OK.. I already ordered the ATX Cooler Master HAF 932 full tower case and 950Watt PC Cooling and Power block.However, I am not sure which is the best platform to go withWait for the Z77 1155 Ivy Bridge around Aprilor go with the today's most powerful X79 LGA 2011 with i7-3930K Sandy - EThe way I build system, it may as well take until March before I finish building anyway... so the time is not as much an issue as the the things in Z77. Would they really matter for FSX?Quad channel memory and all the other things... would it matter to FSX?FSX is the primary...maybe even the only criteria.Manny

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Steven then posted thisThe 2011 socket does not seem be an advantage in FSX over the early Sandy Bridges. It is all laid out for you in the Hardware section. The mods will either move this thread or remove it, as we are not supposed to discuss hardware here.Kind regards,StephenOK... So I wait for the Z77 then?Manny

This might help to bring you up to speed on what the current thinking is.http://forum.avsim.n...x-quick-review/We do not have enough data yet to make any definitive answer, but the very early indications are that the FSX performance of the X79 LGA 2011 CPUs are not superior to that of 1155's 2500K, 2600K and 2700K variants. Ivy Bridge 1155s should be a step up from either Sandy Bridge platform. Meanwhile, we need more SB-E platforms to run the FSX Mark11 Benchmark test to evaluate and validate their comparative positions.Kind regards,

Hi Manny,I'm in the same boat, however I have leaned towards waiting for IB so we can truly assess the potential for better overclocking (or not!) and memory, and PCIe 3.0 interconnect. I think these potentially make it worth the wait. No one can say definitively about these changes and their impact on FSX or other. Since I'm still flying high on a Cord 2 Quad I really am not in a big hurry. Plus, Kepler-based GPUs from nVidia will be coming then as well I believe. I'd say if you're not in a huge hurry, which it sounds like you may not be, might be smart to wait and see, then you can make the smartest choice possible. I have really lost interest in frequent upgrades unless it's really compelling. Sandy Bridge generally wasn't compelling enough for me, and that is primarily because I enjoy FSX already. I hope IB is a clear choice for me. My next box will have . . .

• Very high end memory, and 8GB of it should be fine
• Either 1 or 2 SSD's--I'm guessing two, one for OS, one for FSX, won't make nearly the impact this approach has w/ HDDs. So one is my first choice. I'll keep 10K drive for data and backup only.
• A single GPU that is best in class
• I may consider water cooling, but mainly to reduce noise while getting a good overclock. I am also hopeful my PC Power & Cooling 750W PSS w/ 50W 12v rail will be adequate to support the mainboard and the potential overclock. What I haven't checked on is whether or not the mainboards for IB use the same PSS. I assume so, but don't really know.

Noel

Hi Noel,I agree with you. I am excited to build this time... I can now get back to FSX.:)Its like having a child... all the excitement and then not sure how they are going to turn out!:)

Hi Manny,I'm in the same boat, however I have leaned towards waiting for IB so we can truly assess the potential for better overclocking (or not!) and memory, and PCIe 3.0 interconnect. I think these potentially make it worth the wait. No one can say definitively about these changes and their impact on FSX or other. Since I'm still flying high on a Cord 2 Quad I really am not in a big hurry. Plus, Kepler-based GPUs from nVidia will be coming then as well I believe. I'd say if you're not in a huge hurry, which it sounds like you may not be, might be smart to wait and see, then you can make the smartest choice possible. I have really lost interest in frequent upgrades unless it's really compelling. Sandy Bridge generally wasn't compelling enough for me, and that is primarily because I enjoy FSX already. I hope IB is a clear choice for me. My next box will have . . .

• Very high end memory, and 8GB of it should be fine
• Either 1 or 2 SSD's--I'm guessing two, one for OS, one for FSX, won't make nearly the impact this approach has w/ HDDs. So one is my first choice. I'll keep 10K drive for data and backup only.
• A single GPU that is best in class
• I may consider water cooling, but mainly to reduce noise while getting a good overclock. I am also hopeful my PC Power & Cooling 750W PSS w/ 50W 12v rail will be adequate to support the mainboard and the potential overclock. What I haven't checked on is whether or not the mainboards for IB use the same PSS. I assume so, but don't really know.

Noel

^ exactlyWe're getting to the point where I would advise anybody to wait. PCI-E 3.0, native USB 3.0, and slightly improved processors make waiting 3 or 4 months worth it, I think. Timing your upgrade with the Kepler release would be a very good idea.

I would also suggest waiting for the dust to settle on a PCIe v. 3-capable CPU and GPU. (But the way my finances are going, I might end up waiting for Skymont! :Big Grin:)As for whether FSX can benefit from LGA 2011, remember you will likely also be using this rig for Flight, and flight will be a lot better at using multi-CPU hardware than FSX!Cheers,- jahman.

I see MS Flight as another point for waiting for Ivy Bridge as we are likely to know more about Flight by then, making an informed decision between LGA 2011 and 1155 possible.

