I want to build a good FSX machine. I have reviewed a number of posts and recommendations on this board and have come up with the following list of components. Since it's been a number of years since I've built a new machine, I want to get some feedback on a) any suggestions to improve this list, :( if everything that I have here will work well together and c) have I overlooked anything?Thanks for your help!Steve$69.99 Case - COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119137$219.99 Mother Board - EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...-NF68-A1%2b680i$154.99 Power Supply - Antec NeoPower 650 ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817371011$394.99 Video Card - EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130080$299.99 CPU - Intel Core II 6850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115028$19.99 CPU Cooler - Artic Cooling 7 Pro - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...eezer%2b7%2bpro$244.99 Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220227$189.99 Hard Drive #1 - Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drivehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....on=150gb+Raptor$109.00 Hard Drive #2 - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drivehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136073$29.99 SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache PATA 20X DVD

Have you given any thought about buying a P35 motherboard? My newbuild is enroute and hope to have it up and running Sat.Just waiting for the MOBO and processor.Lian Li PC 65B CaseCorsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W Power SupplyPlextor PX-810SA/SW-BL DVD/CDGiagabyte GA-P35-DS3RCrucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)Arctic Freezer 7 ProIntel E6850 Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz 4M shared L2 CacheEVGA 7950GT KO 512mbSeagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATASeagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATACraig

What is the advantage of the P35 board? As I said it's been a LONG time since I've done this, so I'm way behind on what's what now! :-)Thanks,Steve

Having just gone through it I can understand your position. FWIW, I would suggest two changes - get an 850W PSU - the 650 may be fine for now but *if* you decided to add another video card in SLI, it would be pushing it. Also, I would get a SATA DVD/RW drive - this way you can disable the entire IDE function - just fewer things for the processor to worry about - also good in case you decide to overclock the 6850.Good luck!Just MHO,VicVisit the Virtual Pilot's Centerwww.flightadventures.comRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/

Would I see a performance increase (or longevity increase) by using CORSAIR Dominator 4GB(4 x 1GB)PC2 8500 memory (1066) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145179vs. the Patriot 2 x 2GB DDR2 PC2 6400 (800)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220227 ?Thanks,Steve

I'm running this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820148069on this which is the P35 chipset: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128050Lots of very good reviews on the Crucial Memory if you Google it.Craig

Looks good, a few comments:I'd go for the IP35 by Abit:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813127030Especially if you want to OC it...there's a great site for OCers with that mobo.... trying to remember the link anyway....About the Raptor X.....sorta waste of money to see a partially clear cover on the HDD don't you think? Just go for 2x 250GB Caviars...or 2x 500...wow a Terabyte!! RAID them...whatever you want to do!Windows Vista Ultimate....hmmm...I'm looking at Premium...but if you need all that extra "stuff" then by all means, it's your money :)I really like your choice of CPU, GPU, and cpu cooler!!!Have fun with the build and let us know how it goes! :):)edit: oh and I'd go for the 2GB of Patriot right now....maybe add some more later???? get more opinions on that one...I know Vista is a little tight with 2GB for gaming...

That's funny.... I had already changed my mind and had selected exactly the same motherboard that you recommended.You need Business or Ultimate to be able to allow incoming Remote Desktop connections, and that's a very important feature to me so it's worth the premium.Thanks for your input. Here's my latest list based on the input I've received so far and additional research I've done. The only thing I'm not relatively sure of at this point is which way is best to go for the memory..... 2x2GB (Patriot) 800 or 4x1GB Corsair 1066.I'll let you know how it goes in a couple of weeks!Thanks,Steve$119.99 Case - LIAN LI PC-65B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Casehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...PC%2b65B%2bCase$184.99 Mother Board - ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboardhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813127030$259.99 Power Supply - Thermaltake W0131RU ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply 100http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817153043$384.99 Video Card - EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Cardhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130080$299.99 CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processorhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115028$19.99 ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Coolerhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...eezer%2b7%2bpro$419.00 CORSAIR Dominator 4GB(4 x 1GB)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145179 orPatriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220227$189.99 Hard Drive #1 - Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drivehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136011$109.00 Hard Drive #2 - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drivehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136073$30.99 LG Electronics Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RWhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827136120$6.99 1 SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16821103203$19.99 Atech Flash Xm-4U 11-in-1 USB 2.0 Black & Silver Internal card readerhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820176825$189.99 Operating System - Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVDhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832116213

I see you are going with the Lian Li case. I think you'll like it. The removable MOBO tray takes a lot of the hassle out of assembly and fat fingers out of the equation. Craig

Yep, after reading about it (and the reviews) I decided that was a better way to go. By the way, for the previous poster, the reason for the Raptor drive is that it's 10k rpm (over 25% faster seek time than a 7.2k) and that's supposed to be very important for picking up all the small FS files.Thanks!Steve

>Yep, after reading about it (and the reviews) I decided that>was a better way to go. By the way, for the previous poster,>the reason for the Raptor drive is that it's 10k rpm (over 25%>faster seek time than a 7.2k) and that's supposed to be very>important for picking up all the small FS files.>>Thanks!>>SteveYes, but there are (or used to be a few months ago) two versions of the Raptor drive at any given size:the regular Raptor and the Raptor X.The only difference between them that I know of is the Raptor X has the clear cover on it. I give that the big "meh", who cares about watching platters and spindle. Bah humbugSave your self $40 and get the regular Raptor. It used to be $40-$50 cheaper anyway. I haven't been following them lately.----------Performance Difference between 10,000 rpm vs. 7200 rpm:I tested before and after and found that FSX default KSEA flight load times were decreased from 65 seconds to 53 seconds. An 18% speed up.All other factors (cpu, memory, FSX settings, etc.) were IDENTICAL in my testing.20% faster load times is a ballpark figure with FS.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

Thanks. I didn't know that! I couldn't care less what type of cover it has on it!Steve

>>20% faster load times is a ballpark figure with FS.<

yeah hehe that's what I meant....the "X" means that there is a semi-clear cover over the HDD case.... and you're paying like an extra $$ for that one...I'm all for the raptor, just not the X

You know, you can make a standard Raptor into an "X" right in your own home.All you need is some Elmer's glue, a piece of plexiglass and a pry bar. RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian