New i7 - 4770K FSX Rig ... comment away

[dazz 69]

 

 

and more IPC

 

double check that please

[Manny 1,293]

 

 

As for the 770 vice the 780 ... I am running two monitors ... but does doing that justify the cost of the 780 over the 770?

 

If you are going to be using multi monitor particularly three monitors for for a wide view get the best video card you can afford.. do not listen to the naysayers.

[E6BAV8R 88]

Interesting thread, I am sourcing parts for a high end FSX-only rig too. I read NickN's guide and I thought the chapter about storage was a bit confusing.

 

I am decided to go for the best of the best, so I am getting PCIe SSD's. But Nick advices to have separate storage for Windows and FSX.

 

Should I go for a 120Gb SSD for Windows and a 480Gb for FSX?

 

Cheers,

 

I don't know how many add-ons you have for FSX but 480GB SSD is enormous.  I have a 120GB SSD just for FSX and with the PMDG NGX, some FlyTampa airports, FTX Global and Active Sky 2012 only took up 35GB.  I have EZDok, Radar Contact, ActiveSky textures, etc... installed on my main drive and only the textures I select get placed onto the SSD for FSX.  It's an easy way to save space off the SSD and I can't ever imagine needing that much space.  My main HDD is a 500GB Western Digital and I've only used 100GB of it with everything else I have (Windows, other games, etc...).

 

@OP:  I recently just built an FSX PC and purchased the 4670K.  With just a cheap Coolermaster 212 EVO heatsink I pushed it to 4.4GHz @ 1.115V and temps are just fine.  It eats FSX alive.  You can see the rest of my specs in my profile but I run all FSX settings on Max, the PMDG NGX, AS2012, FTX Global and at FlyTampa airports I still sit up against my FPS Limiter of 30.  Traffic AI settings obviously takes a hit but I'm still trying to find a spot I'm satisfied with in compromise.  Currently my traffic settings are at 70% and frames still sit 25+ at major large airports.  Unless you have software that you know will take advantage of the HT, and in which you think is justified the extra $100, my vote is with the 4670K.  I just don't think i7's are worth their substantial price over the i5 Haswell's at this current time.

 

Also, 2400 RAM is rather overkill for the price; and if you aren't going to overclock your RAM anything over 1600 is a waste.  You don't need anything over 8GB unless you do high end video or photo editing.  I'd get these (it's also what I have) - it's even faster than the RAM you have listed:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231476

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

I'm not an expert but, while FSX may not use hyperthreading, more and more aircraft/add-ons are running out-of-process threads.  I run my sim on an i7 with my affinity mask at 254 to get the smoothest performance. 

[CTBlankenship 36]

New developments ... first and foremost was this overclocking guide by Linus Sebastian ... very, very informative ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CHs5_TdpXE

 

Next, he talked about the importance of getting the best PSU that you can for Haswell systems that supports the C6 and C7 states of the i7 4770K processor ... Corsair had the most PSUs that fit this requirement ... so out with the CoolerMaster and in with the CORSAIR AXi AX760i 760W Digital ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready PSU.  This worked out as the decrease in wattage from the CoolerMaster in contrast to the increase in quality from the Corsair resulted in a better PSU that fits my power needs for roughly the same cost.

 

And yes, he talked me into Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2400 memory chips ... they're sexy.

 

The next thing he talked me into was matching the ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO with the ASUS GTX780-DC2OC-3GD5 GeForce GTX 780 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ... this wasn't a hard sell since Newegg just ran out of the EVGA card.  There is also the case of something known as VGA Hotwire that requires an ASUS GPU matched up with an ASUS Z87 MoBo ... I don't think I'm going to go there ... but it is around if I get to feeling froggy.

 

Also, the CyberPowerPC that I bought, even though it is water cooled, still generated temps of 90C plus when running Prime95 for only 10 to 15 minutes.  Something is very wrong there.  That PC is going back tomorrow.  I'll have a full write-up on my CPPC experience when everything is completed (old rig returned and new rig built).

 

And yes ... I'm going to delid ... I'll have a video posted on YouTube that documents the entire process ... as it is occurring.  I'll then stop the recording ... and start it up again when the CPU goes into the slot and it is time to tell if I blew it up or not.

 

The end result is that the comments resulted in a shifting of priorities ... I then spent the money saved on better quality components.  As for the memory, I'm only going for a 4.2 to 4.4 GHz overclock.  At this speed I should be able to take advantage of the entire DDR3 2400 speed ... time will tell.  Also, remember, this will be my GoTo PC for the next four years.  I'm hoping that during that time one of the FlightSim vendors will come out with a product that takes advantage of the capabilities of this rig.  Saving money is important ... but if $300 spent now gives me another year or so of use ... then it is money well spent.  As a comparison, my old rig (a E8400 Wolfdale @ 3.0GHz is still running strong ... 3-1/2 years later ... an excellent $1,400 investment there.)

