I've been trying to do as much reading as I can.  I used to be huge into FS about 10 years back, but haven't done it since.  This was back in the FS2004 days when I built a PC for it.  Now, it seems so much has changed and the scenery for FSX and P3D looks amazing.  My goal is to build a PC for around $1000 that can run complex scenery and A/C with sliders near the top.  I can obviously make some cuts if I need to since I know a 1k build isn't likely to be able to max the sliders out.  I already have a monitor, as well as Windows so that will save some cost (at least I believe my Windows key will work on another computer).  Here's the hardware I'm looking at based on the research I've done.   Any recommendations would be appreciated!

 

Intel I7 6700k ~$350

Corsair Hydro H60 Cooler ~$60

Gigabyte GA Z170MX Gaming 5 LGA 1151Motherboard~ $135

Gskill Ripjaw V Series 2x8 GB DDR4-3200 ~$80

Seagate Barracuda 1TB ST500DM002 3.5" 7200 RPM ~$50

EVGA GeForce GTX 750TI 2GB Superclocked ~$120

Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ~$50

EVGA Supernova NEX 650W 80+ Gold G1 Power Supply ~$80

ASUS DVD + RW Burner ~$20

ASUS PCE N15 Wireless Network Adapter ~$16

 

With all of this, I'm around $950.  Performance wise, how does this look?  Any reccomendations on areas I can downgrade to save some money without making too much of a difference on performance?  Or, any areas I should upgrade?  Thanks for the help!

I'm having a similar discussion as well, and really am thinking the i5 6600k processor is enough.  The 6700k doesn't seem to add enough to really justify the extra cost.  That should save you around $100 - and I'd take that money and upgrade the video card you've selected probably.  I'm also willing to sacrifice some performance for cost reasons, and it seems like the i7 just is an area where, yeah, technically you're getting a few more FPS than with the i5, but probably only a handful - certainly not worth (IMO) the extra cost of that processor.

I'm having a similar discussion as well, and really am thinking the i5 6600k processor is enough.  The 6700k doesn't seem to add enough to really justify the extra cost.  That should save you around $100 - and I'd take that money and upgrade the video card you've selected probably.  I'm also willing to sacrifice some performance for cost reasons, and it seems like the i7 just is an area where, yeah, technically you're getting a few more FPS than with the i5, but probably only a handful - certainly not worth (IMO) the extra cost of that processor.

Good call.  A lot of people are saying the same thing you are after doing a search.  What would be a good upgrade to a video card for $100?  The GTX 970 seems like a solid choice.  Swapping the video cards and changing to the i5 would put me slightly over 1k which is still good. 

I did a build last year for P3D/FSX and got an i7 and wish that I would have instead purchased an i5. I have seen no benefits having an i7 as the sim mostly runs off of one core. It would have been better to spent the $100 extra to get the i7 on a better video card. Do yourself a favor and get the i5 6600K and spend the money you save to get an Nvidia 970 with 4G or VRAM.

For water cooling, one might well consider the H100.  I've run both, and the H110 is far better for cooling (double radiator and if I remember correctly a better pump).

).

That GTX750 will kill your performance.  You want a 970 at least with that cpu

Ok so here's what it looks like now:

 

Intel I5 6600k ~$250

Corsair Hydro H60 Cooler ~$60

Gigabyte GA Z170MX Gaming 5 LGA 1151Motherboard~ $135

Gskill Ripjaw V Series 2x8 GB DDR4-3200 ~$80

Seagate Barracuda 1TB ST500DM002 3.5" 7200 RPM ~$50

EVGA GeForce GTX 970 ~$270

Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ~$50

EVGA Supernova NEX 650W 80+ Gold G1 Power Supply ~$80

ASUS DVD + RW Burner ~$20

ASUS PCE N15 Wireless Network Adapter ~$16

 

This puts me slightly over $1000.  As for the cooling, is there any noticeable difference between the H100 and H80?

I'd get a 1060 instead of a 970. Less power draw and more modern architecture. Why are you getting wireless networking in a desktop?

 

And no SSD?

 

Cheers!
 

Luke

I'd get a 1060 instead of a 970. Less power draw and more modern architecture. Why are you getting wireless networking in a desktop?

 

And no SSD?

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

The modem and router are in the living room at the moment.  I'm renting an old house and the location I have the computer in would require a very long network cable. 

 

 

RAM is a lot more technical than I thought.  The one I posted has a latency of 16 an is 16-16-16-36 timing.  Is that ok or would I be better off trying to find a 15 latency with other timings?

Also, forgive me for probably a dumb question, but how would a SDD benefit me?  In the past I just used a regular HDD, but obviously a lot has changed since then.  Would I benefit from adding the large addons such as REX on a separate SDD?

 

 

RAM is a lot more technical than I thought.  The one I posted has a latency of 16 an is 16-16-16-36 timing.  Is that ok or would I be better off trying to find a 15 latency with other timings?

 

Generally RAM latency matters only in benchmarks. Find some DDR4-3200 from a good manufacturer at a decent price.

 

 

 

Also, forgive me for probably a dumb question, but how would a SDD benefit me?  In the past I just used a regular HDD, but obviously a lot has changed since then.  Would I benefit from adding the large addons such as REX on a separate SDD?

 

You'll find that loading programs gets a lot faster. The computer "feels" more responsive because I/O is much slower than CPU or memory, so you're speeding up the slowest part of the PC.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

Also, forgive me for probably a dumb question, but how would a SDD benefit me?  In the past I just used a regular HDD, but obviously a lot has changed since then.  Would I benefit from adding the large addons such as REX on a separate SDD?

 

Only advantage would be faster loading.  If you are working to a budget, ignore the SSD (certainly over compromising on any of the other core components) and stick to HDD.

 

You could always add an SSD on at a later date.