New System

[Mike_CFII_MEL 789]

Hi,Well, after some review I decided on a new system. Listed below are the items I am looking to purchase.1. ASUS Rampage II Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard2. Core i7 975 Extreme3. DOMINATOR GT, 6GB (3x2GB), 2000MHz, 7-8-7-20, with Airflow fan (TR3X6G2000C7GTF)4. GeForce GTX 295I am keeping my 2-SATA 10,000rpm hard drives as well as my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS sound board and Sony and Asus DVD drives.I have one question, should I run Windows XP Pro 64 bit or Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit?Thanks

[rgerdes 4]

Hi Mike,Keep us appraised - I'm looking at much the same for later this year.Bob

[Mike_CFII_MEL 789]

Hi,I plan on running windows on both drives. I'll run FS9 on one drive and FSX on the other. This will be a Flight Simulator computer only, no other programs will be installed.I also plan on running WideClient for all my addons (Flightsim Commander, ActiveSky, Radar Contact).Has anyone done any testing on Windows 64 Bit Operating systems?. Since this will be strictly FS9 and FSX which OS will give me better performance Vista 64 or XP Pro 64?.Thanks

[Plainplane 6]

Lets discuss a few things with your system plans.The ASUS Rampage II Extreme is a bit troublesome, as it has a problem with short-circuiting when attempting to cold boot. This fried the i7 965 that I had, which Intel replaced under warranty. I am currently using a Gigabyte motherboard.Good choice of CPU and I hear Corsair is a pretty good brand of RAM.FSX does not support multi-GPU configurations, so you wouldn't get very good performance from the GTX295. It would be better to get the GTX285, as it is the best card available for FSX.I think it would be better to install Windows on one hard drive (something inexpensive and small), and have each FS installation on a separate, high-performance drive. Then the needed files would be accessed faster as there would be nothing else being loaded in the background from them.What power supply are you using?Also, the only reason I can think of for using Vista instead of XP x64 is for using DirectX 10 Preview mode, which is very buggy. Unlike the rumors, XP x64 is very stable and I never had any compatibility issues with it.Good luck with your build, I hope it goes a lot smoother than mine has been.

[Mike_CFII_MEL 789]

Hi,I have an Enermax Galaxy 1000 watt power supply. Did some reading on the GTX285 and your right, it is the better choice. I'll get the one from XfX with an Engine Clock of 670 and Memory Speed at 2500 Mhz. which is a touch better than the other GTX285 with an Engine Clock at 648 and Memory Speed at 2480 Mhz.

[Mike_CFII_MEL 789]

Hi,I will be picking up this video board tomorrow at J&R.This is the board: XFX GX-285N-ZDDF NVIDIA GeForce 285 GTX 1024 MB DDR3 Graphics Card, 670MHz GPU Clock / 2500MHz Memory Clock / 512-Bit Interface / PCI Express Slot / 3-Way SLI capable / OpenGL 2.1 Support / Dual DVI and HDTV Ready.

[Plainplane 6]

Very good choice.

[ryanbatc 12,834]

Solid, but I don't think you need the 975... could get the 940 or 950, for like half the price. You only lose the unlocked multiplier oh well...

[Guest simjunkie]

Don't get the 940 anymore and if you decide on the 920 make sure it's the new D0 stepping. The 950 and 975 are both D0 only. The new stepping is already handling the overclocks much better on much lower voltages:http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=584I'm selling my (well cared for) 965 to help pay for the 975 when it's out, but I'm really tempted by the 950 too.I agree on the rampage II extreme as not being a good choice though. I really wanted that board having used the rampage formula, which I absolutely loved. But then I read about all the issues the R2E seems to have especially the cold boot problems. I got the P6T Deluxe and it's been solid so far.Hell of a system you'll have there. -jk

[Mike_CFII_MEL 789]

Hi,Well, I ordered the following, and will pick it up in the morning.1. BFG - GTX285 1024OCXE NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 OCX 1GB PCIe 2.0. It has a 702MHz Clock Rate and a 2664MHz Memory Clock.2. ASUS P6T Intel X58 MotherboardThe BFG has the fastest clock speed I could find. It also comes with a lifetime warranty, can't beat that. The memory I want is not in stock anywhere, guess Ill have to wait on that. Its no big deal, I have to wait for the I7 975 anyway.Well, another step closer to a new system. So, what improvement do you think I can expect going from an Asus Striker Extreme Mother Board, a 6800 Extreme processor, 4 gig of ram and an ATI 3870X2 video board. With a Windows XP Pro 32 bit O/S.to anAsus P6T Mother Board, a I7 975 processor, 6 gig of ram and a BFG GTX285 video board. With Windows Vista 64 bit O/S? I will be using my two 10,000 rpm SATA drives.

