That means you'll get the same performance in FSX with a 3570K, a 3770K or even a $1000 3960X.

 

This was the confusing part for me from the beginning. I know the i7 produces more heat than the i5, it has HT (which I will most likely turn off anyway unless I have to do my photo and video post processing - which won't be most of the time anyway). So does this mean with an i5, I can achieve greater OC with the lower temp?

 

Also seeing FSXMark results, most of the upper ranking people OCs their i7; if the i5 can achieve the same result as the i7, then why such result from the FSXMark test?

 

As for the PSU, they are expensive, yes, especially the modular ones, but those are great options.

 

Both of the PSUs are modular, and they differ by something like 50 bux, and I don't understand the thrill of PSUs, what are you paying for for that extra amount? Quality? Heat control? Stability? Is it worth going for the more expensive option?

This was the confusing part for me from the beginning. I know the i7 produces more heat than the i5, it has HT (which I will most likely turn off anyway unless I have to do my photo and video post processing - which won't be most of the time anyway). So does this mean with an i5, I can achieve greater OC with the lower temp?

 

Also seeing FSXMark results, most of the upper ranking people OCs their i7; if the i5 can achieve the same result as the i7, then why such result from the FSXMark test?

 

All of the high scores are from people who have delidded their chips, used monster cooling, applied massive voltage and all of them happened to choose 3770K's just in case those are higher binned (they're not, and even if they were, it's still a crap shot), that's all. Notice there's no 3570K in the list at all.

If you are not going to delid, you'll be limited by heat when OC'ing. So you'll want to disable HT in a 3770K and then you're essentially running a 3570K with 2 extra MB of L3 cache (which no matter what you hear, is not going to make a difference either)

 

Both of the PSUs are modular, and they differ by something like 50 bux, and I don't understand the thrill of PSUs, what are you paying for for that extra amount? Quality? Heat control? Stability? Is it worth going for the more expensive option?

 

Signal quality mainly. Also many average and below average PSU's are rated higher than what they are actually capable of outputting. The HX-750 or TX-750 (if you don't mind it being not modular) are great PSU's

Signal quality mainly. Also many average and below average PSU's are rated higher than what they are actually capable of outputting. The HX-750 or TX-750 (if you don't mind it being not modular) are great PSU's

 

Fair enough. If I am going to pay this much for a machine already, probably shouldn't skimp out another 50bux on a PSU.

True that. You'll have PSU for years to come. You could get away just fine with a TX 650 and save a couple extra tenners, but there's none available there

CPU cooler wise you could also go for this.

 

http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/cpu_cooler/kraken_x60

 

reviews seem good and it outperforms the H100i for $155.00 AUD, so same cost as the Corsair unit. I don't think it's available here in Aus for a couple more weeks though.

Yea I wont be upgrading till March, so I dont mind the wait.

 

But about whether or not this outperforms the H100i os an interesting argument, I will do more research on it, thanks for bringing it up!

 

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

Here is more info from a very respected PC community member Linus:

 

Corsair H100i Review:

 

 

As for the SSD, I would go with the OCZ Vector 256GB, then you can install FSX on it, as for your second hard drive for data storage, go with a Seagate Momentus XT 750GB Hybrid Drive.

 

More info on the OCZ Vector:

 

 

Remember BEFORE you go to install your OS on the drives make sure your Motherboard BIOS have the drives set to AHCI mode (unless you plan to RAID your drives). Once you have setup your drives in the BIOS and your OS is installed you will need to enable the TRIM function by following these easy steps below:

 

To enable or disable TRIM Command, you will need to open an Elevated Command Prompt window.

 

How To Open an Elevated Command Prompt window: Click on Start Orb > Type "CMD.exe" in Search box > Right click on "CMD" and select "Run as Administrator" (If you receive a prompt confirmation, click YES)

 

How to Enable TRIM Command

 

In the Elevated command Prompt windows, type the following:

 

fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 0

 

How to Disable TRIM Command

 

In the Elevated command Prompt windows, type the following:

 

fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 1

 

How do I know if TRIM is working in Windows?

 

In the Elevated command Prompt windows, type the following:

 

fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify

Results explained below:

DisableDeleteNotify = 1 (Windows TRIM commands are disabled)

DisableDeleteNotify = 0 (Windows TRIM commands are enabled)

To get a machine where I can fly my addons (won't be anything stupid I hope) at a stable 30fps at any time

Main addons being all the weather ones, terrain or environment enhancements, EZCA, PMDG recent products (NGX, future 777, 747 v2 etc.), ORBX scenery, potentially growing into trackIR

Graphics setting pretty much all maxed out, except for those we all agree are less or insignificant, but AA being a big one for me personally

 

This seems a little confusing or a contradiction ... not that anything is stupid, it's just you are basically asking for the best system you can afford in order to get "close" to your aim.

