All;I'm collecting input on the following rig to build for FSX:ASUS Rampage II Extreme boardi7 Quad Core 9504 Gig DDR3 RAMCase - HAF932I already have:Win XP Pro SP32 9800GTX+ 512mb video cards4 monitorsI realize it is tough to get too specific, but I don't want to spend over $1000 to get "average" performance from FSX. I currently have a rig for FS9 that runs pretty well.Any input would be appreciated.Thanks.John

You may want to spend a bit less on the CPU by going with a 920 model (available at Micro Center for $199) and spending more elsewhere. For one you'll want 6GB of RAM, not 4GB as the i7 9xx series is best paired with a triple channel memory kit. Also you could swap those graphics cards out for something a bit more powerful for FSX, say something from the GTX 200 series like the 275.

I'd also highly recommend making the leap to a 64-bit OS. With 32-bit Win XP and two 512MB video cards, you will lose one of the four gigs of address space available to WinXP and FS due to hardware address mapping of the video RAM. In a system with 4GB of physical RAM, that means a fourth of your RAM is doing nothing but generating heat--it can't be used by the system because those addresses have been allocated to video RAM instead.If you elect to stick with a 32 bit OS, then go with three 1GB DIMMs, and that will give you triple channel memory bandwidth and the max memory you'll be able to use with a 32 bit OS and 1 GB of combined VRAM.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

I'd also highly recommend making the leap to a 64-bit OS. With 32-bit Win XP and two 512MB video cards, you will lose one of the four gigs of address space available to WinXP and FS due to hardware address mapping of the video RAM. In a system with 4GB of physical RAM, that means a fourth of your RAM is doing nothing but generating heat--it can't be used by the system because those addresses have been allocated to video RAM instead.If you elect to stick with a 32 bit OS, then go with three 1GB DIMMs, and that will give you triple channel memory bandwidth and the max memory you'll be able to use with a 32 bit OS and 1 GB of combined VRAM.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Bob;Yes, Windows 7 has been catching my eye. I think it may be time as then I can get the full benefit of the extra RAM. What about the previous suggestion of an i7 920 vs the 950?Thanks.John

You may want to spend a bit less on the CPU by going with a 920 model (available at Micro Center for $199) and spending more elsewhere. For one you'll want 6GB of RAM, not 4GB as the i7 9xx series is best paired with a triple channel memory kit. Also you could swap those graphics cards out for something a bit more powerful for FSX, say something from the GTX 200 series like the 275.

I had seen some benchmarks where the 200 series wasn't really any better? I have only had the 9800 for a few months and don't really want to flush those down just yet.John

I had seen some benchmarks where the 200 series wasn't really any better? I have only had the 9800 for a few months and don't really want to flush those down just yet.John

There are no reliable FSX benchmarks out there, at least not any published by any "gaming" sites. The only reliable FSX performance data you'll find is from users, in forums like this one. The GTX 200 series is better than the previous 8000-9000 series Geforces, even in FSX. Your 9800 GTXs are good cards, I have a similar card in the form of an 8800 GTS 512 which has been volt-modded and significantly overclocked and it runs games great, including FSX, but nowhere near as well as my GTX 285.

There are no reliable FSX benchmarks out there, at least not any published by any "gaming" sites. The only reliable FSX performance data you'll find is from users, in forums like this one. The GTX 200 series is better than the previous 8000-9000 series Geforces, even in FSX. Your 9800 GTXs are good cards, I have a similar card in the form of an 8800 GTS 512 which has been volt-modded and significantly overclocked and it runs games great, including FSX, but nowhere near as well as my GTX 285.

OK, thanks. Using an i7 920, would overclocking get me anything if I go to Windows 7 64 bit with the 6 G RAM? I have never overclosked a system before and it makes me a bit nervous..John

If you want the most out of the sim, you have to overclock. FSX is extremely linear, which means its performance is almost entirely dependent on how many instructions your CPU can complete per second. This number is directly tied into the clockspeed of your CPU since the equation to derive this number is (number of instructions per clock cycle * clock cycles).

If you want the most out of the sim, you have to overclock. FSX is extremely linear, which means its performance is almost entirely dependent on how many instructions your CPU can complete per second. This number is directly tied into the clockspeed of your CPU since the equation to derive this number is (number of instructions per clock cycle * clock cycles).

