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Processor Upgrade? |
DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 10:42 ET by Joel Robinson
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So, I have a 2yr old Dell Inspiron 546 with a AMD Phenom 9750 Quad-Core Processor 2.40GHz. I so far have changed the power supply from a 280W to a 430W, changed from 6 to 8GB of RAM, changed the graphic card from a ATI Radeon 512MB to a Nvidea superclocked 550Ti 1GB, now I'm eying the processor.
The only one I can find that tops out with a AM2 socket is this http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=amd+processor+with+am2+socket&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=10785456301657172215&sa=X&ei=hiIgT9LLNeXV0QGs7oQG&ved=0CHoQ8wIwAw
1. Is is worth going up .5 from a 2.4 to a 2.9
2. would I have to change the heatsink for such a "small" jump
my base and sub-scores are all 5.9 now in all areas
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA8574
Captain, B737-800
Joined on March 08 2010
Fitchburg, MA
89 legs, 139.3 hours
62 legs,
100.7 hours online
88 legs,
137.7 hours ACARS
1 legs,
1.3 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 12:38 ET by David Garrison
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I wouldn't waste your money. I'd get a new motherboard and CPU. Preferably Intel. These days, CPU's are so easily overclocked to reach 4.0ghz and beyond.. It'd be ridiculous to settle on a sub 3.0ghz processor.
David GarrisonCaptain, B737-800
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 13:05 ET by Alan Barber
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Joel - Would be inclined to agree with David - one issue though might be getting a board to fit in a Dell case - I've done a couple of upgrades for people along those lines and it hasn't been the easiest job in the world.
You will notice a difference going up .5 ghz but obviously there will be a gulf between that and the newer CPU's. Overclocking using your board could be a possibilty but then again OEM manufacturers boards generally don't allow much room for this.
Have you got any sort of budget in mind? I'll try and do some homework for you.
Edit: Just read a good bit of advice on Tom's Hardware and that is to check the Dell forum's and see what other users have been able to achieve along the lines of upgrades/performance increases.
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 14:39 ET by Joel Robinson
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I'm just trying to get maybe 2 more years out of this before it falls TOO far behind, that's all. As for the budget I'm not looking to go nuts here, I've already put about 300 into it. Maybe another 300 MAX with the processor and MOBO
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 14:47 ET by Joel Robinson
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I don't even know where to start with the MOBO, my graphic card is sitting flush on top of one the chipset heatsinks right now because of how much bigger it is than the one that was in there.
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300
Joined on November 17 2007
Western United States
31 legs, 54.8 hours
15 legs,
18.7 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 15:21 ET by Louis Vanbelkum
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As a AMD fan now that I am using the 8120 here is two amd set ups and a intel one I would like to suggest
AMD Fx-6100
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=1239961&CatId=7341 $160 5 Core fx-6100 can easily be over clocked
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=670049&CatId=7247 $150 Mobo newest chipset good reviews
Cost total $310 (any ratings you read on the net about the Fx-6100 are not really fair the update just came out i think a week or so ago and really unlocked my 8120 and is suppose to do the same to the 6 core processors i noticed a huge difference)
AMD Fx-8120
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=1239958&Sku=A79-8120 $210 AMD Fx-8120 troubles at first but after update it runs fsx like a dream and overclocked to 4.7 GHz while playing fsx runs stable 
USE SAME mobo as Fx-6100 i would suggest the same mobo i have but that cost $185 so with processor it is out of your price range
Cost total $360
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103961 (8120 for cheaper)
If you must believe the intel lovers which in my opinon is only worth it for i7-2600k + users which is out of price range
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=7073161&Sku=I69-2500K $230 Great reviews cost more but after windows update is less powerful then the cheaper 8120
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=353597&CatId=7212 $130 i don't know much about this mobo but has good reviews
Cost total $360
This is your three best options in my opinion due to the fact that this is the newest at good prices and will last a good amount of time.
