I'm looking to build an excellent FSX and P3D rig today on Cyberpowerpc.com.  

I have up to 3300 to spend, but would be happy to spend less.   I will be running 3 monitors, PMDG, Carenado, ASN,  Rex,  etc.  Lots of flights into detailed terrain areas,  like Los Angeles. 

If anyone would log into their website at www.cyberpowerpc.com and check the options,  I would like an excellent computer -- I know I want an I7 6700k,  and a 980 processor (or gtx 980TI) and want to get best OC from the rig.   I really need help/suggestions for the following items from those of you with more expierence.  Thanks very much!!  John:

 

Case and fans?

MB: ?

Water Cooing?

Ram:?

Video card:?

Power supply

Optical drive

Other recommended accessories?

Windows 7 Pro or 10?

 

PS.  If you think I should go with another company besides,  cyberpowerpc,  then appreciate the info.

I'm thinking about these components:  (comments appreciated!)

 

Summary:

• CPU: Intel® Core™ Processor i7-6700K 4.00GHZ 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1151 (Skylake)
• HDD: 1TB Samsung 850 PRO Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 550MB/s Read & 520MB/s Write [+382] (Single Drive)
• MEMORY: 32GB (16GBx2) DDR4/2800MHz Dual Channel Memory [+162] (Corsair Vengeance LPX)
• MOTHERBOARD: ASRock Z170 Extreme 7+ ATX w/ USB 3.1, 4 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 3 SATA Express, 10 SATA3, 3 Ultra M.2 [+105]
• SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
• VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Maxwell) [+401] (Single Card)

Details:

 

 

Gaming Chassis: Cooler Master Storm Stryker Full Tower Gaming Case w/ 200mm Fan, Integrated Fan Controller,

 

Extra Case Fans: Maximum Airflow with 120mm Corsair AIR Series AF120 Performance Edition 120MM High Airflow Case Fans (Maximum Corsair AIR Series AF120 Performance Edition 120MM High Airflow Case Fan)

Noise Reduction Technology: Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts

 

CPU: Intel® Core™ Processor i7-6700K 4.00GHZ 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1151 (Skylake)

 

CPU / Processor Cooling Fan: Corsair Hydro H100i V2 240mm Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ Copper Cold Plate - Extreme Cooling Performance (4 x Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition Fan (Push-Pull))

Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: None

Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme 7+ ATX w/ USB 3.1, 4 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 3 SATA Express, 10 SATA3, 3 Ultra M.2

RAM / System Memory: 32GB (16GBx2) DDR4/2800MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance LPX)

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Maxwell) (Single Card)

 

Power Supply: 1,000 Watts - Corsair RMi Series RM1000i 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Fully Modular Ultra Quiet Power Supply

Hard Drive: 1TB Samsung 850 PRO Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 550MB/s Read & 520MB/s Write (Single Drive)

 

Secondary Hard Drive: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200 RPM HDD (Single Drive)

Optical Drive: LG 12X Internal Blu-ray Drive & DVDRW, 3D Playback Combo Drive (BLACK COLOR)

Internal Wireless Network Card: GIGABYTE 802.11AC Wi-Fi up to 867 Mbps + Bluetooth 4.0 Combo w/ Dual Antenna PCI-E Adapter

Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

If what you listed above is in your price range, go for it. It's a nice Skylake build and will run P3D nicely, as well as anything else you throw at it.

 

My only suggestion to change would be the HDD. Ditch the WD Blue for a WD Black in the biggest size you can afford. I currently use a 4TB WD Black and I have P3D installed on it. The performance gains between putting P3D on an SSD or a fast HDD like the WD Black are not enough for you to notice. And if you add a lot of add on aircraft and scenery you will quickly fill up any reasonably priced SSD. My P3D install is just over 1TB now.

 

Hope this helps in your decision making. You are certainly off to a good start.

 

Edit- After quickly browsing their website I see that the largest HDD drive they offer is 1TB. If your comfortable with working inside the case go that route, then replace the 1TB model with something larger after you get it. Typically swapping out an HDD is not very difficult.

Good advice, Matt.  Let me ask a question.  Are you recommending putting P3D and all aircraft and scenery there as well?  What would I put on the SSD?  

My system has 2 SSD's. One 250GB for Windows 10 and other incidental programs and the other, a 500GB NVME SSD for other games and sims. And lastly the 4TB WD Black for P3D as well as all my other storage needs.

I second going for the WD Black instead of Blue as they have a 5 year warranty.

 

I can't say I like the design aesthetic of Windows 10, but it sure boots up faster and I haven't had any trouble with it (I'm running FSX-SE).  I almost went with Windows 7 instead of Windows 10, but I decided I'm buying for the future, not the past.

 

My new machine came from Cyberpower as well, and I am satisfied with my purchase.  My motherboard was on backorder for about three weeks, but since I used their "NORUSH" shipping option it wasn't a big deal.

