I'm clueless - please help

[Drumcode 1,892]

I haven't been on top of hardware since about 2004, so I've been spending a lot of time in this section of the AVSIM forum, trying to figure out what I need to get to finally have a decent PC and not the one from the stone age like I have now. There are so many different suggestions from different users that I finally decided to give up reading and ask myself.Here's what I'm looking to do, I'd like to fly in FS9 with add-ons (sceneries, birds, AI) with a great performance (note: doesn't have to superb, lol)I also would like to try flying in FSX with a reasonable perfomance so I don't start hating it right away.I'm debating wheter to get Q6600 or I7 920 Nehalem. I understand the second is newer? What would you get? Can you recommend decent MOBO for each of the two as well. Also, a good inexpensive cooler for OC?4Gb of RAM minimum?I know it's not a proper forum to ask about graphics but since I'm at it, I'll just ask.I can probably only afford a card in a range of GTX260 or GTX9800, maybe I should get something from Radeon series? The ball is in your hands, I have no clue wth I'm doing. :(Thank you very much for any help you can provide. :)

[Art_P 6]

Here's what I'm looking to do, I'd like to fly in FS9 with add-ons (sceneries, birds, AI) with a great performance (note: doesn't have to superb, lol)I also would like to try flying in FSX with a reasonable perfomance so I don't start hating it right away.I'm debating wheter to get Q6600 or I7 920 Nehalem. I understand the second is newer? What would you get? Can you recommend decent MOBO for each of the two as well. Also, a good inexpensive cooler for OC?4Gb of RAM minimum?I know it's not a proper forum to ask about graphics but since I'm at it, I'll just ask.I can probably only afford a card in a range of GTX260 or GTX9800, maybe I should get something from Radeon series? The ball is in your hands, I have no clue wth I'm doing. :(

If you have a lot of money, there are a lot of options and the answers are difficult. If you want the most for each dollar spent and are not trying to futureproof your computer (if that's even possible) there are some obvious choices.There are some great prices on components to run FS9 like a runaway train and FSX pretty well. In my opinion, the best values are the Intel E8500 Core Duo CPU, and the EVGA GeForce 9800 GT or GTX 512MB DDR3 video card. This combination with 4GB RAM will provide optimum performance. FS can't use more than 2 cores and 4GB ram, and a better (more expensive) video card will not result in any improvement without a higher clock speed CPU. I don't overclock and use the stock CPU cooler, so I don't have a recommendation for a better heatsink/fan. The motherboard may depend on other uses for your computer (ports and slots needed). SLI and Crossfire are of no use for FS currently. I would look for the best prices on Intel chipset MBs and check the Intel website to compare the chipset features.

[Drumcode 1,892]

Thanks, I was thinking Quad as I don't upgrade very often, I'm still on 2.8Ghz P4, lol. I might splash out the cash and just get I7.

[scott967 62]

Or maybe AMD Phenom II X4 ????scott s..

[Reset XPDR 1,271]

I haven't been on top of hardware since about 2004, so I've been spending a lot of time in this section of the AVSIM forum, trying to figure out what I need to get to finally have a decent PC and not the one from the stone age like I have now. There are so many different suggestions from different users that I finally decided to give up reading and ask myself.Here's what I'm looking to do, I'd like to fly in FS9 with add-ons (sceneries, birds, AI) with a great performance (note: doesn't have to superb, lol)I also would like to try flying in FSX with a reasonable perfomance so I don't start hating it right away.I'm debating wheter to get Q6600 or I7 920 Nehalem. I understand the second is newer? What would you get? Can you recommend decent MOBO for each of the two as well. Also, a good inexpensive cooler for OC?4Gb of RAM minimum?I know it's not a proper forum to ask about graphics but since I'm at it, I'll just ask.I can probably only afford a card in a range of GTX260 or GTX9800, maybe I should get something from Radeon series? The ball is in your hands, I have no clue wth I'm doing. :(Thank you very much for any help you can provide. :)

