Here is what I am looking at so far.Please give your thoughts.One of the main things I am up in the air about is the CPU. I have read both sides, for and against the i7-2600k.....and others saying that the i7-2500k is way more than enough for FSX and future games. MSI P67A-C43 B3 Intel P67 MotherboardIntel Core i7-2600K 3.40 GHz Quad-Core UnlockedMSI DH-24AAS-17 Internal DVD WriterPNY 16GB (4x 4GB) DDR3 XLR8**HD not selected yet...as I am unsure about the cost/return on a SSD.....**MSI NightHawk ATX Black Mid Tower CaseMSI Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 PCIe 2.1Have not selected a Power Supply unit. I have a 850w Black widow in my current rig, that I might use....I am sure that is more than enough to power it. Have not included Win764And also have not included cooling hardware....as I am a little lost on this also....I at the moment, have a liquid cooled system from Alienware...and like it...but not sure how it stacks up against air systems and the prices. Not sure if I want to do a liquid system myself...as water in a computer is bad enough, let alone it being installed by some newjack.Any suggestions? Anything I am leaving out?I already have x2 21.5" ACER monitors I will be using, and all other hardware.Also unsure if I should go with the HD6770, or keep the current Crossfire x2 HD 5770s that I have now in my rig.So what you guys think?

Looks nice! Just a couple of things:There is no such thing as i7 2500k. It's i5 2500k. However, just because it's an i5, doesn't mean it's bad. It's the same chip. The only difference is that you get a higher stock clock (really doesn't matter since your going to overclock), a 2MB increase in L2 cache, and hyper threading (useless).Get rid of that MSI DVD Writer, and get a ASUS DVD burner.You really only need 8GB of RAM. 16GB is a waste, IMO.You can opt to go for air cooling like I did, with the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus which is $25 or the Evo which is a little bit more.Just get Windows 7 Home Premium. No use for the other, more expensive versions.I think you only need 700 watts. I have a 620 watt Seasonic M12 and it's working great and quiet.I'd recommend a nVidia card. EVGA is my new favorite brand. 24 hour support, great techies to anwser your questions, and a good warranty.Anyway, just a thought.

Edited January 28, 201214 yr by linux731

Really looking at the 580, but the price is kinda scary....Most expensive part of the computer...lolAre all the "k" versions unlocked for OC? I wouldn't want to get a board that wouldn't let me really OC it like the one I have now. I don't even want a crazy OC...just like 3.8 or 4.0.Does the MoBo matter on the OC ability...as in being locked out....or is it the chip that determines that....

Really looking at the 580, but the price is kinda scary....Most expensive part of the computer...lolAre all the "k" versions unlocked for OC? I wouldn't want to get a board that wouldn't let me really OC it like the one I have now. I don't even want a crazy OC...just like 3.8 or 4.0.Does the MoBo matter on the OC ability...as in being locked out....or is it the chip that determines that....

K means unlocked and unleashed.

On the board, make sure it has a p67 or z68 chipset for overclocking.

The board is thisGigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 -------->http://www.bit-tech....8ap-d3-review/1Revised build after doing some more reading....CoolerMaster HAF 922 Gaming CaseIntel® Core™ i7-2600K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/8MB L3 Cache) -- Still debating on i5-2500kAsetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 MemoryAMD Radeon HD 6970 - 2GB -- Still unsure of final selection on ATI or NvidiaMotherboard ( Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 )750 Watt - Thermaltake TR2 TRX-750M2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s[12X Blu-Ray] LG BLU-RAY Reader, DVD±R/±RW Burner Combo Drive -- I have a lot of Blu-Ray DVD's..lol

Edited January 28, 201214 yr by William J.S.S

Really looking at the 580, but the price is kinda scary....Most expensive part of the computer...lol

You could go for the 580's small brother, the GTX 570. It's cheaper and isn't far off from the 580. Then again you could use the 560ti and still get excellent results!

