Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - The MD-11 Chief Pilot PC Build for 2011

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | The MD-11 Chief Pilot PC Build for 2011

DVA5661
Senior Captain, B737-800
OLP, COMM

Joined on March 07 2008
50 State Club
Online Triple Century Club
Flying Colonel
Everett Millennium Club
Globetrotter
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
Two Million Mile Club

"737 or MD-11, how far you wanna go?"
Melbourne, FL USA

1,928 legs, 4,823.7 hours
304 legs, 639.9 hours online
1,880 legs, 4,735.4 hours ACARS
19 legs, 40.9 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 11 2011 18:20 ET by Vic DeSantis

I have scheduled Sunday, January 16th, 2011 as the date for this year's new PC Build. I am sharing this information with all of you as a point of reference (only). My parts are ordered and on the dining room table waiting be assembled. I am not trying to open a discussion about "you should have done this, or I prefer that." After much research and input from trusted DVA members (you know who you are) this is simply the system and components I settled on. Again, I am posting this here as an aid for any of you considering a PC build in the future. Both your results and preferences may vary...and that is OKAY! P.S. I am not a PC Guru by any means and there are many members at DVA who have extensive experience in this area. You should seek them out for guidance as I did.

TOWER (Case): Coolermaster HAF 932 Blue

CPU: Intel i7-960 @ 3.2 GHz

GPU: EVGA nVidia GTX 470 - Superclocked

MOBO: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R onboard acceleration (USB 3.0) SLI Ready LGA 1366

PSU: Corsair HX 1000 Watt Power Supply

MEDIA Drive: HP bd240i - Blue Ray DVD/CD/CD-ROM, DVD-R/CD-R reader/writer Combo Drive with Lightscribe

HDD
(Operating System): One (1) 428 Gb Western Digital Velociraptor at 10,000 RPM (OS: Windows 7 64-Bit)

SSD: Crucial 128 Gb Solid State Drive (FSX only)

RAM: 8 Gb (4 x 2) G.Skill Ripjaws RAM (posting in dual channel configuration initially, may move to tri-channel later, we'll see) I am going to run this for a month before and anticipated transition to 12 Gb's of Corsair Dominator RAM in tri-channel config.

CPU Cooler: One CoolIT ECO-120 Advanced Liquid Colling System ( for overclocking of the CPU)

Construction Note: The HAF 932 comes with a rear 140 mm fan. The 120mm fan/radiator combo of the CoolIT CPU cooler is going into the space and fortunately HAF designed the case with additional premade 120mm screw holes. One additional 120mm Coolermaster fan was also purchased and will be mounted on the opposite side of the CoolIT radiator (as recommended by that company) for a push/pull air flow predicted to have up to an additional 8 degree (celcius) downward temp affect on the chip. This remains to be seen, but come on the 120mm fan was like $12 bucks...why not. This will be my FSX PC only. I am keeping my current system for FS9 flying as well and for all my personal computing needs.

If this helps you in any way, or gives you food for thought while thinking about doing it yourself, then my mission is complete. There are alot of companies who will give you this very same rig...only for a few thousand extra dollars worth of their time.

Vic DeSantis (DVA5661)

DVA3196
Senior Captain, MD-11
OLP, COMM

Joined on June 03 2006
Online Double Century Club
50 State Club
Six Century Club

"pitchpowertrim.com"
Anderson, MO

619 legs, 1,093.4 hours
292 legs, 503.1 hours online
580 legs, 1,026.5 hours ACARS
89 legs, 191.0 hours event
236 legs dispatched, 110.1 hours

Posted onPost created on January 11 2011 18:24 ET by Michael Brown

Good choices Chief!! cool

Posted onPost created on January 11 2011 18:30 ET by Vic DeSantis

Thanks Mike! I actually get pretty decent frames from the HP h8400F Media Center PC I am on now. Considering I am running a 2.2 Ghz processor on 6 Gigs of RAM, it is pretty decent with some tweaks. I am anxious to see how the new rig performs!

Vic DeSantis (DVA5661)

Posted onPost created on January 11 2011 18:39 ET by Michael Brown

Yes!...please let us know what your new FPS are.

