Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Guest wahoo238

New AMD Build

Recommended Posts

Guest wahoo238

I've been using AMD chips since the 486 DX4-100 and am going to be putting a new machine together to replace my FX-60 machine, mostly for FS9 use and was wondering if you think this will be good enoughAMD Phenom II X2 550 Callisto at 3.1ghz Gigabyte GA-790 XTA UDP4p motherboardPatriot Viper DDR3 PC3-12800 1600mhz 8GBZalman ZM770XT "quiet" power supplyDiamond 5870 1GB video cardSound Blaster Supreme X-fiWestern Digital Black 1TB Main Drive300GB WD Raptor for FS Lian Li PC-A05N case I have a Samsung 19" LCD monitor native resolution is 1280 x 1024Thanks for your time,Matt

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That board is nice, the RAM looks fine, the PSU should be ok, the graphics card is great (although not necessarily for MSFS), the HDs are fine as well, the case is good too. I wouldn't bother with the sound card though, waste of time unless you're going to stick with Windows XP. Also, you really should spend more on the CPU. AMD chips are relatively cheap, just get a 965 BE and be done with it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest wahoo238

Thanks for your input, I'll look into the 965 and go without the Soundblaster Card. I'm going to be running Win7 Ultimate 64bit. Do you think I'd be better off using a EVGA 01G-P3-1190-TR GeForce GTX 285 Classified 1GB instead of the 5870? Thanks again for your time.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest djt01
Do you think I'd be better off using a EVGA 01G-P3-1190-TR GeForce GTX 285 Classified 1GB instead of the 5870?
With the last couple of Catalyst revisions it

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've always been disappointed with ATI in the past, they never seemed to manage to get the driver on par with hardware. Especially when FS comes to play.I had many ATI cards before my old 8800GT came into play and GTX285 right now, which I bought about three weeks ago.It's hard to compare card to card, as nobody did any real benchmarks with both of them, but concerning DX11 - that's a load of bull. If they would make a game that really uses the potential of DX11, you would have straight 5fps... And those differences in current DX11 games, when you compare it to DX10 - well, that's just more hot air. Just google for screenshots and you will see there is only very minimal difference.What I think, it's important how the card handles the general performance, and I have always been good with Nvidia.If you can wait, wait for the new Nvidia card, but be aware, the price will be premium - I hear as high as 600

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest djt01
but concerning DX11 - that's a load of bull. If they would make a game that really uses the potential of DX11, you would have straight 5fps
Really, 5 fps?That

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Some people on here just like to say stuff without really thinking about it or knowing. The dual core in your choice should be more than enough in the first place, but if you want you can get a quad core just in case you play other games or want to try FSX in the future (I asure you FSX will run really nice with those specs!). ATi's image quality has always been better than Nvidia, but recently NVIDIA caught up with ATi when they released the GeForce 8 series. The problem is nobody knows how to configure the card properly. Just turning on 8xAA and Supersampling (highest settings) won't give you the best image quality, you have to know what your changing and if it will make textures blurry, or sharper, etc. Most people with Nvidia use NHancer instead of the default driver for image quality and various performance options, but when they get to ATi they bash and bash that the image quality sucks or Catalyst Control Center sucks, but on Nvidia they fail to realize that they used an addon such as nHancer to get a better experience from your games. ATi has an nHancer too but seldom is it metioned and most people have no clue about it. You can find it here: http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=733, it has far many more options than CCC. I have used NVIDIA before and I have nothing against them, I am just stating the facts, and my experience. I am not a "a really excited user" of any company, I just hate it when people say something is bad when it really is not.About Image quality, read more here: http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=12648&page=2If you want to view one of my previous posts about it, you can read it here: http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?s=&...t&p=1694202...and about your video card, it is more than enough for FS9, you should be able to run it without any problems. Lets not forget we're talking about FS9 not FSX, so even if you did think so and so company sucks (TechGuyMaxC), its old software, so even a retail dell PC would be able to run it nicely. To the author of the post about DX11. I suggest you go read some tech articles that go in depth about the DirectX11, and the requirements that it changed for manufacturers. I also suggest you look over benchmarks of DX11 games, and also look at UniEngine benchmarks with Tessellation on and off, in none of those benchmarks will you find 5 FPS anywhere, unless you have a pentium 4 or something. Also note most of these benchmarks were performed on the 5870 and the 5890 which is has been confirmed to be in the works will probably have significantly more power than the 5870 just like the 4870 and 4890. The 5870 has already shown to be faster is most situations than the GTX285, and even NickN has said it. In some areas the GTX285 will perform better in FS, but its not by much at all, and its still very very smooth on both cards.EDIT: I forgot to mention the Radeon 5970. It is a lot more powerful than the 5870 as well, and its been out since November. Here is a review, (It trounces the GTX285 and GTX295 and even the 5870, and I'm not talking 2 or 2 FPS. I'm talking 5-20+ FPS :(!!!) and it overclocks like CRAZY!http://www.techspot.com/review/221-ati-rad...5970/page4.html