The board is thisGigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 -------->http://www.bit-tech....8ap-d3-review/1Revised build after doing some more reading....CoolerMaster HAF 922 Gaming CaseIntel® Core™ i7-2600K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/8MB L3 Cache) -- Still debating on i5-2500kAsetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 MemoryAMD Radeon HD 6970 - 2GB -- Still unsure of final selection on ATI or NvidiaMotherboard ( Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 )750 Watt - Thermaltake TR2 TRX-750M2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s[12X Blu-Ray] LG BLU-RAY Reader, DVD±R/±RW Burner Combo Drive -- I have a lot of Blu-Ray DVD's..lol

Get the i5.Liquid cooling will be hard.2TB hard drive? I doubt you will use that much.OK then. If you already have a Blu-Ray disc player in your home (PS3, actual Blu-Ray player, etc.) then just stick to a standard DVD player. You don't watch movies in your computer, do you?

The board is thisGigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 -------->http://www.bit-tech....8ap-d3-review/1Revised build after doing some more reading....CoolerMaster HAF 922 Gaming CaseIntel® Core™ i7-2600K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/8MB L3 Cache) -- Still debating on i5-2500kAsetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 MemoryAMD Radeon HD 6970 - 2GB -- Still unsure of final selection on ATI or NvidiaMotherboard ( Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 )750 Watt - Thermaltake TR2 TRX-750M2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s[12X Blu-Ray] LG BLU-RAY Reader, DVD±R/±RW Burner Combo Drive -- I have a lot of Blu-Ray DVD's..lol

I'd go for the i5 2500k & gtx560ti. Nvidia cards are better for fsx (search cloud issues & combined mode aa). This would also save you enough money to buy a velociraptor 10k rpm hard drive for fsx, which will reduce or possibly eliminate stutters associated with texture loading.Also make sure the memory is rated for 1.5v or less. A lot of people overlook that on sb systems. It'll work with 1.65v, but you won't have any room to boost memory voltage a bit as is sometimes required to stay stable at the advertised timings.

Edited January 28, 201214 yr by MrKen

I'd go for the i5 2500k & gtx560ti. Nvidia cards are better for fsx (search cloud issues & combined mode aa). This would also save you enough money to buy a velociraptor 10k rpm hard drive for fsx, which will reduce or possibly eliminate stutters associated with texture loading.Also make sure the memory is rated for 1.5v or less. A lot of people overlook that on sb systems. It'll work with 1.65v, but you won't have any room to boost memory voltage a bit as is sometimes required to stay stable at the advertised timings.

Would you recommend the 1GB or 2 GB GTX560 ti....looked at that also, but then again, remembered that I had read somewhere about issues with 2GB GPUs with FSX?

1gb if it's primarily for fsx. 1-1.5gb seems to be the sweetspot. You shouldn't see any perceptible difference in performance (FSX ONLY!!) between the gtx 560ti, 570 or 580. I only run 2 580's for the 3-monitor vc and actually take a hit because of the added CPU load caused by sli.

Yep, I think I will go with the 560ti 2gig.....might as well.I have two monitors....right now, with my i3-530, and running fsx in windowed mode, and ts, planner and such on the second monitor, i notice a decrease in performance running it this way as opposed to running only one monitor....will this set up help that out?Will it be better performance now running two monitors...with FSX on one windowed, and apps on the other?

Good choice.Where are you getting your parts? Newegg?

Ya, and Tiger Direct.

Go 2500k and the 560ti. Use the saved money on an ssd. You will not regret this move.

Alright. One final question.I have everything on order...BUT...the MoBo....I have read about this so much, my head hurts...and I am really coming to the understanding that I am not understanding all the differences with motherboards.

I am in the air about the Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3

It says that is supports Crossfire...does not mention SLI....so...having gotten 1 NVIDIA card...I am out of luck if I ever wanted to SLI and get another? Or is it just saying crossfire and no need for saying SLI.

I am not happy with my performance with the ATI brand, and will stick to NVIDIA...but this mobo issue is now going to hold up my build....as all other parts are on their way, or about to be.

Does anyone have this board with NVIDIA, and maybe SLI? Also, is this board going to allow me to easily OC the I7?

Thanks again....sorry to keep asking these things...just trying to get it right...