Poor Man's system for XP10, help me build it...

[BimmerCop 332]

Guys and gals, the more I think and do research on it, the more I am inclined in going with XP10 for my home cockpit. But since I will be using 3 projectors and XP does not have an undockable windows feature like FSX does, then I am forced in building 2 more PCs so that I have 3 PCs for visuals. I already have a spare PC which will be used for the instruments.

 

With this being said, I definitely can't afford to build 2 more systems like my current system. So this leads me to the topic in hand.

 

I have come up with the following system:

 

CPU: Intel i5-2400 | $205

Mobo: Asrock B75M-DGS | $55

GPU: PNY 660GTX 2GB (non Ti) | $205

HD: OC Agility 3 120GB SSD | $95

RAM: G.Skill 8GB DDR3 1600 | $48

PS: ThermalTake TR-500 500w | $50

Case: NZXT Source S210-001 mid tower | $40

OS: Windows 7 x64 Home | $99

 

TOTAL: $797

 

Those prices are from NewEgg and I will not be needing mice or DVD drives...

 

What you guys think?

[BimmerCop 332]

Ok guys, not everyone at once!!!

 

*cricket cricket*

 

LOL

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[aviator8 9]

Well, don't you think that using FSX will save you $800?

I always liked the idea of using only 2PC's in a home cockpit..

One beast to handle the graphics and the other for controlling the setup and instrumentation!

I'd say that this money will be better if invested in the cockpit it self "for now"..

Instead of using it just to go from FSX to XPX..

It's your choice though,

[Untouchab1e 1]

Guys and gals, the more I think and do research on it, the more I am inclined in going with XP10 for my home cockpit. But since I will be using 3 projectors and XP does not have an undockable windows feature like FSX does, then I am forced in building 2 more PCs so that I have 3 PCs for visuals. I already have a spare PC which will be used for the instruments.

 

With this being said, I definitely can't afford to build 2 more systems like my current system. So this leads me to the topic in hand.

 

I have come up with the following system:

 

CPU: Intel i5-2400 | $205

Mobo: Asrock B75M-DGS | $55

GPU: PNY 660GTX 2GB (non Ti) | $205

HD: OC Agility 3 120GB SSD | $95

RAM: G.Skill 8GB DDR3 1600 | $48

PS: ThermalTake TR-500 500w | $50

Case: NZXT Source S210-001 mid tower | $40

OS: Windows 7 x64 Home | $99

 

TOTAL: $797

 

Those prices are from NewEgg and I will not be needing mice or DVD drives...

 

What you guys think?

 

Hey!

 

I think this looks like a decent setup. With X-Plane moving into 64 bit land, you should quickly be able to use those 8GB's of delicious RAM.

 

If I were you though, I would try to squeeze off some more money and get a slightly better processor and/or video card. Though I realize that everyone has a limit, and I think your proposed system will do a good job Personally, I would save those $99 you plan on spending on Windows, and just go with Linux and use that money for a better CPU/GPU. X-Plane runs extremely well on my Arch Linux box and I get better performance than in Windows 8, possibly thanks to the newly released Nvidia Linux drivers that are simply amazing

 

Good luck!

[BimmerCop 332]

Hey!

 

I think this looks like a decent setup. With X-Plane moving into 64 bit land, you should quickly be able to use those 8GB's of delicious RAM.

 

If I were you though, I would try to squeeze off some more money and get a slightly better processor and/or video card. Though I realize that everyone has a limit, and I think your proposed system will do a good job Personally, I would save those $99 you plan on spending on Windows, and just go with Linux and use that money for a better CPU/GPU. X-Plane runs extremely well on my Arch Linux box and I get better performance than in Windows 8, possibly thanks to the newly released Nvidia Linux drivers that are simply amazing

 

Good luck!

 

Oh wow, never thought of that reference Linux... That is a nice idea indeed since the PCs will be used just for XP and nothing else...

 

Ok, how about this system:

 

CASE: DIYPC DIY-6811BK Black SECC MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case with 1 x 80mm Fan - $39.99

 

MOBO: ASRock H61M-DGS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - $49.99

 

GPU: PNY VCGGTX660TXPB GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $269.99

 

PS: Thermaltake TR2 TR-500 500W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - $49.99

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K - $229.99

 

SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-64G 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) -$84.99

 

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL - $47.99

 

 

TOTAL PRICE: $753.93

 

How about now? Can I skimp on anything else and reduce the price a bit more or is this the cheapest I can go with good performance and image quality?