I too want to build a new system....but first I'm buying a motorcycle wink

....then perhaps in Feb. on to a new PC

Michael Brown (DVA3196)

DVA2701
Senior Captain, B777-200
OLP

Joined on November 21 2005
50 State Club
Everett 500 Club
Million Mile Club
Globetrotter
Online Nine Century
Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

Denver, CO

1,041 legs, 3,309.1 hours
997 legs, 3,153.7 hours online
1,020 legs, 3,263.5 hours ACARS
21 legs, 38.4 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 11 2011 19:26 ET by Dean Shultz

Pics, or it never happened! wink

Posted onPost created on January 11 2011 19:39 ET by Vic DeSantis

Dean, I was planning on taking some pics of the build. I'll get some of the pre-unboxed components before we start tearing them open!

Vic DeSantis (DVA5661)

DVA7729
Senior Captain, B777-200
OLP

Joined on September 09 2009
50 State Club
Triple Century Club
Online Triple Century Club
Globetrotter

"Roar like GE-90s!"
Mississauga, ON Canada

396 legs, 1,741.6 hours
380 legs, 1,692.7 hours online
391 legs, 1,702.2 hours ACARS
46 legs, 113.8 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 11 2011 20:32 ET by Shahzeb Bhutto

That's super awesome rig there Vic smile

The MD-11 is gonna fly like a beast now wink

DVA2370
Senior Captain, B737-800
OLP, COMM, VFRADV

Joined on May 26 2005
Online Triple Century Club
Commuter Conquest
Six Century Club
Stage 1 Prop Triple Century Club
50 State Club
US Coastal Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

Flagler Beach, FL USA

675 legs, 726.8 hours
319 legs, 311.4 hours online
179 legs, 146.1 hours ACARS
1 legs, 1.6 hours event
0 legs dispatched, 4.0 hours

Posted onPost created on January 11 2011 20:53 ET by Scott Clarke

I guess your are the reason that Duke Power and Progress Energy are merging to be able to provide enough power to the Florida east coast to carry this rig... I believe the technician is really an under the table security guard to make sure no one takes your new rig! razz

DVA4965
Senior Captain, B737-800

Joined on September 07 2007
Online Quintuple Century Club
Million Mile Club
Millennium Club
Everett Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

Saratoga Springs, UT USA

1,195 legs, 3,500.8 hours
566 legs, 825.5 hours online
1,174 legs, 3,437.6 hours ACARS
26 legs, 51.6 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 11 2011 21:48 ET by Alan Cluff

Good stuff Vic. That second PC will make a good Widefs workstation for running everything else.

Alan Cluff

Senior Captain, B737-800

Posted onPost created on January 12 2011 07:28 ET by Vic DeSantis

Alan, actually I had forgotten all about that! It will save a ton of time migrating FSCommander, ASE, and all these other support programs I have accumulated along the way. Brilliant..and thanks. I have been so focused on one aspect of the project I failed to see the big picture possibility.

Scott, if anyone can get past him and take this rig without leaving a good amount of DNA behind, I wish them the best of luck. As his yard sign points out to potential interlopers..."I can make it to the fence in 2.5 seconds. Can you?"

Vic DeSantis (DVA5661)

DVA1882
Senior Captain, MD-11
OLP

Joined on September 09 2004
Online Quadruple Century Club
Long Beach 500 Club
50 State Club
Iron Dispatcher
Millennium Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary

"MD-11 rules!!!!"
San Luis Potosí, Mexico

1,081 legs, 1,637.0 hours
426 legs, 601.5 hours online
787 legs, 1,085.2 hours ACARS
12 legs, 28.5 hours event
558 legs dispatched, 225.6 hours

Posted onPost created on January 12 2011 15:00 ET by Horacio Meza-Velarde

I love German Shepherds!!!!

BTW, nice rig!! smile

Salud!

DVA2533
Senior Captain, EMB-120
OLP, COMM

Joined on July 27 2005
50 State Club
Globetrotter
Commuter Conquest
Dorval 500 Club
US Coastal Club
Online Fifteen Century
US Mountaineer Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Bi-Millennium Club

Winter Springs, FL USA

2,087 legs, 2,752.1 hours
1,762 legs, 2,302.1 hours online
1,905 legs, 2,467.0 hours ACARS
29 legs, 31.6 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 14 2011 21:56 ET by Jim Warner

Vic, my fingers are slipping on the keyboard with all my drooling! Nice build. Now you can't use the "slow machine" excuse any more. Enjoy!