Hi all,I finally have my LGA 2011/X79 rig up and running and can report back some preliminary anecdotal results. My setup:CPU: i7-3930K SB-E 3.2 Ghz (OC'd to 4.8, 4.6, or 4.2 depending on how I feel)Mobo: Asus P9X79 DeluxeRAM: Corsair Vengeance (8x4GB) DDR 3 (9-9-9-24)GPU: 2 x HD6950 2GB Dirt 3 Editions (Crossfire'd, 6970'd, and Eyefinity'd)Storage: 2 x OCZ Vertex 3 120GB (FSX and supporting junk); 2 x Crucial M4 128GB SATA III (OS and other necessaries); 3 x 1TB WD Black Caviar (keeps images and a back up boot image if and when the SSDs die)PSU: Cooler Master 1200W PSUCase: Corsair 800DCooling: Corsair h100, Gelid 9 fan array, Lamptron Touch ControllerOS: Windows 7 x64 System is AIR not Water CooledThis is by far the most powerful system I have ever built. The machine can handle almost everything I can come up with. I have not run Prime or FSXMark or any other heat generating software because nothing I do will demand that much of this system and I certainly will not ever have the biggest or baddest anything (much less OC'd PC).FSX, REX, GEX, UTX, PMDG NGX, Level D 767, CS 707, 727, 737, FSLabs Concorde, etc. all run smooth on the stock clock. My first OC attempt was to 4.8GHz and the machine ran fine with everything but FSLabs Concorde at 1.415 vcore. The LGA 2011 is a big piece of silicon and it needs volts, I think if I gave it more juice I would have been fine, but really 4.2 and 4.6 are super smooth and 4.8 was more of a test. Temps never exceed 47C in FSX and with FSX windowed (PMDG NGX from KMIA to SKBO on autopilot), Office 2010 (typing dissertation), and Photoshop CS5 (just cause I could) running I was still smooth with full weather effects at 4.8GHz. I realize this isnt FSXMark, Prime95, or otherwise...rather it is an example of how practical the hex core chip is if you really use it to make your life easy. I am not an avid gamer, I do not render videos or complex graphics so none of those benchmarks seems worth the hassle of a complete FSX uninstall and re-install. I fully believe the baby SB (i7,i5-2600's) can do all this stuff and MUCH cheaper with strong OC'ing. The LGA 2011 is not cost effective and is in fact a total miss for FSX (in discussions with Worldclassleader we agree that at most 3 cores of 6 get any action. AIDA64 tells me this is true). However, this system is probably terminal for my needs as even if Flight somehow ends up being my flight sim of the future (maybe yes...maybe no) I am not sure it will pose too much of a challenge for it. I also feel that the X79 and SB-E aren't yet fully understood and have not had their full potential explored. If Flight is RAM dependent I have another 32GB of room to grow and I just saw a video on ROG's website of RAM OC'ing up to 2700mhz stable, so I have OC'ing if I really need it. If PCIe 3.0 is a win, the MB will do it as will the LGA/X79 combo so no issues there. If processor build is the key, the 3960X is about twice the $$$ but apparently the extreme OC'ers dream. I can even pick up a new MB and build a second X79 and go the RE4 route. Buy a rig like this if you want headroom, buy a baby SB rig if you want proven, no excuses, cost effective results. I realize this post is short on quantitative data but rest assured from my research and the knowledge base here that the baby SB is plenty for FSX and most likely even Flight. RegardsDan F

...FSX, REX, GEX, UTX, PMDG NGX, Level D 767, CS 707, 727, 737, FSLabs Concorde, etc. all run smooth on the stock clock....

Oh, my! A godsend for those too lazy to OC!Will you be running the FSX test suite to measure FPS? :Big Grin:Cheers,- jahman.

Lol lazy...This is a good way to see it. I really have no interest in running the benchmarking suites for two reasons. First, as the rules for benchmarking require a clean install of FSX to "count" I will pass. With work, school, family, etc I am just too busy lately to bother with this step. I could run the tests but as the posts in the FSXMark thread explain the result would be meaningless as a true benchmark. Second, FPS is not a great index for experience in FSX. Sure it tells me about smoothness but nothing about stutters, blurries, etc. Ultimately what matters to me and likely to other FSX enthusiasts is that the rig runs all the high end add ons at max settings and doesn't break a sweat. Sest of the pants is a poor measure if cost matters, but thankfully I can treat myself and the money spent (caveat: to me and yes I am biased) seems worth it. I will be adding traffic as soon as I can decide which program is best for my needs. I am trying to finish up a doctoral dissertation so I only get a flight or two a week at the moment but eventually I plan to start using VATSIM and pushing this thing to the realism limits while I finish up my real world instrument rating next year. She is a pretty rig and I will post pics under the appropriate thread when I can. I only regret not getting the Corsair PSU as it looks to be visually a really nice piece. Also, because of space issues I am going to need a custom 3 monitor stand. I think a MIG welder, some square stock aluminum or steel, some VESA mounts and some elbow grease can fix that.

Really looking forward to a look-see Doctor Dan! Thanks for sharing the excitement with us. Each one of us is a sucker for fast new hardware!Kind regards,

Spiritflyer,Thanks for that. I'll get some pics up ASAP but right now I am fighting the multiple correlation monster. Until I can get these damn research questions to align with my proposed method and the instruments I selected I am a slave to the research literature. After 26 years of formal education it all comes down to asking the right questions and not necessarily giving the right answers. The irony is almost too much to bear.Honestly I'll wait to be called Doctor when my Committee Chair tells me the Dean said it is OK. In the meantime I am graduate scum, the lowest form of life on earth, etc. (<--------Lee Ermy - Full Metal Jacket reference).I've got maybe 60 days left for that so we will see.