Howdy All, 

 

I'm sure this topic gets posted about 10 times a day, but I figure this would be a good place for me to start asking questions about buying a new PC. 

 

I have a flexible budget of around 2k, I am looking for a rig that will run performance demanding add ons i.e. PMDG, REX, FSDT sceneries, AI traffic.

 

I've done my homework and understand that its probably cheaper to build a PC on my own, however I have neither the patience nor expertise and would rather spend the money to have one built professionally. 

 

With this in mind, does anyone have any recommendations on any name brand desktop's? or even any rigs that can be bought from NewEgg or Microcenter? 

 

 

- Nick 

 

Howdy All, 

 

I'm sure this topic gets posted about 10 times a day, but I figure this would be a good place for me to start asking questions about buying a new PC. 

 

I have a flexible budget of around 2k, I am looking for a rig that will run performance demanding add ons i.e. PMDG, REX, FSDT sceneries, AI traffic.

 

I've done my homework and understand that its probably cheaper to build a PC on my own, however I have neither the patience nor expertise and would rather spend the money to have one built professionally. 

 

With this in mind, does anyone have any recommendations on any name brand desktop's? or even any rigs that can be bought from NewEgg or Microcenter? 

 

 

- Nick 

^ and if it wasnt implied, this rig would be used exclusively for Microsoft FSX 

I know you said you would rather buy and not build, but building is really not the chore some people think it is. Once you have your components, its just like building a puzzle, only a bit more sensitive. That being said, best bet for a 2k budget, look for a machine that has an i7-4790k processor (k for unlocked, so it can be easily overclocked) as this seems the best proven flightsim processor at the moment. There hasn't been much reports of the 6-8 core i7's yet as far as flightsim advantages. I'd also recommend a gtx970 GPU at minimum. The more ram you can afford the better, 8gb minimum works, and higher frequency has better scenery rendering performance I'm told. (1600-2400 MHz range, higher the better). Also gaming motherboard such as Asus ROG or equivalent will help over clocking ability. I'm sure there are plenty of machines out there that will fit the bill for your 2k budget, I just have never bought a pre-built rig so I can't help with brand names.

Wait for Skylake should be out second half of 2015.

If you want one built for you, I'd check out this place. They specialize in making flight simulation PCs. Building it yourself is still the cheapest option. 

Hi Nick,

 

i have an i7 5820k oc´ed 4.2GHz on an ASUS ROG Extreme V Mobo  with 2 GTX 980 NON SLI 16 GB Ram. Am using P3D v2.x exclusively. The sim has its own dedicated 512 GB SSD. My old one is an i7 3770k oc´ed 4.6 GHz and an GTX 780ti. The 3770k ran P3D2 very descent and fluid stable @ >35 FPS. But im not an heavy metal flyer. I do bush, naval and helicopter flying in P3D2.

The i7 5820k didnt bring the big FPS and performance wonder. Anyway the 5820k system is very stable and it brought a maximum of around 10-15% performance gain.

 

I use orbx full fat regions as well as FTX Global+Vector+openLC EU. I do have the PMDG NGX just as benchmark system. Now here is my experience. Although that this is a beefy system it comes to its boundaries when flying such complex add ons like PMDG and FSDT etc. if you can live with 20-30 FPS in your NGX/T7 and FSDT go for it. Do not expect wonders with a high end machine. 

 

If you like to see how both systems perform check out my vlog on youtube.

I know you said you would rather buy and not build, but building is really not the chore some people think it is. Once you have your components, its just like building a puzzle, only a bit more sensitive. That being said, best bet for a 2k budget, look for a machine that has an i7-4790k processor (k for unlocked, so it can be easily overclocked) as this seems the best proven flightsim processor at the moment. There hasn't been much reports of the 6-8 core i7's yet as far as flightsim advantages. I'd also recommend a gtx970 GPU at minimum. The more ram you can afford the better, 8gb minimum works, and higher frequency has better scenery rendering performance I'm told. (1600-2400 MHz range, higher the better). Also gaming motherboard such as Asus ROG or equivalent will help over clocking ability. I'm sure there are plenty of machines out there that will fit the bill for your 2k budget, I just have never bought a pre-built rig so I can't help with brand names.

