Wise cracks and wisegents and a single female HOTHEAD!! Can I say that in ThaiInglish? Me not native, thank god... Ok, I have - on my i5 2500K rig - a 120 Vertex 2, where I use 64 Gb as a cache for 1 Tb WDC Black 64 Mb, 6 Gbs - and this combo is fast and efficient! I´ve tried the Vertex 2 with FSX only, was impressed, but since I only get 111 Gb effectively it´s useless. I´ve tried the WDC Black with FSX only, and it´s fast, but loading is slower, but no big diff. in performance. So instead of throwing the Vertex 2 in the bin, I use it as a cache, and I like it...

Well obviously if you have an extra SSD laying around... Going out and buying an SSD specifically for SRT is another story. And besides, you're the one running FSX on the same drive as your OS (I advise against that). What was all the other junk in the first sentence? I'll ignore it.

I do not think that 120GB for your OS and FSX will be enough unless you have almost no FSX addons and do not plan on getting any. My FSX drive has 100GB on it, that does not include GEX and FEX that were installed on a storage drive since they are only data bases. I have a separate drive for FSX photo scenery and that already has close to 300GB's on it. My OS drive has 50GB's on it and that is only my OS and other stuff that has to go on the OS drive. There are other programs on the OS drive that do not have to go on there, but all together that can not add up to more that 10GB and I want them on the OS SSD just so they will load faster.

I do not think that 120GB for your OS and FSX will be enough unless you have almost no FSX addons and do not plan on getting any. My FSX drive has 100GB on it, that does not include GEX and FEX that were installed on a storage drive since they are only data bases. I have a separate drive for FSX photo scenery and that already has close to 300GB's on it. My OS drive has 50GB's on it and that is only my OS and other stuff that has to go on the OS drive. There are other programs on the OS drive that do not have to go on there, but all together that can not add up to more that 10GB and I want them on the OS SSD just so they will load faster.

My FSX install is just over 80GB including GEX, REX and UTX.

@ZachWL: I have my OS Win 7 64 bit on a 60 Gb Vertex 2, capiche? FSX is alone on the 1 Tb with da cache... <<removed by MOD>> @Di X: My FSX install is larger than yours, hohoho!

I have FSX on a 160GB WD with NL-2000 (not all areas) , GEX , UTX , Manhattan X and a few Carenado babes, total 47 GB.

so let me ask this, Since it is obviously better to have FSX on a seperate drive than other programs and the operating system, can I just add a 500gb HDD to the system, using it for all my FSX "stuff" and still benifit from the seperation? I know its not ideal and I realize there will be a bottleneck because of the 7200rpm speed, but it IS only another $45 to add this HDD as opposed to a smaller primary HDD (less exspensive) and some other type of HD at $120+ more... ...Although, should I be concerned with the limited cache of 16mb of the offered 500gb SATA III? Oh, Man! I hate not knowing what to do! Yes it would be great to get everything perfect, but at some point I need to stick to my budget. If anyone is willing to look at my original post and go to the link of the system and customize it to whatever the general consences is, (and stay around $1300) I'm willing to go with that option too! Remember, this is primarily an FSX system. Thanks guys! (and gal)!

Should have no trouble with the 500GB.

