Opinions on New Build for P3D

[bbain1187 118]

Hi all,

 

It's been almost 6 years since I built my old trusty i7 920-based system and it's time for an all-out upgrade. Planning on jumping from FSX to P3D 3.0. Budget isn't too much of a concern but I don't want to overpay for something where I won't see any tangible benefits in P3D, which is the only game I plan on using it for. Here's what I've got in my cart on Newegg:

 

Intel Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1151 95W BX80662I76700K Desktop Processor Intel® HD Graphics 530

 

ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII RANGER LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Intel Z170 Platform / Intel X99 Platform ...

 

ZOTAC ZT-90505-10P GeForce GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme 6GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card

 

SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E250B/AM - for boot drive

 

Intel 750 Series HHHL (CEM2.0) 400GB PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDPEDMW400G4R5 - for P3D

 

WD BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - for everything else

 

Phanteks “ Enthoo Pro Series “ PH-ES614P_BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

 

I have a 700W power supply and Noctua NH-D14 cpu cooler I plan on using from my previous build. Will overclock the cpu as high as I can. 

 

Thoughts?

 

Ben

 

 

[martin-w 3,234]

Looks an awesome build!

 

You seem to have done your research well. Ripjaw V's are ideal for Skylake, designed for Skylake, will be my choice too when I build in a few weeks.

 

 

I'm going for an EVGA card though, GTX 980ti KINGPIN. For Storage I think I'm probably just going for an Intel 750 U.2 800gb.

 

I also have an NH-D14, but my old system's going to my son. So I'm thinking the new NH-D15S for this build. Only one fan, but the difference between one fan ad two is a mere two degrees believe it or not. Understandable when we consider that the velocity of the air through the cooler doesn't change with two fans, just a tad more static pressure. The "S" variant has better RAM compatibility.

[bbain1187 118]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I don't understand what the deal with the U2 connector is. Is that going to be faster than the 750 I listed above?

 

Also, do you think the Kingpin will be worth the extra money when it comes to P3D? I was actually starting to lean towards the EVGA Hybrid model.

 

Ben

[Luke 782]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I don't understand what the deal with the U2 connector is. Is that going to be faster than the 750 I listed above?

 

The speed of both drives should be the same ("faster than you will notice, except in benchmarks"). I would agree with martin-w; you're better off getting a single SSD rather than two separate ones. Less complexity and generally speaking, transfer rates are faster with larger SSDs as the flash is accessed in parallel.

 

Samsung came out with an M.2 950 Pro - that may be worth looking at in the 512GB size.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

[martin-w 3,234]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I don't understand what the deal with the U2 connector is. Is that going to be faster than the 750 I listed above?

 

Also, do you think the Kingpin will be worth the extra money when it comes to P3D? I was actually starting to lean towards the EVGA Hybrid model.

 

Ben

Hi Ben.

 

Regarding the Intel 750, there are two versions. You selected the version that slots into a PCIe slot. The version I mentioned is similar to a conventional 2.5 inch SSD, but it plugs into a U.2 header via a cable. I'm not sure about your board, but the board I plan to buy [Z170 Deluxe] has an M.2 slot. Asus provide a U.2 adapter that plugs into the aforementioned M.2 slot to convert it to U.2. Just my preference, but both the U.2 and PCIe versions are equal in terms of performance.

 

The advantage of the U.2 variant is that the drive can be located elsewhere within the enclosure, rather than occupying a PCIe slot. I suspect, depending on the PCIe slot occupied, that PCIe lanes would be diminished, but given that PCIe gen 3 is way more efficient, it's not an issue in real terms.

 

The issue I foresee with the hybrid cards, and I'm sure it's probably insignificant in reality, is that the radiator and fan would be located at the front of the enclosure, thus warm radiator air would be blown into the enclosure. As I say, I doubt it would be a big deal, but it bugs me all the same.

 

The difference between the card you linked to and the Kingpin in terms of frame rate isn't huge, but this is the one time in my life when I actually have reasonable funds so can afford it. Doubt I'll be in a position like this again for quite a while so I'm making the most of it.

 

 

This is the U.2 variant of the Intel 750, not sure about your neck of the woods but not available yet here in the UK...

 

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/800gb-intel-750-series-25-ssd-pcie-30-(x4)-nvme-intel-20nm-mlc-nand-2100mb-s-800mb-s-420k-210k-iops-

 

 

Samsung came out with an M.2 950 Pro - that may be worth looking at in the 512GB size.

 

Very nice. I gather cooling is more of an issue though with throttling back not unheard of. M.2 and the Intel 750 do get warmer than we're used to. Not such an issue for the 750 as it's mounted in an enclosure with a built in heat sink.

 

How much of an issue M.2 drive temp is in reality I'm not sure, but worth mentioning all the same. Might be more of an issue in a smaller form factor enclosure. One of the reasons why Asus went for just U.2 for their new Maximus V111 Impact ITX board perhaps.

[bbain1187 118]

I read a few reviews on the EVGA 980TI Kingpin and it looks like it's only worth it if I get watercooling for it to maximize the overclock potential. Watercooling scares me unless it's plug and play like the EVGA hybrid model.

 

If a single SSD is what you guys recommend, I'll probably bite the bullet on the Intel 750 800gb. 512 seems a little low to have both the OS and P3D on there especially if I want to futureproof it a little bit.

 

I'm seeing it available for $700 US as the AIC model, and $650 as the 2.5" with a free U2 connector included. Seems like a decent value.

 

Ben

[Dave_YVR 968]

 Looks like an awesome system. Just my opinion, but the Intel 750 Series SSD seems like a very expensive drive just to house P3d and only get faster load times from. I would think that the fastest drive on the system should be for the OS. Other than that, looks like it will be a sweet setup.

[Capt. Farhadi 5]

Intel Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1151 95W BX80662I76700K Desktop Processor Intel® HD Graphics 530

 

ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII RANGER LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Intel Z170 Platform / Intel X99 Platform ...

 

ZOTAC ZT-90505-10P GeForce GTX 980 Ti AMP! Extreme 6GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card

 

SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E250B/AM - for boot drive

 

Intel 750 Series HHHL (CEM2.0) 400GB PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDPEDMW400G4R5 - for P3D

 

WD BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - for everything else

 

Phanteks “ Enthoo Pro Series “ PH-ES614P_BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

 

For the SSD,as you wanna use Asus VIII Ranger i'd recommend using a Samsung SM951 NVMe based 512GB M.2 SSD.

It's got a better and more reasonable price and you can buy another one and put it on a ASUS Hyperkit and RAID it.So you have a NVMe based 1TB SSD at a lesser cost [and just to mention , very very little and negligible performance drop]

And for the GPU,i'd say "Asus GTX 980 Ti STRIX [DC3OC]" is much better than the Zotac one in my opinion

[martin-w 3,234]

I read a few reviews on the EVGA 980TI Kingpin and it looks like it's only worth it if I get watercooling for it to maximize the overclock potential.

 

Ben

That's something I'm investigating now to be honest, you are right... but at the same time wrong.

 

EVGA bin the GPU's for the Kingpin, so if you think water cooling is out for you, then opting for the lower binned GPU is the best option.

 

EVGA call it ASIC [Application Specific Integrated Circuit]. The cards are available with 80% 76% 74% and 72% ASIC. Go for the 72% binned GPU, pay less, still get a great card, and you don't need to worry about exotic cooling to max it out.

 

The ACX 2.0 cooler is actually very efficient. Something like 20 degrees cooler under load.