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Child, I don't think any company "sucks". I've been using and overclocking AMD chips since you were in diapers. My first was an AM586 100MHz chip (overclocked to 133MHz) which was a competitor to the original Pentium and replaced a 486 DX2 50MHz.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest wahoo238

Thanks for all of the input. I'm still on the fence either with the x2 550 Phenom or the 965 Quad core. The reason I was leaning towards the 550 was that it is rated at 80W compared to 125W for the 965. The room where the computer is can get quite warm in the summer months so heat is something I have to keep in mind. I've been using a Zalman 9500 on my current machine and it idles between 30-32C and after simming in the low 40's. I know 40C isn't warm, but the room is pretty small and will heat up pretty quick. I've also heard that on some of the 550's that the other 2 cores can be unlocked making it a quad for $89. Any thoughts? As for the video card, I'm thinking on going with the 5870. I had an ATI 1900XT which did it's job, plus the mainboard and processor will be AMD, might as well keep it the same. Thanks for the link to the ATI tool trays, they will come in handy. Funny thing is I've never owned an NVIDIA card before. I guess NVIDIA v ATI is similar to Ford v Chevy. Thanks again,Matt

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I recently did a case & heatsink upgrade to address a heat issue in a room with a ton of electronics, did the job nicely! If you get the right cooling, it won't matter what components you choose or how much heat they put out.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I've also heard that on some of the 550's that the other 2 cores can be unlocked making it a quad for $89. Any thoughts?
From what I've read, it depends on mobo/BIOS. I went with the same mobo and CPU you're considering for an fs9 build recently. This combination supposedly supports the unlocking of the additional cores, although whether these discovered cores are stable is a hit or miss proposition. So, obviously, don't bank on it. Still, I think the Calisto represents good value for a budget builder and if you do luck out on the unlock, then of course you really score!I've had some issues with texture corruption possibly related to my Gigabyte GTX 260 and or/driver. I'll be flying along and suddenly the screen will freeze (about 10 seconds; sounds continue to play) and when it unfreezes, I will often get texture corruption of the clouds and/or ground tiles. A workaround is to momentarily switch to windowed mode or use <alt><tab> to switch from fs and back again.Also, I'm having an audio driver corruption (onboard Realtek HD) issue causing loss of external view engine sounds and loss of ability to hear ATC and your pilot voice which can be resolved by reinstalling the driver.Overall, I'm happy with this mobo/CPU combo performance-wise for fs9, just hope I can resolve the above issues and I'll be aces! Good luck on your build!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest OldB
Some people on here just like to say stuff without really thinking about it or knowing. The dual core in your choice should be more than enough in the first place, but if you want you can get a quad core just in case you play other games or want to try FSX in the future (I asure you FSX will run really nice with those specs!). ATi's image quality has always been better than Nvidia, but recently NVIDIA caught up with ATi when they released the GeForce 8 series. The problem is nobody knows how to configure the card properly. Just turning on 8xAA and Supersampling (highest settings) won't give you the best image quality, you have to know what your changing and if it will make textures blurry, or sharper, etc. Most people with Nvidia use NHancer instead of the default driver for image quality and various performance options, but when they get to ATi they bash and bash that the image quality sucks or Catalyst Control Center sucks, but on Nvidia they fail to realize that they used an addon such as nHancer to get a better experience from your games. ATi has an nHancer too but seldom is it metioned and most people have no clue about it. You can find it here: http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=733, it has