Hi guys,

I am about to pull the trigger on a new setup for use with FSX, addons and PMDG products (747, 737, 777), but also quite a lot photo editing with Adobe Lightroom.

 

I´m looking at this setup:

 

ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE, Socket-1155 ATX, Z77, DDR3, 2xG3+1xG2-PCIe-x16,SLI/CFX,HDMI,DP, Dual band-WiFi, BT,DLNA,UEFI

 

Corsair H80 Hydro Series CPU Cooler Socket 775/1155/1156/1366/2011, AM2/AM2+/AM3, 2600 RPM, 46~92 CFM, 22~39 dBA

 

Corsair Obsidian 650D Midi Tower Sort Vifter: 1x 200mm Front, 1x 200mm Topp, 1x Bak 120mm, ATX, mATX, 2x USB 2.0/3.0

 

Corsair SSD Force Series 3, 240GB 2.5" SATA 6 Gb/s (SATA3.0), 550MB/520MB/s read/write, SandForce® SF-2281, w/bracket

 

Corsair SSD Force Series GT 120GB 2.5" SATA 6 Gb/s (SATA3.0), 555MB/515MB/s read/write, 85k IOPS(4k aligned), w/bracket

 

Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 16GB CL9 Kit w/4x 4GB, CL9-9-9-24, 1.5V, Vengeance Blue Heatspreader, 240 pin

 

Intel® Core i7-2700K Processor Socket-LGA1155, Quad Core, 3.5Ghz, 8MB, 95W, Boxed w/fan

 

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Norwegian, Full, DVD

 

I already have:

 

Corsair Powersupply 750W Black, ATX/EPS,

140mm Fan, 8xSATA, SLI

 

MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti 1GB PhysX

PCI-Express 2.0,"Twin Frozr II", GDDR5, 2xDVI, nat

 

***********************

 

I am thinking 120GB SSD for FSX, and 240 GB SSD for OS.

I am also thinking moderate OC from the start, maybe expanding this later, hence the water cooling.

Maybe possible to turn on HT and moderate OC for photo editing with Adobe Lightroom. HT of and higher OC for FSX.

 

Any comments for the setup?

I know most use i5-2500K for this, but i worry about the future use, and use for photo editing. My current PC is 4yrs, and I like buying stuff that lasts for a while.

 

Any comments welcome - thanks!

Regards,

Andy

Looks great to me! IF you use Orbx or photoscenery prepare to put FSX on the 240GB... my 120 is filling up

Thanks Ryan,

I do have UTX and GEX NA/Euro. I will look into the space requirements again. Good tip.

 

I just got some comments on another forum, telling me to choose Crucial, Samsung or Intel, not Corsair SSD. Sandforce related, I guess.

Also, he pointed out I had a 2. gen processor and 3. gen mobo. He suggested 3. gen processor. I will look into Ivy Bridge again. I think I heard something about Ivy Bridge being less OC-friendly.

 

Also - that the H80 was a noisy cooler. He suggested air. Not convinced. :)

 

Regards,

Andy

I would second the Ivy Bridge + Z77 recommendation, having that combination myself. If you follow the de-lid procedure for the IHS you can drop temps drastically and regain much of the lost overclockability compared to Sandy Bridge. I have mine at 4.9GHz for 24x7 use, 5.0GHz I can bench at but need more voltage and I don't want to run it there all the time. For reference, Ivy Bridge @ 4.9GHz + fast RAM puts it in the neighborhood of 5.3GHz Sandy Bridge performance.

 

As for SSDs, I went with a single OCZ Vertex 4 512GB. I started with a 256 and realized it was going to fill up by the time I got FSX and all my add-ons + all the other sims I want to try loaded (Flight, XPX, Take On Helicopters, Aerofly FS). If you don't want to spend that much money, you can find the Agility 4 512 for around $400. Performance is still light years ahead of mechanical drives but not quite as good as the Vertex.

Why ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE? Its expensive. Unless you need those additional feature why not consider ASUS P8Z77-V Pro ? You can take the savings and buy a better video card. like the GTX 670

 

Don't give up on the IB so easily.. read the various discussions here on the various topics of IB vs SB and then the bench mark here in this forum and make an informed decision.

 

 

Maybe not for light room...but if you are doing any video processing, IB is the way to go,... no ifs or butts about it. This IB is made for video processing... I am told.

 

Manny

Thanks Ryan,

I do have UTX and GEX NA/Euro. I will look into the space requirements again. Good tip.

 

I just got some comments on another forum, telling me to choose Crucial, Samsung or Intel, not Corsair SSD. Sandforce related, I guess.

Also, he pointed out I had a 2. gen processor and 3. gen mobo. He suggested 3. gen processor. I will look into Ivy Bridge again. I think I heard something about Ivy Bridge being less OC-friendly.

 

Also - that the H80 was a noisy cooler. He suggested air. Not convinced. :)

 

Regards,

Andy

 

The cooler thing is whatever you decide... some people don't like the fan noise, some don't notice it. My H60 has a loud fan noise and I barely notice it anymore... then again I've got a 20 mo old child screaming a lot lol! For the SSD... yeah I'd go with the new Sandisk gen 3:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171568

Hi guys,

Thanks a lot for the input. I made an updatet shopping list from various input, unchanged in grey.

Better?

 

Sandisk is not well represented here in Norway.

On the kid: Be prepared to fly less. I have two, and hours are not building fast. :)

 

MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Z77 S-1155 ATX IVY

RAM: CORSAIR 16GB DDR3 VENGEANCE LP QUAD 1600MHZ CL8

CAB: CORSAIR MIDITOWER OBSIDIAN 650D ATX BLACK

HD: 2X INTEL 330 SERIES 2.5" 240GB SSD SATA/600 MLC ...

CPU: INTEL CORE I7 3770K 3.5GHZ 8MB S-1155 IVY

OS: MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7 HOME PREM NOR DVD #NO

Cooler: NOCTUA NH-D14 S-1155/1156

 

 

Regards,

Andy

You really want faster RAM than that with Ivy Bridge, I would say at least 2133 but 2400 is the recommendation if you can get it.

Ah, thanks! Got stuck in 2nd generation together with i7-2600K there.....

 

How about this one?

CORSAIR 16GB DDR3 VENGEANCE LP PC3-17000 2133MHZ CL11 (4X4GB)

 

Or..... Not too much 2400 to choose from here atm, but I guess I could stretch it to this one:

KINGSTON DDR3 HYPERX 16GB 2400MHZ CL11 (4X4GB)

 

Andy

That price difference isn't too bad, go for the 2400.