Hi:

 

Please understand, I HAVE SEARCHED....  what I am looking for is a CURRENT (March 2016) top of the line build recommendation for P3D v 3.2- period.

 

I read so much about z170 v x99 and Devil's Canyon vs. Skylake.  Add in the W10 Pro vs. W7 x64 Pro debate, throw in some RAM discussion, and I end up without a plan of action.... I am looking for a relatively mainstream, high performance machine.

 

If Rob, Steve etc. have a moment, I would be much obliged....

 

I AM SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR A MOTHERBOARD, CPU, RAM combination to allow a 4.8GHz OC.

 

I am decided on (and have purchased) the following-

 

• CASE- Cooler Master Stacker (matches my current case)
• VIDEO- EVGA GTX 980Ti SC
• OS SSD- Samsung 850 Pro 128G
• SIM SSD- Samsung 850 Pro 1 TB
• PS- Corsair HX1050
• DVD/RW- Asus
• CPU COOLER- Corsair H105

 

SPECIFIC advice on MB, CPU, RAM AND OS- from CURRENT HW USERS that are achieving 4.8GHz or better OC's is GREATLY APPRECIATED!

I currently use FSX, but am planning to adopt P3D V3.2.

 

These were my choices and why...

 

Skylake 6700K

 

Newer platform. And not just about increased performance, there are lots of other advantageous features Skylake brings to the table. Namely, USB 3.1. M.2, U.2, NFC, faster higher density DDR4 and more...

 

4.6 - 4.8 GHz dependant on the silicone lottery. And if I may, you say you are interested in hearing from those that have achieved 4.8 GHz... given that those individuals will merely have done well in the silicone lottery, I'm not sure that those individuals will help you any more than those who happen to own chips that will only clock lower.

 

Asus Z170-A

 

Did consider the Deluxe, but couldn't justify it as I wouldn't use many of the Deluxe features. 

 

GSkill Ripjaw V 3200 MHz

 

GSkill have gone to town on these modules, they specifically designed them for Skylake and used top quality Samsung modules.

 

Samsung 850 Evo

 

Good enough for me. May adopt the Intel 750 U.2 sometime in the future.

 

Enermax Platimax 850. 

 

850 watts is above my minimum requirement. Plenty of capacity for future upgrades and hits the most efficient 50% output range. And I could afford the somewhat higher price. Also multi rail as opposed to single rail, thus less chance of damage to other PC components if there's a failure due to lower OCP trip point per rail.

 

Lian Li X510

 

 

EVGA GTX 980Ti Classified 

 

I'm a fan of EVGA.

 

Noctua NH-D14S

 

I'm not a fan of closed loop coolers. I prefer large tower heat sinks. No chance of pump failure, no chance of leaks, cool and quiet. The "S" variant has only one 150 mm fan, but two only reduces temp by two degrees, so meaningless.

Nvidia has the new GeForce GTX 1080 8GB gddr5x based on Pascal GPU launching in May...

 

I currently use FSX, but am planning to adopt P3D V3.2.

 

These were my choices and why...

 

Skylake 6700K

 

Newer platform. And not just about increased performance, there are lots of other advantageous features Skylake brings to the table. Namely, USB 3.1. M.2, U.2, NFC, faster higher density DDR4 and more...

 

4.6 - 4.8 GHz dependant on the silicone lottery. And if I may, you say you are interested in hearing from those that have achieved 4.8 GHz... given that those individuals will merely have done well in the silicone lottery, I'm not sure that those individuals will help you any more than those who happen to own chips that will only clock lower.

 

Asus Z170-A

 

Did consider the Deluxe, but couldn't justify it as I wouldn't use many of the Deluxe features. 

 

GSkill Ripjaw V 3200 MHz

 

GSkill have gone to town on these modules, they specifically designed them for Skylake and used top quality Samsung modules.

 

Samsung 850 Evo

 

Good enough for me. May adopt the Intel 750 U.2 sometime in the future.

 

Enermax Platimax 850. 

 

850 watts is above my minimum requirement. Plenty of capacity for future upgrades and hits the most efficient 50% output range. And I could afford the somewhat higher price. Also multi rail as opposed to single rail, thus less chance of damage to other PC components if there's a failure due to lower OCP trip point per rail.

 

Lian Li X510

 

 

EVGA GTX 980Ti Classified 

 

I'm a fan of EVGA.

 

Noctua NH-D14S

 

I'm not a fan of closed loop coolers. I prefer large tower heat sinks. No chance of pump failure, no chance of leaks, cool and quiet. The "S" variant has only one 150 mm fan, but two only reduces temp by two degrees, so meaningless.

 

Looks really good.  Are you going with two SSD's one for Windows and another dedicated to P3d ?

 

Also, what case are you going to use ?  

 

Finally, are you planning to de-lid the processor ?  I read that doing so and replacing the tim will lower chip temps by up to 20 degrees.

Here's what I'm currently building:

 

6700k

Because you can't go wrong with the latest.

 

Asus ROG Maximus VIII Hero

The ROG boards are using top-shelf components and get more stability on faster OCs.

 

Corsair H100i v2

I like closed loop coolers, but it's a love it or hate it thing.  I ran my previous 2600k at 4.6 for four years without breaking a sweat with an Antec small closed loop cooler.

