Fragmentum

Thanks for the help Peter. I will make the changes and monitor my system for operation. I had two USB Root Hubs that were ticked, so I unticked them.... Don

I have been noting that my Saitek X52 PRO (two months old) drops off line from time-to-time regardless of which USB port I plug it into. Please see my signature for my hardware setup. Anyone else experiencing this anomaly? Don

I have been noting that my Saitek X52 PRO (two months old) drops off line from time-to-time regardless of which USB port I plug it into. Please see my signature for my hardware setup. Anyone else experiencing this anomaly? Don

Absolutely! All except for the fact I cannot afford ALL the payware I want!!! I have had "0" install issues with Win 7 64-bit, except add on scenery issue. That has been discussed elsewhere here on the forum. I have not had to disable UAC.

I would not do this. When you install add-on software with a self installer, it will look for the default location. Don't make it any more difficult than necessary for the install.

Brandon, Just finished building my new system and it is powerful and quite without overclocking, and my FSX sliders are maxed!!! I can overclock this system but why??? I get fabulous performance with this set up. Check my signature for the recipe of parts I used and look them up on your favorite reseller (mine is NewEgg). Don't wait for Ivy Bridge. If you do decide to upgrade to Ivy Bridge in the future, this motherboard will take that chip! Fragmentum

My issue has been that my computer would not wake from sleep. After pressing the sleep button I would get a double boot action but would not continue to GUI. I would have to press reset button at least twice to get it to boot up. I would get the screen choice to 'repair the OS' or 'delete configuration and continue to OS'. I would choose the later and computer would boot to OS. This morning I went into BIOS and reset all configurations to default and will see what this system does over the weekend. BIOS version is the latest on this POS P8Z68-V Gen3. It is not overclocked at this point, either.

Absolutely Sweet!!!

I have been quite happy with my new unit, and did NOT have to overclock to get GREAT performance from almost maxed out sliders in FSX. I do max out my sliders in FS9 though. See my signature for the recipe. And by all means, do not wait for Ivy Bridge technology. It will be premium priced when it first hits the market and you don't really need it for FSX. You can overclock if you want to, to achieve some sort of overclock parameters, but not necessary to boost current hardware to achieve FSX/FS9 nirvana...

My Intel i5-2500K did not have any thermal paste applied to it but the cooling fan included with the CPU did have a pre-applied patch of some thermal compound on it that transferred to the CPU when the fan was mated to it and the motherboard. You would also get some thermal past provided with most aftermarket coolers.I have read that the Arctic Silver 5 is the best around at this stage.

So, what hardware DO you have?

Lots of opinions in both negative and positive case pressure camps hereIMHO I would opt for the negative pressure insuring positive airflow through the case, and clean out any excessive dust buildup over time.

I am not impressed with this case 'thermal efficiency' Two larger fans pulling in cooling air with only two smaller fans pushing out heated air still spells 'positive pressure' inside the case causing stagnating hot air lurking inside. Ideally you want a negative airspace inside for efficient airflow management with no hot spots in corners. The addition of the PSU cannot be considered because its' fan, if and when it is operating needs to be managing its' own heat issues.If the the two 120mm fans have to run at higher RPM to move the CFM from the front two 140mm fans then your having to use more energy and possibly higher noise levels as well to get that hot air out. An external liquid cooling system may be the only cure for this case for an efficient FSX OC system. IMHO of course...

Fabian,I am putting together a new FSX system as well and after exhaustive research I found that an Intel CPU based system will outperform and AMD system by a long shot. As you read the posts of many that are in this forum and the different mixes of their systems (in their signatures) you will see this as well. Read my recipe in my signature as a guide.Good luck with your build in any case.

nudata, did you decide on a case yet? I got my Antec P183 V3 case in and it looks sweet on the inside and out, but more important, the cable routing and separate compartment for the PSU makes the heat management simpler and quieter. There is a great review of this case at SPCR. I cut the metal fan hub 'Star' out with a large pair of dikes and that will eliminate airflow impedance and the noise described in the review. I also installed two Antec TrueQuiet 120 fans in the front two lower bays to pull in fresh cooler air for the PSU and the upper chamber. I plan to mount any HDD's in the lower chamber and cool them with the same air that gets to the PSU.