destro87

Thanks Ryan.... Will stick with the Noctua for sure then.

Thanks for the replies guys. Does anyone think I would do better with my current Noctua NH D-14 or an H100 for cooling as far as overclocking? I would like to get up to at least 4.5 Ghz... And I did purchase the i5 3570K along with the Asus board yesterday. Just waiting for the memory from Newegg as Micro Center does not carry that brand. I have to admit though, I almost purchased the i7 3770K, but ultimately felt I didn't need it if I'm only running FSX and possibly FS9 on the system. Also, can anyone point me to a good place for overclocking as this will be my first time. I have had other people overclock for me in the past but would like to learn and take a crack at it.

I think I will be going with these components unless anyone suggests otherwise. I plan to pick up the motherboard and cpu at Micro Center... CASE: Cooler Master HAF X Already have COOLER: Noctua NH-D14 Already have GPU: EVGA GTX480 Already have PSU: Corsiar Gold AX850 Already have MOBO:Asus P8Z77-V CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K RAM:8GB DDR3 2400 Since I am only using this for FSX, I was wondering if there's a reason why I souldn't get an I7 2700K. Aslo, will the GTX 480 bottleneck this system?

Thanks Ben. I did however actually plan on keeping the Noctua NH D-14 as its been flawlwess. Since I have a micro center near by, I thought about the Asrock Extreme 4. There's a deal for 50 bucks off if you buy the processor with it. Any thoughts? Been off the scene for a while, but I'm continuing to do some research.

I plan on selling current motherboard and processor. Just don't want to spend money on any components that I don't need. I'll say budget is about 800.00 give or take. Thanks

Hi Gents, I currently have a 17 950 in an Asus PX58D Premium motherboard, AX850 Power Supply, GTX 480, 2x Vrap,s 300GB each (FS9 and one for FSX ) , Intel SSD 80GB (for Windows), Noctua NH D-14 in a Cooler Master HAF X and would like to upgrade. I don't do any video editing or anything like that and do have a Micro Center near by. This PC will be used for FSX and surfing the net. Just looking for some good options for a nice upgrade from where I am at right now. Thanks guys, any help with this is most appreciated.

Hey Gerard, thanks for starting this thread as I too have been contemplating whether or not to upgrade and have a similar system to you own. I think I will also wait for the Ivy B.

Ok thanks yellowjack

I had my heart set on the Gigabyte ud5 motherboard as it seems to be fairly good and offering alot of features. The reviews on newegg seem fair but there are also alot of bad reviews. Any thoughts on that guys? I'm also looking at the Asus P6X58D-E which seems to be a good deal. Rampage extreme ii and iii seem a little like overkill for me.Lyndon

Oh, that's because Microcenter has the i7 950 for $229.00 and the i7 930 is only $199.00 so it's really not that much of a price difference.Lyndon Yeah true... I wonder when that one comes out?

I'm going to go with the MSI GTX480. Yeah I think it makes more sense (for me) to go with the i7 950 since ther's only minimal extra peformance with the 980x. Plus I have a microcenter near where I live and they sell the 950 at a good price.

Hahaha. You guys are funny. The wife and kids have all they need at the moment. This is a gift to myself. I know I ask a lot of questions but what do you guys think of the 980x versus the 950. Thinkin about getting a 980 instead but don't wanna waste money if when overclocked the same, both chips yield the same results. I promise that's my last dilemma. Lyndon

Really? Even with a monitor with the resolution I have? So confusing. I initially had my heart set on a gtx 480, but heard it never really made a difference with fs. Oh well.Lyndon

Fair enough, I'm going to purchase the card, hopefully tommorrow. I'm just waiting for some funds which should be in my hand by the end of the day. I just want the something really excellent for my monitor size and resolution.Lyndon

I think I may just go for a gtx460 then since my only game is flightsim which is played on a 22 inch monitor. Any suggestions on the best and most powerfull GTX 460? I'm thinking one of the EVGA's superclocked. Thanks again for all the help guys. Much appreciated.

So are you saying it could go either way then with both my current monitor size and resolution. I may not upgrade the monitor for a while. I don't want to purchase something which I don't need. Thanks again for the repliy and the help.Lyndon

Thank you guys for all the advice. Luckyman, my resolution in FS (9) (10) will be 1680 x 1050, at least that's where it's at right now with my monitor. And John thank's, I'm looking forward to using that motherboard.Lyndon

Thanks for the replies guys and responding so quickly. Yes I did plan on overclocking the i7 950 and purchasing the MSI GTX 480 as I have read good reviews compared to the EVGA 480's. The MSI appears to be the best bang for the buck, please tell me whether you disagree or not. The board I'm going to be upgrading to is the Gigabyte X58 UD5. For the cooling I will go with the Hydro H70. I'm also goint to go with 2 120GB Gskill SSD's, Corsair AX850 power supply and either mushkin or Gskill memory all in a Cooler Master HAF X case. Lyndon

Hello everyone, I am currently selling my old GTX 280 video card and wanted some advice on a new one. I was thinking about either getting a GTX 460 or a GTX 480. I have a wide screen monitor at 22 inches. What would be your recommendation? I am also in the process of purchasing a i7 950 chip as well. I may upgrade my monitor in the future to a 24 or possibly a 27 inch in the near future. Will I see any significant results for Flight Simulator (9) (X) having either card with those monitor sizes? Thanks in advance. This is a very informative and friendly forum and I have already learned so much in such little time.Lyndon

There is a new update to contrails pro, which solves the texture flashing bug.

Thanks Art, I guess you do have a good point.

Ok thanks for the info. I'm almost wishing I'd gone with a 9xx series as it seems to be a better choice. I have no problems with my system, however I feel as though I might have had better performance with an i7 920 or 930. O well guess I'm stuck with what I have for a while as I can't use the 9xx CPU with the motherboard I have.Myron P.

Thanks Peter. I surfed the net on this and it appears to be the subject of alot of debate regarding which is the better CPU, the i7 860 compared to the i7 920.Myron P

I hope this doesn't sound like a dumb question for you pros, but I wanted to know what the difference is with an i7 860 compared to an i7 920 or 930 and other 900 series. Is it due to the upgrade ability?I recently had a new gaming computer built and the builder recommended and built an i7 860 overclocked @ 4GHz, Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4P LGA1156, G.SKILL Ripjaws 4GB (2x2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR31600, GTX 280 Superclocked, WD Velociraptor 300GB and WD Caviar Black, Intel X25-M Maintsream SSD 80GB, 750 Watt, Windows 7 Ultimate, Corsair Cooling Hydro CPU cooler in a Cooler Master HF 932 Case.So far the computer works well, just wondering whether I should have pushed for aan intel 900 series GPU.Any help or insight much appreciated as there is a wealth of knowledge at these forums. Thanks,Myron P.

Congrats....Myron