Long Term Dedicated Fsx Pci

[DChockey08 299]

Hey guys, it’s been a few years and it’s time to upgrade. I had been moving around over the last 5 years, so in 2011 decided to go with a gaming laptop from Sager for a few years. It was equipped with a stock i7-990x at 3.45 GHz and a GTX 485M. It was great for FS9, which was what I ran at the time. It could handle just about everything I threw at it in FS9, and ever ran FSX rather well. Now, with the release of the PMDG NGX and 777, it’s starting to show its’ age and imperfections (non-overclocked CPU and mobile GPU). I was one of the die hard FS9 supporters, but in my mind the release of products like those PMDG aircraft and ActiveSky Next puts FSX quality far above FS9. Some would ague this line was drawn way earlier, but that's another debate. Adding the fantastic new products from FSDT and Flightbeam makes it 100% the end for FS9 in my eyes.

 

So now it means it’s time to upgrade to be able to run FSX. Trying to run FSX on a laptop is suicide, so I’m going for the desktop option. I also only run FSX on this gaming computer. There willl be no other games. Yes, I love FS so much that it’s worth the thousands I’ve invested and will continue to invest in it. I don’t have knowledge assembling a computer myself and I don’t intend to start now. I’ve heard good things from OriginPC and was looking to build from their site. I would not like to spend more than $4000. I would however, like this to be a system that will run FSX well enough that I don’t feel the need to upgrade components for at least 3-4 years.

 

Here’s a system I’ve built on Origin, which I built based on NickN’s Bible:

 

Case: Corsair 350D

MB: ASUS Maximus VII Gene

CPU: Overclocked Intel Core i7 4790K Quad-Core (4.5GHz-4.8GHz)

CPU Cooling: ORIGIN FROSTBYTE 240 Sealed Liquid Cooling Systems

GPU: Single 6GB NVIDIA GTX Titan Black

RAM: 8GB Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133Mhz (2x4GB)

OS: Genuine MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition

HD1: FREE 240GB Visiontek Go Drive SSD

HD2: 240GB Visiontek Go Drive SSD

HD3: 500GB ORIGIN PC Approved Hard Drive

 

This setup is just under $3000.

 

I have a second, more advanced setup as an option:

 

Case: Origin Genesis

MB: ASUS Z97 Deluxe (Bluetooth/WiFi Onboard)

CPU: Overclocked Intel Core i7 4790K Quad-Core (4.5GHz-4.8GHz)

CPU Cooling: ORIGIN CRYOGENIC Stage II Liquid Cooling with Ice Dragon High Performance Coolant

GPU: Single 6GB NVIDIA GTX Titan Black

RAM: 8GB Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133Mhz (2x4GB)

OS: Genuine MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition

HD1: FREE 240GB Visiontek Go Drive SSD

HD2: 240GB Visiontek Go Drive SSD

HD3: 500GB ORIGIN PC Approved Hard Drive

 

This setup is just under $4000

 

The main difference between the two is the addition of the Cryogenic cooling. I have read glorious things about this method. Here are my questions:

 

1)      I have read the Titan Black (or GTX Titan) is overkill for FSX when compared to the 780 Ti. However, I intend to run FSX on three monitors 24” via TH2GO. Wouldn’t FSX seriously benefit from the addition of the Titan in this situation? Aslo, the Titan would be a good investment for the possibility of moving to P3D in a little while, correct?

 

2)      I had my HDs set up like this on my latop and was fond of it. Primary HD for the OS and only the OS. Secondary HD for FSX and addons required to go in the FSX folder.

Third HD for large FSX addons such as REX and FTXGlobal, and also any other files. Does anyone know if there is a better setup possible?

 

3)      Most importantly, would the CPU overclocking benefit from having the Cryogenic cooling as opposed to liquid? I’ve read that the 4790k can reach 4.7-4.8 with a decent watercooler, but I haven’t found anything on what it is capable with a high performance coolant like Cryogenic. Could it reach a stable 5.2 or 5.3? If the benefit to FSX would be that big, I’m willing to invest more money now to be sure I have a good system for years to come.

 

4)      I'm correct in assuming either one of these systems will be a gigantic leap forward from my current system, correct?

 

Thanks for any input you guys may have, it’s always nerve-wracking spending this amount of money on FSX.  

 

Happy Landings to all!

 

Pierre

[ryanbatc 12,855]

Cripes that's a monster system...

 

3 monitors hmmm.... I'm not sure if Titan black or gtx780 6gb would be better.

 

For drive setup I'd try to put FSX on at least a 500gb SSD, windows on a smaller 120 SSD and a 1-2 TB HDD for other apps/files.

 

What is cryogenic cooling? Like dried ice etc? I'm not even familiar with that hopefully someone else can chime in but I like the Corsair H100i or H80, there's some superb air coolers too others hopefully will mention.

 

I like your CPU choice and mobo (asus gene)... But 5.2? I doubt it with any normal cooler listed above 4.6 - 4.9 should be doable.

 

Yes it should be a large upgrade but you'll still have to manage your settings to keep VAS saturation down (too high of settings /addons will easily saturate the virtual address space limit 4GB) ... Physical memory won't change this problem.

 

Good luck!

[dgraham1284 92]

They make good stuff, that said... With that kind of money, you can build an even more monster system building it on your own.  Not sure what your technical capabilities are....

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FLmhFT

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FLmhFT/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($322.99 @ NCIX US) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Glacer 240L 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97-DELUXE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($259.99 @ NCIX US) 

Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: VisionTek GoDrive 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($110.14 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX Titan Black 6GB Superclocked Video Card  ($1019.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case  ($129.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($169.99 @ NCIX US) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($84.98 @ OutletPC) 

 

 

Total: $2368.05

 

 

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-24 16:23 EDT-0400

 

 

 

 

 

[DChockey08 299]

Cripes that's a monster system...

 

3 monitors hmmm.... I'm not sure if Titan black or gtx780 6gb would be better.

 

For drive setup I'd try to put FSX on at least a 500gb SSD, windows on a smaller 120 SSD and a 1-2 TB HDD for other apps/files.

 

What is cryogenic cooling? Like dried ice etc? I'm not even familiar with that hopefully someone else can chime in but I like the Corsair H100i or H80, there's some superb air coolers too others hopefully will mention.

 

I like your CPU choice and mobo (asus gene)... But 5.2? I doubt it with any normal cooler listed above 4.6 - 4.9 should be doable.

 

Yes it should be a large upgrade but you'll still have to manage your settings to keep VAS saturation down (too high of settings /addons will easily saturate the virtual address space limit 4GB) ... Physical memory won't change this problem.

 

Good luck!

 

I do think the cryogenic might be overkill. From what I've read it seems the Frostbyte from Origin is about equivalent to the H100 and that should be more than sufficient. Maybe not worth the extra $1000 for 7 or 8 degrees less in CPU temp.. 

 

What would be the difference between a GTX780 6gb vs a Titan 6gb? 

 

Obviously no matter what system VAS will always be an issue. 95% of my flight are long haul on a 777 or 747 so i just save and exit in the middle of the flight to clear VAS. It's not perfect, but that way I can turn on photoscenery and payware airports on approach and not have to worry about OOM.