I don't think the -F motherboard has a Q-Code LED. I had considered the -F but paid a little more for the -E partly for the Q-Code LED in case troubleshooting is needed.

One disadvantage of the -E board though is I believe if you populate the 4th slot M.2 slot you lose 8 PCI video card lanes but if you're using 3 or fewer M.2 drives you are fine.

21 minutes ago, ZoblebV8 said:

I don't think the -F motherboard has a Q-Code LED. I had considered the -F but paid a little more for the -E partly for the Q-Code LED in case troubleshooting is needed.

One disadvantage of the -E board though is I believe if you populate the 4th slot M.2 slot you lose 8 PCI video card lanes but if you're using 3 or fewer M.2 drives you are fine.

That’s it the exact same reason I went with the -E model. 
 

I believe is the M.2_3 slot but yes you are correct. 

Page 12

2 hours ago, ZoblebV8 said:

I don't think the -F motherboard has a Q-Code LED. I had considered the -F but paid a little more for the -E partly for the Q-Code LED in case troubleshooting is needed.

Could you explain what a Q-Code LED is please?

Hi Ray.

Not sure what your backup solution is. I would swap the 1TB HDD for a 4TB HDD. Allocate a 2 to 3 TB partition for backups, with the balance for whatever. I use Macrium Reflect. They have an excellent free version but the paid version will allow for incremental backups. Create a backup profile for your c drive and another for your P3D drive. The backups should be quick with the HDD attached to one of your SATA connections. I do this but also repeat the process to a USB 3 attached HDD dock.

Q-codes.

I think of them as the modern version of BIOS beep tones. Instead of 2 short and 1 long beep indicating a memory error problem you get a led readout on the motherboard showing a number. if the number gets stuck you can look it up in the MB manual. Unfortunately this feature seems to only be on the more expensive boards since AM5.

21 minutes ago, howevr said:

Not sure what your backup solution is.

I have a Synology NAS drive for backing up 4 PCs used for various tasks. Recently upgraded to a 6Tb RAID 1. It also holds all my music.

23 minutes ago, howevr said:

I think of them as the modern version of BIOS beep tones. Instead of 2 short and 1 long beep indicating a memory error problem you get a led readout on the motherboard showing a number. if the number gets stuck you can look it up in the MB manual. Unfortunately this feature seems to only be on the more expensive boards since AM5.

Ah, thanks. Given it will be professionally built and thoroughly tested before dispatch it’s unlikely I’ll encounter any problems. My current one has been problem free for over 4 years. 

I went with a AMD Chipset last nov for the 1st time since using FS5, Ive always used intel.

Much to my surprise its paid off, its running a max sliders with all the payware Ive collected the past dozen yrs that P3D v5 runs.

I went with a 7950X and run it a variable frequency from 5 to 5.5 with the RTX3090ti all water cooled as it never gets below 20*c inside the house in winter 

The highest temp i get is 78*c

to say the least I'm more than impressed

I've used both Intel and AMD over the last 26 years. My first AMD build was the Athlon XP 1900+ back in 2002. I myself have always preferred AMD. But honestly, both have performed well for my needs in Flight Simulation.

Edited April 9, 20233 yr by YukonPete

On 4/8/2023 at 11:23 AM, Ray Proudfoot said:

@Samaritano, I would prefer G Skill memory like you. This search reveals multiple choices for DDR5 6000 memory. Which is the fastest?

https://www.gskill.com/configurator?page=2&cls=1529635169&manufacturer=1524725352&chipset=1663552665&model=1663555242

I went with

F5-6000J3040F16GX2-TZ5K     -- this is a G.Skill Trident Z5 2x16 kit of DDR5 6000 CL30

It was 1) on the QVL list for my motherboard, and 2) had AMD Expo modes (versus XMP), 3) had slightly better sub-timings, which are reportedly a plus for AM5.   #1 are #2 are obviously the most important criteria for me, as I want to fly and not be bothered by memory compatibility issues.

