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

[CTBlankenship 36]

EVGA ACX Cooler 03G-P4-2784-KR GeForce GTX 780 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support

ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RS800-80GAD3-US 800W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 Haswell Ready

Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics

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

G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200)

Western Digital WD VelociRaptor WD3000HLHX 300GB 10000 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

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

ASUS Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Thermalright ARCHON XB-E x2 Heatsink for Intel LGA 1150

NZXT IU01 Case Accessory (Internal USB Expansion Module)

G.SKILL FTB-3500C5-D Fans

Coollaboratory Liquid Pro Thermal Interface Material (Application Tutorial)

 

$2,217.72 (most of the shipping is free with ShopRunner.

 

Most of the time people have some good comments or notice something that I missed ... so ... before I start collecting the parts I figured I'd give the forum a chance to pick it apart.

 

Also cross reference with NickN's Computer System Bible.

 

 

C. T. Blankenship

 

 

[flyaway 11]

Nice system there. But imo you could save some buck, unless you have money to burn.

 

2x8gb is too much for FSX, I have the same memory but 2x4gb and I havent had an OOM crash.

 

Why a 300Gb velociraptor? I rather have a 7200rpm 1TB.

 

I wont get into the GPU part. But mine runs FSX and everything else veeeery smooth. Note that YMMV.

 

Bluray??... Ok

 

Also Im not struggling with my 128GB SSD for FSX, but I reserve it just for that. Your case may be different.

 

My setup (under my profile) runs fsx like a breeeze, and I spent $1000 less than you are about to.

 

Remember, your system is great, this are just some tips for savings.

[idahosurge 2]

Unless you are going to be doing video editing or something that actually needs 16GB of ram then get these instead and they come with the GSkill fan you have listed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231638

 

Why do you want that NZXT USB expansion module, that Maximus VI Hero should have all the required USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 headers to support the HAF-X USB ports.  You can download the manual for the Hero off the Asus website and see.  My Maximux VI Extreme has enough headers to support all the USB ports on my HAF-X.

 

If you actually need another 300GB drive then I would consider getting another 840 Pro 256GB for another $100.00 since the 256GB SSD will hold as much as the 300GB HD.  Keep in mind with a Vrap HD for optimum performance you do not want them more than 65% to 70% full.  You can fill an SSD up to 80% to 85% for optimum performance.

[snowingairlines 20]

To save some money, you might want to lower your psu's wattage 650-750 is more than enough for a single card. Also, you could save some cash by going with a 770 instead of a 780. The 770 is more than enough for fsx, and if you get the right card you can over clock it to be near the 780. When playing fsx it would be unlikely for you to use 60% or more of you 780's true power. You also coulf save some by going with the 4670k over the 4770k. They are almost the same chip, and are built on the same line. The only difference is that the 4770k has hyperthreading.

[Manny 1,293]

You are good to go....the one thing is, you may want to add a 150GB SSD just for the OS. Keep the 250GB SSD just for FSX. and install large photoscenry addons that take a lot of space on your HD... 

[Adam T Lutley 12]

As has been stated, if only building for FSX, and only running 1 monitor, a 770 is more than enough. 8 Gb of fast RAM with tight timings is plenty for FSX. With the savings, I'd opt for 2 SSD's. Regards

[flyaway 11]

Also you wont need the coollaboratory liquid pro. That one is good if you intend to delidd the cpu when applied as TIM between the cpu die and the IHS. Use the thermal paste that comes with the thermalright which is good enough.

[CTBlankenship 36]

Wow ... by taking this advice I just saved $500 ... I knew I should run this by you guys first.

 

Thanks to everyone for the time you took to respond.

 

I went with the 770 ... the only game I play is MSFX ... you are right ... the 770 is more than enough.

 

I found out that the 500GB Vrap was only a couple of dollars more than the 300GB ... I have a 1TB in my existing machine that I'll be transferring to my new one.

 

The memory switch from 16GB to 8GB and the bundle with the fan was an awesome suggestion.

 

I am going to delid the CPU when I get it ... I watched and watched all the videos on YouTube and I now feel very comfortable now with the procedure (I was an Electronics Technician in the Navy).

 

Going to keep the 800W PS for $139, the difference is only about $40 and it'll be nice to have some wiggle room.

 

I am soooo tempted to go with the recommended i5 4670K ... as FSX does not use HT anyway ... I just feel better with the i7 4770K for some reason ($339 vice $239).  This has created a great dilemma for me now ... flip flopping all the time.

 

All in all ... great advice ... went from $2,300 to to $1,888.90 ... the wife will be pleased.

 

(Theme from Jeopardy playing in the background ... dum de dum, dum, dum, dum de dum ... dumpty dump ta dum dum dum) ...  

Final decision made ... i7 4670K advice won ... price now $1,788.90 ... I don't use a bunch of scenery ... FTX Global ... KATL ... KFLL ... weather is REX ... planes are 737NGX and the Level-D 767. 

 

As my old rig (an E8400 Wolfdale @ 3.0GHz) was running the NGX at ~17 fps this will obviously do better than that.

 

Nice work guys !!!

 

C. T.

[flyaway 11]

I would keep the 4770k. Larger L3 cache and more IPC than the 4570k. Also clock per clock isnt the same. It's not the same cpu with the only difference being HT like someone stated above. If you want the ultimate pc, keep the i7. Just my 2cents

[mosteen 111]

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,

[Manny 1,293]

 

 

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

 

I approve.

[Lawyer+Pilot 126]

However you come out at the end, just make doubly sure you follow a good setup guide from beginning to end. I suggest Word Not Allowed's guide. NickN's new guide is coming along, but he wasn't kidding when he called it a "bible." His guide is 75% preaching and 25% useful practical advice. The Avsim official guide is another one but more tilted toward those willing to go with DX10 (at least that was my impression).

[mosteen 111]

Thanks, hehe, bible... sure :) Well, I sifted through it quite fast, I was especially interested in the groundwork, like how to install / declutter / adjust / optimize Win7, bios updates and such. Further how to install FSX vanilla correctly to have a solid platform. Then Acronis image the whole ting before I do anything more.

 

I am seriously traumatized by the whole undertaking of changing rig, my current (networked) rig is so obnoxiously stable, it handles pretty much everything I throw at it, but it is not optimal, and it is haunting me

 

But, heck, some time it is good to move out of the comfort zone

[b0gey_dead_six 11]

4770k is $250 at microcenter.

[CTBlankenship 36]

Yea ... that is a great price for the 4770K ... but it is for in-store pickup only.  I called to see if I could get around it but they said Intel won't let them ship it.

 

Weird ...

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?