Going all out - Suggestions

[woofalong 4]

Hi there, First all - apologies that this is just a repeat of tons of other requests. However, I am making the move onto FSX - finally and want a high end system that runs everything, full sliders, tons of addons - basically everything I could ever want in FSX. I have a budget of about £1700-1800 max and i'm considering a wired2fire system. These are my current thoughts: default caseCorsair CX600 600W Power Supply Core i7 2600K 8MB Cache Socket 1155 Titan Fenrir EVO CPU Cooler nVidia GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 (excellent alternative to HD 6970) nVidia GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 (excellent alternative to HD 6970) (i.e. x2) 8GB Corsair DDR3 1600MHz C8 Dual Channel Memory Kit (4 x 2GB) Asus P8P67 Pro Intel P67 (Socket 1155) Motherboard Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black 64MB Cache SATA III Hard Disk Drive Corsair Force Series 3 60GB SATA III 6Gb/s Solid-State Hard Drive I have a few questions:1 - is the Power supply and Cooling sufficient for my system2 - is it really worth the extra 200-300 quid to go double GTX 580? Will GTX 570 do everything? 3 - Worth going for 16mb ram?4 -Motherboard okay? Any other suggestions are more than welcome and I have about £200 to play with if i need it. I really want this to be a kick &@($* system that can do everything. Orbx, PMDG, Photoscenery, you name it etc Suggestions are welcome, and be gentle as its my first post... long time lurker! Chris

[Brit 3]

1. Get a bigger capacity PSU like a 750w.2. Get one GTX 5803. 8GB is fine.4. Get a thermalright silver arrow CPU cooler. or Noctua D-14 Maybe change the SSD to the new crucial M4 which have good reviews..on offer here : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-008-CR

[Charlatan 68]

Ditch the SLI 570's, and go with a single 580 (SLI is worthless in FSX)Would change the PSU for a better one, OCZ 700 Stealthxstream or a Corsair capable of pumping out a few more watts.8Gb is fine as is the motherboardWould look at a Corsair H80 or H100 cooler, or a Noctua NH-D14 if u prefer air cooling. Failing that, Bob's yer Dad's brother ;o)

[woofalong 4]

Seriously? 1 GTX580 is better than 2 570's? Rookie question - What is the 590 like? is it worth it?also is 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1866MHz C9 Dual Channel Memory Kit (2 x 4GB) better than 8GB Corsair DDR3 1600MHz C8 Dual Channel Memory Kit (4 x 2GB)

[Charlatan 68]

For FSX yes, SLI has no benefit, and can slow a card down to slower than a single one in some cases. The 590 has SLI on one card, in other words two graphics processors on one card, works the same as SLI and is slower than a single 580. The RAM, I don't think you'd see much difference either way.

[NGX 1]

Its not the fact that 1 580 is better than 2 570's. In other games, no. 2 570's will blow the 580 out the water. But because FSX will only use 1 graphics card, having 2 lower spec cards is worse than having 1 higher spec card. Go the 580. I'd go with the 1866MHz Ram. Tight timings aren't as good for FSX as faster Ram. 590 is also pointless because it is 2 GPU's in one card.

[woofalong 4]

Thanks gents - Really appreciated... So here's the revised setup: Cooler Master HAF-X Case Modular 850W Power Supply (80 Plus Certified) Core i7 2600K 8MB Cache Socket 1155 Corsair H80 Liquid CPU Cooler (check case) nVidia GeForce GTX 580 1536MB GDDR5 PCI Express Graphics Card 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1866MHz C9 Dual Channel Memory Kit (2 x 4GB) Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) M-ATX Motherboard Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black 64MB Cache SATA III Hard Disk Drive Corsair Force Series 3 60GB SATA III 6Gb/s Solid-State Hard Drive Onboard HD 7.1 Audio Any other comments? Wired2Fire offer free overclocking and Tuning so I assume its a good idea to get them done there... what kinda end result would I be looking at? as said before - i'm really looking for ultra smooth FSX with all the really heavy addons such as PMDG, ORBX etc - will this deliver do you think? Once again, thanks for all the help!

[NGX 1]

2 thumbs up from me. Personally I'd do my own overclocking as these guys tend to leave it on auto voltage which often overvolts the CPU. But if you're not confident with OCing yourself, let them do it and when you get it, just check the voltages when under load (use CPU-Z)

[cmeeks 8]

They're charging more for the HAF-X than the 650D? I'd go with the 650D. edit: I see newegg also charges about the same for the HAF-X. Didn't realize the HAF-X was so expensive. Contact them and see if you can get the H100 instead of the H80. A thinner 240mm radiator is always better than a thick 120mm radiator. I don't like the idea of cheaping out on the PSU, but you guys across the pond get screwed on PSU prices. If you want a good but cheap PSU, see if you can get the Corsair TX850W V2. Otherwise, the Corsair AX850 is a fine choice. I also don't think the 2600k is necessary. The i5-2500k is just as good for FSX and will save you £75. Finally (and now I'm getting nit-picky), I don't see the need to spend £70 on the WD Caviar Black 1TB when you can get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB for £43. The only difference is less cache, which I don't think is going to have any noticeable impact FSX. edit: sorry, this post has slowly grown over the course of about 10 edits... I tend to do that.

[VirginAus737 0]

HX750, I can't see anything wrong with mine, just a little less efficient and the 24pin and 8pin are hard wired into the PSU, who cares? Just on the point of the case, the 650D is a mid tower isn't it? The extra space could be nice, not necessary but nice. Honestly, I would be happy with either although I think the HAF would offer much better airflow with its stock cooling config.

[NGX 1]

The 650D, even though it's a mid tower, is massive.

[VirginAus737 0]

I think it still has the depth doesn't it. Like the HAF 922, its just as deep, not high.

[NGX 1]

Sigh. Here we go again. How many people have recommended the 650D on this thread?

[VirginAus737 0]

No no no. The 650D is a great case, just saying.

[ryanbatc 12,770]

Wow your micro ATX motherboard is going to look like a postage stamp in the HAF or 650D LOL! Feel free to get a normal size ATX mobo... I'd stay away from the Corsair Force 3 for now... they've been having firmware issues... Look at OCZ's Solid 3 drive instead. Anyway the rest looks fine.