Ready to take the plunge into FSX

[txnetcop]

I'm planning a new internal build for myself (Sofie aka 'Madame Lash' will be away next moth for a few weeks!) as I bit the bullet and sold one of my bikes, pretty much SOP.
Somehow I've become the local 'go to guy' when people have a PC problem which leads to a new build, and I choose carefully based on what they need, rather than the usual off the shelf bottom of the line 'Specials'.
Great opportunity for me to look at a fair range of components, and I must say, I'm staggered by the poor quality of the units that so many retail outlets sell.
Equally appalling, the number of lost or forgotten passwords, little or no backups and complete lack of 'Computer Hygiene'!!!!
As always, if I explain what I'll build and why I choose certain components it is a way of educating the end users, a few days of supervising once they are up and running leaves me with happy 'clients' and a feeling of satisfaction.
Of course, at times it is like herding cats, but we get there in the end, and my nominal costings go into my 'PC Slush Fund'.
Plus I make myself available when the inevitable 'User Induced' problems arise ..........................
Aside from keeping my hand in, making a little extra for my own projects, I learn something new most times.

Computer hygiene seems to be a lost concept for most users because we have such busy lives. Unless you do this craft for a living you would rarely see its importance. Personally I am happy it is that way...more business for me LOL! I got kick out of your comment up above. Most of the clientele I used to work with required little supervision, but now because of a move to a city in which I know hardly anyone, most of my work is on the phone...I am glad I don't have to pay by the minute on my unlimited plan! However you are right in that in supervising the process there is some learning that is still beneficial to me too. Just when you think you've heard everything someone comes up with something totally outta the park. Of course there is also the learning curve for new things that constantly being developed. This is an exciting time to be in the computer business. I will one day hang a shingle out again and be open for business. Right now my time is limited because of a new field of endeavor. I really like the fact that so many knowledgeable users in SOH are willing to lend time and expertise to others so they can enjoy flightsimming. I made a new friend up here that lets me fly with him when he is in town, other than that I haven't been able to do any stick time so simming is paramount. I'm glad you are a key part of this forum WOMBAT!
Ted

 

[txnetcop]

Hey Duckie how's the project coming along?
Ted

 

[Duckie]

Hey Duckie how's the project coming along?
Ted

Hi Ted, perfect timing for the question! I have received my i7 960. However, I'm still in the "Stewing" process.

I'm am going to upgrade RAM, not so much for X (thanks for that tip), but for my graphics work. Here I'm torn between adding 6GB (2gb x 3) of matching RAM (same brand, voltage, timings, and latency), or going with 12GB (4gb x 3) of new Corsair Dominator with similar specs. The former saves me about $70.00 but I'd be pairing the new sticks with 4 year old existing RAM. If I go with the all new 12GB, it's all new, and the old becomes my backup incase I have problems with the new. I'm leaning toward the ALL new Dominator option here.

Also looking at a Samsung 250GB SSD. Here, again, I'm torn between getting a 2TG external drive, which would allow me to totally free up 2 of my internal drives ( 1 - 250 and 1 - 500), plus the additional storage, or adding the SSD which would leave me with no external back up (the internal 250 is purely backup for FS, Graphics and personal files). I'm leaning toward the external option here but the jury is still out.

Couple of questions re the SSD. I'm out of internal SATA receptacles:

1. Can I use a PCIe slot type SSD and is there a reason I should or shouldn't use this type SSD?
2. Or, can I use one of the external SATA receptacles (unplug the external) and use that slot for the SSD?

After reading and researching all week, I had set today as decision day for my purchases. Still WAY too many options in my mind!

As always, advice and assistance from knowledgeable folks as yourself is valued.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[txnetcop]

Hi Ted, perfect timing for the question! I have received my i7 960. However, I'm still in the "Stewing" process.

I'm am going to upgrade RAM, not so much for X (thanks for that tip), but for my graphics work. Here I'm torn between adding 6GB (2gb x 3) of matching RAM (same brand, voltage, timings, and latency), or going with 12GB (4gb x 3) of new Corsair Dominator with similar specs. The former saves me about $70.00 but I'd be pairing the new sticks with 4 year old existing RAM. If I go with the all new 12GB, it's all new, and the old becomes my backup incase I have problems with the new. I'm leaning toward the ALL new Dominator option here.

Also looking at a Samsung 250GB SSD. Here, again, I'm torn between getting a 2TG external drive, which would allow me to totally free up 2 of my internal drives ( 1 - 250 and 1 - 500), plus the additional storage, or adding the SSD which would leave me with no external back up (the internal 250 is purely backup for FS, Graphics and personal files). I'm leaning toward the external option here but the jury is still out.

Couple of questions re the SSD. I'm out of internal SATA receptacles:

1. Can I use a PCIe slot type SSD and is there a reason I should or shouldn't use this type SSD?
2. Or, can I use one of the external SATA receptacles (unplug the external) and use that slot for the SSD?

After reading and researching all week, I had set today as decision day for my purchases. Still WAY too many options in my mind!