Jim Warner

Senior Captain, EMB-120

DVA5656
Captain, B757-200

Joined on February 08 2008
Everett 500 Club
Online Six Century Club
Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Two Million Mile Club

"||||"
Atlanta, GA USA

1,424 legs, 4,775.0 hours
629 legs, 2,134.7 hours online
1,312 legs, 4,451.1 hours ACARS
13 legs, 27.6 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 16 2011 13:51 ET by Alex Dean

But can it play Tetris?

Alex Dean

Captain, B757-200

DVA4595
Senior Captain, A320
OLP

Joined on June 15 2007
B757 100 Club
Everett 500 Club
Tri-Jet Triumph
50 State Club
Millennium Club
Online Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Event Half Century Club

"How 'bout them Dawgs?"
Cumming, GA

1,370 legs, 1,903.7 hours
1,273 legs, 1,764.9 hours online
1,323 legs, 1,832.7 hours ACARS
52 legs, 95.6 hours event
3 legs dispatched, 10.8 hours

Posted onPost created on January 16 2011 14:11 ET by Mark Springsteen

Im so jealous!

Mark Springsteen (DVA4595)

DVA7343
Captain, B777-200
OLP

Joined on May 16 2009
50 State Club
Globetrotter
Triple Century Club

"It's not a job but an adventure "
Lugoff, SC USA

368 legs, 798.4 hours
39 legs, 73.8 hours online
358 legs, 777.7 hours ACARS
1 legs, 2.9 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 16 2011 15:22 ET by John Morris

That is a great system Vic

John Morris

Captain, B777-200

Posted onPost created on January 17 2011 18:49 ET by Vic DeSantis

Built yesterday! Running today (after hours of reinstalling FS add-ons!). I will post some in-progress shots of me and the other dummy putting it together. Turned on and posted correctly the first time, which means we got lucky. FSX has never looked to good. I just flew from SLC to LAS and got 60 fps. Sliders maxed...REX, UTX, GEX, QW757...not too shabby.

Vic DeSantis (DVA5661)

Posted onPost created on January 17 2011 22:00 ET by Scott Clarke

Great News! With all the house fires reported in your area, was wondering if it was you and your new machine....I need to visit to investigate...let me know when the K-9 is at the groomer .... biggrin

DVA5212
Captain, B757-200

Joined on June 05 2007
Century Club

"Flaps? 25. Gear? Down and Locked? Coffee? Hot."
Brooklyn, NY USA

118 legs, 200.1 hours
36 legs, 72.4 hours online
116 legs, 197.2 hours ACARS
1 legs, 10.0 hours event
713 legs, 1,390.5 hours total

Posted onPost created on January 18 2011 08:17 ET by James Lightbody

Awesome rig Vic!!

James Lightbody (DVA5212)

DVA3672
Senior Captain, A320
OLP
E-MAIL

Joined on October 29 2006
B757 100 Club
50 State Club
Two Million Mile Club
Bi-Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
US Capital Club
Toulouse Millennium Club
Online Fifteen Century

"Chris, NOT in Seattle"
Northeastern United States

2,534 legs, 6,223.1 hours
1,537 legs, 3,252.2 hours online
2,243 legs, 5,407.0 hours ACARS
4 legs, 6.0 hours event
2 legs dispatched, 19.5 hours

Posted onPost created on January 20 2011 14:55 ET by Chris Frasure

Brings back memories and a tear to my eye. Too bad I haven't flown in a long time. Too busy with the kids right now. Hopefully I'll be up in the virtual skies soon and we can link up for an MD-11 flight. One old CP and the current CP trying to figure out who Mark is.

CF

DVA3931
Senior Captain, L-1011-100
OLP, COMM

Joined on January 19 2007
50 State Club
Tri-Jet Triumph
Million Mile Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
Flying Colonel
Globetrotter
Burbank 500 Club
Eurocap Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

"De oppresso liber"
Surry, ME

1,882 legs, 3,806.7 hours
478 legs, 767.8 hours online
1,107 legs, 1,674.5 hours ACARS
55 legs, 114.8 hours event
195 legs dispatched, 134.4 hours

Posted onPost created on January 20 2011 15:34 ET by Andrew Kaufmann

hey CF! nice to see you snooping about!