 

Armed with that, I'd recommend:

 

Intel X3960 or X3970 (easy to overclock to 5.0Ghz on H100 water cooler)

Corsair H100

CoolMaster full size tower

Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU

Corsair dominator series 32GB RAM Quad channel (very important)

Asus Rampage IV motherboard

OCZ Vector SSD 512GB (you'll want two if you plan to install a lot of scenery and add-ons)

Fantom 3TB external USB 3.0 drive

nVidia GTX 680 Classified 4GB

30" LCD capable of 2550 x 1600 (no benefit to exceeding 4X AA at this resolution)

 

This setup is VERY quiet also, no crazy fan noise but cost is around $5000 so not sure if that fits your budget or if you even have a budget.

 

Run FSX in DX10 mode with modified FSX.CFG and DX10 updates applied. You'll need to be careful with some Add-Ons that don't have the correct textures for DX10 so check with 3rd party vendor before you buy the add-on.

 

WARNING: even with this setup, you can still bring FSX to it's knees (think 8 fps) so you still will have to find a compromise.

 

I use a worst case scenario where I want to maintain 30 fps for the following region ... MSE California SF/Bay Area, Flight Beam KSFO, AeroSoft Mega City San Francisco, GSX, REX, GEX ... I've had to turn Building Shadows off, but I'm running 4096 textures 4X AA 16X AF with LOD 9.5. In bad weather I can still average 30 fps with a few dips into the high 20's. Most normal flying is in the 100 fps range.

Once you have setup your drives in the BIOS and your OS is installed you will need to enable the TRIM function by following these easy steps below:

 

FYI, Windows 7 SP1 will automatically detect and enable Trim for SSD - you don't need to do command prompt route, but above is still good info to know, especially the AHCI setting.

 

For overclocking with the Asus Rampage IV Extreme read this thread, very good info ... as you can see to get moderate overclocking you don't need to force crazy voltage settings (this is an old school thought process to be avoided in newer processors and motherboards, especially those EFI based and not standard BIOS).

 

http://rog.asus.com/...or-Overclocking

 

P.S. Also suggest you allow gravity to work for you rather than against you and make sure the motherboard is parallel to the ground not perpendicular.

That's what I call...

 

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTrDjbbnVQ[/media

]

 

haha

*****Current Hardware List*****

MB: Asus Z77 (not sure on the exact model, and if there are other suggestions, please let me know)

CPU: i5 3570K or i7 3770K (not decided, confused about i7's heat output, but seeing lots of good results from the i7 on FSXMark, please comment)

GFX: NVidia GTX580 - Carried over from my old machine

RAM: Undecided, please comment

HD: At least one SSD (128GB) and one SATA (1TB)

Cooling: Corsair H100i (going to try my NH14D on it first, then see if I need to go H2O)

Case: Undecided, but something that I can plug in the H100i, please comment

PSU: Undecided, I was just thinking to get something that can support the other components, please comment

 

My system is

MB: EVGA P67 FTW (desinge to overclock).

CPU: i7-2600K [email protected]. (FPS in FSX on big airports 15-25FPS cruising 30-60+ in VC view)

CPU Cooling: Noctua NH14D (temp around 60-65°C spikes up to 71°C, can bring CPU to lower temp by open a windows ).

GFX: GTX 580. (is good for other games mainly. FSX uses up to 75% while it uses up tp 25% of GPU.

RAM: I have Mushkin 8GB clocked@2000Mhz CL9(the lower the CL is the the faster the memory).

HDD: SSD is best for FSX and HDD for windows and other stuff. It is better to have FSX on a separate HDD.

Cooling: I mentioned it before I have Noctua NH14D and it handles the heat very well and keeps my CPU on low temps.

Case: No comment there. But I have Cooler Master HAF X(HAF X stands for Hight Air Flow Extreme, I think), it is huge but does what it i's supposed to do.

PSU: I think to day with those Gaming PCs the minimum is 800W but I have 1000W just in case if I want to upgrade my hardware.

 

The PC you have in mind will most certainly work for FSX and you should get 15+ FPS. I hope you will find what you are looking for .