As always, advice and assistance from knowledgeable folks as yourself is valued.

Thanks,
Steve

1.) OK Steve 12GB buys you nothing with FSX but other online combat games will use it...to include Rise Of Flight-love that WWI simulation-Dominator is EXCELLENT!

2.) Do get either a Samsung 840 EVO or Crucial M500 256GB or 512GB SSD (256GB is just fine) and put FSX on it...you will see an incredible boost in speed and power for FSX because FSX scenery needs the fast access that SSDs give you. You should little to no hesitation even with sliders on HIGH It will use one power chord and one SATA no slots needed on the motherboard!

3.) You will probably want to OC your I7 960 to 4GB that will handle FSX and P3D since they are both very CPU oriented games

4.) Your video should be adequate but you may want to use free RIVA TUNER to tune it up for faster graphics http://www.guru3d.com/content_page/rivatuner.html I still recommend to one day switch over to Nvidia GEFORCE GTX 770 or above for super fast graphics and Nvidia Inspector to tune it.

If you need any more help just ask...lots of very knowledgeable people on here too!
Ted

 

[Duckie]

Ted, re your item no. 2.

1.)

2.) Do get either a Samsung 840 EVO or Crucial M500 256GB or 512GB SSD (256GB is just fine) and put FSX on it...you will see an incredible boost in speed and power for FSX because FSX scenery needs the fast access that SSDs give you. You should little to no hesitation even with sliders on HIGH It will use one power chord and one SATA no slots needed on the motherboard!

Ted

Ted, I apologize if I'm not making myself clear.

Here's my problem. I'm out of internal SATA receptacles on my mobo. If I get an SSD, I have to find/create an open SATA receptacle for the SSD or use an open PCIe slot. So, back to my questions above:

1. Can I use a PCIe slot type SSD and is there a reason I should or shouldn't use this type SSD?
OK, after trolling for a week I finally found a straight answer for this one, NO!

2. Or, can I use one of the external SATA mobo receptacles (unplug the external) and use that internal SATA receptacle for the SSD?


Thanks,
Steve

 

[txnetcop]

Ted, re your item no. 2.




Ted, I apologize if I'm not making myself clear.

Here's my problem. I'm out of internal SATA receptacles on my mobo. If I get an SSD, I have to find/create an open SATA receptacle for the SSD or use an open PCIe slot. So, back to my questions above:

1. Can I use a PCIe slot type SSD and is there a reason I should or shouldn't use this type SSD?
OK, after trolling for a week I finally found a straight answer for this one, NO!

2. Or, can I use one of the external SATA mobo receptacles (unplug the external) and use that internal SATA receptacle for the SSD?


Thanks,
Steve

let me check the P6T SE board and see what speeds all the SATAs work at you can also get a single to dual SATA cable at a computer store

 

[Duckie]

let me check the P6T SE board and see what speeds all the SATAs work at you can also get a single to dual SATA cable at a computer store

I believe all the onboard SATA are SATA II. And after further exploration of my mobo and case connections I do have a SATA that I can disconnect from the case eSATA that I don't use that can be available for the SSD.

Generates another question that you are already checking on (I think). Since my mobo is SATA II will it still be advantageous to use the SSD?

 

[txnetcop]

I believe all the onboard SATA are SATA II. And after further exploration of my mobo and case connections I do have a SATA that I can disconnect from the case eSATA that I don't use that can be available for the SSD.

Generates another question that you are already checking on (I think). Since my mobo is SATA II will it still be advantageous to use the SSD?

yep it will...

 

[Duckie]

yep it will...

Thank you.

 

[wombat666]

Know what you mean Duckie, been there, done that, it seems that most boards that are only a couple of cycles old have SFA when it comes to SATA sockets!

Ted will probably have a work around but my quick and dirty solution is to use one of your existing sockets and if it means removing a backup drive then do it anyway.
You would be better off with an external USB drive as a backup, it is another expense but for around A$110.00 you can get a 2TB external drive (either Seagate or WD).
As an aside, I use several external backups, as I prefer to use the internal SATA sockets for internal drives.
SATA 2 connections work with the Samsungs (and most other SSD drives) as their SATA 3 drives are backwards compatible.
Just my A$00.02.

 

[Duckie]

Thanks, Wombat666. I really appreciate you guys helping out. I'm confident in putting the pieces together. Just not so at picking which pieces.

Going to order the RAM and SSD this afternoon. Then next month, when the funds are refreshed, I'll get the b/u drive.



Steve

 

[txnetcop]

Thanks, Wombat666. I really appreciate you guys helping out. I'm confident in putting the pieces together. Just not so at picking which pieces.

Going to order the RAM and SSD this afternoon. Then next month, when the funds are refreshed, I'll get the b/u drive.



