Hi. I've been starting a couple of threads here over the past few months asking about my Sandy Bridge upgrade. Well the day has finally arrived where I have all the pieces I need, together. I'm gonna build and install windows 7 on my new rig this weekend. But before I do that, I have some questions: 1. With a Sandy Bridge rig, and especially when running OS and FSX on a dedicated SSD, what parts of NickN's "Win XP64 and Windows7 Help" can I skip?What exactly changes in installing sequences and such when using a SSD? The "install FSX first" because it will go on the outer part of the disk isn't really necessary on a SSD, right? 2. Also I was thinking of flashing the bios before I install Windows7, is this a good idea? 3. I will use Corsair Xms3 DDR3 2x4GB RAM's @2000MHz and CL9, because Asus P8P67 Deluxe doesnt support that memory frequency I will have to OC or underclock, which should I do when setting up the bios before installing the OS? 4. Lastly, and this is kind of similar to question 3, how should I set up my Bios in the beginning so that it will be stable for OS install. Default settings, XMP, or manual following some kind of template? Certain settings I should configure, like Sata settings for SSD etc. Computer Specs: Intel i7 2600KAsus P8P67 Deluxe8Gb Corsair XMS3 2000Mhz CL9 RamEVGA GTX 480 SC+Intel 320 SSD 160GB (OS + FSX)1TB WD Caviar Black 32Mb Sata2

1. I don't really follow any guide when I install FSX. Perhaps I should? I just install FSX, run it, reboot, install SP1, run FSX, reboot, install SP2, run FSX, reboot. You can install FSX on any partition of an SSD - shouldn't matter. 2. If the BIOS your mobo shipped with is quite old, I would probably flash it to a newer one. But do a little research to see which BIOS people are having success with. Sometimes they release a really buggy BIOS. Overclock.net is a good place to find that information: http://www.overclock...l-motherboards/. This thread would probably be a good place to look actually. 3. Wait until you have installed Windows and reached a solid overclock on the CPU. Then try 2133 9-11-10-28-1T @ 1.65v. Consult me if that's unsuccessful. 4. Disable the Marvell Sata 3 controller if you're not going to use the Marvell Sata III ports. The Intel Sata III is preferred. You can also set up your fan profile so that it's not running full blast while working in the BIOS. I wouldn't worry about too much until you have Windows installed, though.

Thanks. Is it really needed to flash the Bios though? This P8P67 Deluxe is of course B3 so it shouldn't be that old? I looked through the thread you posted a bit and found some references of bios versions but nothing that seemed to say "most stable bios", and the thread was 200 pages long. Maybe some asus p8p67 deluxe users here on this forum can help me? :) Also I've been reading about the 8mb issue with Intel 320 SSDs, has anyone heard if there is a fix available yet? And as the intel 320's are Sata2 I don't really need the Sata 6Gbps ports, right? Lastly: After reading the I5-2500K Vs. RAM frequency thread I have become a bit unsure of whether buying the Corsair 2000mhz@cl9 memory instead of sticking with my mushkin 1600mhz cl6 RAM was a good idea. Corey, I saw in that thread that you owned almost identical RAM's as I do (mushkin ridgeback's dunno about the difference but i read they are 1600mhz cl6, as are my mushkin redlines). Why did you upgrade? Was there any noticeable effect? I'm usually flying airliners like the PMDG MD11/NGX so maybe we are doing completely different things and thus your performance is irrelevant for me... Sorry for the 1000 questions here, its late and I'm tired and I kinda want to get started with building my computer, so I want to know if I should go mushkin or corsair ;) Thanks a lot for your answers, keep more of them coming

My motherboard at the time, Gigabyte P67A-UD5, would not run all four sticks at rated speeds. Best it would do was 1600 9-9-9. I sold the sticks before I got my Asus board, so I couldn't tell you if there was any noticeable effect. If you already have four sticks of 1600 CL6, hold off on your RAM purchase and try those first.

My motherboard at the time, Gigabyte P67A-UD5, would not run all four sticks at rated speeds. Best it would do was 1600 9-9-9. I sold the sticks before I got my Asus board, so I couldn't tell you if there was any noticeable effect. If you already have four sticks of 1600 CL6, hold off on your RAM purchase and try those first.