 

P.S. This link can maybe help http://www.jetlinesystems.com/performance.php

As for the SSD, I would go with the OCZ Vector 256GB, then you can install FSX on it, as for your second hard drive for data storage, go with a Seagate Momentus XT 750GB Hybrid Drive.

 

For the SSD I was doing some checking on the prices. First thing I found was there were different grades of 'speeds'? Something like 'speed' 420 is the slowest? Any idea what that is? Secondly, there are also Vector 2, 3, 4, do they make any difference? Does it always mean OCZ Vector 4 will be better than OCZ Vector? Or they make no differences?

 

This seems a little confusing or a contradiction ... not that anything is stupid, it's just you are basically asking for the best system you can afford in order to get "close" to your aim.

 

I didn't know I was asking for that much actually... I thought that my reason for not getting a smooth run was because my system, not only old, but could not be overclocked that much. So if I go for a decent system, I should be able to achieve some smooth runs (avoiding US airports, as they can get quite big).

 

Intel X3960 or X3970 (easy to overclock to 5.0Ghz on H100 water cooler)

Corsair H100

CoolMaster full size tower

Silverstone 1500 Watt PSU

Corsair dominator series 32GB RAM Quad channel (very important)

Asus Rampage IV motherboard

OCZ Vector SSD 512GB (you'll want two if you plan to install a lot of scenery and add-ons)

Fantom 3TB external USB 3.0 drive

nVidia GTX 680 Classified 4GB

30" LCD capable of 2550 x 1600 (no benefit to exceeding 4X AA at this resolution)

 

This setup is VERY quiet also, no crazy fan noise but cost is around $5000 so not sure if that fits your budget or if you even have a budget.

 

I assume you have a system like this or similar? I usually tend to keep my systems clean. I only install what I need to, the usual airports that I fly into, or the occasional that I install and remove pretty much afterwards. 5k is lol, too much. I don't really have a budget to start with, but was aiming for +/- 1k, happy to go up to 1.5k, but not much more.

 

For overclocking with the Asus Rampage IV Extreme read this thread, very good info ... as you can see to get moderate overclocking you don't need to force crazy voltage settings (this is an old school thought process to be avoided in newer processors and motherboards, especially those EFI based and not standard BIOS).

 

http://rog.asus.com/...or-Overclocking

 

I've had a look at one similar. I agree I would love to be able to get the Extreme series, but unfortunately that was not an option. In AUS (at least the shops I look in) I can only find the Gene version. If any other Aussies know better or knows where I can find Extreme lines, please do let me know.

 

P.S. Also suggest you allow gravity to work for you rather than against you and make sure the motherboard is parallel to the ground not perpendicular.

 

I have also heard of that, except not many cases are designed for it to flat that I'm aware of. Having said that, if I'm using a water cooling system, how would it really matter having it sitting upright? There shouldn't be too much stress on the MB as there aren't too much free-hanging weighted components? (Videocard is bound to the extension slots anyway, and RAMs and cables don't weight that much)

 

The PC you have in mind will most certainly work for FSX and you should get 15+ FPS. I hope you will find what you are looking for .

 

P.S. This link can maybe help http://www.jetlinesy...performance.php

 

I would like to hope that it will get 25+ to be honest lol, I can easily achieve 15+ now from memory, so assuming with an OC, it would do better. Even I shouldn't expect for it to stay at a stable 30+ frames, I would be happy that it drops down to no lower than 25 (excl. sudden spikes) :S...

 

I was also wondering, will getting P3D be an idea also? From the reviews I had a look at, P3D improves the smoothness but doesn't improve the framerate. So maybe it won't help that much?

 

Also thanks for the link, it's certainly useful.

PSU: I think to day with those Gaming PCs the minimum is 800W but I have 1000W just in case if I want to upgrade my hardware.

 

There are people saying less than 800W and there are saying over, is there a systematic way to work out exactly how much I should have as a minimum?

There are people saying less than 800W and there are saying over, is there a systematic way to work out exactly how much I should have as a minimum?

 

Try this.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

The recommended total Power Supply Wattage gives you a general idea on what to look for BUT it is NOT a crucial factor in power supply selection!

Try this.

http://www.extreme.o...culatorlite.jsp

The recommended total Power Supply Wattage gives you a general idea on what to look for BUT it is NOT a crucial factor in power supply selection!

 

Thanks heaps for that. Just an estimate, I will need a 750W power supply, except maybe 800+ would be ideal? In case I want future expansions?