On board sound is actually pretty good these days, not audiophile quality, but still pretty good.

 

On a budget I'd go with Quad channel RAM for FSX

 

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.co...82E16813131808R

CPU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819116492

RAM: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820233143

 

This will give you a nice platform for FSX.

 

Although that sounds nice, I just bought my whole rig in august, so I'm looking for a CPU Cooler & mobo only. FSX is currently running well (to my standards) on my PC, but I just want to overclock my 2500k, or it will feel like I'm restricting my own performance. All I need is a decent overclockable motherboard chipset.

 

By the way, why are those mobos so expensive? Is it the SLI? I don't need it at all, I just want A) an overclockable chipset B) a PCI slot and C) USB 3.0 would be nice, but it isn't necessary. That's why my ASUS link above looks decent.

 

That setup would definitely be nice though!

 

Thanks

Quad Channel RAM requires more motherboard layers, more layers = higher cost. Think of the Motherboard like a good ATC person, good ATC can keep the traffic flowing smoothly, bad ATC = crashes/delays

Quad Channel RAM requires more motherboard layers, more layers = higher cost. Think of the Motherboard like a good ATC person, good ATC can keep the traffic flowing smoothly, bad ATC = crashes/delays

 

Thanks for the info!

That board looks powerful but it's expensive here in Canada

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131802

If you're looking at the budget end of the Asus P8Z77 boards I'd also throw into the mix the Gigabyte UD3H which is well respected and has $20 off - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128544 it's fuller featured and has better reviews than the lower end Asus boards.

 

As for cooling this seems to be an excellent performer especially considering the price reduction - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029&Tpk=dark%20knight

 

Read some comparison reviews on these before buying but I'd be happy with them.

Looks interessting, thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately, the price reduction on the cooler is only valid for the US Newegg store, I'm in Canada.

 

However, the board you suggested is actually cheaper in Canada right now, that's quite rare. I'll read some reviews, but if pricing wasn't a concern, would you choose the UD3H (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128544) or the ASUS P8Z77 (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837)??

 

Thanks again for your help!

The LK is the budget Asus board most seem to agree that the UDH3 is the better option at the budget price point.

 

http://m.cnet.com.au/asus-p8z77-v-lk-339340728.htm?redir=1

 

"For a whole AU$10 more, though, we're going to recommend Gigabyte's UD3H instead. Thanks to the extra flexibility brought by its physical power buttons, mSATA slot, extra USB 3.0 ports and, if we're vain aesthetes, the nicer black board, we feel it's a better choice for the entry-to-mid-range crowd."

I've had a good look at the coolers available on the Canadian new egg site and this one looks interesting for not very much more thant the Hyper 212 http://www.newegg.ca...N82E16835118133 it looks like if you need to you can add another 2 fans which then pretty much brings the cooler up to top spec for air cooling http://www.xbitlabs....an-cnps14x.html

"A pair of additional 135 mm fans boosts the cooling efficiency of the new Zalman cooler by as much as 4°C, which allows it to outperform Phanteks PH-TC14PE"

Thanks again for the advice, I will consider all of this when I order my parts.

 

One last question, software related this time.

 

I plan on reinstalling Windows when I change my mobo & add my cooler. I currently have 2 disk partitions on my 500GB drive. The C: drive is 70GB in size, and contains Windows and a couple of programs (such as the antivirus). The X: Drive contains a few Steam games, lots of data and FSX.

 

I will obviously have to wipe the C: drive to reinstall, but do I have to wipe the other partition too?

Basically, can I just uninstall FSX, uninstall my games, but keep my data on my X: drive (with a backup of course)? Or do I need to completely wipe it?

 

I would assume that simply 1)uninstalling the applications, 2)reinstalling Windows and then 3)reinstalling the applications would do the trick.. right? I don't want to mess up my registry.

 

Thank you very much!

I was about to order the Z77X-UD3H + the H212 cooler but then I decided to make a few measurements in my case and found that the H212 will most likely not fit:

 

I measured from the mobo to the side panel, I get around 162mm. This website, talking about my case, says it's 180mm wide, and supports up to 159mm CPU cooler. The H212 is exactly 159mm, so I'm quite hesitant to buy it.

 

Does anyone have any last minute advice? I want to order ASAP because the mail-in rebates end on the 28th of february, but I want a compatible heatsink/fan.

