK Radion 900250 HD4870X2 2G
Mem: OCZ 2X2 @ 1066
HD1: 150 Gig Raptor @ 10,000
HD2: 300G VelociRaptor @ 10,000
OS: XP Pro SP 3


I say yes to XP and the 4870X2....

 

[Brett_Henderson]

Ted would say to get the Duo Core I believe for FSX...Cause he told me that already....And I did........And hes right....LOL


I got the OCZ @ 1066 too...2X2 E8600 @ 3.33

Th key is whether or not you intend to over-clock. The E8600 and Q9400 are about the same price (aprox $270).. same L2... and with a mild over-clock you can turn the Q9400 into the near equivelant (FSX-wise) of the $560 Q9650 ..

 

[guzler]

Great feedback guys. Think I wil stick to XP.

I already have an NVidia 8800gt 512MB, was ging to keep that for now and transfer it over to keep costs down.

I don't intend to over clock, partly because I don't know how to do it !!!

Them raptors aren't cheap. I was looking to run my FS stuff from one, but have my operating system on a standard 7200rpm drive, can they be mixed ?

 

[Brett_Henderson]

Great feedback guys. Think I wil stick to XP.

I already have an NVidia 8800gt 512MB, was ging to keep that for now and transfer it over to keep costs down.

I don't intend to over clock, partly because I don't know how to do it !!!

Them raptors aren't cheap. I was looking to run my FS stuff from one, but have my operating system on a standard 7200rpm drive, can they be mixed ?

Ok then.. if you don't o-clock.. you'll get the most bang for the buck with a Dual-core.. and the E8600 is a heck of a lot of CPU for the money.

The only other consideration though.. is how often do you upgrade ? Sticking with a dual-core was very sound advice about a year ago.. but I got a feeling that the quad-cores will become the standard for gaming computers.. as the OS updates and software start taking full advanatage of them. Within a year (two tops).. a dual-core CPU will be as obsolete, as even a REALLY fast single-core is right now. So if you upgrade withing 2 years.. no worries. If not.. the extra cash for the quad-core might be well spent, today...

 

[kilo delta]

Remember that you will not be able to run DX10 under XP. Might not matter if you don't plan running DX10 preview mode....though it's worth mentioning that FPS can be much higher under dx10.

EDIT: just had a look at the bundle kit that you are planning on getting. Bear in mind that you'll need to factor in the cost of a better PSU rather than using the included 450watt item.

 

[guzler]

Decisions......

Great advice guys, better to think about all these things now rather when it's too late. I have several portovers in FSX at the moment, such as Posky's stuff and from what I am aware, DX10 doesn't like them, so this may not be a problem.

My biggest annoyance with what I have (amd single core 3400+ 2.4ghz) is blurry scenery in anything faster than the microlight and limited add-on ability FPS wise. Oh and bloody load times !!! I went back to FS9 ove the weekend just to tear through the greek mountains at 500kts without them going blurred, quite pleasurable But boy, did I miss that excellent water that FSX has to offer out on the coasts

Has anyone moved from something similar to what I have to the E8600 and how did it affect the FPS and blurries in comparison ?

 

[Brett_Henderson]

I was running FSX pretty well (so I thought) on an over-clocked Athlon 3700 / 7800GTX 2GB of pretty fast RAM..

I moved to an over-clocked (3.2ghz) Q6600 / 8800GTS-512 / 4GB 1066RAM.. and Vista-64 bit.. about 18 months ago..

No words to describe the difference :mixedsmi:

 

[kilo delta]

You should be able to to get ~25fps locked with all sliders to the right.... more if you overclock:d. The graphics card will be the bottleneck in the new system.

 

[guzler]

I'm getting excited My missus thinks I'm sad, but until she don's the stockings, and winks, this 'll keep me going !!!!!

apart from the ability to add more than 4Mb of ram, what other benefits are there of Vista 64 over Vista 32 ?


Soooooo many questions, but I am sure others are learning from this too :ernae:

 

[Brett_Henderson]

I'm getting excited My missus thinks I'm sad, but until she don's the stockings, and winks, this 'll keep me going !!!!!

apart from the ability to add more than 4Mb of ram, what other benefits are there of Vista 64 over Vista 32 ?


Soooooo many questions, but I am sure others are learning from this too :ernae:

64-bit CPUs have been the standard for years now.. with a 64-bit OS, at the very least, all the background Windows stuff will run more efficiently.. even if the apps aren't coded to take advantage of handling data in chunks twice the size of a 32-bit OS. But dont underestimate the advantages of seeing the extra RAM.. that's huge too.. if for no other reason that FSX will look to the swap file less often. Plus (and I cant swear to this, but it comes from a reliable source), Vista-64 does a better job of letting FSX use all 4 cores of a quad core CPU.

On top of all that... you're talking about a new build... it would be (to me) kinda silly to not use a 64-bit OS on acomputer that will likely see a few years of service.

 

[Bjoern]

Nothing wrong with a quad, but you should try to go for the new 45nm ones. They beat the old 65nm quads by 5-15% (at equal clock) speeds while running cooler.

Pair it with good Ram and a P45 mainboard and you're in for a great rig!


Except for some very short loading periods, my Q9450 is actually bored with FSX. Even with a LOD_DETAIL_RADIUS of 6.5 and autogen at 6000/6000.

The only thing that would increse the fun now would be a 4870 or 280GTX.

 

[icarus]

it is unbelievable but it's happened to me...after sp2 acceleration install a normal updating to the ati drivers from 8.3 catalyst to 8.9 give me +20 fps now i have autogen and scenery sliders at max. a core 2 quad 6600 but overlocked 2.4 to 2.9 ghz, temp is always around 44 with default air. i Think that 8.3 drivers were before sp2 so the update changes a lot.

with the overlock i wasn't +20fps ....i have also changed something inside the fsx.cfg. i have 450 gb of free space and probably with the 4 gb of ram helps.