Hey guys, I used to be a rather hardcore simmer for many years. Some years ago I had to give up simming beuase my old rig couldn't deliver what I wanted for a sim experience anymore. I decided to start from scratch and I'll be giving myself a completely new rig for Xmas this year. I might know something about flying, but I know absolutely nothing about building a PC and overclocking and all these fancy things that we need to know nowadays to be able to sim with sliders maxed out. Thus I came here for your help.

 

Below is a list of the things I'm thinking about buying for this new setup. Most of the stuff you'll see below are suggestions from Ryan who works at PMDG and was kind enough to assist me in this project two years ago (I had to shelve the idea for a couple of years - work related). Please keep in mind I don't want the ultimate rig, just something that'll get me up and flying with good graphics and nice and smooth frame rates considering the following: PMDG's NGX and 777 with TrackIR,  in hardcore add-on scenery and activesky weather.

 

Here goes... thx in advance for the help!

 

Crucial M500 240GB SATA 2.5-Inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT240M500SSD1

 

EVGA GeForce GTX760 SuperClocked w/EVGA ACX Cooler 2GB GDDR5 256bit, Dual-Link DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI,DP, SLI Ready Graphics Card (02G-P4-2765-KR) Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2765-KR

 

Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I53570K

 

AS Rock LGA1155 Intel Z77 Quad CrossFirex Quad SLI SATA3 USB3.0 A GbE MATX Motherboard Z77 PROFESSIONAL-M

 

Corsair CMT16GX3M4X2133C9 Dominator 16GB DDR3 2133 MHz (PC3-17066) Desktop Memory

 

Corsair Hydro Series H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CWCH100)

 

Corsair HX Professional Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i7 and Core i5 - CMPSU-750HX

 

Intel Gigabit CT PCI-E Network Adapter EXPI9301CTBLK

 

Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D THX PCIE Sound Card SB1350

 

Hi there, I too am a private pilot and love flightsimming. I'm no expert on this subject, but have done extensive research in the matter. I think you can find more than enough information from these two links.

 

http://www.simforums.com/forums/the-fsx-computer-system-the-bible-by-nickn_topic46211.html

 

http://www.simforums.com/forums/haswell-48ghz-on-air-building-a-haswell-system_topic46180.html

 

I know it's long, but well worth it IMHO. I won't give you my advice, as it will be merely repeating what Nick N. has laid out. Hope this helps, and good luck. Happy flying!! 

Thank you so much for your fast reply. Great find! Will look into it. I'm such a noob regarding this stuff that I don;t even know if the GPU and RAM I'm buying work well with the mobo and processer, but hopefully I'll know by the time I'm done reading the links. Thanks again!

 

Cheers, 

Victor

 

Hey guys, I used to be a rather hardcore simmer for many years. Some years ago I had to give up simming beuase my old rig couldn't deliver what I wanted for a sim experience anymore. I decided to start from scratch and I'll be giving myself a completely new rig for Xmas this year. I might know something about flying, but I know absolutely nothing about building a PC and overclocking and all these fancy things that we need to know nowadays to be able to sim with sliders maxed out. Thus I came here for your help.

 

Below is a list of the things I'm thinking about buying for this new setup. Most of the stuff you'll see below are suggestions from Ryan who works at PMDG and was kind enough to assist me in this project two years ago (I had to shelve the idea for a couple of years - work related). Please keep in mind I don't want the ultimate rig, just something that'll get me up and flying with good graphics and nice and smooth frame rates considering the following: PMDG's NGX and 777 with TrackIR,  in hardcore add-on scenery and activesky weather.

 

Here goes... thx in advance for the help!

