Hey guys, so last week only 9 years after i started working in the company i am in now in the uk iv forund out they have a pc scheme to allow employees to buy a new compter My Budget was £2000, So the company my work uses was pc world so i headed up there today and took alook. I normaly build my own but thought id take this offer up. After looking around the best spec they had in was a HP with 23inch hd monitor for £1099. The spec i7-2600k 3.4 with 8meg cache8 gig ram2TB HDD1 GB NVida GT530 I know these are ok specs just wanted to know if anyone else has simlar specs. The reason for my upgrade was my dual core built a year ago is ok but after installing earth simulations Gernsey im only getting 4.5 fps Thanks guys Danny.

Get a gtx560ti or gtx570. The gt series isn't going to cut it, needs to be a gtx.Be sure to get 64-bit os as well

Get a good cooler like the noctua nh-d14 as well, and you'll be able to overclock it to heck and back. But since budget's a factor, you can run it with the boxed cooler for a while and then upgrade if it still doesn't do the job. The GTX560Ti is great value.

Actually, you could build a pc yourself cheaper. It isn't difficult at all

Consider an i5 2500K instead of the i7 2600K and put the extra $100 from that into a better GPU - GTX 560 Ti or 570 as others said.

Is the offer only for prebuilt computers? If you get a computer from HP, Dell, etc.. it limits you in terms of overclockability, etc since the motherboards from them are most likely locked.

@David: also you will waaaay overpay for what you would else pay if you build it yourself.

Hey Ryan i thought the i7 was better than the i5?? Also then man at pc world was telling me its better to buy pre built as it would be cheaper, it already has WIN7 premium 64bit installled. Its too late to change my mind now as the paper work has already gone up to HQ. I I can always take the CPU out and buy a new board, or just put the tower on ebay and build one myself!!! My pc im using now is self built, i only built it last year it was ok then, but now better aircraft and scenerys are coming out and my pc is struggling to keep up.

The 2600k is better for some tasks because of the hyperthreading, but since FSX can't take advantage of that the 2500k performs just as well. Since you have the 2600k already though, I'd just stick with it. If the stock motherboard won't let you overclock you can pick up a good P67 or Z68 board for $150USD. A good cooler is about half that much or less.

That's not a bad computer, and to be honest, I'd disregard what people are saying about building one the same for a lot less, because you won't, you'd pay pretty close to that money for the components found in that HP in the UK. Cheapest place in the UK for components is usually scan computers, and if you check there, an i7 is 230 quid, a suitable mobo 80 quid, the RAM another 60, the case another 100, the PSU another 50, GPU 150, the OS another 80, the monitor might be 200 quid or so, keyboard and mouse another 50, hard drive another 100, optical drive another 50 and your time getting it all together another 50. Add all that up and see what you total at, and that doesn't include the cost of other bits such as DV out cards, frontal USB and sound cards, modem connector, remote control unit etc, all of which that has. You can get cheaper components and bring that price down of course, but they are exactly that, cheaper, i.e. they'd fry sooner and the specs are invariably less even if they keep on going, whereas you know HP have picked components that work well together, which is why I've got two HP PCs, a laptop and a desktop. It is possible to build computers for less, but what you're getting there is about on the money to be honest and good to go right from the off with no need to build it and a three year warranty to boot, and it'll run FSX well. It's a good choice you've made. Al

Here you go mate - pre-built and under £2000. Great site, I have used them many times before. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-174-OE Also I make it a habit never to listen to anybody from PC World! Cheers, Anthony

That's not a bad computer, and to be honest, I'd disregard what people are saying about building one the same for a lot less, because you won't, you'd pay pretty close to that money for the components found in that HP in the UK. Cheapest place in the UK for components is usually scan computers, and if you check there, an i7 is 230 quid, a suitable mobo 80 quid, the RAM another 60, the case another 100, the PSU another 50, GPU 150, the OS another 80, the monitor might be 200 quid or so, keyboard and mouse another 50, hard drive another 100, optical drive another 50 and your time getting it all together another 50. Add all that up and see what you total at, and that doesn't include the cost of other bits such as DV out cards, frontal USB and sound cards, modem connector, remote control unit etc, all of which that has. You can get cheaper components and bring that price down of course, but they are exactly that, cheaper, i.e. they'd fry sooner and the specs are invariably less even if they keep on going, whereas you know HP have picked components that work well together, which is why I've got two HP PCs, a laptop and a desktop. It is possible to build computers for less, but what you're getting there is about on the money to be honest and good to go right from the off with no need to build it and a three year warranty to boot, and it'll run FSX well. It's a good choice you've made. Al

...... Each part you buy comes with a warranty. HP, Dell, etc.. use cheap parts, your point? They use terrible RAM with high latency, their own brand motherboards that have limited options, and an extremely low-performance video card.. and you want to spend that much money?

Consider an i5 2500K instead of the i7 2600K and put the extra $100 from that into a better GPU - GTX 560 Ti or 570 as others said.

Hi Ryan,I too have been thinking about this and since i play other games too, would it not make sense to future proof with the 2600k?Thanks

Consider an i5 2500K instead of the i7 2600K and put the extra $100 from that into a better GPU - GTX 560 Ti or 570 as others said.

Ryan, what about Flight that is around the corner, I bet it will be able to handle the goodies of the 2600K

Ivy Bridge will be released most likely before Flight.

Ivy Bridge will be released most likely before Flight.

That doesn't mean Sandy Bridge will be left out