Brentd2183

Well placed the order today. I upgraded to a I5-760.I5-760Asus P7P55D-E ProHyper 212 plus coolerAntec 300G.Skill 4GB 1600EVGA 460 GTX 1gbCrucial 64GB SSDCOrsair 650 watt23.6 ASUS widescreenWindows 7Arctic silverAdditional case fans with dust filters.Right now my entire Xplane, FS9, and FSX folders total 36 gigs. I'll have a 500GB sata drive for the rest.I think this will do me very well and will report back. I certainly dont push my system, no photo scenery, no AI, no complex addons, no additional programs running in the background, just basic VFR helicopter flights.

Ok so 64 bit home premium it is, and yes the case is full atx and the board is full atx. No worries, i have a WD500AACS 500gig sata 3 HDD sitting around that i plan on putting the OS and everything else on, the SSD will be reserved for FS9, FSX and xplane.

Good, which version do you have? Home or Pro?

Yes i do, i dont plan on pushing it to far though, maybe 3.7 or so. Of course i realize i have completely forgetten about an operating system. Windows 7, but home or pro? I plan on 64 bit but reading reviews people have issues with 64 bit and simple things like youtube. Any advice?

Ok so I've been reading and shopping and have a new layout.CPU:I5-750MB: ASUS P7P55D-E-ProFan: Cooler master hyper 212 plusPaste:Arctic silverCase: Antec 300Memory: G.Skill 4GB ripsaw 1600mhzVideo Card: EVGA Geforce GTX 460 1GBCD Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1STHard drive: Crucial 128GB SSD Sata3Power Supply: Corsair 650 wattMonitor: ASUS 23.6 inch WidescreenNewegg total of around $1304. Things look ok? Case is shown to be 8.1 inches wide and the heatsink setup around 5.It's a little bit more than i was thinking, but my last computer went for 8 years and i think should be good for along time.

Alright so all i do with FS9 or FSX is low level helicopter flying, no AI, no complex scenery or addons but i am finally upgrading on a budget. Currently have a AMD Athlon 3000xp @ 2.1gh with a Geforce 7800GS AGP card, 2 gigs of ram. This what i have so far.CPU: I5-650MB: ASUS P7P55D proVideo: GTX 460?? Someone want to suggest what best matches?Case: Antec 300Memory: G.Skill 4gb ripsaw 1600Fan: Zerotherm Core 92 HDTHD: Western digital 640GB 7200rpm sata 3New egg shows somewhere in the $760ish range. Im sure this will cover my needs, but i want to make sure everything works well together, everything fits in the case etc. Also what brand for the video card?

Bruce, thats good to hear. I just ran the virtual mark test that runs in flash, got a 2500. Seems pretty low, digging around it seems similar setups for what i want are around 15000. Not sure how much that translates to the FS world but sure seems alot faster. Any advice on the OS? Vista or windows 7? Im going 64 bit either way, mainly worried about drivers for things like trackIR, my joysticks and pedals. Again, how about brand of VC, seems to be alot of choices as far as Nvida goes. BFG? EVGA? Does it even make a difference?

Ryan, this is the first version of the list i put out here. I know alot of people on the board have done similar setups in the past, most have moved onto newer hardware. I was looking for people who built similar systems and if they saw any problems or have better suggestions for making sure all my parts play well together. I just dont think those people have come through here just yet. Basically im looking for someone to come in here and be like, nope no problem that case fits that VC easy, watch out for the tabs on the heatsink and make sure you install this part first before doing the MB. One of those posts that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside before you drop a chunk of change........literally.

Come on now guys, if there was ever a post where a debate along these lines should show up, this is not it. Lets keep the "i bet your system cant do this" posts out of my coming out of the stone age topic. Now i do like seeing these topics now and then to see just what technology has gotten us to lately, just not here. Now do you guys see any foreseeable problems with my step up above? Intel heatsink experience? Maybe a better brand memory? Thoughts on which maker on my video card? Everyone on here has a a good chunk of knowledge, and about once a year i tap it. Thanks. Oh and one day i do wish i could spend $1000 on a chip, ive seen people buy paintings for many thousands and frankly what is your painting doing for you lately?$1000 chip? Surely bragging rights, sure a few oddball looks, but if you can swing it? Go for it.

I was thinking that very thing later on today Art. But the words cheap, noisy, and a pain to install seem to follow the stock intel fan and heatsinks. But i havent seen or install one so if you say stock will do me fine then i'll trust you on it. Yes i've been following Mike's 975 post and its amazing the amount of power....money... its takes to run the best of the best to the max. I probably wont even tax my system to even half what some of the big iron guys do. Im normally out in the bush or small urban areas just tooling around. I've never so much as been to any of the big airport or cities, i dont bother with the AI at all or traffic. So I'm just going to sit and brew over this setup for the week, see what this post develops as far as better combos or pricing. If everything seems to play well with each other hopefully I'll make a trip to the bank with the change and get some good laughs. Thanks guys.

E8500--$180Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P---$135GSkill 4GB ram, DDR2-1066---$55.00EVGA- Geforce GTX260-896MB---$185Samsung DVD burner----$25.00Artic Silver----$18.00Artic cooling freezer 7 pro---$32.00Antec Sonata Elite case and Antec TP-650 PS-$165Windows Vista 64 bit for builders---$100.00Total $895.00 Thats what im starting off with now, mainly looking for people to make sure all these pieces play well with each other. Making sure the video card fits the case, cooling fan clearances, all that odd ball stuff you dont think of till you build it. Yes Art its a nice system, but a few years old top of the line system. It scares me to see just a single processer out there costing $200 more than what im putting an entire system together for. Granted, those guys can turn every slider to the right and fly with massive addons and need that last bit of power. Im actually paying for this in spare change, literally. Been saving quarters, nickles and dimes for years and this is a little present to myself. I built the last system just out of high school for right under a grand and has lasted this long, only updated the video card and added memory over the years.