 

GSkill Ripjaws V

Because I used hundreds of these sticks, rarely had a problem, and had great support from GSkill.  Have DDR4-2400MHz because Skylake benefits very marginally from OCd RAM and I couldn't justify the price difference.

 

Samsung 850 Evo

Consistently great.  Might add an M2 drive eventually.

 

MSI GTX970 Gaming

Because I already have it - waiting for Pascal to upgrade.

 

 

Where I will disagree with the current train of thought is in the PSU department.  Too many people decide to go the cheaper route when the PSU is actually the backbone of the system, and a cheap one can have extreme consequences.  I went with a Seasonic Platinum 860, but around the same performance and quality can be found for cheaper with the EVGA P2.  I went with the Seasonic because it has TWO line filters and my current fluctuates a bit too much at home.  I'd steer clear of the Corsair HX series, the quality seems to have gone down quite a bit.

 

No one could convince me to de-lid a Skylake CPU, but then again I'm more of a moderate overclocker, will probably run my 6700k at 4.6.

Here's what I'm currently building:

 

6700k

Because you can't go wrong with the latest.

 

 

No one could convince me to de-lid a Skylake CPU, but then again I'm more of a moderate overclocker, will probably run my 6700k at 4.6.

 

Just get one of those little delid tools they have now and there is very little risk.   https://www.youmagine.com/designs/skylake-delid-tool

 

what case are you going to put that in ?

No one could convince me to de-lid a Skylake CPU, but then again I'm more of a moderate overclocker, will probably run my 6700k at 4.6.

 

If you change your mind, you can delid safely with Delid die-mate tool from overclockers.UK, sorry I don't have direct link. I purchased one and have three successful delids, one of which was 6700k.

 

 

what case are you going to put that in ?

 

A Corsair 330R Blackout because I hate noise.

 

About the de-lidding, I didn't know that and it seems nice, but I'm not pushing enough for it to be worth anything to me.

Get your CPU from siliconlottery.com and you are guaranteed your 4.8ghz plus he'll de lid it for you as well. Good place to deal with. 

• OS SSD- Samsung 850 Pro 128G
• SIM SSD- Samsung 850 Pro 1 TB

 

Samsung SSDs are definitely a great choice but why the Pro? It may be faster the the Evo but, in the real world, you just won't notice the difference. Plus, for less than the cost of just a 1TB Pro, you could get both a 1TB and a 500GB Evo!

A Corsair 330R Blackout because I hate noise.

 

About the de-lidding, I didn't know that and it seems nice, but I'm not pushing enough for it to be worth anything to me.

 

Nice case.  My current build is in a Corsair Obsidian 450D, really like their cases.

Get your CPU from siliconlottery.com and you are guaranteed your 4.8ghz plus he'll de lid it for you as well. Good place to deal with. 

 

But of course, this comes with a significant price bump.  Current 4.8 is $499 USD, plus $49,00 for the delid.

 

Regular price on Newegg is $375.oo.

 

Now the 4.7 is a good deal.  $379.99 plus the delid. 

But of course, this comes with a significant price bump.  Current 4.8 is $499 USD, plus $49,00 for the delid.

 

Regular price on Newegg is $375.oo.

 

Now the 4.7 is a good deal.  $379.99 plus the delid.

 

4.8 is currently $449. Definitely a premium price, but with the New Egg option he may only get 4.5, where as in his post he clearly wanted 4.8.

 

But regardless, 6700K is the way to go!

4.8 is currently $449. Definitely a premium price, but with the New Egg option he may only get 4.5, where as in his post he clearly wanted 4.8.

 

But regardless, 6700K is the way to go!

 

Which is why the siliconelottery 6700K at 4.7 for just $5 more than the regular store price is an awesome deal.

Looks really good.  Are you going with two SSD's one for Windows and another dedicated to P3d ?

 

Also, what case are you going to use ?  

 

Finally, are you planning to de-lid the processor ?  I read that doing so and replacing the tim will lower chip temps by up to 20 degrees.

 

 

 

No, just one SSD Mark, 1TB. I've never gone for the one for OS and one for the sim strategy to be honest, and the sim has always run very well for me. It was claimed to be a valid strategy but not any more in my opinion.

 

The case is a Lian Li X510. And I can tell you it's a gorgeous enclosure. Very expensive though. I just love aluminium. This is my second aluminium case and I'd never go back to steel. Quality is so much better.

 

Delidding Skylake can yield up to a 20 degree drop in temperature. Not planning to at this stage though. I don't believe it's necessary for a mere couple of hundred megahertz, which translates to just a few frames per seconds. If I'm unlucky and my CPU has a dodgy IHS/Die interface then I'll dellid it.

 

 

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-x510/

 

 

 

 

 

 Have DDR4-2400MHz because Skylake benefits very marginally from OCd RAM and I couldn't justify the price difference.

 

 

No one could convince me to de-lid a Skylake CPU, but then again I'm more of a moderate overclocker, will probably run my 6700k at 4.6.

 

 

And to be honest, as I mentioned previously, the difference between 4.6 and 4.8 in terms of frame rate is minimal. Just a few frames per second. The difference between 4.6 and 4.8 if we were honest with ourselves is more about bragging rights. Offers very little in practice.

 

As for Skylake RAM...

 

http://www.avsim.com...speed-ddr4-ram/

http://www.avsim.com...timings-in-fsx/

Bragging rights and who spends more time tweaking are what really matters in flight simming.