 

If the H212 will not fit, which air cooled solution should I get, that could get me to a good 4.4 Ghz? Preferably under 50$. Here's what I have found, they have mixed reviews:

 

ZALMAN CNPS 9900 MAX

 

ZALMAN CNPS 9700 LED

 

Cooler Master GeminII S524

 

Cooler Master GeminII M4

 

I've been searching for hours, I feel so lost. I just need a decent budget air cooler (please don't suggest a new case, I can't do that) that will let me overclock to about 4.4Ghz for an OK price.

 

 

EDIT: Another new confusion. The ASRock Z77 Extreme4 just went on sale on the Canadian New Egg. It's now exactly the same price as the Z77X-UD3H. If pricing is no concern, should I buy the ASRock or the Gigabyte? Most people seem to favor the Gigabyte but I'll ask anyway.

Edited February 22, 201313 yr by PhilH

The Zalmans design is very old and they dont do well in the performance comparisons against newer coolers in terms of cooling or noise. The top down coolers such as the Cooler Masters you've linked to really do need very good case cooling as they are not positioned right by an exhaust fan so the hot air will circulate in the case leading to overheating problems.

 

If your really stuck for space for a decent air cooler then you may as well go with a Corsair H60 - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181015 which is cheaper than the Zalman 9900 after the $20 rebate.

 

Edit: The Gigabyte board would be the better choice of those 2.

I plan on reinstalling Windows when I change my mobo & add my cooler. I currently have 2 disk partitions on my 500GB drive. The C: drive is 70GB in size, and contains Windows and a couple of programs (such as the antivirus). The X: Drive contains a few Steam games, lots of data and FSX.

 

I will obviously have to wipe the C: drive to reinstall, but do I have to wipe the other partition too?

Basically, can I just uninstall FSX, uninstall my games, but keep my data on my X: drive (with a backup of course)? Or do I need to completely wipe it?

 

I would assume that simply 1)uninstalling the applications, 2)reinstalling Windows and then 3)reinstalling the applications would do the trick.. right? I don't want to mess up my registry.

 

Do you have use of an external drive for backing up & restoring? A full disk clone or backup of both partitions to an external disk would be ideal if at all possible. If not then deffinately backup your C: drive to your X: drive using something like windows backup or robocopy (something that will allow system files that are in use / protected to be copied).

 

My Disk(s) are partiontioned as follows;

C:\ Windows & Program Files (stuff I'm happy to loose on a rebuild)

D:\ User data (User profiles including documents, photos, settings etc that I don't want to loose)

E:\ Downloads (Generic downloads I want to keep but could loose and re-download if needs be)

F:\ Media (MP3s etc that I dont want to loose but want to keep together for convenience).

G:\ Dump (Spare space for using as and when)

 

I do it this way because as and when I re-install windows etc on C:\ I don't loose anything I need. Once I've rebuilt Windows there are a couple of registry entries and command line utilities that point Windows back to my user data on D:\ so I don't loose anything (favourites, desktop, documents etc.). I also know which drives need backing up regularly and which dont.

 

I don't know as part of this exercise whether or not you can resize / create new partitions to be a bit more logical but it might be worth thinking about. Certainly looking at storing your user data on a different partition than C:\ makes life a lot easier in these situations.

 

To answer your specific questions - No you don't need to wipe X:\ but before you start I would move all the existing data on X:\ to an new folder (X:\old build) or new partition so that when you re-install any applications into X:\ (not sure why you do this) they will be totally fresh and not have any conflicting or old data in the existing directory structure. If you have sufficient space to do this without first uninstalling all your software then this would be ideal as if you find you need some old data afterwards it is just a case of moving it back. After a while once you have proved everything is working as it should be you will be able to remove this old data to an external drive or zip it down to save on space (or just delete it).

Nice posts!

 

That's good for the Gigabyte, I will get the UD3H so that's one thing out of the way. I spent quite some time checking out the H60 earlier and although it is not the ''best'' solution out there at all, it seems to peform about the same as the H212 when used probably. That's great for me, considering the rebate on Newegg.ca

 

Also, thanks a lot for the info on reinstalling. I will definetly back up to my external hard disk before beginning the process. To answer your question, the original reason why I split the drive into to partitions and installed applications on my 2nd partition is no longer valid. I did this because I thought that I could reinstall Windows and keep my programs untouched. You however mentionned earlier that all my user profiles and registry entries will be lost, so the programs need reinstalling anyway.