 

Stay posted ... and keep coming with the comments ... all of them are appreciated.

 

C. T.

[mosteen 111]

CT, this is not a hijack :ph34r:  :lol:  Your thread turned out very well mate, so thanks, I though I could post my shopping list here too, I hope that is ok.

 

Thanks for the links above, very useful, I am also going to delid, dreaming about 5 Ghz, but that might be just that, a dream... I have a few bits and pieces to sort out, I am looking for some replacement fans for the case. I will run this in a one monitor setup, I have now a Dell Ultrasharp U3011 30" wich is awesome. If I am ever going multi-monitor, I'll get two additional U3011s, for me it is either one or three monitors.

 

I am going Full Monty on this little bugger, planning to have this for quite a few years. This is going to be a 100% FSX only rig with all other stuff like WX, Vatsim client, EFB, company Acars, running networked from my HP EliteBook, as I currently do.

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K

CPU cooler: Noctua NH-U14S

Motherboard: ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME

Memory: Corsair Dominator DDR3 2400MHz 8GB 2x4GB XMS3 DHX CL9-11-11-31 Platinum

SSD Windows: OCZ REVODRIVE 3 PCI-E X4 120GB

SSD FSX: OCZ REVODRIVE 3 PCI-E X4 480GB

HDD: WD VelociRaptor 1TB 10krpm

GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX TITAN 6GB PhysX CUDA

Case: Cooler Master HAF-X Nvidia Edition

Powersupply: Corsair AX 860i 860W PSU ATX Digital 80 Plus Platinum

Optical drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

[E6BAV8R 88]

And yes ... I'm going to delid ... I'll have a video posted on YouTube that documents the entire process ... as it is occurring.  I'll then stop the recording ... and start it up again when the CPU goes into the slot and it is time to tell if I blew it up or not.

 

The end result is that the comments resulted in a shifting of priorities ... I then spent the money saved on better quality components.  As for the memory, I'm only going for a 4.2 to 4.4 GHz overclock.  At this speed I should be able to take advantage of the entire DDR3 2400 speed ... time will tell.  Also, remember, this will be my GoTo PC for the next four years.  I'm hoping that during that time one of the FlightSim vendors will come out with a product that takes advantage of the capabilities of this rig.  Saving money is important ... but if $300 spent now gives me another year or so of use ... then it is money well spent.  As a comparison, my old rig (a E8400 Wolfdale @ 3.0GHz is still running strong ... 3-1/2 years later ... an excellent $1,400 investment there.)

 

Stay posted ... and keep coming with the comments ... all of them are appreciated.

 

C. T.

 

If you are only wanting 4.2 - 4.4 GHz than why are you de-lidding?  4.2 - 4.4 on a Haswell isn't much.  People have hit 4.4 on stock heatsinks, and only reaching 4.2 - 4.4 on a Haswell is considered a very bad chip (assuming it maxed out there).  Like I said, I hit 4.4 on a cheap aftermarket heatsink right out of the box and temps idle in the low 30s.  Max temps I have seen is 62C after hours of gaming - most of the times in the low to mid 50s during games.  IntelBurnTest and Prime95 obviously skyrocket the temps under stress testing and I ran those tests for a few hours.  I'm not pushing my CPU further simply because I don't want to up the Vcore anymore, as I don't want to significantly shorten the life of my CPU.  If you're worried about temps than just buy a quality aftermarket heatsink or a Corsair Hydro Series.

 

These Z87 boards and CPUs tend to be more picky about the PSU.  Make sure Corsair lists your PSU as Haswell compatible.  It isn't absolutely necessary that it be officially listed compatible, and there are ways around it (both PSU and BIOS wise), but I don't think it is something you'll want to deal with in a new build.

 

A Platinum rated PSU... wow.

[Adam T Lutley 12]

As has been stated, de-lidding is only necessary if going on an excursion towards 5 Ghz.

[CTBlankenship 36]

Mosteen ... glad you dropped by ... I noticed you had 8GB of the same RAM as me ... as stated previously in this thread I probably only need 8GB so I dropped the 16GB chips in favor of the 8GB ones like you have ... that saved me over $100 ... good show.  Also, when I saw what came with the Extreme ... I dropped the Hero and went with that too ... so in the end ... you end up costing me $100 ^_^ .

 

Greg and Adam:  Thanks for that info ... I think the Thermalright ARCHON XB-E x2 Heatsink for Intel LGA 1150  qualifies as a high quality after-market heatsink.  I still want to delid for two reasons ... first, I want to see if I can do it <s> ... second I want the option to increase the overclock as much as I possibly can over time.  I'll start with 4.4 and start ramping it up as I find a stable state at the current OC level.  It's just a little planning ahead.

 

Should be returning the CyberPowerPC rig today.