One more suggestion no matter what you do I suggest a cheap cpu cooler or a H60 H70 ect if you have the money. You can't beat the h60 70 100 ect series for cooling power for the price. The stock fans are good for stock if you plan on overclocking ANY cpu buy a aftermarket cpu fan.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103996
use the fx board i showed you and this processor for $110 has high clock speeds from factory so it should be decent for fsx but i can't see it touching the 8120 or i5 even when its overclocked a little
All of this is assuming you have a case that fits ATX size mobo
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 15:55 ET by Joel Robinson
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You Rock  When my cable comes to hook up my disk drive, I'll crack the case open one last time for now and measure the MOBO. Thanks again...300 was just a ballpark figure, I was just saying I don't want to go to 800 or something crazy. 300-450 is a good range
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300
Joined on November 17 2007
Western United States
31 legs, 54.8 hours
15 legs,
18.7 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 17:47 ET by Louis Vanbelkum
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if you don't mind me asking which set up are you looking at 
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 18:36 ET by Joel Robinson
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I like the 8120
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300
Joined on November 17 2007
Western United States
31 legs, 54.8 hours
15 legs,
18.7 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
January 25 2012 18:57 ET by Louis Vanbelkum
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| You just made my day I love my 8120
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DVA8574
Captain, B737-800
Joined on March 08 2010
Fitchburg, MA
89 legs, 139.3 hours
62 legs,
100.7 hours online
88 legs,
137.7 hours ACARS
1 legs,
1.3 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
January 26 2012 14:34 ET by David Garrison
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So you're trying to put a weak system on him just cause you couldn't afford a Sandy Bridge and you love your 8120? Sorry but that won't cut it for FSX. Sandy Bridge processors are much faster clock for clock. You didn't bother listing the 2500k, why? The 2500k will be the same in FSX, and cheaper. Microcenter has a deal, $50 off any Z68 board with their $180 2500k. You can have a 2500k + z68 setup for less than $300.
David GarrisonCaptain, B737-800
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DVA8574
Captain, B737-800
Joined on March 08 2010
Fitchburg, MA
89 legs, 139.3 hours
62 legs,
100.7 hours online
88 legs,
137.7 hours ACARS
1 legs,
1.3 hours event
|
Posted onPost created on
January 26 2012 14:36 ET by David Garrison
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Louis... the 8120 is weak compared to Sandy Bridge, don't try to spin it off otherwise.
disregard the post above, more specifically the "couldn't afford" comment - i was thinking of a price of another AMD CPU.
Point is, 2500k/2600k easily surpasses the 8120 in games.
David GarrisonCaptain, B737-800
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DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300
Joined on November 17 2007
Western United States
31 legs, 54.8 hours
15 legs,
18.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 26 2012 15:02 ET by Louis Vanbelkum
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I did list the 2500k if you really were reading so at least read a post in full before putting it down. Also after the windows update the 8120 is much faster from stock speed of 3.1 then the stock speed of the i52500k which is 3.3. Overclocked the difference becomes more pronounced in most cpu benchmarks. So please learn the facts intel fan boy. At least I will stand up and point the differences of the two, and why I believe this one is better or worse. I am not an AMD fan boy or an Intel. I have many laptops and computers with both processors in my house. This includes i7s I5s and I3s I did not even list a 2600k due to price. I will say right now I doubt AMD will ever touch the I7 series due to the fact that AMD is much smaller. But I will say right now in the lower end and recently the mid end Intel gets killed. I only searched Tiger Direct and New Egg for prices because these two seems to have the best prices for there rep. Personally I would rather not suggest a site I randomly find and say yes use your debt card and have the account emptied by some guy in Germany, or a site out of country. I choose two sites high in rep that I have used before. This makes me mad that (1) you did not even read my post in full or check what I posted remotely proven by your call out on the fact I "didn't" post a I5 2500k. My explaination of the i5 2500k was "Great reviews cost more but after windows update is less powerful then the cheaper 8120". Your explanation was hardly one at all with it being "the 8120 is weak compared to Sandy Bridge, don't try to spin it off otherwise". Funny considering benchmark wise in many category s the 8120 now Scores higher. I also know that the i3s don't touch the 8120 which for a $70 price difference I understand why but you said "Sandy Bridge in general". In response to the 2600k I hope its better (which it is) its over $100 more for the processor which is what a %50 jump for maybe a %25 jump in performance in most areas in some the 8120 still holds on.
Alan if you don't mind being involved would you like to bench mark at stock speeds and post screen shots against mine that I will do?