 

Crucial M500 240GB SATA 2.5-Inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT240M500SSD1

 

EVGA GeForce GTX760 SuperClocked w/EVGA ACX Cooler 2GB GDDR5 256bit, Dual-Link DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI,DP, SLI Ready Graphics Card (02G-P4-2765-KR) Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2765-KR

 

Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I53570K

 

AS Rock LGA1155 Intel Z77 Quad CrossFirex Quad SLI SATA3 USB3.0 A GbE MATX Motherboard Z77 PROFESSIONAL-M

 

Corsair CMT16GX3M4X2133C9 Dominator 16GB DDR3 2133 MHz (PC3-17066) Desktop Memory

 

Corsair Hydro Series H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CWCH100)

 

Corsair HX Professional Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i7 and Core i5 - CMPSU-750HX

 

Intel Gigabit CT PCI-E Network Adapter EXPI9301CTBLK

 

Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D THX PCIE Sound Card SB1350

 

I'd look into getting a GTX770 its a much better card for the money and I would also say that I'd get a 4GB video card my 2GB is maxed out by P3D so I just ordered this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127747

Corsair Hydro Series H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CWCH100)

 

 

NO!

 

 

 

That's the old model. Make sure you go for the H100i.

 

However, do consider that there are a few air coolers that are better. NH-D14, Phantecs, Silver Arrow.

 

For better cooling than the air coolers, and the H100i, you would have to go for the H110. But then would require a case big enough.

Thanks Martin ans Z06. I've made the modifications you suggested. Right now I'm inclined towards the water cooling system, but the simpler the better, so if you tell me the air coolers get the job done and the system is simpler to maintain I might opt for that. I have recently talked to my "adivisor" over at Precision Manuals who has suggested I upgrade to the Hazwell chipsets and an i7. Might as well. I'll look into getting the 4gb vido card, but I hear that is one of the most expensive parts of building the PC right?

This is a handy review for all the coolers...

 

http://www.guru3d.co..._review,13.html

H100i 76 degrees
Kraken X60 70 degrees [Noisy higher RPM fans]
Corsair H110 72 degrees [Very quiet]
NH-D14 72 degrees [Very quiet]

 

And comparing top coolers, but testing them with the same fans, so you can truly determine the heat sink efficiency, minus the fan variable...

 

https://docs.google....5GSFZNRmc#gid=0

 

The top air coolers will certainly get the job done, and with zero chance of leaks. I have the Noctua NH-D14. Very quiet and cools beautifully. But like all of the top air coolers, they are very big. The weight isn't an issue, as the support brackets are very well designed, but RAM clearance can be an issue if your modules have those gimmicky tall heat sinks.

 

The other thing to consider with big air coolers like the D14, is that you will have to make sure your enclosure is big enough. You haven't mentioned which enclosure you have, or are buying so it's difficult to advise there.

 

AIO water coolers, aesthetically they are great of course, and often preform well. But as I said, to beat the top air coolers, you would have to go for a bigger AIO cooler like the H110, or Kraken. The Kraken in reviews gets lower temps, but it does so with high RPM and thus noisy fans. So the winner in terms of heat sink efficiency is the H110.  Effectively, to beat top end air coolers, you are looking at an AIO solution with a 240 rad so you need an enclosure big enough to accommodate that.

 

 

Leaks are an obvious concern with AIO coolers, but are probably rare. I say "probably" because manufacturers don't release failure figures, so we have no way of knowing really.

 

Crucial M500 240GB SATA 2.5-Inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT240M500SSD1

 

Most are going for the Samsung SSD's, Evo, or Pro. I'm not sure how the Crucial SSD's rate in terms of speed and reliability.

 

EVGA GeForce GTX760 SuperClocked w/EVGA ACX Cooler 2GB GDDR5 256bit, Dual-Link DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI,DP, SLI Ready Graphics Card (02G-P4-2765-KR) Graphics Cards 02G-P4-2765-KR

 

 

I have the EVGA GTX 770 Super clocked 4 GB Duel BIOS. Great card, very pleased.

 

 

AS Rock LGA1155 Intel Z77 Quad CrossFirex Quad SLI SATA3 USB3.0 A GbE MATX Motherboard Z77 PROFESSIONAL-M

 

 

Personally I prefer Asus, never had an issue with their boards, and they perform great.

 

 

Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D THX PCIE Sound Card SB1350

 

 

Do you really need one? Modern motherboards are very good for on-board sound. You can always add one later if you aren't satisfied with on board sound.

 

What are you doing for bulk storage? You have specified an SSD but no HD.