Andrew Kaufmann (DVA3931)

DVA3710
Senior Captain, DC-6
OLP, COMM

Joined on November 12 2006
B757 100 Club
50 State Club
Quatercentenary Club
Piston Prop 100 Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

"God is my pilot. I'm just the First Officer."
Apopka, FL

432 legs, 690.6 hours
35 legs, 60.8 hours online
385 legs, 620.1 hours ACARS
6 legs, 7.7 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 20 2011 16:03 ET by Sid Dudley

CF! How have you been, buddy? (Sorry, Vic. Not trying to hijack your thread. Nice set up and dog by the way.)

Sid Dudley

Senior Captain, DC-6

DVA3794
Senior Captain, A320
OLP, 737-ATP

Joined on December 03 2006
50 State Club
Globetrotter
US Coastal Club
Events Quadruple Century
US Mountaineer Club
Everett Bi-Millennium Club
Tri-Millennium Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Three Million Mile Club
Online Thirty Century

"volando libero......."
Antarctica

3,459 legs, 8,141.9 hours
3,131 legs, 7,039.5 hours online
3,251 legs, 7,332.7 hours ACARS
478 legs, 964.8 hours event
65 legs dispatched, 72.4 hours

Posted onPost created on January 20 2011 17:12 ET by Vincenzo Musumeci

Alex Vanover wrote:

But can it play Tetris?

I believe that his main focus is to run FSX and probably doesn't care a bit about Tetris rolleyes

Nice rig Vic now is the time to enjoy it !

Vincenzo Musumeci (DVA3794)

DVA9080
Senior Captain, DC-6
OLP
E-MAIL

Joined on September 30 2010
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
Carolina Club
Online Seven Century Club
Eight Century Club
Events Century Club

Elizabethtown, KY

865 legs, 2,390.3 hours
778 legs, 2,126.8 hours online
821 legs, 2,255.0 hours ACARS
107 legs, 261.1 hours event
70 legs dispatched, 109.8 hours

Posted onPost created on January 20 2011 17:33 ET by Nathan Cox

Vincenzo Musumeci wrote:

Alex Vanover wrote:

But can it play Tetris?

I believe that his main focus is to run FSX and probably doesn't care a bit about Tetris
Nice rig Vic now is the time to enjoy it !

But he should at least have pong on it!

Nathan Cox (DVA9080)

Posted onPost created on January 25 2011 16:58 ET by Alex Dean

Vincenzo Musumeci wrote:

Alex Vanover wrote:

But can it play Tetris?

I believe that his main focus is to run FSX and probably doesn't care a bit about Tetris
Nice rig Vic now is the time to enjoy it !

Lol, it was a joke. That is a beast system, so i was making a joke about it being capable to play Tetris.

rolleyes

Alex Dean

Captain, B757-200

DVA4290
Senior Captain, CRJ-200

Joined on April 04 2007
50 State Club
Online Triple Century Club
Quincentenary Club

"Lightning coming out of that one"
Houston, TX USA

502 legs, 829.4 hours
340 legs, 575.5 hours online
421 legs, 683.7 hours ACARS
41 legs, 81.2 hours event

Posted onPost created on January 26 2011 15:18 ET by Andrew Lynn

Alex Vanover wrote:

But can it play Tetris?

Good one!! Although, my only true hope is that he can manage to get Centipede going on that thing

This is a pretty sweet setup Vic. Report back with results and a finished product pic.

Andrew Lynn

Senior Captain, CRJ-200

DVA8622
First Officer, B777-200

Joined on April 14 2010
Century Club

"We're off, like a heard of turtles."
Commack, NY USA

189 legs, 783.0 hours
182 legs, 751.4 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on January 26 2011 15:28 ET by Ethan Olshever

Nathan Cox wrote:

Vincenzo Musumeci wrote:

Alex Vanover wrote:

But can it play Tetris?

I believe that his main focus is to run FSX and probably doesn't care a bit about Tetris
Nice rig Vic now is the time to enjoy it !

But he should at least have pong on it!

It could run pong at 1,00,000 FPS.

Ethan Olshever

First Officer, B777-200

DVA6497
Captain, B747-400

Joined on January 15 2006
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary

"RLTW"
Kerkrade, Limburg NL

366 legs, 574.8 hours
14 legs, 20.0 hours online
365 legs, 568.9 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on February 08 2011 18:52 ET by Ken Tucker

So, what's the verdict? Pics and FPS would be appreciated as I'm in the planning stages for my FSX-Killer box, too.

