NOTHING will beat a properly built custom watercooling loop. Ask me how I know.

How do you know?

Who would want a pre-clocked system that costs more, when you can do it YOURSELF. People are just really lazy and afraid to get their hands dirty with computers.

Anybody who is giving serious consideration to a 2600 chip?Anybody who is thinking of an off the shelf solution? Anybody who is not already an computer technician and has no interest in becoming one?You may think them lazy or afraid, but perhaps they are just cautious, too busy or just uninterested in going the DIY route. Yes it costs more, but you are paying for someone elses mistakes, someone elses expertise, and someone elses warrenty. It works as advertised or your money back. Can you say the same?

Also.. as said somewhere above, the 2500k is a more logical choice for you if this is primarily for FSX, or gaming in general.. Hyperthreading in the 2600k is the only major difference between the 2, and HT sure as heck doesn't help in games.

- So, you say the i5 2500K is more worth his money for games than an i7 2600K, you say? This because the i7 2600k has HT but it doesn't help in games?Okaay, I did some research on the internet and many people are saying that for gaming the i5 2500k is really really good enough, maybe 95% even that good as the i7 2600k. The i7 2600k is only great for movie-productions. Besides that, HyperThreating or something is very great but some people are saying that HT can cause lower fps. (?!)

Hyper-threading primarily, helps with multitasking, so if you are only running one game and have no open windows, and aren't doing anything else, as far as FSX is concerned its not necessary. Now if you are flying while compiling 3d video and doing your taxes and listening to music while browsing the internet, and this is your norm, then Hyper-threading IS important. As far as hyper-threading helping in games......that all depends on the game I suppose, but for the most part I don't think its relevent to FSX. I believe the i5 2500K is more worth it, only from the financial standpoint. The i7 2600K is pretty much top of the line currently, BUT the i5 2500K can MORE than handle its own. If you simply want your FSX experience to be great while utilizing, quality 3rd party add ons (the default planes will fly well with a dual core and a good video card with NO problem), the i52500k is most certainly going to do the job. Lets remember that while FSX (and assuming only FSX) is running its not really going to use more than 2GB of RAM, so with 4GB of RAM and a decent or better graphics card, and a nice monitor, your FSX gaming experience is going to be pleasurable.Now to reiterate, I am speaking from a standpoint where you are only running one program (FSX) when it comes to the Hyper-threading aspect. Hyper-threading is really geared to those that do alot of multitasking at any given time, and don't want to forfeit performance (e.g. video production, music compilation and some other intense types of programs well out of the realm of FSX).Not to step on any toes here about this, I am simply trying to convey my opinion on the matter.

Hyper-threading primarily, helps with multitasking, so if you are only running one game and have no open windows, and aren't doing anything else, as far as FSX is concerned its not necessary. Now if you are flying while compiling 3d video and doing your taxes and listening to music while browsing the internet, and this is your norm, then Hyper-threading IS important.

- Great information about Hyper-threading. Since I never do multi-tasking I see no sense of taking an i7 2600K then. I only upgrade my motherboard, processor, ram and cooling because of Flight Simulator. I just really would like to taxi with the coming 737NGX at Aerosoft Mega Airport Amsterdam, with some traffic of Ultimate Traffic 2 on and with Real Environment Xtreme. That all smoothly, at least 25fps. Prefer 30.

I believe the i5 2500K is more worth it, only from the financial standpoint. The i7 2600K is pretty much top of the line currently, BUT the i5 2500K can MORE than handle its own. If you simply want your FSX experience to be great while utilizing, quality 3rd party add ons (the default planes will fly well with a dual core and a good video card with NO problem), the i52500k is most certainly going to do the job. Lets remember that while FSX (and assuming only FSX) is running its not really going to use more than 2GB of RAM, so with 4GB of RAM and a decent or better graphics card, and a nice monitor, your FSX gaming experience is going to be pleasurable.

