So what say you Hardware guru's as we go into Christmas building season ?

[MarkW 1,493]

So I am thinking of building a new PC for Flight Sim.  My current is getting a bit long in the tooth although it still functions very well.  My initial build will be for FSX-SE and I may add P3D in the future.  Here is what I picked out in a very quick run through.  Thoughts?

 

Note that I will use my current GTX970 in this build and throw my old video card into the current computer which will become by #2 for WideFS.  Still looking at screen options but something like the 40" Phillips 4K TV has caught my interest.  Also, please don't be put off by the prices....these are in Canadian dollars and we are at a 35% penalty to the greenback these days.

 

 

Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H100I GTX CPU Cooler System LGA1150 1155 1156 1366 2011 AM2 AM3 FM1 FM2 YES* $161.43   VPN:CW-9060021-WW SKU:104791 Add Note 
Usually available in 2-5 days

 

  Western Digitial WD2003FZEX Black 2TB SATA 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM In Stock $164.99   VPN:WD2003FZEX SKU:92801 Add Note 
Weekly Special

 

  Corsair CX Series CX850M 850W ATX 12V 80 Plus Bronze Modular Power Supply In Stock $149.99   VPN:CP-9020099-NA SKU:104793 Add Note

 

  Samsung 850 Pro Series MZ-7KE128BW 2.5IN 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive In Stock $116.17   VPN:MZ-7KE128BW SKU:99903 Add Note 
Weekly Special

 

Samsung 850 Pro Series MZ-7KE512BW 2.5IN 512GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive YES* $355.41   VPN:MZ-7KE512BW SKU:99905 Add Note 
Usually available in 2-5 days

 

  GIGABYTE Z170 MX-GAMING 5 LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6GB/S USB 3.1 USB 3.0 Micro ATX Motherboard In Stock $199.99   VPN:GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 SKU:113390 Add Note

 

  Corsair Obsidian Series 750D Airflow Edition Full Tower ATX Case 3XAF140L 140mm Fans USB 3.0 - Black In Stock $184.99   VPN:CC-9011078-WW SKU:110329 Add Note 
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Corsair Vengeance Pro Gold 16GB 2X8GB DDR3-2400 CL11 1.65V Non-ECC Intel XMP Desktop Memory YES* $129.99   VPN:CMY16GX3M2A2400C11A SKU:90954 Add Note 
Usually available in 2-5 days 
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INTEL® CORE™ I7-6700K Processor 8M Cache 4GHZ Base 4.2GHZ Turbo FC-LGA1151 Retail Box YES* $516.98   VPN:BX80662I76700K SKU:111156 Add Note

[martin-w 3,235]

I've heard the Corsair CX PSU's aren't up to much. Not that reliable. I went for the Enermax Platimax 850 multi-rail. I favour multi-rail these days due to the better OCP. If the **** hits the fan there's less chance of component damage compared to single rail high amp PSU's.

 

My experience of Western Digital Black's is that they're noisy, or at least mine was. Blue should be adequate for mass storage.

 

I'm an Asus man, not that familiar with Gigabyte boards.

 

I know someone that owns the Corsair Obsidian 750D... he loves it.

 

For RAM, my advice would be to opt for the new Ripjaw V or Trident Z, both designed for Skylake. I went for Ripjaw V.

 

I'm not a fan of closed loop coolers. I went for the new Noctua NH-D15S. One fan instead of two but barely any difference in CPU temp. No pump to fail and leaks impossible.

[MarkW 1,493]

Thanks for the feedback Martin, that is what I like to hear.  On the PSU my current rig has a Corsair and its been flawless.  I also have the Corsair 450D case and really do love it.  Once I finalize things I will re-post before pressing the buy button.

[neucoas 82]

Seasonic PSU are great in my experience, and for me 850W for a single 970 is totally overkill. You could save some bucks there.

 

What a huuge case I'm more fan of ITX or Micro-ATX cases. Be aware that "airflow" cases tend to be noisy, something I personally hate. NZXT and Fractal (like the R5) provides great modular cases with sound proof material.

 

Overall great build

[Manny 1,293]

Why is the CPU so expensive? It should be no more than $370 or so.. wait for a bit when there is enough supply..why pay additional $200? Also the SSD you are getting is a Pro version... is it really worth the price premium? Why not get the non Pro SSD?