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 26 2012 17:00 ET by Joel Robinson
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guys, guys...I'm only looking for a starting point to look at because it's clear most of you know WAY MORE about computers than me...lets all be nice here...I'm not trying to start a international war here, just help if you can and not bash someone other persons opinion. Louis and David, I will look at all your suggestions and pick the one that fits my budget and needs. Other posts of my upgrade project can be found here http://www.deltava.org/thread.do?id=0x19fe2 and here http://www.deltava.org/thread.do?id=0x1a029 
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300
Joined on November 17 2007
Western United States
31 legs, 54.8 hours
15 legs,
18.7 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
January 26 2012 17:02 ET by Louis Vanbelkum
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Its not a war about the computer, more about ignorence.
If there is any other questions I will try to answer my best :).
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 26 2012 18:25 ET by Alan Barber
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Louis/David/Joel - I would gladly post screens if I honestly thought there would be an accurate comparrison.
I've spent a few weeks getting my i5 100% stable at 4.5ghz so my system is not what you would call stock, differences in hard disks etc will all have a bearing on FS setups, there are just too many variables to consider. If it is any help at all right at the moment at FSDT JFK in the CS757 with McPhat UHDT livery, REX max texture clouds, hefty overcast, 100% ultimate traffic i'm getting 23-28fps facing the New York skyline. Spin that view 180degrees it's in the low 30's. Bear in mind I also have my GPU o/c am running two monitors off it which will slow things down a bit etc etc.
I'm really happy with my i5 - but its taken a bit of effort to get it there. a few years ago I had an AMD that I was really happy with too, again that took a lot of work to get to a point I was happy with too.
There are a few of philosophies that I follow when it comes to PC's:
1. Ask advice when upgrading but take more stock in independant reviews - the systems that the likes of Tom's hardware test on are much more likely to be on a level playing field.
2. Buy the best you can afford or will be able to afford shortly without waiting months before you get anything.
3. And most importantly - maintain a healthy pc; defrag regularly etc etc etc.
The 8120 and the i5 2500k come very close performance wise, straight line speed and you get more bang for your buck with the AMD
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+FX-8120+Eight-Core
Start factoring in what applications you are using and things get a bit less clear
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/320166-10-bulldozer-8120-intel-core-2500k
Once you have added a few addons to FSX/FS9 you could consider that you have more than one application running. If like me you run Radar Contact, ASE, FS Commander etc at the same time things are gonna change wholesale as all these apps will be coded differently. I've given you my FPS above which can be used as a very rough guide to compare two similar CPU's but this does not take non-fs stuff running at the same time into account.
General consensus at the moment is that the i5 is the better CPU for gaming. I've had mine 6 months or so now and wouldn't swap it. The fact is when I got this I was also looking at AMD, if I had bought an AMD then I would probably be saying the same thing about that too.
There's lots of great advice to be had on this forum, finding out peoples experience with various things helps when making decisions, but always get as much info from independant sources as you can
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 26 2012 18:43 ET by Alan Barber
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Joel - Have a look here www.cpubenchmark.net/ this will get you started on how CPU's perform. If you are considering a new mobo you will need to research that too. Google something like 'AMD Motherboard reviews' and do a bit of reading up. If you are not sure what some of the jargon means, check back here and the plenty of people to help out. My main concern with your upgrade as I have previously said is that fact that you have a Dell case. My experience is that OEM manufacturers cases are quite unique to OEM parts - you find fans getting in the way of GPU's, hard drive mounts in the way of CPU coolers etc etc. Again, get by the Dell forums and see what other Dell users have been able to achieve. If you don't like what you read then start thinking about a new case perhaps. If you go down the new case line don't get one that is too small. CPU's, Memory, GPU's chuck out a fair bit of heat these days so the more air circulation the better.
Hopefully, things are a bit calmer around here now - I'm in the UK and was planning on going to bed an hour ago but reading this I thought I had better stay up and try and help!!!!!!!!! Peace and Love
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 26 2012 18:45 ET by Alan Barber
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Joel - sorry me again - is your PC going to be purely for FS use? If not what other stuff are you going to be running on it?
