Intended use:
1440p
VR
DCS2.5
X-Plane11

So I decided to go for an Intel rather than a Ryzen build mainly because of the lack of 32GB DDR4 kit support X470 boards and higher Intel clock speeds. Still not convinced an i7 is worth it for DCS2.5 or Xplane11:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWVngv3iAvY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt4Q7eqtrNA
Need to narrow down components, below is what I'm considering, green I already have, all comments welcome.

CPU
i5-9700K
i5-8600K
H/S
Dark Rock Pro 4 BK022
Noctua NH-D15
GPU
EVGA GTX 1080Ti FTW3
RAM
32GP (2x16) 3200MHz CL14 / CL15 ???
M/B
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Elite
Z370 equivalents to above???
Storage
2X Samsung 860 Evo 500GB (for OS + FS)
PSU
Corsair TX750
Corsair RM750x
Seasonic Focus Gold 750
Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750
Case
Fractal Design Meshify C
Other high airflow???
Display
Acer Predator XB271HU IPS 27"
Controllers
Saitek X52 Pro HOTAS
Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS
CH Rudder Pedals
TrackIR

Edited November 21, 20187 yr by Djang0

Quote

H/S
Dark Rock Pro 4 BK022
Noctua NH-D15

 

 

Well everybody knows what I will say. 😀 But I would without any hesitation, go for the NH-D15S, not the standard D15... The "S" variant is the high compatibility variant. Better RAM clearance and off-set slightly so more clearance from the uppermost PCIe slot. One fan instead of two, but you can fit two if you like. Two makes little difference to cooling though, only 2 degrees. Because its only static pressure that increases slightly, air velocity is the same. 

 

Quote

RAM
32GP (2x16) 3200MHz CL14 / CL15 ???

 

Everybody knows what I will say here too. 🙂 GSkill, Trident Z or Ripjaws V.

 

Quote

M/B
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Elite
Z370 equivalents to above???

 

I'm still an Asus fan. 

 

Quote

PSU
Corsair TX750
Corsair RM750x
Seasonic Focus Gold 750
Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750

 

 

I used to favour Enermax multi-rail, but these days I really like EVGA PSU's, great power supplies and huge warranty. 

 

Quote

Case
Fractal Design Meshify C
Other high airflow???

 

Bought my first Phanteks case a while ago, and am blown away with thew quality. And that's coming from someone who used to favour Lian Li aluminium cases. Phanteks beats Lian LI easy and way, way cheaper. 

14 hours ago, Djang0 said:

CPU
i5-9700K
i5-8600K
H/S
Dark Rock Pro 4 BK022
Noctua NH-D15
GPU
EVGA GTX 1080Ti FTW3
RAM
32GP (2x16) 3200MHz CL14 / CL15 ???
M/B
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Elite
Z370 equivalents to above???
Storage
2X Samsung 860 Evo 500GB (for OS + FS)
PSU
Corsair TX750
Corsair RM750x
Seasonic Focus Gold 750
Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750
Case
Fractal Design Meshify C
Other high airflow???
Display
Acer Predator XB271HU IPS 27"
Controllers
Saitek X52 Pro HOTAS
Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS
CH Rudder Pedals
TrackIR

Noctua has a fairly extensive motherboard compatibility list on their website...if you go with the D15, you'll want to stick to RAM modules < 32mm in height, or you'll have to leave the second fan off.  Or go with the D15S as Martin mentioned, but that's also single-fan. 

Personally, I'd go with a single 1TB M.2 nVME SSD rather than two smaller ones...on many boards, use of the second M.2 slot can be complicated by PCIe slot sharing or even require the second SSD be an m.2 SATA drive rather than nVME.  Separating the OS from applications will not make any difference in performance, and partitioning your storage is less flexible than having everything on the one SSD.

Agree with Martin on the eVGA PSUs.

I've been using the CoolerMaster HAF932 case for some time (I have three of them now).  It has three near-silent 230mm fans in front, side, and top, and a 140mm in back, and it's plenty deep for the NH-D15. 

Regards

12 hours ago, martin-w said:

Everybody knows what I will say here too. 🙂 GSkill, Trident Z or Ripjaws V.

I'm still an Asus fan. 

EVGA PSU's, great power supplies and huge warranty.

Bought my first Phanteks case a while ago, and am blown away with thew quality.

8 hours ago, w6kd said:

Personally, I'd go with a single 1TB M.2 nVME SSD rather than two smaller ones...on many boards, use of the second M.2 slot can be complicated by PCIe slot sharing or even require the second SSD be an m.2 SATA drive rather than nVME.  Separating the OS from applications will not make any difference in performance, and partitioning your storage is less flexible than having everything on the one SSD.

I've been using the CoolerMaster HAF932 case for some time (I have three of them now).

# I'd really like to pick up some a 32GB CAS 14 or 15 3200MHz DDR4 with Samsung D-Die chips, I know that G.Skill has several models.