 

My only complaint (about my machine, not Cyberpower) is my on-board audio is really noisy.  I half-way expected that to be the case since I bought a "value" motherboard (Gigabyte G1.Sniper), so I replaced it with an external USB audio interface that works great.

The performance gains between putting P3D on an SSD or a fast HDD like the WD Black are not enough for you to notice.

I'm surprised you don't notice the performance difference between your WD Black and an SSD - see http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/storage/disk-drives-hdd-ssd/western-digital-caviar-black-1tb-sata-6gbps-701111/review/3 for a good comparison. In-game, there's virtually no difference running from a HDD compared to an SSD but the initial loading of the program and the flight should be much faster from an SSD.

Extra Case Fans: Maximum Airflow with 120mm Corsair AIR Series AF120 Performance Edition 120MM High Airflow Case Fans (Maximum Corsair AIR Series AF120 Performance Edition 120MM High Airflow Case Fan)


Noise Reduction Technology: Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts
 
I prefer Noctua fans. Quality of the sound is great, quiet and great airflow. High quality fans.
 


CPU / Processor Cooling Fan: Corsair Hydro H100i V2 240mm Liquid CPU Cooling System 
 
I'm not a fan of closed loop water coolers, I prefer big tower coolers. No pump to fail, zero chance of leaks. However, if I did go AIO, I'd make sure my case was big enough to accept the excellent Corsair H110.


 
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme 7+ ATX w/ USB 3.1, 4 PCIe x16, 2 PCIe x1, 3 SATA Express, 10 SATA3, 3 Ultra M.2

 

Not a fan of their motherboards, I prefer Asus.


RAM / System Memory: 32GB (16GBx2) DDR4/2800MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Vengeance LPX)

 

You don't need 32GB, 16GB is enough. My preference was GSkill Ripjaw V. GSkill designed the RAM specifically for Skylake and use top quality Samsung modules.


Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Maxwell) (Single Card)

 

​I went for the EVGA GTX 980Ti Classified. I was considering the amazing EVGA kingpin, but settled for the classified. Do check out the Kingpin, it's a stunning card. I personally would recommend EVGA, their support is the best there is. Quality of the cards top-notch. 


 Power Supply: 1,000 Watts - Corsair RMi Series RM1000i 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Fully Modular Ultra Quiet Power Supply

 

You don't need that much power unless you intend to go for SLI. The "i" series Corsair PSU's are nice, they can be configured for single rail or multi-rail from within the software. They ship multi-rail, and then if all is well, you can switch to single rail as and if you desire.


Hard Drive: 1TB Samsung 850 PRO Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 550MB/s Read & 520MB/s Write (Single Drive)

 

I went for the Evo, but the Pro is a nice drive.


 Secondary Hard Drive: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200 RPM HDD (Single Drive)

 

I never bother with separate drives, prefer one drive. No benefit to separate drives these days in my opinion. Had a Western Digital black drive myself, but found it very noisy, even after being sent back to WD. It's in my cupboard unused at the moment. May have been just my drive, but it's right I should mention it.


Internal Wireless Network Card: GIGABYTE 802.11AC Wi-Fi up to 867 Mbps + Bluetooth 4.0 Combo w/ Dual Antenna PCI-E Adapter

 

Wi-Fi built into Asus Skylake motherboards is now top-notch.

Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

 

On-Board sound is now much better than it used to be.

thanks, guys really appreciate your guidance. Which Asus MB would you recommend?

thanks, guys really appreciate your guidance. Which Asus MB would you recommend?

 

Actually I was originally considering the Z170 Deluxe, but decided on the Z170-A at the last minute. The Deluxe is a great board, and has top-notch built in Wi-Fi which might appeal to you.

 

I couldn't justify opting for the deluxe though as a lot of the features I didn't need, in particular the Wi-Fi.

 

The -A is a great board for the money.

 

It's worth mentioning, that initially there were a few UEFI issues with the Deluxe, not sure if they are sorted out now or not. No issues with the -A as far as I know. An option if you really need Wi-Fi is the -A but with the wireless network card you mentioned earlier.

 

Lots of other nice Asus Z170 boards available also, for example the Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1, and the stunning Maximus VIII Formula...

 

http://www.asus.com/UK/Motherboards/ROG-MAXIMUS-VIII-FORMULA/

Does anyone know about this MB:

 

ASUS Z170-PRO GAMING ATX w/ USB 3.1, 3 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 1 SATA Express, 4 SATA3, 1 Ultra M.2 (Extreme OC Certified)

No experience with it personally, but I recall that when it was first released there were a lot of BIOS issues.

 

Not sure if they are ironed out now or not.

Why not just build it yourself? The money you save can be spent on getting better parts. It's easy like building Legos and not the small ones I mean the big ones that toddlers play with lol

Duplos! Legos are the best though