Expert Advice On A New Rig Please

[vinodkk 12]

I am planning to build a new PC entirely for running FSX maxed out and with a good frame rate. I already bought the following components and plan to use Windows Vista 32 bit.Processor: Intel Q 9550.MB: Asus P5E (X38 based)RAM: 4GB of Kingston HyperX DDR2 800MHzGraphic processor: XFX Geforce 8800 GTS 512 mb XXX Edn My questions are1. Will the above components be good enough to achieve the goal?2. Is there any advantage in having a RAID 0 setup with two Seagate 7200RPM SATA2 32MB Cache hard disks?3. Will the hard disks with 32 MB cache offer any extra advantage over 16 MB with regard to FSX?I would very much appreciate an expert advice. Thanks in advance.Vinod.

[Sharrow 0]

Hi VinodFirstly, forget about running FSX with all settings maxed out and decent FPS. No machine capable of such a feat exists in the consumer arena today, Core i7 included.RAID offers very little, if any, real benefit for FSX. Especially so when using software RAID (i.e. what is on your mobo already) as it uses up a lot of valuable CPU cycles which would be much better used for FSX itself. Hardware RAID (with an extra card) has more to offer, at a much higher cost. So the advice would be to not go with RAID at all.16MB vs 32MB cache on HDD's will not have any significant benefits as far as I know. The newer 1TB drives offer truly excellent performance, rivalling the 150 Raptor in some cases.Also worth considering is what screen res you will be using. The higher the screen res the lower your FPS will be. The 8800 GTS will be fine for 1680x1050 max. Anything more and a GTX260 is what you should be considering.If you are not planning on a 64bit OS (which is generally recommended for FSX only rigs) then make sure you try the /3GB USERVA=2560 switch in your OS to make better use of the 4GB of RAM.Hope this helps!

[vinodkk 12]

Hi VinodFirstly, forget about running FSX with all settings maxed out and decent FPS. No machine capable of such a feat exists in the consumer arena today, Core i7 included.RAID offers very little, if any, real benefit for FSX. Especially so when using software RAID (i.e. what is on your mobo already) as it uses up a lot of valuable CPU cycles which would be much better used for FSX itself. Hardware RAID (with an extra card) has more to offer, at a much higher cost. So the advice would be to not go with RAID at all.16MB vs 32MB cache on HDD's will not have any significant benefits as far as I know. The newer 1TB drives offer truly excellent performance, rivalling the 150 Raptor in some cases.Also worth considering is what screen res you will be using. The higher the screen res the lower your FPS will be. The 8800 GTS will be fine for 1680x1050 max. Anything more and a GTX260 is what you should be considering.If you are not planning on a 64bit OS (which is generally recommended for FSX only rigs) then make sure you try the /3GB USERVA=2560 switch in your OS to make better use of the 4GB of RAM.Hope this helps!

Dear Sir,Thank you very much for the advice and would definitely help in deciding the configuration. I am using a 1680x1050 res LCD widescreen monitor (Samsung T220)which I forgot to mention. Thanking you again.Vinod.

[Sharrow 0]

You're very welcome Vinod!

[Guest D17S]

Even today, you might consider the Q6600. You will need a $50 cooler, but the Q6 will overclock to 3.6 with just a couple of bios clicks. The Q95 will go there too, but it's twice the price. The only reasonable way to increase FS performance is to increase the CPU clock speed. So, if ya really want to spend that extra money, buy us all pizza! We'll be very appreciative.