Morning, Ok, so sitting at the drawing board so to speak... Im after a new system, I would like to build it myself...never done it before so thought, why the hell not. Have been sitting on the sidelines of the FS world, since my last PC died on me, around 11 months ago, now the twitch is starting to stir again. Just after thoughts and opinions, advice, guidance, etc etc So far this is what I have on my this.... - i7 2600k Sandy Bridge (I see some of these listed as 'unlocked'... any difference to ones, which dont mention this?) - ASUS P8P67 PRO motherboard - GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB Graphic card - 8GB ( 2x4GB) Corsair Vengence 1600Mhz RAM - WD Caviar Black 1TB HD - 7200rpm / 64 MB cache - Coolmaster storm scout case - Corsair HX 750 PSU Now, would liquid cooling be advisable? If so, - Corsair H70 cooler sufficient? And - Windows 7 Ultimate - 64Bit So please, your thoughts?

Well you have fallen for the trap of many new builders just like many others. The i7 2600k would be a waste and you should go for the i5 2500k. It just feature 2mb less cache and no hyper threading which FSX wont use. The K for been unlocked means you can just increase the multiplier until it scream stop, well not really but you can OC them a long way. You can ask when you build it. The P8P67 Pro would be a good board but the new Z68 chipset is out so if you want to stay up to date, go for the P8Z68-V or Pro. A V would probably be enough. With the savings you saved on the CPU you could either stick with a small case or upgrade to something like a HAF X or Corsair 600T. If you dont really care about the size of your case go for a high speed storage device. You could either get a 60B SSD (for boot drive or FSX if you dont use many addons) or maybe a high speed HDD. the liquid cooling would be a great choice but the H70 is outdated so go for the H80 or H100. It will help heaps on temps. Make sure you get the OEM version of Windows 7 and maybe not Ultimate, put the money elsewhere for some actual performance boosts. Hope this helps,

I wouldn't say that buying a 2600K over a 2500K is falling into a new buyer's trap just that for FSX only the 2500K is worth the 100 dollar difference (less). If the OP plays any other games, go with the 2600K. I almost wish I would have now. I play a few other games like Portal 2, Battlefield 2 (waiting for 3 yay!!), Command and Conquer etc... Anyway your list looks perfect. When people say liquid cooling I don't think of the newest Corsair stuff (H60-100), just super expensive stuff with glowing pipes and those large rads. Corsair H80/70/60 or Noctua DH14 would be plenty. edit: Oops almost perfect, you want a Z68 motherboard, it superseeded the P67.

No need for the 2600. +

Aren't you and AMD guy lol? When you look at them side by side... there's a few extra features on the 2600k that would benefit FSX, ever-so-slightly but it wasn't worth the $100 extra for me (at the time)

I wouldn't say that buying a 2600K over a 2500K is falling into a new buyer's trap just that for FSX only the 2500K is worth the 100 dollar difference (less). If the OP plays any other games, go with the 2600K. I almost wish I would have now. I play a few other games like Portal 2, Battlefield 2 (waiting for 3 yay!!), Command and Conquer etc... Anyway your list looks perfect. When people say liquid cooling I don't think of the newest Corsair stuff (H60-100), just super expensive stuff with glowing pipes and those large rads. Corsair H80/70/60 or Noctua DH14 would be plenty. edit: Oops almost perfect, you want a Z68 motherboard, it superseeded the P67.

Really, the 2600k for Battlefield. I play that as smooth as a whistle. No lagging whatsoever.

Well I hope my 2500k@ 4.4 will be up to the challenge of bf3, You on the alpha for bf3?

Oh yes, I just love playing games on the PC that are actually designed for it. FSX just annoys the crap out of me and BF2 runs like a dream, sort of how I hope Flight will run. There is that CTD problem with BF2 which I haven't been able to fix though.

- i7 2600k Sandy Bridge (I see some of these listed as 'unlocked'... any difference to ones, which dont mention this?)- ASUS P8P67 PRO motherboard- GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB Graphic card- 8GB ( 2x4GB) Corsair Vengence 1600Mhz RAM- WD Caviar Black 1TB HD - 7200rpm / 64 MB cache- Coolmaster storm scout case- Corsair HX 750 PSUNow, would liquid cooling be advisable?If so,- Corsair H70 cooler sufficient?

Great machine. You almost copied mine But:Go with Z68 Pro, it's simply newer.Don't take those "go with 2500K, it's gonna save you bucks..." If you have the dough, go for the better. Doesn't hurt that much, besides it's higher clocked and also (undetermined) probably clocks higher.If you can afford, 2133 RAM.Get two HDDs, preferrably WD Velociraptor 600GB for FSX, other one for Windows/Programs.Liquid cooling is very good if you are going to OC the beast, which I would highly recommend you do. (But know the risks)

Yes, it is about the dough but when is there something you don't want on a system. I always want to add more so anything saved for me is good. My view on PC parts, if you can save on money and not performance, go for it.

Is good for you if you like it like that. I like my 2600K. I do occasional Photoshop stuff, and it's such a big difference between HT-off and HT-on. I always load the HT-on profile when I'm doing something in it.

Yes I think the HT is more bound for media apps. I sometimes struggle with Sony Vegas.

Yes I think the HT is more bound for media apps. I sometimes struggle with Sony Vegas.

Oh yes, I forgot Vegas. I switch for Vegas too.

I would like to see a thread with some benchmarks with it off and on. Not just with FSX cos that'll obviously make it worse but things like Vegas and HT capable games.

I would like to see a thread with some benchmarks with it off and on. Not just with FSX cos that'll obviously make it worse but things like Vegas and HT capable games.

FSX was tested HT-on/off, no difference, not worse or better.

Thanks so far for the replys :) I have updated my list to include the Z68 Board, Corsair H100 water cooling and a second HD for windows/ programs One other question... Would the GeForce GTX 590 3072MB be preferred over the GTX580 ?