# I was really not impressed with Asus Z390 4 phase VRMs and higher VRM temperatures than other boards. Plus issues with default BIOS settings on Asus and MSI boards steered me towards Gigabyte.

# Having browsed reviews I've always seen good reviews of Corsair Rm and Seasonic Focus, the Seasonic usually coming out slightly ahead.

# At the moment I feel like the NVMe SSDs > 500GB are over priced (at least for my usage needs). Anyway I'll either go NVMe M.2 or Sata SSDs.

# I like the look of the Cooler Master H500 (with mesh front).

For the video card....  I'd go with the RTX 2070 - if you're going to do such a nice build, that is.  2080 better but pricey.

For the flight controller... Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS.   Excellent build (for the price) and better programming and software than Saitek.

Greg

Any thoughts on my choice of i5 vs i7?

OK so this is what I'm thinking on pulling the trigger on before Xmas:
GREEN = already owned

CPU
i7-9700K £400
H/S
Noctua NH-D15 £80
GPU
EVGA GTX 1080Ti FTW3
RAM
G.Skill Trident Z 32GB (2x16) 3200MHz CL14-14-14-34 £405
M/B
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Elite £163
Storage
Samsung 860 Evo 500GB £72
Samsung 860 Evo 500GB £72
1TB SATA2 HD
PSU
Corsair RM750x £90
Case
Anidees AI8 Full Tower Case £90
Display
Acer Predator XB271HU 27" GSync IPS £600
Controllers
Thrustmaster T.16000M FCS HOTAS £110
CH Rudder Pedals
TrackIR
Other stuff
Windows 10 Home Retail £100
X-rite i1 Display Pro monitor calibrator £178
Display Port 1.4 cable 3m £10

= £2370

 

Re the Aorus Elite, it has the same VRM as the Aorus Pro and Ultra and I'm not looking for an extreme OC.
Q) What do you think?
Q) Should I wait until after Xmas (I think I might get a better deal on the Thrustmaster HOTAS)?

 

__________________

Edited December 12, 20187 yr by Djang0

Quote

Noctua NH-D15 £80

 

Go for the NH-D15S. The extra fan on the standard D15 only reduces temp by 2 degrees, so hardly worth the extra noise. The reason it's only 2 degrees is because the velocity of the air remains the same, it's just a tad more static pressure. The "S" variant has much better RAM clearance and is further away from the uppermost PCIe sot, so not overcrowding a deep graphics card. 

If you are desperate for a second fan (no idea why) then the clips are provided for a second if you so choose. So nothing to lose. 

If you want all black, then Chromax black heatsink covers and black Chromax fans are available that look awesome. I have them in my system.

 

Quote

Storage
Samsung 860 Evo 500GB £72
Samsung 860 Evo 500GB £72
1TB SATA2 HD

 

I would just go for a single 2 TB SSD to be honest. No reason to split stuff up these days. That's old school. M.2 PCIe, NVMe drives are technically faster of course, but wont blow your mind in everyday use. I opted for M.2 though.  

 

Quote

PSU
Corsair RM750x £90

 

In-cable capacitors and short distance between peripheral connectors. So if looking for awesome cable management you will have the capacitors bulking up the cable a bit. Other than that, a solid PSU. I'm, a fan of EVGA PSU's these days though. Great PSU's with a huge 12 year warranty. Worth mentioning that if you went for the Corsair "I" variant PSU's, then you do have the choice of multi-rail or single rail, configurable in the software. 

 

Quote

Re the Aorus Elite, it has the same VRM as the Aorus Pro and Ultra and I'm not looking for an extreme OC.

 

How are you defining "extreme" overclock? Remember, the D15S is an awesome air cooler and very quiet, and it competes with most AIO's, in fact all but the very best. But there are AIO's that surpass it for cooling. All be it, usually at the expense of noise. 

My attitude would be to consider what a couple of hundred megahertz extra OC actually equates to in terms of performance. You will find it's minimal, often one to two frames per second. So the question to ask is if that minuscule increase in performance is worth the noise and expense of a top of the range AIO. 

On 12/13/2018 at 1:51 PM, martin-w said:

How are you defining "extreme" overclock?

On 12/13/2018 at 1:45 PM, martin-w said:

I would just go for a single 2 TB SSD to be honest. No reason to split stuff up these days. That's old school.

I'd be happy with a 5GHz OC, As for the storage, NVMe are too expensive for what I need it for right now. Also I'd prefer to get a 1TB NvMe as the performance is lightly better than a 500GB one. (As for old school... I prefer an 8-speed to a 9-speed bicycle too!)

3 hours ago, Djang0 said:

I'd be happy with a 5GHz OC, As for the storage, NVMe are too expensive for what I need it for right now. Also I'd prefer to get a 1TB NvMe as the performance is lightly better than a 500GB one. (As for old school... I prefer an 8-speed to a 9-speed bicycle too!)

 

5 GHz on all cores should be doable with a D15.