Steve

Happily Wombat stole my thunder. I'm sorry I was so busy yesterday. My PT Cruiser has a timing belt instead of a timing chain...it broke and bent some push rods, valves and screwed up the camshaft. I've been trying to save money and requisition all the parts I need on the cheap. I'm hoping my OLD mechanic skills can get me through the tear down and reassembly. I'd rather work on computers!
Great advice. You can buy Sata II expansion cards for less than $20.00. Anyway you are heading in the right direction Duckie! Thanks Wombat!
Ted

 

[wombat666]

Nasty project there Ted!
Those toothed 'rubber' belts are good as long as you get them changed at the recommended service intervals.
Almost lost one of the Toyota engines in my first Caterham that way, just caught it before the piston crowns and the valves did a tap dance routine!!!!!

Duckie, one thing worth keeping in mind, external drives often (at least, in Oz) turn up discounted, especially when a new model arrives in the marketplace.
And I always have a bit of a haggle, last year's 2TB drive might be discounted from say A$200.00 to A$139.00 for example, with a bit of arm twisting that can be dragged down to A$119.00.
When a store announces 'We won't be beaten on price' I take them to the limit, then I push harder .................... 99% of the time I win.

 

[Duckie]

@Ted - Yikes! Never had that happen but have replaced timing chain and gears, cam, lifters and intake manifold before so I know what you're in for. Good luck on your rebuild!

@Wombat - I'll definitely be watching the sale ads for the external drive!

Again, thank you both for all your experienced advice and willingness to share it. It was most helpful.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Duckie]

Just pulled the trigger on these. Scheduled for Thursday.

1 x CORSAIR Vengeance 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ12GX3M3A1600C9

1 x SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA 6Gb/s TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

1 x ICY DOCK EZ-Fit Lite MB290SP-B 2 x 2.5” to 3.5” Drive Bay SATA/IDE SSD/HDD Mounting Kit / Bracket / Adapter

 

[txnetcop]

Way to rock that upgrade!!!
Ted

 

[Duckie]

Intel Core i7 3.2 MGHz - DONE!

CORSAIR Vengeance 12GB (3 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 - DONE!

SAMSUNG 840 EVO2.5" 250GB SATA 6Gb/s TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - DONE!

Now, who can point me to some OC'ing Instructions for DUMMIES?

 

[txnetcop]

Intel Core i7 3.2 MGHz - DONE!

CORSAIR Vengeance 12GB (3 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 - DONE!

SAMSUNG 840 EVO2.5" 250GB SATA 6Gb/s TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - DONE!

Now, who can point me to some OC'ing Instructions for DUMMIES?

Let me see if I still have my video on youtube...if not I will find an EZ OC for ya! You might want to test it with FSX before you even O/C it just to an idea of what you have accomplished so far.

 

[Duckie]

Let me see if I still have my video on youtube...if not I will find an EZ OC for ya! You might want to test it with FSX before you even O/C it just to an idea of what you have accomplished so far.

Thank you Ted. I kinda thought you might have a tidbit or two! I haven't installed FSX yet. Still waiting on my Gold edition. I don't have Acceleration and I wanted to have that option before I loaded any addons.

Steve

 

[txnetcop]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Nimbus Sans L, arial, sans-serif]STEVE, I WILL FIND MY VIDEO but this is just to give you an idea of how simple the process is with the i7 960 to 4.0GHz. However I still recommend not OCing until you actually have your FSX loaded and working. I can also give you some minor tips for graphics. I confess I am not the consummate expert on AMD video cards but maybe someone else in here is. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Nimbus Sans L, arial, sans-serif]This is gonna sound like gobbly-gook until you go into your bios and look. What this is saying basically is over-ride your voltage vcore setting to 1.4 to start. Your qpi voltage in your BIOS should be at 1.35. That is well within the safe limits established by Intel for heat. And raise the BCLK setting to 167. If you have a good cooler that should do it. Your memory should easily handle it without any changes in the BIOS.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Tahoma, Nimbus Sans L, arial, sans-serif]I have found the easiest way to overclock the i7 9xx series is to simply increase the cpu vcore and use the highest cpu muliplier then increase the BCLK until you hit the desired frequency.[/FONT]

ex: 24x167 = 4.08GHz

You will also need to increase the qpi voltage since increasing the BCLK requires more voltage to stabalize the overclock of the qpi. The rule of thumb is to keep the qpi voltage at about the same as the cpu Vcore. Leave everything on auto. I have read loads of overclock guides that have you changing the many of the settings without any solid justification as to why. The voltage range for that chip is 1.2-1.375V. That is the safe recommended range. There is another chart that intel has that shows the absolute range to be 1.2-1.6V. Exceeding 1.375V is supposed to degrade the lifespan of the chip. exceeding 1.6V is supposed to kill it fast. I have read that many people use up to 1.45V full time. I had my i7 965 running at 4GHz but it required 1.4125V in order to run prime95 stable.

I would start with a cpu Vcore of 1.4V and a qpi voltage of 1.35V and run prime95. If you can make it through at least 20 minutes without one of the threads shutting down then you can try lowering the Vcore and doing it all over again until you find a Vcore that is 100% stable. Once you find a stable Vcore you can do the same for the qpi voltage. I don't think 1.35V is enough to run the i7 960 at 4GHz and be stable under load.