Yes, yet another PC build topic.

 

Last night my MB stopped recognizing the HDDs. Although it was OC'ed to 4.8, I never saw where the temps on the cpu or the board were getting close to be dangerous, but nontheless, it appears the time is now for a new build.

 

I would like advice on the following:

 

Processor: Right now I'm looking at a i7 3930k. I want a powerful, over clockable, processor that will stay relevant for games (aside from just FSX) for a few years. If the suggestion is to wait for Haswell, it'll be tough to go without FSX and other games for a month, but I guess I could do it. Also with Haswell, will there be compatibility issues with coolers and MBs?

 

Motherboard: A very good MB with compatibility is a must.

 

Memory: I would like fast memory. The mistake I made on my first build was I just got memory that fit under the Noctua 14

 

Cooling: I'm intensely happy with the performance of the Noctua. However, I understand the cooler I have may not be compatible with "socket 2011". I don't care for water, but I am open to hearing if there are better cooling options. Can anyone comment on getting a NH C 14?

 

I already have a GTX680, an HAF932 full tower, HDDs, and optical so I should be good there.

 

The budget I'm looking at is $1000 or below. (I'm not rich so below is good! )

 

Thanks for any help you can provide!

You would not see much of a change from your current setup.

Could you let me know what you mean by that? (Excuse me for being dense)

Do you mean I wouldn't see much improvement from an i72600k to a 3930? Or to Haswell? Or both?

Unless you can overclock the cpu higher, you would not see a noticeable difference. FSX can only use 2 cores, and only really needs the fastest processing speed it can get. The best thing to do, would be to buy a better cooler for the rig that you already have. Unless you play other games, there will not be a noticeable difference.

 

 

Unless you can overclock the cpu higher, you would not see a noticeable difference. FSX can only use 2 cores, and only really needs the fastest processing speed it can get. The best thing to do, would be to buy a better cooler for the rig that you already have. Unless you play other games, there will not be a noticeable difference.

 

I think about this sometimes.  I was just flying the J41 watching my cores (I have 8 hyperthreaded).  Three of the cores were being hammered.  My affinity mask is set across 7 at the moment (I've been changing it around.)  It seems like, while FSX may only be using 2 cores, the out of process stuff may be becoming more important than it used to be.  So, perhaps, thinking about that out of process stuff might be wise when considering hardware.