I am regretting it now.... I suck 400watts at peak! LOL

 

I think we can both agree that a quality brand name unit would better suit the OP?

 

Did you check out the reviews of that eagletech hehe?

 

But I would go modular especially with that case... :)

Thanks for the comments everyone. I will just keep looking for a 680 cause I have the money now and just want to get everything in one shot. I'll look at upgrading the PSU if I have the money. I found the notify me link on EVGAs site so I guess they're out too.

 

It is really the luck of the draw.

 

As Ben and Ryan have said just make sure the PSU you pick is a higher quality one. Corsair and Seasonic are the only 2 manufacturers I would ever recommend to anyone. Remember the PSU feeds all your components so get one of high quality with appropriately sized wattage.

 

+1 to Ryan on modular.

Ok! Well I found an EVGA GTX680 card with CentralComputers.com and I called to verify that they had them and he told me they had 6 and they would ship today! I paid a little more $550 shipped but I really need the stuff to get here by next week so I can put it together during my kid free weekend next weekend! I also am going to go ahead and get this Corsair PSU as recommended above...I can try and sell the other one in my garage sale next week. - PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

 

So I think I am set for now...thanks for everyone's help and suggestions!

 

Brandon

... so I can put it together during my kid free weekend next weekend!

 

Haha I know exactly what you mean!

....during my kid free weekend next weekend!

 

I found the best compromise for FSX and kids.

 

I just put a bunch of Disney movies on my old iPod touch and my daughter is golden for hours.

 

:Just Kidding:

Greetings all,

Well allow me to jump into the fray as I am too on the verge of making a "purchase" decision on a custom build for FSX.

 

Here is where I'm at:

Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K SB...plan to overclock to 4.5 or better.

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V

RAM: Corsair XMS3 8GB DDR3--1600

Watercooling: Corsair H80

Power Supply: Corsair AX850

Case: Cooler Master HAF932 Full Tower Case

Graphics Card: EVGA GTX580 OC@950MHZ

Harddrives: 2X Samsung F3 1TB Harddrives 7200RPM.

 

So far, everything I've seen so far is pretty consistent, with the possible exception of the SSD drive. I've been told (by a FSX IT expert) that an SSD really isn't going to do much except run Win 7 faster and since I'll be putting FSX on a 1TB 7200 drive, there is no significant benefit offered by the SSD. Is there something I'm missing here, because a good number of you have the SSDs. The problem I see with SSD (at the moment) is the fact that it can only read/write a specific number of times before the drive becomes unusable. I've also been told that going with a 10000RPM drive is overkill, especially no matter what happens, you can't load all the add ons and get it to run with weather and scenery at max.

 

I've read several threads about the virtues of the GTX480/560/570/580/680 and in all candor, I'm not convinced that the extra spend for the 680 is going to get me the bang for the buck against the 580. The other trade off here is if the 560ti is not that different than the 580 in terms of performance on FSX (and I've been told the 570 is not the best built card), why spend for the 580?

 

I'm really trying to get this build below $2000, but the SSD vs. HDD and graphics card questions are giving me pause.

 

As for the processor, I'm staying with the i7-2600K SB, but after the price comes down when the IBs are released in a week or so. Since we know what the 2600K can do with overclocking and the IBs are still an unknown, better to go with what we know than what we don't...

 

Any thoughts and suggestions are very welcome!

Many thanks

Dave

Intel Core i7 2600K SB...plan to overclock to 4.5 or better.

Wait for the Ivy Bridge to come out before you make a decision.

Graphics Card: EVGA GTX580 OC@950MHZ

 

Did you take this out of my signature? LOL :Big Grin:

 

why spend for the 580?

 

Please PLEASE trust me and Word Not Allowed on this one. The 580 will handle high AA levels MUCH better than the lower end cards. -- If you go for the 580, you will be happy in the end.

 

i7-2600K SB, but after the price comes down

 

Intel rarely cuts prices with new generations... They still sell the old Q6600's for full price.

Hey Ben,

Thanks for the quick response.

OK...You've convinced me on the GTX580. Since this comes in two flavors (1.5GB and 3GB) which one are we talking about. And it will be EVGA. As for copying, yep I copied and pasted, but didn't edit it properly...sorry.

 

As for the SB vs. IB question; I plan to wait anyway and if there isn't any difference in price, I'll probably pop for the IB since I'm going with a Z77 board.

 

The last question was regarding SSD vs. HDD? Any thoughts?

Bummer, this rig will be over $2K...

 

Thanks

Dave

 

So far, everything I've seen so far is pretty consistent, with the possible exception of the SSD drive. I've been told (by a FSX IT expert) that an SSD really isn't going to do much except run Win 7 faster and since I'll be putting FSX on a 1TB 7200 drive, there is no significant benefit offered by the SSD. Is there something I'm missing here, because a good number of you have the SSDs. The problem I see with SSD (at the moment) is the fact that it can only read/write a specific number of times before the drive becomes unusable. I've also been told that going with a 10000RPM drive is overkill, especially no matter what happens, you can't load all the add ons and get it to run with weather and scenery at max.

 

I have found the SSD to be a pleasant addition to my FSX rig. Not only does windows boot up almost instantly so does FSX. The speed of loading of each flight is quite nice as well. I have not noticed any in sim advantage just the loading speed.

 

I am running my FSX on the same SSD as my OS and haven't seen an issue. I store aircraft and non scenery addons on my 7200 hdd.

 

As for the life of SSD both Patriot and Intel have said the drives are good for about 5 years at 20gbs of writes per day. From my understanding and reading only writes to the SSD affect its lifespan. Also newer SSD's have better life expectancies than previous gens. Plus once they reach their useful life you can still read your data just not write. Otherwise you wouldnt see them in business or military applications who really embraced SSD's first.

 

You have to work within your budget but I love the SSD and am looking toward getting a 60 for the OS and using the bigger just for sims.

 

The last question was regarding SSD vs. HDD? Any thoughts?

 

SSD makes a large difference in the loading times in FSX. But, in general flying scenarios, you will get no FPS improvement. Honestly, for the price, I don't think it is worth it for an SSD.

 

Go for a 10k RPM hdd or a Caviar Black 1TB.

New Egg and Central Computers have shipped all of my pieces! Should be here by Thursday and I'll be putting it all together on Saturday. Who knows if I'll even make it to getting FSX installed but it will be a fun project for sure!!! Thanks everyone!

 

Brandon

New Egg and Central Computers have shipped all of my pieces! Should be here by Thursday and I'll be putting it all together on Saturday. Who knows if I'll even make it to getting FSX installed but it will be a fun project for sure!!! Thanks everyone!

 

Brandon

 

Congratz! Be sure to get some pictures of the final build for the Pictures of our computers thread.