So from what I gather, an aftermarket fan would be required to handle the increased temps? For the 920 do you have a recommendation? I am also wondering where the best place is to review what is needed to do the overclocking?I really appreciate your input. Thank you.John

If I were buying an air cooler today, I would buy the Noctua DH-14 cooler. Unfortunately, this cooler was only recently announced and has been hard to find thus far. If you're ready to build right now, look at the Thermalright IFX-14 instead. As for specific advice WRT overclocking, search these forums for i7 920 overclocking.

You may want to spend a bit less on the CPU by going with a 920 model (available at Micro Center for $199) and spending more elsewhere. For one you'll want 6GB of RAM, not 4GB as the i7 9xx series is best paired with a triple channel memory kit. Also you could swap those graphics cards out for something a bit more powerful for FSX, say something from the GTX 200 series like the 275.

I agree with TechguyMaxC. I do recommend a 64bit O/S Retail version. I don't think two video cards will help FSX at all. Best to get a single GPU card.Unless you are an experienced overclocker I would get a motherboard a step down from the RIIX and the saved money could go towards a cooler.

So from what I gather, an aftermarket fan would be required to handle the increased temps? For the 920 do you have a recommendation? I am also wondering where the best place is to review what is needed to do the overclocking?

A moderate overclock into the mid 3 GHz range on a 920 with a quality air cooled heatsink is trivially easy to do. The performance difference between the stock 2.66 GHz and 3.6 GHz is tremendous.Max's suggestions are good...I also like the Prolimatech Megahalems. Also, the case you build an air-cooled system in makes a big difference too. Something like the Coolermaster HAF932 with lots of airflow is needed.McCrash has a good point on the mobo too. The "extreme" versions are best suited for guys doing cutting-edge overclocking...the Asus P6T Deluxe 2, the Gigabyte UD5P and the eVGA X58 3X SLI are all good mid-grade boards that'll support as aggressive an overclock as most of us would care to try.If you google "i7 overclocking guide" you'll find a lot of info on the process.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Looks like the Noctua DH-14 is finally available at Newegg and at it's listed price (for once). $85 makes that cooler the best on the market, bar-none.

A moderate overclock into the mid 3 GHz range on a 920 with a quality air cooled heatsink is trivially easy to do. The performance difference between the stock 2.66 GHz and 3.6 GHz is tremendous.Max's suggestions are good...I also like the Prolimatech Megahalems. Also, the case you build an air-cooled system in makes a big difference too. Something like the Coolermaster HAF932 with lots of airflow is needed.McCrash has a good point on the mobo too. The "extreme" versions are best suited for guys doing cutting-edge overclocking...the Asus P6T Deluxe 2, the Gigabyte UD5P and the eVGA X58 3X SLI are all good mid-grade boards that'll support as aggressive an overclock as most of us would care to try.If you google "i7 overclocking guide" you'll find a lot of info on the process.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

2nd That on the Megahalems.....The new ASUS P6X58D is equiped with Sata6-gb/s and USB 3.0 very good board IMHO.

With the new mother boards, OC is very easy. If you not trying to push too far.Just go to bios find your BLCK and turn it up in steps of 5, usually defualt is about 133 or so, 133 x Multiplier of 20 = 2.6 Ghz defulat clock of i920all i had to do was turn that number alone up to 185 x 20 = 3.8 GhzAnd just leave everything else in your Bios on Auto.As you gain oc experience you can start to fiddle with all the other stuff you left of auto e.g. vcore, ram timings etc.Again new MObos are designed to OC for Noobs, never ever Oc's before and was hiting the high clocks in a week. Some mobos like gigabyte even have free software you can use to OC from the comfort of windows , in this case its as easy as turning up a volume to select what speed mode you want.Meaning if i was you, i would try to spend as much as i can on good cooling, cause it raises the bar on how high you can turn up the OC volume. Since you limited to $1000 budget, id keep the two 9800 for your 4 monitors, But four monitors is a lot of pixels to push, so you gona need the best air cooling you can get to push those pixels with the right OC.Basic OC is very easy this days, not the science it used to be, When you turn up the cpu clock speed , all other settings on AUTO adjust to match SIMPLE AS THAT.MAKE SURE TO ASK FOR D0 STEPPING I7920 NOT JUST ANY I7920, D0 oc WELL.IF YOU GO FOR GIGABYTE mother board, you can use their easytune windows software to do the OC for you, as simple as turning a knob , then it restarts your pc. Just turn it up in small steps.If it crashes it means you turned up oc volume too high, but it always recovers itself due to gigabyte dual bios technology.