You'll get outstanding FS9 performance, even with all the addon trimmings, for a great price from a Q6600 G0 overclocked to 3.2GHz+, an OC friendly motherboard, an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Cooler, 2GB DDR2 800 RAM or better and a 256MB 7900 or better video card. A well performing FSX system is a whole different story, one which I have been out of touch with since I stopped using FSX about six months ago. There are many others on this forum, especially Nick N, who can advise you on what hardware specs will make this newer FS title fly.Gary

[Guest Nick_N]

I haven't been on top of hardware since about 2004, so I've been spending a lot of time in this section of the AVSIM forum, trying to figure out what I need to get to finally have a decent PC and not the one from the stone age like I have now. There are so many different suggestions from different users that I finally decided to give up reading and ask myself.Here's what I'm looking to do, I'd like to fly in FS9 with add-ons (sceneries, birds, AI) with a great performance (note: doesn't have to superb, lol)I also would like to try flying in FSX with a reasonable perfomance so I don't start hating it right away.I'm debating wheter to get Q6600 or I7 920 Nehalem. I understand the second is newer? What would you get? Can you recommend decent MOBO for each of the two as well. Also, a good inexpensive cooler for OC?4Gb of RAM minimum?I know it's not a proper forum to ask about graphics but since I'm at it, I'll just ask.I can probably only afford a card in a range of GTX260 or GTX9800, maybe I should get something from Radeon series? The ball is in your hands, I have no clue wth I'm doing. :(Thank you very much for any help you can provide. :)

1. Coming from stone age do mess with anything but i72. Although 920 will clock I suggest the 940 be purchased to assure that 1: if you do not clock you get a good all purpose CPU for the use. 2: If you do clock a 4GHz clock can be reached easier than with 920 and 920 does have restricted memory multipliers so a future upgrade in memory may be hindered by that. Only go with 920 if your budget simply will not allow for anything else and you should expect to clock any i7 you purchase eventually down the road so plan for it. A 965 is the easiest to clock (unfortunately expensive) and with the multiplier available many different combinations of CPU and memory can be used. In any case eventually you will want to upgrade memory and i7 is much better suited for DDR3 2000 (not available quite yet) than the current offerings so plan ahead. The 940 is really the best choice between cost and use.3. i7 requires 3 sticks of DDR3 memory rated at 1.65v. If you never plan to clock all you need is DDR3 1333 with a timing rating of 6-6-6. If you plan to clock I hightly suggest DDR3 1600 7-7-7 memory. In either case you should get 3x2GB of memory or 6GB total (2GB per stick) and they come in sets. A 64bit OS should be selected to make full use of it in FSX SP2. In FS9 you can use ithe large memory amount too but you must edit the FS9.exe file using special software to allow enable the LARGEADDRESSAWARE and then the application will use up to 4GB total in a 64bit OS. That OS can be Windows Vista x64 or Windows Xp x644. A GTX 260 will go very well with a i7 processor although the 280 would be a better choice for very high clocking. Either one is fine5. The Asus P6T is a nice board and will provide all the features you need to clock should you decide to6. For clocking you will need the right cooling solution. i7 gets hot. The Thermalright 120 Extreme 1366 edtition will do the job. Disable Hyperthreading in the BIOS because neither FS9 or FSX will us it, and, disabling that function will drop temps by as much as 10c. You can clock i7 somewhat without a special cooling solution however about the best you can do is about 3.2Ghz on a 920, 3.4Ghz on a 940 and 3.5Ghz on a 965 (perhaps less if ambient is warm in the room)The Q66 is old news.. it was old news when the Q96 was released. Dont buy 2 year old tech, put yourself in something you can enjoy with much better results for a much greater period of time. What I listed will chew through FS9 and will run FSX on decent settings.. if you clock it it will run FSX on high settings with great results.See FSX setup and tuning here: http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_post...=29041&PN=1I have not used FS9 in well over 2 years=====================Hey Gary.. nice to see you again :(

[Reset XPDR 1,271]

Hey Gary.. nice to see you again :(

Hi Nick. Yes it has been a while since I posted here as I have had a break from FS in general as I focus on other aspects of my life (mid-life crisis? :(). Lots has happened in the hardware world since I had my play with FSXMark07 more than a year ago now and I see you are still right at the forefront of what is needed to get FSX moving along. Keep up the good work!Gary

