I have not really looked at hardware in a long time, nor have I been playing with FSX much lately. I would like to get back into it, and I am considering a new computer to go along with it.

 

Here's my challenge for those of you who are familiar with hardware, FSX, and the relationship between the two. I am asking for people who actually understand what really works best for FSX in terms of hardware.

 

I want you to help me select the best components for a set budget.

 

The budget: $500

 

The place: Newegg.com

 

Here's is what I need in that budget:

• Motherboard
  
• RAM
  
• CPU
  
• GPU
  

You have $500 to give me the best combination of those four items to give the best performance in FSX. All other items I will be able to select for myself, but the four critical components, I am not really up to date on and that's why I need your help!

 

Any other tips, tricks, and suggestions, let me know!

i2500K Best bang for your buck CPU anywhere. $225

RAM - any CLS9 1600 (NewEgg has 8gig Ripjaws for $50)

MB -

GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155 - $129.00 (just check it allows for overclocking)

 

GPU - GTX560Ti - Msi $209.00

 

Total - $613.

 

 

Probably a bit over your budget but worth it. Just make sure you have a good air cooler for the chip so you can overclock. 4.6 should be no problem at all. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 cooler is cheap and gets good reviews at $34.00

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 will allow you to overclock but don't expect it to go higher than 4.5. If you are lucky to get a good chip which can overclock at lower Vcore then maybe yes but don't expect much out of it. Don't get me wrong I still think this motherboard is good for it's price point and 4.5 ghz can give you desirable performance in FSX. For more information on this motherboard you can take a look at this review by tomshardware http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asrock-z68-extreme4-asus-p8z68-v-pro-gigabyte-z68x-ud3h-b3,2939-17.html. I think in your budget this motherboard is a good choice.

Newegg CPU pricing sucks compared to Micro Center. That same CPU was just being cleared out for $99 last week at MC. $229 right now buys an i7 3770k. $95 gets you a choice of Z77 boards.

Good to know about Micro Center, I did not do the shopping very thoroughly as I wrote that in 5 minutes but it gives Deaf Pilot an idea of what is possible with his budget.

Thanks guys! What kind of performance can I expect to see with this setup?