[MarkW 1,493]

Neucoas - good point on the PSU.  I am really not sure how to size it properly.  Maybe 750 is more than enough.

 

I have a 450D case now and love it, the noise is not really too much and I hardly notice anyway with my headset on when flying.

 

The CPU may look expensive because its in Can$ ?? Not sure.

[z06z33 763]

What CPU do you have now?

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Thanks for the feedback Martin, that is what I like to hear

 

Not sure when you will be pulling the trigger but I would sell my Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H100I  for half that price as soon as I take it out of my current pc as I am going to full water loop on new build - by the way they work great - cool as a cucumber - also sell my kraken and h75 for water cooling a graphics card which works great also - thats available right now

[martin-w 3,235]

Seasonic PSU are great in my experience, and for me 850W for a single 970 is totally overkill. You could save some bucks there.

 

What a huuge case I'm more fan of ITX or Micro-ATX cases. Be aware that "airflow" cases tend to be noisy, something I personally hate. NZXT and Fractal (like the R5) provides great modular cases with sound proof material.

 

Overall great build

850 watts is more than he needs, but I wouldn't call it "totally overkill". PSU's tend to be at their most efficient at 50% load, some modern PSU's are still reassembly efficient at higher loads. So yes, with that in mind I'm sure 650 watts would be adequate. However, when building a new PC it makes sense to consider future expansion, who knows what kind of power hungry kit we might favour in a few years time. In addition, it's a good idea to consider the output of the PSU, not now, but in 12 months time, or two years, or three years. PSU output drops as a PSU ages. It's also worth bearing in mind that the price difference between a 650 and 750 watt PSU, or a 750 and 850 watt PSU is minimal.

 

As for "airflow cases are noisy"... we all have the capacity to reduce the noise our PC's generate by utilising the motherboard software or fan controllers. No case has to be noisy.

 

The 750D isn't all that huge to be honest, but I can see how you would be of that opinion as a mini ITX fan. Now heat build-up in a mini ITX would be my concern.

 

 

I would echo Manny's opinion re the 850 Pro's. I went for a single 1TB 850 Evo. Much cheaper. I'm not really someone who favours multiple drives either, one high capacity SSD is enough I would say.

 

 

Neucoas - good point on the PSU.  I am really not sure how to size it properly.  Maybe 750 is more than enough.

 

http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

 

Have a bash at the calculator above. But I would spec it for the kit you "might" upgrade to in a year or two. Try to anticipate future expansion.

[Sbacchini 15]

No one seems to have seen this, but the memory you linked is DDR3.... You need DDR4 with that motherboard.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

I would not go less than 850 watts - no way

[Jazzfan 57]

     I agree with Rich, stick with the 850 watt, but choose a higher quality than the CX series. You will pay more $$$, but the stability of an overclock relies on a stable PSU.

Seasonic are a good manufacturer, they are the company that manufactures Corsair psu's. Shopping around can save you a few bucks on the Seasonic.

Personally, I would avoid the newer Samsung SSD's. The actual read/write speeds are not up to snuff.

 

  Craig

[Luke 782]

I would not go less than 850 watts - no way

 

Unless you're going SLI, why?

 

The CPU and GPU between them are going to use 350W or so, and the trend with electronics has been towards less power, not more. We hit a limit with the P4 of around 130W TDP and we've gone down to around 85-90 or so. GPUs seem to be leveling off. Peripherals are way down - an SSD consumes next to no power.

 

Compare that to an old 26GB SCSI drive I used to own - took up two 5.25 inch drive bays! I shudder to think how many watts that drew on startup.

 

Cheers!

Luke

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

My theory is the higher the power the less it will strain and last longer - I have seen this on my end over the years - you get what you pay for

[westman 257]

Have a couple of this Psu.s

SUPERFLOWER LEADEX PLATINUM '8PACK EDITION' 2000W

 

For a Overclocked Skylake system with a 980Ti a should not go less than 1000w psu it can peak up to 850w

 

You need something like this if you Overclock both the CPU and 980Ti Its a beast if you give it som more Vgpu, or 5960X and 2x 980Ti a 1500w psu have problems with the peaks.