Replacing an ancient computer...on a budget

[Guest mikebagwell]

HiI currently have a setup which went out with the ark that badly needs replacing. I currently have:Athlon 64 3000+2GB RAMGeForce 7800GSPlease don't laugh! It's served me well for I think 5 years now without any problems, but I think it really is time for a change. The trouble is, I haven't thought about upgrading a computer for such a long time that I have no idea what's current or good, or what would be the best bet.I'm primarily looking to buy a setup that will give me good performance in FS9 flying Level-D type stuff with REX, lots of AI etc in to detailed airports whilst maintaining smoothness and reasonable FPS. I'm hoping that just about anything will be better that what I currently have, but I also want something that will give me at least a fighting chance of being able to run FSX to a reasonable degree of satisfaction should I choose to move on from FS9.I know I'm being a bit of a cheapskate, but I don't really want to spend more than around

[ryanbatc 12,856]

500 quid is what $800 USD?You can get a decent running FS9 system for that. FSX should run with medium-high sliders provided you don't fly the heavy payware into JFK hehe.I'd look at the Core 2 Duo, either an E8500:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...5-036-_-ProductOr a slower quad core, which you could overclock:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115041The quad wouldn't do a whole lot for FS9 but it would for FSX, mainly help smooth things out. But you'd need to overclock it to at least 3.2 GHz to enjoy FSX at moderate settings.If your focusing on FS9 take the E8500, it's easy overclockable, and essentially the faster the core clock, the better performance.Motherboard. something like this:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131600Video card:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...0-434-_-Product4GB of ramhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231193And I recommend either Vista x64 or Windows 7 x64. Might want to read up and make sure some of the older FS9 things work on x64 operating systems though. Any 16bit programs, such as the older Reality XP Garmins won't work. The newer WAAS ones do though.

[Kosta 122]

I'd also recommend a fast DDR2 system if you want to stay on the FS9. 800$ won't cut it for the decent FSX.See my current sig, you can get that (plus faster GPU) for around 800$.E8600 will at stock speed serve you very well, if you get a better cooler, you are looking at the stable 4Ghz, without much fuss.I always rather go for the faster CPU than slower, but you gotta see if it's in your budget.

[jjeffreys 12]

Here is what I would build for $757 or

[TechguyMaxC 516]

I'll second the above.Keep in mind UK prices are higher because of exchange rates and VAT, though.

[Guest mikebagwell]

Thanks very much for the replies.I'm not really all that confident about building my own setup, so I was hoping to get something complete off the shelf.I was looking at something like this:http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF...59-4032770.htmlWhat do you think? It's a bit above my budget but I can stretch to it, but it only has a GT220. Is this significantly wosre than a GTX260? I imagine it is. In which case, will I be able to do any better for a complete computer (if so, any suggestions as to where would be appreciated) or will I have to bite the bullet and build one myself? If it's the latter, I have no idea what else I need, in terms of power supply, cooling, hard drive etc.Sorry to bombard you with all this, I'm afraid you're dealing with a real novice here!EDIT:Or how about this one?http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176496or this one:http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172711For this price I'd happily pay a bit extra and buy a GTX260 for either of those, if that would workMike

[TechguyMaxC 516]

The GT220 is not a sufficient gaming card. Keep in mind when buying pre-built you are limited by the chassis and PSU choices of the OEM, which usually means you can't use a high-end graphics card like a GTX 260/275/285.

[Guest mikebagwell]

Thanks again for the reply. I really do apprecate your help.Can I ask you for your opinion on one more pre-built system before I think about the custom route?http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pc/range/irush.htmlI was thinking about the 'iRush Pro' with the Radeon 5770. Is this a good card?

[TechguyMaxC 516]

The Radeon 5770 is a great card, but not the best for MSFS. Unfortunately ATi's driver support for MSFS is rather poor, and thus their cards under-perform compared to Nvidia cards. If you were doing anything other than MSFS I would say go ahead and get the Radeon 5770. You really want to look for a GTX 260 or 275 to get the most out of MSFS.

[nema_flyboy 0]

The Radeon 5770 is a great card, but not the best for MSFS. Unfortunately ATi's driver support for MSFS is rather poor, and thus their cards under-perform compared to Nvidia cards. If you were doing anything other than MSFS I would say go ahead and get the Radeon 5770. You really want to look for a GTX 260 or 275 to get the most out of MSFS.

that may have been the case with the 57XX series, but ATI's new 58xx series trumps both nVidia high-end single-gpu cards (GTX270 and GTX285), and not only have they been proven better for FSX, they're cheaper too. Obviously, we're not including the GTX295 in this comparison as its a single-PCB-dual-GPU SLI based card.Now, i'm no a really excited user for ATI or nVidia, i just buy what's fastest for as little as i can get, up until now i had a GTX260 fitted, and the HD5850 in my rig now is a marked improvement!!

[Guest mikebagwell]

Well I've now been convinced to go for a GTX260! But I've still got plenty of deciding to do...What are your thoughts on this:http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?BB-I5754GWith this cardhttp://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NOV-265Sand this hard drive?http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/C...WD5001AALS.htmlHowever, I'm not sure why this one is so much cheaper? http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?BB-I5754A#My final (hopefully!) question - I'm not really overly keen on attempting overclocking - is the i5 750 only any good if I'm prepared to overclock it? In which case should I get something like the E8500 mentioned above?

[ryanbatc 12,856]

that may have been the case with the 57XX series, but ATI's new 58xx series trumps both nVidia high-end single-gpu cards (GTX270 and GTX285), and not only have they been proven better for FSX, they're cheaper too. Obviously, we're not including the GTX295 in this comparison as its a single-PCB-dual-GPU SLI based card.Now, i'm no a really excited user for ATI or nVidia, i just buy what's fastest for as little as i can get, up until now i had a GTX260 fitted, and the HD5850 in my rig now is a marked improvement!!

The ATI 58xx series cards don't trump nvidia in FSX , but they are fairly equal to the GTX 285. The 260 is an older card and of course the 58xx will beat that one.I'd still get a GTX 285 over a 5870...If you're playing other games I would definitely consider the radeon card

[Mace 1,927]

4GB of ramhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231193

Wow! 4 gigs of DDR3 for $104. I should get out more often! :(

[ryanbatc 12,856]

I remember buying 1 GB of PC3200 for my wife's (not even girlfriend at that time lol) computer in college, it was 94 bucks on newegg.I even got a hug for installing it wooo!

[Guest mikebagwell]

My final (hopefully!) question - I'm not really overly keen on attempting overclocking - is the i5 750 only any good if I'm prepared to overclock it? In which case should I get something like the E8500 mentioned above?

Or alternatively would I be better off looking to buy an i5 660 3.33 GHz?