LOOKING TO BUILD A NEW PC FOR FSX THEN LOOK HERE!

[txnetcop]

I'm going with a 1366 board this year, and have scored an Asus Rampage III Extreme mobo, an I7-990X CPU (same price as the 975), 12 Gigs of Corsair Dominator DDR3 2000 (ASUS QPL certified), an OCZ Single 12 V rail gold certified 1250 watt P/S, and a Zalman CNPS9900 CPU Cooler. I'll keep my two Raedon 5870 graphics cards, the Velociraptor drives (only SATA II) and my current case.

Down the road, I'll spring for an SSD and a couple of SATA 3 drives. Sandy Bridge may be next year's project. I've got the gulftown urge this year. One guy has his 990x pushing 5 MHZ on the Zalman cooler...lol, I'm sure my results will vary. I have no desire to toast a $1000.00 CPU so I'll go mild.

Jim

VERY VERY NICE Jim!

 

[ColoKent]

AMD processors?

I went to my local Micro Center the other day specing parts for a new PC with TxNetCop's list in hand. When I mentioned the i7 950, the guy at the store showed me a 3.2 AMD processor that was less than the intel one, and was clocked higher out of the box.

Is there a particular reason to avoid AMD CPUs?

Also, he mention that triple channel RAM (vs dual) only has an impat when you over clock. Is that true? (I don't plan to overclock).

Bottom line...help me get smarter on substituting components, please. Or tell me why it's a bad idea...

Thanks,
Kent

 

[txnetcop]

I went to my local Micro Center the other day specing parts for a new PC with TxNetCop's list in hand. When I mentioned the i7 950, the guy at the store showed me a 3.2 AMD processor that was less than the intel one, and was clocked higher out of the box.

Is there a particular reason to avoid AMD CPUs?

Also, he mention that triple channel RAM (vs dual) only has an impat when you over clock. Is that true? (I don't plan to overclock).

Bottom line...help me get smarter on substituting components, please. Or tell me why it's a bad idea...

Thanks,
Kent

We tested AMD against Intel on many occasions Intel always out-performs AMD in nearly every catagory. This has also been established by other renowned testing houses on the Internet. For instance the newest 3.3Ghz AMD Phenom II X6 1100 six core cannot best the older 3Ghz quad core i7 950. While the results at TechCorp varied slightly this is a close example. The i7 950 overclocks higher and cooler as well.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...n-review-vs-intel-core-i7-950-conclusion.html

Another bench test
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/146?vs=100
Ted

 

[ColoKent]

'Nuf said on that...

....sounds that from an FSX standpoint anyway, the Intel i7 950 wins.

Is the comment about dual-channel vs. triple channel true (triple needed only for overcloking?).

Also, with the i7 950, 6 or 8GB of 1600 RAM, and the GTX 580, with the sliders maxed, what fps rates should I get in various areas?

Thanks again,

Kent

 

[txnetcop]

....sounds that from an FSX standpoint anyway, the Intel i7 950 wins.

Is the comment about dual-channel vs. triple channel true (triple needed only for overcloking?).

Also, with the i7 950, 6 or 8GB of 1600 RAM, and the GTX 580, with the sliders maxed, what fps rates should I get in various areas?

Thanks again,

Kent

With the i7 900 socket series CPUs 1366 you must use triple channel-no choice. Some dual channels may work depending on which motherboard you buy but the performance will be horrible.
Enjoy your new build
Ted

 

[paulb]

....sounds that from an FSX standpoint anyway, the Intel i7 950 wins.

Is the comment about dual-channel vs. triple channel true (triple needed only for overcloking?).

Also, with the i7 950, 6 or 8GB of 1600 RAM, and the GTX 580, with the sliders maxed, what fps rates should I get in various areas?

Thanks again,

Kent

Hi Kent

I was about to order a 2600K when the 'news' was released, so I went for a 950. I am satisfied with the results. Currently - with my setup/tweaks etc - my FR varies between 30 and 60 most of the time over OrbX addon airport rural scenery - with many sliders maxed - and flying a decent payware aircraft (eg A2A WOP Spitfire etc).

If you dont overclock then 1333 memory will be fine. For an i7 950 - 6GB (3 2GB sticks) and W7 64 is ideal for FSX.

Cheers

Paul

 

[ColoKent]

Thanks Paul...

...that helps me with making decisions on the new rig.

TxNet - I am going to heed your advice and go with the i7 950...

Kent

 

[txnetcop]

You might go ahead and look at the i7 960 now that prices have come down. However there is nothing wrong with the 950 if it is a budget decision
Enjoy

 

[jdhaenens]

Build complete. OC to 4.2 mhz on air and no temp is above 47 deg c after 1.5 hr on FSX . Framerates in NYC no less than 22. HT disabled, no affinity mask. Core volts: 1.3 Dimm volts 1.6.

I think there's finally a computer that will run FSX. This is without ssd's or SATA III. No stutters.
Life is good.

Jim

 

[txnetcop]

Congrats Jim you are correct! The right i7 Combo will run FSX extremely well
Ted

 

[kilo delta]

Excellent setup there,Jim! Congrats and enjoy! :ernae:

 

[gigabyte]

OK Ted I need a recommendation, I know the video cards change as often as I change my shorts ( sometimes I wonder if it is more often...) I was looking at the GTX 460, then the Gigabyte GTX 580 but locally there are none to be had, so what is your current fav?