[Guest Nick_N]

Hi Nick. Yes it has been a while since I posted here as I have had a break from FS in general as I focus on other aspects of my life (mid-life crisis? :(). Lots has happened in the hardware world since I had my play with FSXMark07 more than a year ago now and I see you are still right at the forefront of what is needed to get FSX moving along. Keep up the good work!Gary

ohhh goodness.. been there, done thatI traded a life for a boat :(

[Guest bekfreak]

ohhh goodness.. been there, done thatI traded a life for a boat :(

Interesting post there about clocking the two systems. I'm looking to go with a clocked 920 with the cash that would of went for the 940 into a 280 over the 260. Unless with a monitor at 1280x1024 resolution that would be a total waste. :) Or getting the 920 clocked a bit higher at 3.4ghz.

[Guest Nick_N]

Interesting post there about clocking the two systems. I'm looking to go with a clocked 920 with the cash that would of went for the 940 into a 280 over the 260. Unless with a monitor at 1280x1024 resolution that would be a total waste. :) Or getting the 920 clocked a bit higher at 3.4ghz.

1280x1024? Yes, a bit of overkill although not a waste.. I would pair that up with a 1920x1200 24" widescreen

[Guest bekfreak]

1280x1024? Yes, a bit of overkill although not a waste.. I would pair that up with a 1920x1200 24" widescreen

I need to get my computer room redone first to get the space to do two monitors. It's sorta hard to sim and look at the web at the sametime on one monitor. I would like to get my hands on a 25-26 inch widescreen but a good 24 inch would be nice too. :)

[Drumcode 1,892]

Nick, thank you so much for the valuable info. I went ahead with the 920 and P6T but I screwed up and got only 4 gigs of RAM. Do I need to get additional stick? I got 4Gb of 1600 series.Btw, I can't find that cooler anywhere.

[Guest Nick_N]

Nick, thank you so much for the valuable info. I went ahead with the 920 and P6T but I screwed up and got only 4 gigs of RAM. Do I need to get additional stick? I got 4Gb of 1600 series.Btw, I can't find that cooler anywhere.

If you intend to clock you need 3 sticks which are designed for i7 above 1333MHz and rated at no higher than 1.65vThese: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820227381 or These: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820145224Use to model numbers to check different suppliers if the ones above are out of stock The 120 EX 1366 is very backordered becuase of the popularity of i7 now.. Try here: http://www.quietpcusa.com/Thermalright-Ult...er-P507C61.aspxyou may want to call and confirm "in stock"ALSO! Be AWARE that the fan that comes with that is a 3 pin standard fan.. (I use an originaL 120 with my own fan and a updated mount clip) It works with the 4 pin CPU fan motherboards but there is no speed control possible.. I just found that out recently so if you want a proper 4pin PWM fan for it that the motherboard can control speed by, then you need this fan:http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5879/fan..._R121225BU.htmlWhich has a higher CFM rating tooThis is another 1366 cooler for clocking that just hit newegg a while a go http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835702007I understand the directions for installing it were incorrect and they updated them to the correct the mistakes herehttp://www.vigorgaming.com/components/pdf/...nstructions.pdfProduct Page http://www.vigorgaming.com/components/cmp_...lite_intel.htmlI cant vouch for it since I have never used one but it looks interesting and something I would probably try myselfThe i7 will come with a heatsink and fan.. you can not clock very far on the factory heatsink but you can do some clocking

[Drumcode 1,892]

Will something happen if I clock it on these two sticks instead?http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...ntent-_-text-_-I was also thinking about going with this cooler, unless it's not necessary.http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8444/cpu...t_LGA_1366.html

[Guest Nick_N]

Will something happen if I clock it on these two sticks instead?http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...ntent-_-text-_-I was also thinking about going with this cooler, unless it's not necessary.http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8444/cpu...t_LGA_1366.html

The memory you posted is NOT for i7! It has a higher DRAM voltage rating.. anything higher than 1.65v will BURN the processor.. (1.69 is critical)The HSF you posted is the Thermalright but it is out of stock at frozen CPU.. the link I posted above is to the same unit and I think they have them in stock and I also posted an alternative that looks like it may do the job as well