Like I said here above, same posts: As long as I can taxi with the coming 737NGX at Aerosoft's airports with Ultimate Traffic 2 on and with Real Environment Xtreme at fps about 25 - 30.... I'm really really happy. And after some research AND because of your kind opinion/comments I think the Intel Core i5 2500K will make it. Motherboard will be the MSI P67A-GD65 by the way. About cooler not really sure between the Corsair A50 or A70. The H70 is abit to expensive. I'm sure the air-coolers (A50/A70) can also really do alot!Many many thanks for your time to post your opinion and comments!Oh by the way, I'm going to upgrade processor, mobo, ram and cooler but not my current graphics card because I already upgraded it a few months ago and I'm sure the card if good enough to run all very well. It's the ATI Radeon HD5570.

My build is 90% complete (bought)I am waiting on the Motherboard, Due to the P67 recall, while not impossible to find (ebay) I am not going to risk it. In my opinion the recall is a very minor thing, meaning, they are pretty much saying, that your 3Gb/s SATA ports "may" be effect and "might" over time degrade. But Intel's DP67BA, ASUS's P8P67, and others all come with 3 and a 6Gb/s SATA ports, and the 6Gb/s ports are not effected. So if you were to go to ebay, and buy lets say the ASUS P8P67 motherboard from one of the 10 different people/ebay stores, still selling it, you can get a HDD that utilises the 6Gb/s SATA ports and do the same thing with your Optical drive, you will run into no problems. Personally, I want 100% assurance that the chipset is fixed, installed, tested, and shipped before I make that purchase. The downside to this is I may have to wait untill the end of Feb to the middle to possibly the end of April before I see this thing at my house, getting ready to set up. Do I think it was a mistake to buy the i52500K processor which I bought "ONE" day before the recall.....no, will it be solved yes, is it frustrating......YES!!!!!I can not comment on your ability to get 25-30 FPS on the ground using 3rd party addon scenery, as I don't have my stuff installed yet. But what I can say, is I too am looking for the same, or similar results, and I believe with whichever brand motherboard I decide to buy with the LGA 1155 socket utilizing the P67 chipset, this is attainable. I too judge the performance on my ability to smoothly taxi. Currently (with my dual core E8500 CPU on my dell XPS 420, and a relatively decent Nvidia XFX GeForce 9500 GT video card), I get great frame rates in the air.....but not so much on the ground at a large airport (KLAX, KJFK, etc) and this has become frustrating, not due to PMDG's aircraft, but due to the rather simplistic setup that my stock computer has. FSX is not going to improve, there will be no further updates and it can only be enhanced by adding 3rd party software, which can take up alot of the framerates you would be seeing using a default plane.....which are bunk. So yes....I would rather spend $800+ on creating a new PC to the specifications that I want, to do the job that my standards require. Is there going to be a better processor, motherboard, and all that in one year, two years, FIVE years.....YES!!, but if i can get the job done for the only game I enjoy playing, then I have no need to concern my self with what can come of processing power in the future. Once again, these are my opinions, on what I...Tim Steele...wants.

The reviews I have read suggest there is very little difference in the performance, both being excellent with a slight advantage to the NH D14. However, apart from the sheer size of it, I am just not comfortable with the idea of hanging over a kilo of cooler off my high end chip. If you have a horizontally mounted MoBo and never have to move your machine without carefull preparation, fair enough, but on a vertical MoBo that gets shifted around now and again, that is just too much unsecured mass inside the case waiting to tear things up.

I understand your concern regarding the weight. In fact when i ordered mine, I actually drew up a design for support bracket. :( However, rest assured, the weight is not an issue in the slightest. Noctua have done a superb job with the bracket. It suppots the cooler beutifully with no strain on the motherbord at all. I gave up my plans to build a support bracket, it simply wasn't necessary.I actually measured the degree of sag, there wasn't any. Noctua haven't just thrown onto the market a cooler that will kill a MB, on the contrary, they have done extensive design work and testing. The cooler is fit for purpose.There's not a single report of a motherbord that's been damaged by a NHD-14.It's also quieter than the H70. However, if space inside the enclosure is limited, and you don't mind more noise, and you want a cooler that doesn't necessitate removal of the MB, then the H70 is worth considering.Martin Wilby