[Untouchab1e 1]

Looks good! You can always skimp on both the harddrive, GPU and CPU I suppose, but then again, I would just try and get the most bang for the buck here in order to make sure XP will run smoothly, not just today, but tomorrow as well

 

But at any rate, it looks good mate!

 

EDIT: And if you want some Linux tips and tricks, just give me a poke

[BimmerCop 332]

Looks good! You can always skimp on both the harddrive, GPU and CPU I suppose, but then again, I would just try and get the most bang for the buck here in order to make sure XP will run smoothly, not just today, but tomorrow as well

 

But at any rate, it looks good mate!

 

EDIT: And if you want some Linux tips and tricks, just give me a poke

 

Thanks man! I will definitely hit you up if I go the Linux route... Which distro you would recommend for an XP machine? As for the system above, I think this is the best bang of the buck I can get for XP and my setup.

[Untouchab1e 1]

Thanks man! I will definitely hit you up if I go the Linux route... Which distro you would recommend for an XP machine? As for the system above, I think this is the best bang of the buck I can get for XP and my setup.

 

It depends on how much Linux experience you already have or how much effort you want to put into learning it and getting it right. I could just say download Ubuntu and give it a go, but being a big fan of "thinking correctly", I have to recommend Arch Linux

[BimmerCop 332]

It depends on how much Linux experience you already have or how much effort you want to put into learning it and getting it right. I could just say download Ubuntu and give it a go, but being a big fan of "thinking correctly", I have to recommend Arch Linux

 

I have SOOOO many things going on right now, learning a different OS is way down on my priorities list. I guess I would need a distro that is very user friendly and has a nice GUI which would make Windows users feel at home... Which one would fit my needs? Remember, I would just want to install XP and be able to set it up with ease.

[Untouchab1e 1]

Well, the GUI part is simple, because basically no matter which distro you pick, you can always take a pick of which desktop environment you want. It really depends on how experienced you are with these things I suppose. I would still recommend Arch Linux, personally

[BimmerCop 332]

Well, the GUI part is simple, because basically no matter which distro you pick, you can always take a pick of which desktop environment you want. It really depends on how experienced you are with these things I suppose. I would still recommend Arch Linux, personally

 

Oh ok, see, I didn't know that! Hahah

 

Does XP perform better on Linux or Windows? Sorry for my ignorance, but is Linux 64bits too? Hahahaha stop laughing!

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Untouchab1e 1]

Oh ok, see, I didn't know that! Hahah

 

Does XP perform better on Linux or Windows? Sorry for my ignorance, but is Linux 64bits too? Hahahaha stop laughing!

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

The Linux kernel was the OS kernel first to get full x86-64 support (back in 2001, long before the 64 bit version of Windows XP came out), so no worries there

 

Regarding XP performance, then as long as you have an Nvidia card, then performance is at least as good in Linux as in Windows, if not better. Depends on card and driver I suppose. In my case, I get a better experience in Linux than in Win 8, but your milage may differ

 

As for desktop environments, I would recommend Gnome Shell or XFCE btw

[BimmerCop 332]

 

The Linux kernel was the OS kernel first to get full x86-64 support (back in 2001, long before the 64 bit version of Windows XP came out), so no worries there

 

Regarding XP performance, then as long as you have an Nvidia card, then performance is at least as good in Linux as in Windows, if not better. Depends on card and driver I suppose. In my case, I get a better experience in Linux than in Win 8, but your milage may differ

 

As for desktop environments, I would recommend Gnome Shell or XFCE btw

 

Oh ok, good stuff! That means that I will need to format my current PC and install Linux on it, right? All PCs will need to have Linux, correct?

 

Oh wait... I need to use SIOC from OpenCockpits in order to be able to use the IOcards and that is a Windows program... Hmmmmmm

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Untouchab1e 1]

Unfortunately, I have no idea how OpenCockpits stuff work as I have never set up one myself. If they require Windows, then I guess there's not much you can do.

[ant_1984 20]

Efrain, just one comment on your system build.

 

It looks pretty solid for your purposes but did you notice the H61 board has no Sata 6GB ports? Also I think the H61 was a released around sandybridge time so not sure if there are any issues using an ivy bridge cpu.

 

If you could fit it in your budget you could bump up to a H77 board like this so you can take advantage of the full speed of that SSD

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303 - $69.99

 

A B75 board could also be another option. It has 1 x Sata 6GB port as opposed to 2 on the H77

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130654 - $59.99

 

or if you like Asrock

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157326 - $59.99

 

Just one other consideration. Do you need a "K" chip since these boards don't support overclocking? You could save yourself $10-15.00 bucks right there unless you want to have the option to overclock that chip in a new board down the track.