I know this question gets asked a lot. Im not looking for an AMD vs Intel war.

 

I fly FSX once a month and love scenery. Im looking to get a new PC built.

 

What should i focus on to get good strong sceanery without it costing my first born and over investing?

 

Power? (min watts)

Processor? (what do i need)

Graphics card?

 

Anything else?

Suggest researching the various hardware and optimization guides around.  AVSIM has a good one.  It seems processor power is number 1.  

Conventional wisdom says go for an Intel CPU which runs at, or can be overclocked to, 4Ghz or more, at least 6GB of memory and an NVidia graphics card. An SSD (aim for a minimum of 256 GB) will help FSX and Windows load faster but won't make FSX run significantly quicker. The power supply will depend on which components you select - there are a number of online calculators you can use to work this out. Whilst there's nothing wrong with AMD CPUs or Radeon graphics cards, they just don't seem to run FSX quite as well.

Balance is the key.  Your system will only run as good as your weakest link.  ie; don't drop cash for a top-of-th-line CPU if your gonna match it up with a weak GPU.  Determine your budget and spread it out using the following as a course of hardware priority:

 

1. CPU

2. GPU

3. RAM

4. HDD

5. PSU

This will work:

 

CPU - Intel i7 4790K

GPU -nVidia GTX 970

RAM - 8GB of any brand-name at 1600 MHz

HDD - Any brand-name that's 500GB or larger

PSU - Any brand-name that's 500W or more

Motherboard - Any brand name if you're not going to overclock the CPU

 

Doug

I know this question gets asked a lot. Im not looking for an AMD vs Intel war.

 

I fly FSX once a month and love scenery. Im looking to get a new PC built.

 

What should i focus on to get good strong sceanery without it costing my first born and over investing?

 

Power? (min watts)

Processor? (what do i need)

Graphics card?

 

Anything else?

The advice you've gotten so far is good, however the power of the PSU is extremely important. I suggest you use this PSU calculator to help you.

This will work:

 

CPU - Intel i7 4790K

GPU -nVidia GTX 970

RAM - 8GB of any brand-name at 1600 MHz

HDD - Any brand-name that's 500GB or larger

PSU - Any brand-name that's 500W or more

Motherboard - Any brand name if you're not going to overclock the CPU

 

Doug

Okay so power, CPU and GPU are they key things.

 

What does the 4790K mean?

 

Why 500W or more for power?

Okay so power, CPU and GPU are they key things.

 

What does the 4790K mean?

 

Why 500W or more for power?

Just run my system in the psu calculator and the result was nearly 500 watts required. My PSU is a 550 watt...just about ok

 

system Z87 MB....I7 4770 o/c 4.4.... gtx 980ti gpu..2 sticks mem...3tb wd hard drive... 2 sdd drives... dvd player...3 120 fans.. 6 usb devices

This will work:

 

CPU - Intel i7 4790K

GPU -nVidia GTX 970

RAM - 8GB of any brand-name at 1600 MHz

HDD - Any brand-name that's 500GB or larger

PSU - Any brand-name that's 500W or more

Motherboard - Any brand name if you're not going to overclock the CPU

 

Doug

 

I would nudge the importance of the power supply UP if I were you!

 

The PSU is a vital component, the heart of the system. And NO, not "any brand".

 

Cheap brands are garbage and won't provide the output they claim. Especially if you are recommending minimum voltage, the advice should be to go for a QUALITY brand.

 

 

It should also be considered that the diference in price for a few hundred watts can be small. So don't consider the power output you need NOW... consider your future requirements.How much power will you need in 12 months time, or two years time. Also consider that after a year or so PSU output drops. Also consider that a PSU is at it's most efficient at 50% of it's max load. So it might be worth nudging the wattage up a bit if the initial outlay is minimal.

 

Also consider the amps required by your graphics card on the 12 Volt rail.

 

 

Just run my system in the psu calculator and the result was nearly 500 watts required. My PSU is a 550 watt...just about ok

 

system Z87 MB....I7 4770 o/c 4.4.... gtx 980ti gpu..2 sticks mem...3tb wd hard drive... 2 sdd drives... dvd player...3 120 fans.. 6 usb devices

 

You might find this one better...

 

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

"I would nudge the importance of the power supply UP if I were you!

The PSU is a vital component, the heart of the system. And NO, not "any brand".

Cheap brands are garbage and won't provide the output they claim. Especially if you are recommending minimum voltage, the advice should be to go for a QUALITY brand."

 

 

 Ah, the problem with the written word. By using name-brand I was trying to eliminate the cheap no-name brands, I guess the term "name-brand" has different meanings. I couldn't agree more about the importance of the PSU...it is truly a vital component...and one that is over overlooked. So, to be more specific I'd advise starting here:

 

RAM:  Corsair, Crucial, or Mushkin

HDD: HGST or Western Digital

PSU: Antec, Corsair, or Seasonic

Motherboard:  Asus, MSI, or Gigabyte

 

Opinions on specific brands are like belly-buttons, everybody has one, but these are mine.