 

Thank you for your recommendation on the hardware, Im thinking if I cant find anything prebuilt I'll ask one of my tech friends to help build one. 

Hi Nick,

 

i have an i7 5820k oc´ed 4.2GHz on an ASUS ROG Extreme V Mobo  with 2 GTX 980 NON SLI 16 GB Ram. Am using P3D v2.x exclusively. The sim has its own dedicated 512 GB SSD. My old one is an i7 3770k oc´ed 4.6 GHz and an GTX 780ti. The 3770k ran P3D2 very descent and fluid stable @ >35 FPS. But im not an heavy metal flyer. I do bush, naval and helicopter flying in P3D2.

The i7 5820k didnt bring the big FPS and performance wonder. Anyway the 5820k system is very stable and it brought a maximum of around 10-15% performance gain.

 

I use orbx full fat regions as well as FTX Global+Vector+openLC EU. I do have the PMDG NGX just as benchmark system. Now here is my experience. Although that this is a beefy system it comes to its boundaries when flying such complex add ons like PMDG and FSDT etc. if you can live with 20-30 FPS in your NGX/T7 and FSDT go for it. Do not expect wonders with a high end machine. 

 

If you like to see how both systems perform check out my vlog on youtube.

 

I checked out your videos and I think it looks awesome. Only thing that makes me hesitant is the fact that its P3D and not FSX. I would assume there are differences in hardware usage for both programs if Im not mistaken? 

+1 for skylake k.

Jetline Systems stress test there parts and will tune the machine for you and will also give you lifetime support for anything flightsim related. Sure there higher than cyber power or the rest of them but you get back a system that is top notch for flightsim. 

Jetline Systems stress test there parts and will tune the machine for you and will also give you lifetime support for anything flightsim related. Sure there higher than cyber power or the rest of them but you get back a system that is top notch for flightsim. 

 

While that's true, they're not the only ones to do that.

I was just about to link the competition!  :rolleyes:

Below are some specs of a potential rig I have my eye on. What do you guys think? Any red flags? 

 

CM Storm Scout 2 Advanced Black

ASRock Z97 Killer LGA 1150

Intel Core i7 4790K Quad Core (4.6GHz+ Overclock)

Corsair H80i Hydro Series Liquid Cooler

8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 SDRAM 2133MHz (CL9)

4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 970

750 Watt Corsair CX Series PSU

250GB Samsung EVO Solid State Drive

 20x DVD/CD Burner Combo Drive

Samsung EVO SSD is a red flag to me. Change it if its the 840EVO.

I've had good luck with both Samsung and Crucial SSD's, it looks like a good system. If its going to be add-on heavy I might push the ssd up to 500gb though. No idea if asrock mobos are good, I've never had one, but with "killer" in the title I'm sure its gaming oriented.

It all seems good, but I'd make two modifications.  

 

First off, ASRock has always been less than stellar to me.  Overclocks were more finnicky and I had my fare share of RMAs with them.  With mobos warrantied by virtually every PC builder out there, it's not really a problem since most problems will appear in a couple of months, but you do lose your system for a bit - it's inconvenient.

 

Also, I would definitely get a second HDD or SSD.  It doesn't take much for a FSX/P3D main folder to reach 100+GB.  For the vast majority of simmers, a WD Black series does the job fine.

 

I agree with SAAB340 to make sure the EVO is a 850, not a 840 - a lot of manufacturers still use the older 840.

 

Overall, it's a pretty solid setup.

 

 

Below are some specs of a potential rig I have my eye on. What do you guys think? Any red flags?
... 750 Watt Corsair CX Series PSU

Perhaps consider a better quality PSU if you're planning to OC.