Well the situation is like this: I have 8GB (2x4GB) of Corsair Ram and 6GB (3x2GB) of Mushkin RAM. My Corsair RAM can be sent back within a week, but my mushkin ram are over a year old. The Mushkin ram has been wonderful and after reading all the material I can find about this it seems as if the difference is extremely slight and has more to do with stutters than raw fps. 1600Mhz CL6 has lower latency but also a little lower bandwidith or MT/s than 2000Mhz/2133Mhz CL9. If 4GB is enough for FSX and games (I don't work on this computer) I will probably send back the corsair, but I haven't tried them yet so this might change. After reading through probably 5 different threads I still don't know which is best for FSX, frequency/bandwidth or latency. But it seems as if the mushkins are a bit faster (?) when it comes to pure latency, if only the corsairs were 2000@CL7 EDIT: I will test both memory kits in FSXMark11 when I have my OC setup correctly. I have never really switched RAM's without switching motherboard, do I just plug in my other RAM and set them up in BIOS, will my CPU run the OC with different RAM or will I have to redo my OC?

Regarding latency, you will be surprised that the 2133 CL9 will actually be lower than the 1600 CL6 - measured by MaxxMEM at least. I see in your original thread, Stephen and I actually shared our MaxxMEM results. I don't even know if it's worth your time comparing the difference with FSXMark11. The 2133 CL9 will yield 1 or 2 percent improvement. I think the most important consideration (actually only consideration between those very good sets of RAM) is making sure you don't run into OOM errors. Personally, I like 4GB modules better because you avoid having to populate more slots. But if you had 4 sticks of the Mushkin already, i would definitely tell you to stick with that. 3 sticks, though... I dunno?

1. I don't really follow any guide when I install FSX. Perhaps I should? I just install FSX, run it, reboot, install SP1, run FSX, reboot, install SP2, run FSX, reboot. You can install FSX on any partition of an SSD - shouldn't matter.

Is there any other advantage from partitioning a SSD other than it being more "tidy"?

Hi, again. Today I put together my computer and its running pretty smooth atm, there are a couple of questions I'd like to ask though. I'd like to OC this badboy asap as I have less than a week to decide if I want to keep the parts or resend, and if it turns out the CPU/mobo/ssd whatever is quirky/not achieving the kind of OC i'd like etc etc, I'd like to know that now :) So here we go:1. I was a bit overwhelmed by all the settings in the bios and as I have this idea (coming from simforums) that bios should be stable before OS install so that no corrupts/stability issues occur and thus hamper the OS and from there FSX performance, I'd really appreciate it if anyone could give me more precise instructions on what to have on auto, manual, XMP etc in the bios. I know I'm probably being a bit anal here but better safe than sorry, right? For example, should my OC memory be clocked at 1600 or 1866 (XMP) or does it matter at all? Maybe someone has a screenshot or knows a good guide? 2. From reading a number of different threads I came over a guide linked by Word Not Allowed, I think I know what to do when OC'ing my chip, but I ran out of the thermal paste that comes with my NH-D14, NT-H1, and had to use some Arctic Alumina instead. I checked the temps and its currently running at about 30-36c in "idle" (clock seems to be going up and down and so does that temp) and in OCCT:linpack it hit about 50-53 before I got to bored and closed it down after 10 mins. Does these temps seem ok for a 4.8-5Ghz OC, or should I wait for some NT-H1? 3. When installing the chipset drivers there were a lot of drivers that came with the DVD, some are obviously essential but some seemed unnecessary, for example: There were 2 network drivers, Intel and Realtek, Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver, Bluetooth driver, USB 3.0 Driver, Realtek onboard sound; and a lot of utilities. Would chipset and Realtek do? I have an internal creative soundcard so the onboard sound driver is kind of useless right? A lot of questions, I know. And im probably worrying too much, I just want to have it as optimal as possible ;) Thanks in advance EDIT: I disabled the marvell controller in BIOS as im using the intel sata ports, was that a stupid thing to do?EDIT2: I forgot to ask about TRIM, do I have to enable it somewhere for my intel SSD or is it active by default?