 

Doug

Okay so power, CPU and GPU are they key things.

 

What does the 4790K mean?

 

Why 500W or more for power?

 

The "i7 4790K" is Intel's name for the CPU chip. You'll need at least a 500W supply to run what I've listed. Martin-w has a very good point about the actual wattage of the PSU - buy as big a PSU as you can afford. You can never have too many watts available.

 

Doug

I would nudge the importance of the power supply UP if I were you!

 

The PSU is a vital component, the heart of the system. And NO, not "any brand".

 

Cheap brands are garbage and won't provide the output they claim. Especially if you are recommending minimum voltage, the advice should be to go for a QUALITY brand.

 

 

It should also be considered that the diference in price for a few hundred watts can be small. So don't consider the power output you need NOW... consider your future requirements.How much power will you need in 12 months time, or two years time. Also consider that after a year or so PSU output drops. Also consider that a PSU is at it's most efficient at 50% of it's max load. So it might be worth nudging the wattage up a bit if the initial outlay is minimal.

 

Also consider the amps required by your graphics card on the 12 Volt rail.

 

 

 

 

You might find this one better...

 

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

 

 

thanks for your suggestion, run my system again and the result indicated a 572 watts required. did ask this question when I upgraded my gpu to 980Ti.

btw my psu is a Corsair rm550.

 

bob

Ah, the problem with the written word. By using name-brand I was trying to eliminate the cheap no-name brands, I guess the term "name-brand" has different meanings.

 

You didn't say "name brand" though Doug... you said "brand name". :smile: A brand name can be any brand. Language barrier at work, no probs. :wink:

 

 

 

PSU: Antec, Corsair, or Seasonic

 

Opinions on specific brands are like belly-buttons, everybody has one, but these are mine.

 

 

Very true, I have a fetish for Enermax multi-rail at the moment. I no longer favour single rail.

 

 

 

Martin-w has a very good point about the actual wattage of the PSU - buy as big a PSU as you can afford. You can never have too many watts available.

 

 

Nope, wouldn't agree with that. Buying as big as you can afford is a waste of money. Use a PSU calculator, consider future requirements, consider capacitor degradation, consider the efficiency range of the PSU in terms of load, consider multi-rail or single rail... and buy accordingly. As a rule of thumb, if your graphics card requires 300 watts, then a 600 watt PSU will put you in the PSU's most efficient range. Only a rule of thumb though, don't quote me.

 

But conversely... if you spend more time browsing than gaming and simming, with your PSU just ticking over, it may be advantageous to opt for a lower wattage PSU so you are closer to the most efficient range more of the time. None of this makes a huge difference of course, modern PSU's are far from inefficient regardless of the load.

 

thanks for your suggestion, run my system again and the result indicated a 572 watts required. did ask this question when I upgraded my gpu to 980Ti.

 

btw my psu is a Corsair rm550.

 

bob

 

I recall your PSU puts out 45 amps on a single 12V rail. More than adequate for your GTX 980 TI.

 

Your Corsair RM550 should be fine, yes it's minimal in terms of voltage, and as it ages the output will drop but I'd say there's no need to panic. If you were specifying a new system then I'd advise considering future needs and thus a higher wattage, but for now you should be fine. Corsair are a quality make.

 

You didn't say "name brand" though Doug... you said "brand name". :smile: A brand name can be any brand. Language barrier at work, no probs. :wink:

 

 

 

 

 

Very true, I have a fetish for Enermax multi-rail at the moment. I no longer favour single rail.

 

 

 

 

 

Nope, wouldn't agree with that. Buying as big as you can afford is a waste of money. Use a PSU calculator, consider future requirements, consider capacitor degradation, consider the efficiency range of the PSU in terms of load, consider multi-rail or single rail... and buy accordingly. As a rule of thumb, if your graphics card requires 300 watts, then a 600 watt PSU will put you in the PSU's most efficient range. Only a rule of thumb though, don't quote me.

 

But conversely... if you spend more time browsing than gaming and simming, with your PSU just ticking over, it may be advantageous to opt for a lower wattage PSU so you are closer to the most efficient range more of the time. None of this makes a huge difference of course, modern PSU's are far from inefficient regardless of the load.

 

 

 

I recall your PSU puts out 45 amps on a single 12V rail. More than adequate for your GTX 980 TI.

 

Your Corsair RM550 should be fine, yes it's minimal in terms of voltage, and as it ages the output will drop but I'd say there's no need to panic. If you were specifying a new system then I'd advise considering future needs and thus a higher wattage, but for now you should be fine. Corsair are a quality make.

 

thanks for the clarification,  its been on my mind since I installed the 980.

 

bob

I'd be looking at 2400 or 2666 RAM as well