Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - Suggestions for PC Parts

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | Suggestions for PC Parts

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 April 23 2013 17:49 ET by Shahzeb Bhutto

Hello fellow Pilots,

It's been a long time since I last payed a visit here. Over the past 2 years, I really missed flying. So, I am ready to get back to the flying business but this time with upgrades. I am thinking about building a new rig which can provide me with the best performance on FSX. Looking for something that can provide atleast 30 FPS in highly dense areas. My budget for this new PC is about $800. I did some research and found that Intel Core i5 2500K with overclocking is the best bet for the price and the performance it delivers. I'm not sure what Motherboard, Graphics Card, RAM, and other peripherals are needed that are compatible with each other and will complete this new PC. Therefore, I would really appreciate any suggestions and additional parts that are needed to build this rig.

Thanks!

Shahzeb Bhutto (DVA7729)

DVA4215
Senior Captain, MD-11
OLP

Joined on March 12 2007
Everett 250 Club
Six Century Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

Pleasant Grove, UT USA

636 legs, 1,647.2 hours
410 legs, 746.5 hours online
589 legs, 1,563.2 hours ACARS
7 legs, 10.3 hours event

Posted onPost created on April 23 2013 19:59 ET by Kyle Hatch

I just built my own PC and now run FSX maxed (max settings that are recommended from guides) and run addons such as Orbx, PMDG, REX, ASE, etc. I went with the i5-2500k and overclocked it to 4.5Ghz. Runs great! Here's my system specs I went with:

Intel i5-2500k
ASUS P8P67-M PRO
nVidia GeForce GTX 560 1024MB
8GB DDR3 RAM
Rosewill HIVE 650w PSU
2 HDD's (1x 75GB for Windows 7 64bit + 1x 320GB for FS)

I spent around $500 for this setup and it runs great!

Hope this gives you an idea!

Kyle Hatch (DVA4215)

Posted onPost created on April 25 2013 12:38 ET by Shahzeb Bhutto

Thanks Kyle. How is the performance with the overclocking? Also, I see there are two versions of GTX 560. There is GTX 560 and GTX 560 Ti. Which one would you recommend?

Shahzeb Bhutto (DVA7729)

Posted onPost created on April 25 2013 12:58 ET by Kyle Hatch

I haven't had any personal experience with GTX 560ti but the benchmarks show it at an average of 10% better than the 560. Maybe someone else can chime in. The performance with the overclock is awesome. I see no need to go above 4.5Ghz. I run PMDG MD11 (and other PMDG, Maddog) + REX + ASE + GEX + UTX + Orbx + Shade + FsGenesis + FSDT Sceneries + Vatsim and hold around 25 frames. Now one interesting thing is that when it comes to FSX, 25 frames looks smoother than 25 frames in FS9. So the i5-2500k @ 4.5Ghz is a really good CPU for FSX.

Kyle Hatch (DVA4215)

DVA10131
Captain, MD-11
E-MAIL

Joined on August 29 2011
50 State Club
Century Club
Online Century Club

"If it's not Boeing, I'm not going"
Charleston, SC USA

136 legs, 473.3 hours
123 legs, 428.0 hours online
130 legs, 451.7 hours ACARS
11 legs, 38.5 hours event

Posted onPost created on April 26 2013 10:55 ET by Robbie Johnson

Something like this would be your best bet for a FSX build within your budget:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.88 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.06 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $825.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-26 10:47 EDT-0400)

(I noticed you are from Canada so these are Canadian prices; US prices can be found here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ta6I)

The 3570k is your best bet at the moment. The 2500k would work with these parts as well, but the 3570k will offer more features and slightly improved performance. If you need to bring the price down you can go with a 650ti Boost instead of the 660 without noticing much of a performance difference within FSX (for the most part, at least).

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

AFV744
Senior Captain, B747-400
OLP

Joined on April 27 2012
Diplomatic Mission
Globetrotter Extraordinaire
50 State Club
The Penguins Of Madagascar
Online Five Hundred Club
Event Century Club
Double Millenium Club
Historic Quadricentenary Club
Five Million Mile Club

Wellington, NS Canada

2,468 legs, 10,374.5 hours
752 legs, 1,426.3 hours online
2,468 legs, 10,374.5 hours ACARS
238 legs, 466.0 hours event
3,528 legs, 15,773.5 hours total

Posted onPost created on April 26 2013 11:21 ET by Bill Gardiner

I agree with Robbie. If you can do it this configuration is more obsolete proof. smile

Bill Gardiner

Senior Captain, B747-400

Posted onPost created on April 26 2013 16:55 ET by Shahzeb Bhutto

Hmm interesting. That's a great list Robbie. I have a few concerns. If I go for 3570k, will it be ok to OC it to 4.5ghz along with the Hyper 212 EVO cooler? I understand that Ivy Bridge has higher temperatures than Sandy, but with that cooler + OC, will it be running fine?. Also, would I need additional fans in the case (other than the ones in the case) for better air flow as OC might build up more heat?. Lastly, is 550W PSU good enough to handle the power in this rig or 600W is best bet here? Thanks a lot for your help!