far many more options than CCC. I have used NVIDIA before and I have nothing against them, I am just stating the facts, and my experience. I am not a "a really excited user" of any company, I just hate it when people say something is bad when it really is not.About Image quality, read more here: http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=12648&page=2If you want to view one of my previous posts about it, you can read it here: http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?s=&...t&p=1694202...and about your video card, it is more than enough for FS9, you should be able to run it without any problems. Lets not forget we're talking about FS9 not FSX, so even if you did think so and so company sucks (TechGuyMaxC), its old software, so even a retail dell PC would be able to run it nicely. To the author of the post about DX11. I suggest you go read some tech articles that go in depth about the DirectX11, and the requirements that it changed for manufacturers. I also suggest you look over benchmarks of DX11 games, and also look at UniEngine benchmarks with Tessellation on and off, in none of those benchmarks will you find 5 FPS anywhere, unless you have a pentium 4 or something. Also note most of these benchmarks were performed on the 5870 and the 5890 which is has been confirmed to be in the works will probably have significantly more power than the 5870 just like the 4870 and 4890. The 5870 has already shown to be faster is most situations than the GTX285, and even NickN has said it. In some areas the GTX285 will perform better in FS, but its not by much at all, and its still very very smooth on both cards.EDIT: I forgot to mention the Radeon 5970. It is a lot more powerful than the 5870 as well, and its been out since November. Here is a review, (It trounces the GTX285 and GTX295 and even the 5870, and I'm not talking 2 or 2 FPS. I'm talking 5-20+ FPS :(!!!) and it overclocks like CRAZY!http://www.techspot.com/review/221-ati-rad...5970/page4.html
All very well gman, except that VSync doesn't work with W7!Does the OP use W7, does it all matter?Who knows...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest wahoo238
I've been using AMD chips since the 486 DX4-100 and am going to be putting a new machine together to replace my FX-60 machine, mostly for FS9 use and was wondering if you think this will be good enoughAMD Phenom II X2 550 Callisto at 3.1ghz Gigabyte GA-790 XTA UDP4p motherboardPatriot Viper DDR3 PC3-12800 1600mhz 8GBZalman ZM770XT "quiet" power supplyDiamond 5870 1GB video cardSound Blaster Supreme X-fiWestern Digital Black 1TB Main Drive300GB WD Raptor for FS Lian Li PC-A05N case I have a Samsung 19" LCD monitor native resolution is 1280 x 1024Thanks for your time,Matt
Just an update on the system, I decided to go with the above specs minus the SB card and just completed the build, everything went really well with it, and now comes the fun part of reinstalling everything. I'm going to burn it in and test it over the next several days, but here's what I grabbed off of its windows 7 ratings:Processor: at stock 3.1 a rating of 6.5 (I bumped it up to 3.6, no voltage increase it's score rose to 6.8 according to core temp idles at 27C max so far 33C)Memory:7.3 (timing 9-9-9-24 ddr3 @1600)video card (both ratings 7.8) Using the latest 10.2 driversstorage 5.9 (operating system is on the WD 1TB black drive, Windows 7 professional 64bit) I really liked the motherboard, very well laid out and really easy to clock, everything seems stable so far. I haven't tried to unlock the other 2 cores, and probably won't as I don't really run many apps that would call for 4 cores. Also note that I am using a Zalman 9500 CPU cooler with Arctic silver 5Thanks again for everyones input,Matt

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Tom Allensworth,
    Founder of AVSIM Online


  • Flight Simulation's Premier Resource!

    AVSIM is a free service to the flight simulation community. AVSIM is staffed completely by volunteers and all funds donated to AVSIM go directly back to supporting the community. Your donation here helps to pay our bandwidth costs, emergency funding, and other general costs that crop up from time to time. Thank you for your support!

    Click here for more information and to see all donations year to date.
×
×
  • Create New...