 

Speaking of user profiles, I'll try to find a guide online on how to transfer them. I think that could save me some time with the reinstall.

 

Since the build is fairly recent I really don't have much. A part from a few photos, I only have about 5 or 6 games, (for which I will need to backup my savegames) and FSX.

 

When I reinstall I might rethink my partition setup. I use EASUS Partition Manager, it works great. I might place my Windows + Programs on the same drive, and seperate my user profiles + data like you. I'll see, I only have a 500GB drive for now (although it's half empty).

 

Once again, thank you very much, you are helping me save a lot of time and frustration.

This is how I would sort out the user settings for another drive, there is more than one method but this works for me.

 

When you perform the install and are asked for an initial username, use something temorary (e.g. Temp), dont use what you want your real username to be. Log in to this account, and do the following:

1 - Go into Control Panel > Folder Options and Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

2 - Make a new Users directory on the second drive (e.g. D:\Users)

3 - On D:\Users, manually set permissions so it is exactly the same as C:\Users. You have to break inheritance, remove Authenticated Users, and add Everyone with Read & execute, List folder contents, and Read. Just make sure permissions are exactly the same as C:\Users

4 - Copy C:\Users\Default to D:\Users\Default

5 - Copy C:\Users\Public to D:\Users\Public

6 - Open regedit, and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionProfileList

7 - Change Default, Public, and ProfilesDirectory from %SystemDrive% to D: e.g. D:\Users\Default, D:\Users & D:\Users\Public (Do Not change ProgramData)

8 - Go into Control Panel and add your new User Account which you will use hereafter (e.g. Phil)

9 - Log in as the new user for the first time, Check that your profile has been created in D:\Users.

10 - For each user account (if more than 1) create a symbolic link. Open an Administrator Command Prompt and type in mklink /D C:\Users\Phil D:\Users\Phil

11 - Copy your backed up user data (your own personal accounts only) from your old C:\Users to D:\Users

Hi PieEater,

 

Thanks to your detailed tutorial and a few things from this post on the W7 forums, I was able to transfer my current account's user folder to my second partition. I still have my data in C, stored as USERS.OLD but it seems fine for now. I also tried creating a new user account and it showed up in the new partition, which is great!

 

I will definitely apply your tutorial once again when I re-install in a few weeks.

 

Here's yet another question I have. I noticed the "AppData" folder contains many important application files. Since this folder is now on my second partition, it will NOT get deleted when I re-install. Should I clear it out myself? I see 2 possible outcomes:

 

1) (Negative) Problems, caused by the fact that when I re-install FSX & other applications and games, the programs will try to use "old" appdata files, causing instability.

 

2) (Positive) This may be useful becomes some games may still reference to saved game files & configs.

 

I will definitely delete my FSX installation completely when I re-install, but should I also clear other AppData or leave it there? I didn't copy the "ProgramData" folder but it looks like "AppData" contains important stuff under my User folder "Phil".

 

 

By the way, I would also like to especially thank you on your hardware recommandations. I ordered the Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H and the Corsair H60. Although I would have ordered an air solution (for the bang-for-your-buck factor), I chose the H60 because of spacing problems in my case. It was a bit more expensive than it's air counterparts but online reviews seem to say it performs about the same. The mail-in rebates will surely help too.

 

Once again, a huge thank you!!

You're more than welcome to the advice and I'm glad to have been able to help you choose your kit. The H60 should be fine and allow a decent overclock, like you I think it was the best solution for your situation, due to your space limitations any air cooler would have been a compromise and so performance would have been compromised also.

 

I believe that the Appdata folder is designed to allow unique customisation of single applications for multiple users, for example in an office or domain environment where everybody will be using the same application but will want it set up differently. Because the actual installation of the base application has to be the same for everyone I would suspect that the installation proceedure doesn't look at the Appdata settings until after it's up and running and needs to check for any individual customisations that apply for a specific user. So in effect it's your Scenareo #2 (positive) and that's definately been my experience in the past.

 

Here's PMDGs guide to completely removing FSX it mentions deleting the relevent Appdata folder so it looks like you should do this if you want to do a totally clean install http://support.preci...nstall-fsx.aspx