http://www.cyberpowe...om/saved/1DF2L4

• Case: * CoolerMaster 690 II Advanced Mid-Tower Gaming Case [-23] (Black Color)
• Internal USB Extension Module: None
• Neon Light Upgrade: None
• Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
• Noise Reduction Technology: None
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified) [-110]
• Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: No Overclocking
• Cooling Fan: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Dual Enermax Enlobal Silent High Performance 120MM Fans (Push-Pull) [+29])
• Motherboard: [CrossFireX] Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard LucidLogix Virtu and Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID,2 3 PCIe Gen2, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 3CI (All Venom OC Certified)
• Intel Smart Response Technology for Z68: None
• Memory: 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card (EVGA Superclocked)
• Freebies: None
• Video Card 2: None
• Video Card 3: None
• Dedicated PHYSX Card: None
• Multiple Video Card Settings: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
• Power Supply Upgrade: 800 Watts - CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gold 80 Plus Power Supply (80+ Gold) [+85]
• Hard Drive: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
• Freebies: None
• Data Hard Drive: None
• Hard Drive Cooling Fan: None
• External Hard Drive (USB3.0/2.0/eSATA): None
• USB Flash Drive: None
• Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
• Optical Drive 2: None
• Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
• 3D Vision Glasses: None
• Freebies: None
• LCD Monitor: None
• 2nd Monitor: None
• 3rd Monitor: None
• Speakers: None
• Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
• Network Switch: None
• Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
• Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
• Mouse Pad: None
• Gaming Gear: None
• Extra Thermal Display: None
• Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: None
• External Wireless Network Card: None
• Wireless 802.11 B/G/N Access Point: None
• Bluetooth: None
• Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
• Video Camera: None
• Headset: None
• Printer: None
• Cable: None
• Power Protection: None
• Surge Protector: None
• IEEE1394 Card: None
• Internal USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
• USB Port: None
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
• Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: None
• Office Suite: None
• Games: None
• Ultra Care Option: None
• Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
• Rush Service: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS

All for $1260

AMD and ATI are still around?

AMD and ATI are still around?

apparently so!!

NGX forgot the second hard drive for FSX, but adding that will still make her price come in right at your $1,300.00 budget. Out of the choices they have I would go with the 750GB 64MB cache, that is another $61 and is only $16 more than the 500GB drive you were looking at. The 750GB sounds like a lot, but for a mech HD to be at optimum performance it should not be more than half full, so your 750GB FSX HD would only be a 375GB HD. As the drive fills up and the data is stored on the inside of the platter it starts to affect access time.

Ahhh my mistake. So I did. I thought when I did it it said 2x 1TB but rereading it is 2TBx1. Haha. But yes. Add the 750GB 64MB cache drive as a secondary and you're all the way.

Ah! makes sense now, Thanks NGX for taking the time to review the whole system! I like your suggestion about changing the case to save some money. I was going to do that as well. As for the second HDD, I will get the 750 GB. But, I think I'll still go with the i7 2600K (you know, it's a guy thing, bigger is always better!) I'll probably just go with a 1TB HDD as the primary to save some additional cash as I have a 1TB HHD right now and still have 800+ GB free. OK, I'm ordering it right now! Thank you for the great input everyone,(and entertainment, NGX and VirginAUS737! you guys fight like Brother and Sister, you two are Hilarious!), I mean it !

Hahaha. Not a problem at all. That's what we're here for. Helping fellow simmers out. And well....we're all a big avsim family so technically you're all my brothers hahaahah. Wow that's a crazy though....

OK, Ordered! I went with the 1.5 TB HHD and the 750 GB HHD. Also, there was a free upgrade to a free high speed PCI Network Interface Card (not sure what that is for, but hey it was free) and an upgrade to a ASUS Blu-Ray combo DVDRW Drive! Here are all the specs:

• BASE_PRICE: [+1279]
• CAS: * Azza Solano 1000 Full-Tower Advance Cooling Case w/ Dual 230mm Fan + Extra 3 Fans
• CD: Asus BC-12B1ST 12X Blu-Ray Combo DVDRW Drive [+0] (BLACK COLOR)
• CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-2600K 3.40 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified)
• CS_FAN: Default case fans
• FAN: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
• FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
• FREEBIE_VC: FREE Game - Dungeon Siege 3 [+0]
• HDD: 1.5TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [-32] (Single Hard Drive)
• HDD2: 750GB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+61] (Single Hard Drive)
• IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
• KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
• MEMORY: 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
• MOTHERBOARD: * [CrossFireX] GigaByte GA-Z68A-D3-B3 Intel Z68 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ Intel Smart Response Technology & 7.1 Dolby Home Theater Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI (All Venom OC Certified)
• MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
• MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
• NETWORK: Killer Xeno Pro Gigabit High Speed Online Gaming PCI Network Interface Card [+0]
• OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
• OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
• POWERSUPPLY: 800 Watts - XtremeGear Gaming Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready
• RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
• SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
• SOFT1: Free Microsoft® Office® 2010 STARTER EDITION (Reduced-Functionality versions of Word and Excel that include advertising) [+0]
• SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
• VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card (EVGA Superclocked)
• TOTAL PRICE: (+1293)

Now, I have to wait!!!!