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 01:36 ET by Joel Robinson
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Alan, I see by your e-mail notifications your about 6 hours ahead of me. So first of all Good Morning LOL....Second to group your posts together, as shown in the other links, linked above, you see my base system of hardware and power supply. I also run 2 monitors, tiger direct has bigger cases so I may have to go that route as well being that one of the chip-set heat-sinks is keeping the 550Ti from completely locking into place. I have e-mail, internet, windows etc...But yes I only have FSX as my only game I play on the computer. Everything else I play on my PS3 (mainly F-1 and Assassins Creed) I run FSX/ Aerosofts Live Cockpit/ Acars/ Traffic X/ and FS Passenger.I soon will be adding QW 757 as well. I have my FPS set to a target of 20, but with heavy clouds I'm usually around 8-12 FPS, landing at KATL in fog it can drop all the way down to 4-6 FPS
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 01:56 ET by Joel Robinson
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BTW Alan, Sussex....AWESOME...here is where I lived for 5 of the most glorious years of my life 91-95 http://www.mildenhall.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-110107-005.pdf
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 02:13 ET by Alan Barber
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Cool place to live Joel. I'm off to Duxford IWM myself tomorrow - gotta love it.
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 02:56 ET by Joel Robinson
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I went there for an afternoon once. Very historic lessons to be learned, send me a email when u get back please
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA9677
Captain, B737-800
OLP
Joined on April 11 2011
50 State Club
Online Double Century Club
Quincentenary Club
"American 1482, your APU is leaking baggage."
Kissimmee, FL USA
543 legs, 735.9 hours
247 legs,
299.2 hours online
538 legs,
725.6 hours ACARS
2 legs,
2.8 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 09:53 ET by John Anderson
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http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1577707&CatId=7341
At $349, this LOOKS decent. With your Nvidea 550Ti, and a small amount of RAM.
It's an ATX form factor, so I would recommend a larger case. How's your power supply?
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 11:42 ET by Joel Robinson
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John Anderson wrote:
http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1577707&CatId=7341
At $349, this LOOKS decent. With your Nvidea 550Ti, and a small amount of RAM.u
It's an ATX form factor, so I would recommend a larger case. How's your power supply?
I'm just gonna splurge for the bigger case, former govt. workers always go over budget anyway
switched from a 280 to a 430 last week to accomodate the 550ti
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 11:52 ET by Joel Robinson
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I saw some cases I liked on tigerdirect
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA9677
Captain, B737-800
OLP
Joined on April 11 2011
50 State Club
Online Double Century Club
Quincentenary Club
"American 1482, your APU is leaking baggage."
Kissimmee, FL USA
543 legs, 735.9 hours
247 legs,
299.2 hours online
538 legs,
725.6 hours ACARS
2 legs,
2.8 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 12:19 ET by John Anderson
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I found this yesterday. Turns out that I was underwatt at 430 http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 12:57 ET by Joel Robinson
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Right now it says I need 357W
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA9677
Captain, B737-800
OLP
Joined on April 11 2011
50 State Club
Online Double Century Club
Quincentenary Club
"American 1482, your APU is leaking baggage."
Kissimmee, FL USA
543 legs, 735.9 hours
247 legs,
299.2 hours online
538 legs,
725.6 hours ACARS
2 legs,
2.8 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 13:17 ET by John Anderson
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Then you're shiney.
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 13:48 ET by Joel Robinson
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Awe shucks...that of course are the numbers BEFORE I select a mono and processor
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 14:19 ET by Joel Robinson
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Holy smokes...re-reading this entire thread I have much to learn yet. Maybe its best to just spend the 99 on the processor, and think about what I've learned and acomplished so far. Then save money and just start with a empty case before I wreck something. I don't even know how to upload the operating system, set up email accounts etc...
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 14:35 ET by Alan Barber
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Joel - Putting a PC together is relatively easy these days as is installing as OS. The trick is getting a good combination of parts that work well together without one particular part creating a bottleneck so to speak. U have (or will have shortly) mail by the way.
Can I ask what sort of performance you currently get with FSX?
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300
Joined on November 17 2007
Western United States
31 legs, 54.8 hours
15 legs,
18.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 15:06 ET by Louis Vanbelkum
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I just used that psu calc and I would say its decently off. I am running my system on a 650W psu and it says minimum 813W and i should have a 863. I have never had any problems, and I run all fans at max %100 of the time to keep cool as possible rather burn out my H60 then my mobo or cpu. I have also tested it in prime and no crashes after a few hours so I can't see how i am basicly 200W short.
*edit never mind I see what I messed up on it says i only need 475 :).