Shahzeb Bhutto (DVA7729)

Posted onPost created on April 26 2013 23:54 ET by Robbie Johnson

I have the 3570k and the Hyper 212 Evo, I get temps below 69C on the hottest core with P95 but every chip is different. Ivy does have generally have higher temps when overclocking, but even so you shouldn't have any problems hitting 4.5 assuming you overclock properly. That case has good airflow as is, but you can add more fans so long as you keep slightly positive airflow (to prevent dust accumulation). 550w will be just fine, but a little extra doesn't hurt anything if you want to go up to 600. My recent build is very similar to the one I posted above and also uses an XFX 550w with no problems. Build Here.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

DVA11384
First Officer, B737-800
OLP

Joined on March 13 2013
50 State Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
US Coastal Club
B737 100 Club
Stock Car Racing Club
Triple Century Club

Northeastern United States

338 legs, 434.3 hours
56 legs, 75.3 hours online
335 legs, 426.3 hours ACARS
8 legs, 11.3 hours event

Posted onPost created on April 27 2013 00:02 ET by Jacob Benjamin

Kyle Hatch wrote:

I just built my own PC and now run FSX maxed (max settings that are recommended from guides) and run addons such as Orbx, PMDG, REX, ASE, etc. I went with the i5-2500k and overclocked it to 4.5Ghz. Runs great! Here's my system specs I went with:

Intel i5-2500k
ASUS P8P67-M PRO
nVidia GeForce GTX 560 1024MB
8GB DDR3 RAM
Rosewill HIVE 650w PSU
2 HDD's (1x 75GB for Windows 7 64bit + 1x 320GB for FS)

I spent around $500 for this setup and it runs great!

Hope this gives you an idea!

I got my i5 at 4.5 as well. I have a 570 card though. I'm getting great performance at a locked 30 FPS with 4xS AA. I would wholly recommend Kyle's setup for the budget range. Since you said you have $800 you should push hard for a 670 or 680 card which is the new generation GPU and maybe a z68 motherboard (or whatever is current now).

Jacob Benjamin

First Officer, B737-800

Posted onPost created on April 27 2013 01:12 ET by Robbie Johnson

On another note, Haswell should be released in ~ 38 days (or 3,337,200,000,000,000 nanoseconds according to a release by Intel earlier today), which will bring a new socket and some performance enhancements, so it may be worth the wait if you're not in a hurry.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

DVA5974
Captain, B777-200

Joined on May 27 2008
50 State Club
Triple Century Club

Basking Ridge, NJ USA

324 legs, 1,326.6 hours
319 legs, 1,305.4 hours ACARS

Posted onPost created on May 02 2013 11:20 ET by Nikolay Klimchuk

Do we know if Haswell will improve FSX performance?

Nikolay Klimchuk (DVA5974)

DVA10641
Assistant Chief Pilot, B757-200
OLP

Joined on March 29 2012
50 State Club
Globetrotter
Million Mile Club
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US Coastal Club
DVA Ten-Year Anniversary
Flying Colonel
Online Fifteen Century
Everett 1500 Club
Events Quintuple Century Club

Rosemount, MN USA

1,987 legs, 4,456.2 hours
1,865 legs, 3,929.2 hours online
1,967 legs, 4,422.4 hours ACARS
638 legs, 1,290.5 hours event
18 legs dispatched, 157.2 hours

Posted onPost created on May 02 2013 11:27 ET by Jason Boche

This is a good thread. Thank you for sharing your system hardware configuration. I'm looking to buy within the next 6 months.

Jason Boche

Assistant Chief Pilot, B757-200

Posted onPost created on May 02 2013 18:00 ET by Robbie Johnson

Nikolay Klimchuk wrote:

Do we know if Haswell will improve FSX performance?

It most likely will, but its hard to say by how much. At the very least it appears that Haswell will overclock better.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on May 04 2013 00:03 ET by Shahzeb Bhutto

Alright thanks for all the help, now that the PC is all set up. I'm going to need some help to get to stable 4.4ghz overclock. Under auto mode at 44 multiplier, CPU-Z shows Core Voltage around 1.392V under Prime95 stress test. The temperature is about 80 degrees max. I'm pretty sure I will have to lower the voltage because it's more than I need resulting in high temps.. So how do I go setting the voltages manually to give a stable OC with low temps? Thanks again!

Shahzeb Bhutto (DVA7729)

Posted onPost created on May 04 2013 03:50 ET by Robbie Johnson

Which CPU did you go with? 3570k: anything over 1.3v is risky, so crank down the offset ASAP. I hit 4.5 @ 1.208v with no problems, so you should be able to hit something similar. IIRC for the 2500k 1.4 is the max suggested so you would technically be fine although I would still drop the offset down as low as you can keep it stable at. As long as the temps stay below 85C you are fine as far as temperature goes. You can shoot me an email at rangingwarr@aol.com if you need any help.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on May 14 2013 20:47 ET by Jason Boche

I'm pulling the trigger Thursday I think. Looking at an Intel 3rd generation i7 3770K, 16GB RAM, and a single NVIDIA GTX 660. Boot from a pair of SSDs in a RAID0 and FSX is getting installed on large capacity cheap & deep storage so I can start accumulating megascenery states.

Jason Boche

Assistant Chief Pilot, B757-200

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