Cheers!!

Ken Tucker

Captain, B747-400

Posted onPost created on February 08 2011 19:06 ET by Vic DeSantis

Well, the verdict is just fine Ken. Even moderately overclocked to 3.7 I am averaging 35-40 fps in high traffic (heavy denssity areas) such as Imagine Sim ATL, FSDT JFK and LAS. That is running PMDG MD-11 virtual cockpit with ASE running. In stock FSX scenery 70-80 fps around the airfield, exceeding 100 fps at altitude (frame limiter set to unlimited in my config). Did you want pics of the build or some with the sim running? I'll be glad to share either.

Vic DeSantis (DVA5661)

DVA6863
Captain, MD-11
OLP

Joined on December 29 2008
50 State Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
Globetrotter
US Coastal Club
US Mountaineer Club
Million Mile Club
Everett 500 Club
Millennium Club

Nashua, NH

1,085 legs, 2,955.0 hours
76 legs, 215.8 hours online
1,062 legs, 2,896.3 hours ACARS
5 legs, 13.2 hours event

Posted onPost created on February 08 2011 19:59 ET by Dylan Dworsky

Vic DeSantis wrote:

Did you want pics of the build or some with the sim running? I'll be glad to share either.

I'd kind of be interested in seeing your FSX settings, my rig is pretty close to what you've got there (i7 950, 8gb corsair dominator, EVGA 470 SC, SSD boot drive, 1.2 TB raid 5).

Dylan Dworsky

Captain, MD-11

Posted onPost created on February 09 2011 23:20 ET by Ken Tucker

Yes, please!

Cheers!!

Ken Tucker

Captain, B747-400

DVA7922
Senior Captain, MD-88
OLP

Joined on November 04 2009
50 State Club
Online Century Club
Triple Century Club
Globetrotter

"Student Pilot: "Um, Your controls.""
Dallas, GA USA

384 legs, 1,292.5 hours
128 legs, 221.9 hours online
382 legs, 1,281.7 hours ACARS
18 legs, 40.6 hours event

Posted onPost created on February 10 2011 09:05 ET by Charles Carter

Nice choices. Glad it's working well. I have been looking into building a very similar setup, so it's good to hear how it's working for you. Have you done in any overclocking on it? Are you planning to? Can you post some in game pics sometime so we can drool over them? MD-11 or L1011 pics please... since they are the best in the sky, and all. :-P

Charles Carter

Senior Captain, MD-88

DVA3355
Senior Captain, B777-200

Joined on July 19 2006
Online Century Club
Flying Colonel
Everett 1500 Club
Four Million Mile Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

"guiding you home..."
Denver, CO USA

1,959 legs, 8,711.6 hours
181 legs, 715.0 hours online
1,891 legs, 8,382.8 hours ACARS
18 legs, 67.1 hours event

Posted onPost created on February 10 2011 10:16 ET by Daniel Hodnik

Charles Carter wrote:

Have you done in any overclocking on it? Are you planning to? Can you post some in game pics sometime so we can drool over them? MD-11 or L1011 pics please... since they are the best in the sky, and all. :-P

see below

Vic DeSantis wrote:

Well, the verdict is just fine Ken. Even moderately overclocked to 3.7 I am averaging 35-40 fps in high traffic (heavy denssity areas) such as Imagine Sim ATL, FSDT JFK and LAS. That is running PMDG MD-11 virtual cockpit with ASE running. In stock FSX scenery 70-80 fps around the airfield, exceeding 100 fps at altitude (frame limiter set to unlimited in my config). Did you want pics of the build or some with the sim running? I'll be glad to share either.

Posted onPost created on February 11 2011 18:22 ET by Vic DeSantis

Guys I will get to that in short order. I am locked in mortal combat with my state's governor over my retirement benefits and it is going to he a heck of a fight.

Vic DeSantis (DVA5661)

DVA5919
Captain, MD-11

Joined on May 13 2008
Everett Century Club
50 State Club
Commuter Conquest
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Quincentenary Club

"...and don't call me Shirley"
Hillsboro, OR USA

506 legs, 1,436.3 hours
4 legs, 3.7 hours online
505 legs, 1,433.8 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on February 11 2011 19:46 ET by Jack Vogel

Ugh, best wishes to you on that Vic!!

Jack Vogel

Captain, MD-11

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