Questions and recommendations

[JohnsonPBX 8]

Hello everyone. I'm Jhon, and I'd like to ask a few questions first, then hear (read) some recommendations. Here's the deal: I have a PC but right now I can't use it due to its PSU exploding and burning the MOBO with it, and it'll become 3 years old on November 15th, so I thought about buying a new PC rather than spending (and eventually wasting) more cash on my current one. Back in 2008 when my parents bought it, I had the (at the end FAKE, lol) illusion that with this PC I could run FSX maxed out, smooth as silk. Oh dear, how wrong I was! So, here are its specs: Processor: Intel Core2Quad 6600 @ 2.4 GHzMOBO (dead by now): Intel DG31PRVideo card: ATI (MSI) Radeon HD 4870 512MB DDR5Power supply (also dead): Thermaltake 500 watts. I previously had a 600 watts OCZ StealthXStream, very good one, but also died in a shortcircuit :/Hard disk: 7200 rpm Samsung one, 500GB. Well those are the most important parts, the rest isn't worth mentioning, imo. That PC, including the pheriperials (monitor, keyboard, printer, etc.) costed 1700 dollars back then, so my first question is, and I expect answers by people with experience in the issue, how much can (and should) I expect right now if I was to sell the PC? Of course, replacing the dead MOBO and power supply beforehand. Being that said, I want to hear advising: what should I buy next? First off let me tell you that the initial budget will be around 1100 USD, and could increase depending on how much I get for my PC (if I end up selling it). I've read several "I'm-about-to-build-this" topics, but I'd like reading advising considering my particular case. Also, I'm not very up-to-date with current hardware, so perhaps any of you could help me spot new hardware or possibilities that I'd most likely totally ignore if I built the new PC by my own. I want honest advising, by experience and if possible including components' prices, so that I can get an idea of how much each part will cost. Thanks beforehand, hope my post was clear enough.

[VirginAus737 0]

Your best bet for FSX is to build a system based on Sandy Bridge from Intel. I just spent a little time on Newegg and came up with this: SAMSUNG 22X DVD BurnerCooler Master HAF 922Corsair H60Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB8GB Corsair XMS 3 1600 CL8ASUS P8Z68-VIntel core i5 2500kEVGA GTX 560 TiCorsair TX 650Windows 7 HP 64 bit Total=$1,114 If you wanted to keep the old HDD from your system with an OS then thats a saving of $180 but I would recommend and fresh new HDD. There are things you could cheap out on. You dont need 8GB of RAM, 4 would be plenty. You dont need a Caviar Black, a Caviar Blue runs just fine. And you definitly dont need a HAF 922, but it looks good so I put it in. The core i5 2500k is known as the budget gaming CPU but I can tell you it is awesome. I have added 1.5GHz to mine. Dont worry about the 2600k, it offers no advantage worth $100.

[777flyer101 1]

CPU: Intel core i5 2500kMotherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PROGraphics card: GTX 570PSU: Corsair TX750CPU cooler: Corsair H70Case: Coolermaster HAF 932 AdvancedHDD: Seagate Barracuda green 2TB internal HDDRAM: Corsair Vengeance 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 1600 X2 Total = 1214 USD approx. If you want hyper threading and use multi-threaded applications like Cyberlink powerdirector 9, 3DS Max or Adobe after effects, then i7 2600k will give you a lot better performance than i5 2500k, though for FSX, there is very less difference in performance as compared to i5 2500k and i7 2600k, say about 3-5 FPS. Don't forget to overclock the CPU to atleast 4.5 GHZ, the corsair H70 will easily handle the temperature

[VirginAus737 0]

did you count OS in that? Where is his optical drive? The H70 is now outdated by the H80.

[JohnsonPBX 8]

Alright. Thank you both for your replies (and sorry for my delay). Both of you concur on the i5-2500K, which wherever I've read seems to be a very good (and the best part, relatively cheap) processor, so, so far it's the winner for me. @Prakhar, basically my PC is exclusively for MSFS, since I don't do video editing and I barely play any other games. I'd just use it for listenning to music, chatting, FSX, PES and a very few other applications which don't really require an i7, so the i5's basically the best option for me. NOW, I don't want to exclusively focus on FSX since MS Flight is coming (that's my mid-term goal), and perhaps hardware requirements would vary, but right now I'll be okay with the options you both suggested. Still, I'd like to hear opinions regarding how much would I get for my current PC; if it's worth it selling it or not! And last but not least, I've heard a lot about newegg, but to be honest I've never bought anything on the internet... Is newegg trustworthy? And also, I live in Colombia (South America), do they offer shipment to my country? Thanks again and sorry if I ask a lot of questions, just want to clear all my doubts to not screw up later!