Ok so i put this together.E8500--$180Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P---$135GSkill 4GB ram, DDR2-1066---$55.00EVGA- Geforce GTX260-896MB---$185Pioneer DVD burner----$43.00Artic Silver----$18.00I do need suggestions for the heatsink/fan and power supply. To many to choose from, and from a website i really dont need alot of watts, maybe 450, so i'll go for a 650 or so. Also i want 64 bit operating system, but which one. Xp, Vista, or 7.Let me know if i need anything else. I'm will to go for a new case if it come with a quality power supply otherwise i'll just stick with mine. Thanks.

Nice shot Alex, yes these computers still do wonders. At school i see students walk in with their $2000 laptops and i help them install FS9 or FSX and its just sad to see the performance. To all the fan talk, yes totally makes sense about what you are saying. The only thing was that there was no other air anywhere entering the system. Completely sealed system except for that one small exhaust fan, my plan was to put a big fan on the front of the case where all the extra drive bays were to suck air in, and then let the little one suck it out. I must admit i did have a serious dust problem. Ok so now it seems there are so many options to put together a E8500 system. My routine has been seaching and seeing who has built what, also going to Newegg and seeing what other people bought when buying an E8500. Basically i need good suggestions for a motherboard, memory, video card, heat sink/fan, power supply. I have made lists of setups none of which are in front of me now. Ill go see what i can put together and post it back here.

Current system is a AMD Athlon 3000XP, 3 gigs of ram and a G7600 AGP card on N7N2 delta board. Has done me well for 6 or more years. Im mainly a FS9 user, but do like to use FSX. Im a helicopter pilot and as such i typically keep all AI off, i never use high end add on airport scenery. I like to fly around 1500 feet at 150 knots from my hospital sceneries so i do not need the same demands as lot of people who post on here. I'd like to start planning a new system, budget is about $900-$950. Looks like a build around a E8500 is my best bet. No plans to go I7 at all, put it this way, the way i play FSX it runs pretty well on my system so that shows you just how little i toss at my computer when i run it. I also do not plan on OC at all, i think just getting a nice solid modern setup with quality pieces will do me well. Also need to factor in Window Vista 64 bit, XP 64 or Windows 7 64 bit whatever you think is best. Thanks. I'm planning on putting my SATA HD in the new machine, i have a IDE DVD RW drive that probably needs replacing. My case is nice, but only has a 3.5 inch case fan in the back of it I've removed the side plexi insert and replaced it with a piece of window screen to also help with ventilation. If possible a 3.5 floppy drive will go in the machine. Thanks in advance, doesnt take to much to keep me happy, seeing 20frames is very acceptable to me and have used to that since FS98.

Update again, reading my motherboard book i see i have one AGP slot. Then five PCI slots followed by a ACR1 slot. So all you smart people out there can tell me what my next step is.

Glad someone noticed that for me, yes i have an agp 8x port. So what....or where would i find on that site the AGP version of that card? Maybe a direct link if someone's really feeling good?

Great answers everyone, these forums really are a great resource.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814130064So this is the card im looking for right?

Hey i want to upgrade the video card i have now, a Geforce 5600 256 to something alittle better. I dont want anything near the top of the line but this card limits me in terms of what i can do for quality in FSX so i want something maybe up to $100 or so that is better than mine. Maybe i'll get whatever the lowest 512mb card is? Little help? I used to be good with building computers back when it was the Voodoo 3 and 4 and so on, highernumber better card and thats all there was too it. Specs if it matters.AMD Atholon XP3000+MSI K7N2 delta board.1GB ramMaxtor 80 gig hardriveAlso on a side note, how low end is this system, from the specs i see people throwing around now i'd say its on the bottom.

Hmmmmm well at least im not the only one. I downloaded the latest drivers to from Nvidia the other day just to make sure. Now im not using 2.0, i have water set to zero. Or is there another way to enable the shader 2 on our cards just to check it out. Otherwise i might just upgrade the video card, not by much just up a couple steps i still want to save the real money for the dx10 vista whatever system.

Update.....It seems that it is only the daytime texture that is missing. This also goes for my taxiway signs as well. I was flying at all time of day and they all work, but as i was flying in the morning i was watching the bridge and the clock hit 6:58am eastern local time i watched a new set of textures load over the landscape and my bridges went white. The taxi way signs also are missing their textures. Could this be a bad install or what? I maxed out everything but cant do a thing. Here's my specs in case it makes a differenceAMD 3000geforce FX56001 gig ram.

i envy you and your system, i wish mine could look that! But yup those are them. It everywhere, anything autogen in relation to roads....bridges or overpasses. They do appear at night though, i'll dig alittle more but its those daytime textures that dont make it. They are just missing everywhere, odd. Thanks for posting those shots though, looks awesome!

Title says it all, my autogen bridges lack textures. I might get a side or two of a bridge but the roaddeck and the supports are dead white. The bridges im talking about are in the Worcester, MA area to the east of Worcester airport. Any suggestions?