 

Also, and this is a BIG discovery ... check out this link ... I wish I'd have found this before doing all of this work ... Haswell 4770K + GTX 770 Gaming SuperCombo !!!

 

C. T.

[E6BAV8R 88]

Greg and Adam:  Thanks for that info ... I think the Thermalright ARCHON XB-E x2 Heatsink for Intel LGA 1150  qualifies as a high quality after-market heatsink.  I still want to delid for two reasons ... first, I want to see if I can do it <s> ... second I want the option to increase the overclock as much as I possibly can over time.  I'll start with 4.4 and start ramping it up as I find a stable state at the current OC level.  It's just a little planning ahead.

 

C. T.

 

Sure... but you may not want to start on a $400 chip if you can't help it B)

[CTBlankenship 36]

OK ... warning taken ... I'll try it stock and see where I get ... if all else fails I can always take it out and do it if the temps go too high.

 

Not to mention ... I will have a chip that is still under warranty!

 

C. T.

[E6BAV8R 88]

Just some advice!  It's your money and you can do with it as you please.

 

You should get to 4.5 pretty easily, but with that heatsink you should be fine up to around 4.7ish.

[CTBlankenship 36]

Greg:

 

Is that with or without delidding?

 

C. T.

[CTBlankenship 36]

Well, the damage is done ... thanks for the help everyone.

 

The case arrived today and CyberPowerPC agreed to a money back guarantee.  Just a hint ... I highly recommend CyberPowerPC as a system builder for those who do not have the technical know how or desire to build your own rig.  The recommendation comes with five caveats:

 

1.  Upgrade the PSU to something that is certified for Haswell (Corsair is your best option)

2.  Upgrade the motherboard to an ASUS ... (the best motherboards out there for the price).

3.  DO NOT modify the case in anyway ... like getting engraving ... if you do, you cannot take advantage of the 30 day return policy).  They plainly state this on their Warranty page ... but if you don't know to read that ... you may check the box out of novelty).

4.  Know that if you accept "services" like professional wiring and additional shipping protection ... that these will not be refunded (obviously).

5.  Game coupons, even though they are "free" during the checkout process ... are not.  If you return the system each one will cost you $19.99 off the refunded price.

 

The air cooler and metal TIM should arrive on Tuesday.

 

All other parts should arrive Wednesday.

 

Final price and system configuraton (note to lurkers ... if I had taken the cost saving advice of all contributors to this thread I could have reduced the cost from $300 to $400 dollars ... I hope the information contained herein helps other people to decide what to buy and why).

 

Of PARTICULAR note is the bundle available from Newegg for an I7 gaming rig ... if I had seen that before ordering from CPPC ... returning it ... reordering the parts and putting it together myself ... I could have saved multiple hundreds of wasted dollars.

 

 

1 x ($409.99) ASUS GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

$409.99

 

1 x ($399.99) ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

$399.99

 

1 x ($339.99) Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K

$339.99

 

1 x ($239.99) SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

$239.99

 

1 x ($189.99) CORSAIR AXi AX760i 760W Digital ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready

$189.99

 

1 x ($159.99) CORSAIR Dominator Platinum 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 Desktop Memory Model CMD8GX3M2A2400C10

$159.99

 

1 x ($149.99) Western Digital WD VelociRaptor WD5000HHTZ 500GB 10000 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

$149.99

 

1 x ($119.99) LG Black 16X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 12X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA 14X Blu-ray BDXL Internal Rewriter BH16NS40

$119.99

 

3 x ($16.99) COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200 R4-LUS-07AR-GP 200mm Red LED Case cooler

$50.97

 

1 x ($49.99) NVIDIA Gift Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist

$49.99

 

1 x ($27.99) CORSAIR CMXAF1 Fans

$27.99

 

1 x ($14.99) Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB Port / Extra Silver Face Plate

$14.99

 

1 x ($-49.99) DISCOUNT FOR AUTOADD #87602

$-49.99

 

 

Subtotal: $2,103.87

Tax: $0.00

Shipping and Handling: $0.00

Motherboard discount: ($30.00)

Sub total Amount: $2,073.87 

Air cooled heat sink and TIM:  111.78 

Case:  $199.00

Dumb-&amp;@(&#036;*/poor planning tax: $150 round trip shipping charges to CPPC and deductions for special services:  $75.00.

 

Grand Total:  $2,610.64

 

Poor planning resulted in not being able to justify the GTX 780 ... probably should have downgraded to the HERO vice the extreme as well.

[CTBlankenship 36]

Further update ... if you order that ASUS EXTREME motherboard by 8/12/2013 you can save $30 with promo code GAMNGWK9.

 

Here is the letter that I wrote to CPPC justifying the return of the PC ... https://www.dropbox.com/s/d6w03mzm3cbdljv/CyberPowerPCReturnRequest.docx

 

 

C. T.