I did almost go for some of the Corsair sticks.  Probably one of the Vengeance sets but I can't remember exactly which one.  As long as the memory is on your motherboards Qualified Vendor List then I think you'll be ok. 

 

On 4/8/2023 at 5:21 PM, Ray Proudfoot said:

I have a Synology NAS drive for backing up 4 PCs used for various tasks. Recently upgraded to a 6Tb RAID 1. It also holds all my music.

What backup software do you use with that NAS?

I'm considering such a solution as well.  Currently I have a USB2.0 external hard drive of 4TB in size.  And I have Macrium Reflect but am lazy/tardy about making backups.

3 hours ago, Mace said:

What backup software do you use with that NAS?

I'm considering such a solution as well.  Currently I have a USB2.0 external hard drive of 4TB in size.  And I have Macrium Reflect but am lazy/tardy about making backups.

AOMEI Backupper. Free for home use. I go for the simple option of Disk Copy which makes an exact copy of the SSD irrespective of how many volumes.

https://www.aomeitech.com/aomei-backupper.html

RAID1 on a NAS box ensures even if one drive fails you don’t lose anything as one drive mirrors the other. I have two 6Tb HDDs in a Synology DS220+.

Hi Ray,

I am also looking forward to your thoughts on this set up, I have been away from P3D for a few years and have decided to take early retirement in July and might try getting back into flight sim again with MSFS, I have a 6700 overclocked to 4.9 and a 1080ti so very slightly behind you so it would be interesting to see how you find the set up in general was well as P3D.

I am using a 40" monitor at 4K so was wondering if a Ryzen 9 7950X3D may be better for me, but I assume the 4090 would take care of that.

Many thanks, Steve 

Edited May 7, 20233 yr by smerriman
Add in monitor spec

Boot Guard Keys From MSI Hack Posted, Many PCs Vulnerable | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

12 hours ago, smerriman said:

Hi Ray,

I am also looking forward to your thoughts on this set up, I have been away from P3D for a few years and have decided to take early retirement in July and might try getting back into flight sim again with MSFS, I have a 6700 overclocked to 4.9 and a 1080ti so very slightly behind you so it would be interesting to see how you find the set up in general was well as P3D.

I am using a 40" monitor at 4K so was wondering if a Ryzen 9 7950X3D may be better for me, but I assume the 4090 would take care of that.

Many thanks, Steve 

Steve, since I posted I’ve had a change of heart and will likely go with Intel. The i9-13900K looks favourite. Bear in mind this is because I intend to stay with P3D. It will be some time, if ever, before I buy MSFS and P3D will still remain my preferred sim.

At 4K the 4090 would probably be better. I have little knowledge of AMD GPUs.

If MSFS is your preference the AMD would probably be best.

10 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

since I posted I’ve had a change of heart and will likely go with Intel

Funny enough, in-between cleaning the cars and cutting the grass, I spent a lot of time yesterday looking at reviews, like you I have no experience with AMD, reading about the Ryzen suddenly overheating and melting, (it looks like that could be fixed with a BIOS update) I understand the 13900 can run a little hot so needs a good cooler, but already having a chip that runs at just under 5ghz (I understand it is an old generation) I don't think I have ever gone so long without updating, it seems a bit strange to get one that runs at the same speed, it will not only be used for flight sim which I understand the Ryzen may be the better choice, so I am sat one the fence at the moment but I think it may be a 13900   

@smerriman, Steve, the i7-13900K can be overclocked to nearly 6Ghz which is a big improvement (20%+) over my current 8086K at 4.9. Then you have increased amounts of cache which will boost performance plus DDR5 memory over DDR4.

The combination of all three should give a healthy improvement. Plus I won’t be pushing for max fps as that causes stuttering. I’m happy with 30fps which will mean even with most sliders fully right the CPU and GPU won’t be flat out.

How P3Dv6 will change things is unknown. Hopefully performance will continue to move upwards just as it did from v4 to v5.

Chillblast will be consulted about the best cooling options.