[Guest djt01]

Well, I ordered the following, and will pick it up in the morning.2. ASUS P6T Intel X58 MotherboardThe BFG has the fastest clock speed I could find. It also comes with a lifetime warranty, can't beat that. The memory I want is not in stock anywhere, guess Ill have to wait on that. Its no big deal, I have to wait for the I7 975 anyway.

Asus released a revision of the P6T a while back called the P6T Deluxe V2 -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131365If I were you I'd look into choosing this over the original P6T. The revision also has a better layout as far as the PCI slots are concerned which for me has been the reason why I haven't grabbed the Rampage Extreme II. There has also been talk of other revisions to other X58 motherboards. There is also a GTX 285 from EVGA called the

[Guest Nick_N]

Well, another step closer to a new system. So, what improvement do you think I can expect going from an Asus Striker Extreme Mother Board, a 6800 Extreme processor, 4 gig of ram and an ATI 3870X2 video board. With a Windows XP Pro 32 bit O/S.to anAsus P6T Mother Board, a I7 975 processor, 6 gig of ram and a BFG GTX285 video board. With Windows Vista 64 bit O/S? I will be using my two 10,000 rpm SATA drives.

Much better .. a heck of a lot betterBut BE WARNEDIn order to use the new DDR3 2000 with 1st Gen i7 you MUST OVERVOLT the QPI/DRAM spec to 1.60v and I dont care what they tell you at and memory company or post in forums.. this spec is 1.37v MAX and my Intel contact tells me it will work but there is no guarantee for how long without other settings in line to compensate. At the same time the new memory chips running CAS7 @ DDR3 1866 and 2000 are being designed for 2nd Gen i7 which IS RUNNING those @ the QPI/DRAM 1.37v spec and memory @ 1.65vIf you intend to use the newer DDR3 2000 memory I suggest you make sure to purchase one of the 2nd gen batch i7sMy contact tells me although he can see 1.45-1.50 his stand is 1.60v QPI is quite excessiveNow.. one other thing and this is in response to buying the cheaper slugs over the extreme.. it s NOT just the CPU multiplier advantage one gets with that slug and if one has the money and wishes to have all the advantages to memory ability in clocking with the faster memory products don

[Mike_CFII_MEL 789]

Hi,Thanks, what about this memory I just found from mwave.http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec_v2.asp?scriteria=BA26048Looks like the P6T is going back to J&R, I'll get the P6T Deluxe V2.Thanks

Much better .. a heck of a lot betterBut BE WARNEDIn order to use the new DDR3 2000 with 1st Gen i7 you MUST OVERVOLT the QPI/DRAM spec to 1.60v and I dont care what they tell you at Corsair or past in forums.. this spec is 1.37v MAX and my Intel contact tells me it will work but there is no guarantee for how long without other settings in line to compensate. At the same time the new memory chips running CAS7 @ DDR3 1866 and 2000 are being designed for 2nd Gen i7 which IS RUNNING those @ the QPI/DRAM 1.37v spec and memory @ 1.65vIf you intend to use the newer DDR3 2000 memory I suggest you make sure to purchase one of the 2nd gen batch i7sMy contact tells me although he can see 1.45 his stand is 1.60v QPI is quite excessive

[Guest Nick_N]

Hi,Thanks, what about this memory I just found from mwave.http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec_v2.asp?scriteria=BA26048Looks like the P6T is going back to J&R, I'll get the P6T Deluxe V2.Thanks

Its the same thing.. no difference!ANY 1st Gen i7 920, 940 or 965 (D0 stepping 920 is considered 2nd Gen) will require excessive QPI/DRAM voltage to run DDR3 1866-2000.. does not matter what company makes the memory because they are ALL the same memory chips. You need a 920 (D0) 950 or 975 (both D0) with those high speed memory products so you are not operating in untested and out of spec waters on QPI/DRAM

[Mike_CFII_MEL 789]

Hi Nick,I am waiting to purchase the I7 975, is this not a second Gen I7 it states it will be D0 stepping?Thanks again Nick

Its the same thing.. no difference!ANY 1st Gen i7 920, 940 or 965 (D0 stepping 920 is considered 2nd Gen) will require excessive QPI/DRAM voltage to run DDR3 1866-2000.. does not matter what company makes the memory because they are ALL the same memory chips. You need a 920 (D0) 950 or 975 (both D0) with those high speed memory products so you are not operating in untested and out of spec waters on QPI/DRAM