Just to put this into perspective I am looking to install two cards, I want 4 monitors, and I will upgrade the PSU if I have to - I have a single rail 750watt now. The mother board is an MSI I7, socket 920 and I have 12 gig or DDR3 RAM. I have no real performance issues at the moment, FSX runs smooth at 20FPS locked, with only a rare studder (I have done next to no tweaking on this system yet) my goal is 2 24.5" monitors and 2 19" and I don't want to introduce problems with heat, power or performance so any recomendations will be much appreciated.

 

[txnetcop]

OK Ted I need a recommendation, I know the video cards change as often as I change my shorts ( sometimes I wonder if it is more often...) I was looking at the GTX 460, then the Gigabyte GTX 580 but locally there are none to be had, so what is your current fav?

Just to put this into perspective I am looking to install two cards, I want 4 monitors, and I will upgrade the PSU if I have to - I have a single rail 750watt now. The mother board is an MSI I7, socket 920 and I have 12 gig or DDR3 RAM. I have no real performance issues at the moment, FSX runs smooth at 20FPS locked, with only a rare studder (I have done next to no tweaking on this system yet) my goal is 2 24.5" monitors and 2 19" and I don't want to introduce problems with heat, power or performance so any recomendations will be much appreciated.

Gee Mike I have never tested any of the video cards with four monitors before. I would hate to make a recommendation that would not pull that off. I will see if James will let me test four monitors next week and see what video cards are left to test with.
Ted

 

[gigabyte]

Thanks Ted, I am running 2 monitors on an GT9600 now and it works fine, I think the biggest problem may be heat and power, I think the performance should be fine for my purposes, I am just not sure a 750Watt PSU will drive 2 high power cards and I am a little concerned about heat as well.

Looking at the cards I mentioned they have dual DVI outputs so they should work fine I just wonder how much power they will require and hot hot they will get. I have a coolermaster case and it cools fine but I think this might push it just a bit...

 

[kilo delta]

Perhaps an AMD/ATI Eyefinity setup would suit? I've not tested it myself,but have heard some good results have been seen in other PC games.

 

[txnetcop]

Thanks Ted, I am running 2 monitors on an GT9600 now and it works fine, I think the biggest problem may be heat and power, I think the performance should be fine for my purposes, I am just not sure a 750Watt PSU will drive 2 high power cards and I am a little concerned about heat as well.

Looking at the cards I mentioned they have dual DVI outputs so they should work fine I just wonder how much power they will require and hot hot they will get. I have a coolermaster case and it cools fine but I think this might push it just a bit...

1000 to 1200 watts is probably a good idea if you go with 570 or 580GTX. I talked to James and he told me I could come in on Wed and setup a full system to include different power supplies to see what works. I'll let you know. Kilo Delta mention the AMD (ATI) Infinity the only problem I have the AMD video cards is that the cockpit lines around the radios and on all the FS9 portovers seem too jagged for my taste...but that is a personal thing. ATI 6870 is a real sweetheart of video card. I had tested three of them and liked them all...not overly impressed with the 6970s yet.
Ted

 

[gigabyte]

Thanks Ted, I will be interested in your findings, I did see a card roday that will support 4 monitors, first time I have come across a single card with 4 digital outputs. I might get a chance to test it next week and I am interested in how that works. I didn't have time to get the details the shop was closing, but the box clearly said "Supports 4 Monitors and there was a sticker showing 4 DVI output connectors. Mind you the price is up there, $479.00 (I know they will give me a break on the price but it will still be costly).

I will look at what you have to say first, the idea of a single card is appealing I suspect it would require less power, and by the time I bought two cards, and a bigger PSU I expect the costs will be close anyway.

Of course the real issue is always getting this stuff installed without the wife seeing... the card(s) I can manage but when a 4th monitor appears on the desk I am betting she will notice...

 

[txnetcop]

ROFL about the wife not seeing...it's funny my wife says she knows nothing about computers but she always knows when I sneak something onto mine...I think it must be the look on my face when she comes in the room! LOL

 

[AndyE1976]

Having got permission from the misses last night I took the plunge and ordered an i7-960, Asus P6X58D mb, 12gb RAM and a Gigabyte GTX580. All sitting in a Cooler master HAF932 case and cooled by a Zalman CNPS10X.

750w Thermaltake PSU and HDD's are coming from my current machine.

I was going to go with a 2600K, but Newegg appears to be out of all 1155 motherboards except the really basic ones.

It'll be my first build, but having read through the online mb manual I don't think it should be too tricky.

Looking forward to finally being able to fly in Aerosoft's London or Manhatten X at double digit FPS

Thanks to txnetcop for all the great information you've posted in this thread.

 

[txnetcop]

Having got permission from the misses last night I took the plunge and ordered an i7-960, Asus P6X58D mb, 12gb RAM and a Gigabyte GTX580. All sitting in a Cooler master HAF932 case and cooled by a Zalman CNPS10X.

750w Thermaltake PSU and HDD's are coming from my current machine.

I was going to go with a 2600K, but Newegg appears to be out of all 1155 motherboards except the really basic ones.

It'll be my first build, but having read through the online mb manual I don't think it should be too tricky.

Looking forward to finally being able to fly in Aerosoft's London or Manhatten X at double digit FPS

Thanks to txnetcop for all the great information you've posted in this thread.

I like the SandyBridge boards with 2600k and 2700k CPUs but I am partial to the i7 Core PERIOD! Good choice and you are right it will not be that hard! Holler if ya need help!
Ted