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 15:21 ET by Joel Robinson
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Joel Robinson wrote:
Alan, I see by your e-mail notifications your about 6 hours ahead of me. So first of all Good Morning LOL....Second to group your posts together, as shown in the other links, linked above, you see my base system of hardware and power supply. I also run 2 monitors, tiger direct has bigger cases so I may have to go that route as well being that one of the chip-set heat-psinks is keeping the 550Ti from completely locking into place. I have e-mail, internet, windows etc...But yes I only have FSX as my only game I play on the computer. Everything else I play on my PS3 (mainly F-1 and Assassins Creed) I run FSX/ Aerosofts Live Cockpit/ Acars/ Traffic X/ and FS Passenger.I soon will be adding QW 757 as well. I have my FPS set to a target of 20, but with heavy clouds I'm usually around 8-12 FPS, landing at KATL in fog it can drop all the way down to 4-6 FPS
Maybe my settings are too high, have everything on ultra high 
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 15:53 ET by Alan Barber
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Afraid your CPU is going to struggle a bit there. I'm climbing out of MCO at the minute will post a bit more later.
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 15:57 ET by Alan Barber
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Joel - have you tried this yet http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 17:23 ET by Joel Robinson
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Alan Barber wrote:
Joel - have you tried this yet http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html
already did that boss
Alan Barber wrote:
Afraid your CPU is going to struggle a bit there. I'm climbing out of MCO at the minute will post a bit more later.
in flight looking through the 2D panel everything works great..good FPS/ however you go to f11 and you got some detailed clouds or fog/rain...oooooo boy. Or near landing at a major airport like KATL or KLAX with every jetway full and 58 percent traffic on Traffic X.........YIKES 4-6FPS do not make for smooth flares and landings.
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 18:51 ET by Alan Barber
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Yeah, I would guess as much! LOL! First thing to do is go into FSX-Settings and press 'Reset Defaults', see where that gets you. That is what FSX thinks you should be able to achieve with your system. After that its a case of nudging the sliders until you get your graphics against performance trade off sweet spot. Some tips when adjusting Sliders for your system as it stands:
Graphics
Target Frame rate set to unlimited but use an external limiter to keep it at 20 or so.
Screen resolution should be same as your desktop
Filtering set to Anisotropic (clearer ground textures)
Anti Aliasing - I'll get to that one later
Global Texture Resolution - as high as you can manage
No Directx 10 Preview, Lens flare or Light bloom
Advanced Animations possibly
aircraft - if you do not use a Virtual Cockpit and prefer 2d panel try and fly planes which do not have a VC built in - less to render
High Res 3-d cockpit - no, unless you use VC
No Shadows
Landing lights - yes
Scenery
Terrain and water - fiddle with these until you get your trade off above
Water Effects - Low 2.x
Scenery Objects
The further right you have these the more your PC has to do, another trade off
No Shadows for ground scenery
Weather
Clouds are FPS killers
Cloud draw distance 60mi - do you use an external weather prog, like ASE? Do you have registered FSUIPC
Cloud coverage as low as you can manage
Traffic
Again the more you have the more work your PC has to do
Going back to anti-aliasing, uncheck this in 'Graphics' and then go here http://www.simforums.com/forums/settings-for-new-drivers-updated-v1959_topic36586.html and follow the instructions. Keep your anti-aliasing settings as low as you can bear, you will get some jaggies on the edges of aircraft and buildings, but in cloudy situations this will help. Clouds = low FPS's, Heavily Anti-aliased clouds = slideshow
Have a play and let me know how you get on.
Most importantly though, remember to enjoy FS, don't spend all of your time tweaking.
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA8574
Captain, B737-800
Joined on March 08 2010
Fitchburg, MA
89 legs, 139.3 hours
62 legs,
100.7 hours online
88 legs,
137.7 hours ACARS
1 legs,
1.3 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
January 27 2012 23:07 ET by David Garrison
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Ignorence is spelled "Ignorance", Louis
Certainly not an intel fanboy.. I have had AMD processors and enjoyed them. My argument was referring to gaming performance. The last time I checked, the 8120's were lacking in gaming compared to the 2500k and 2600k (which is what I meant by "sandy bridge" as those two are really the only relevant ones regarding gaming/fsx).
David GarrisonCaptain, B737-800
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 28 2012 03:42 ET by Alan Barber
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Joel - when you have your fsx detail settings at a level you are happy with you will want to try this http://www.simforums.com/forums/setting-up-fsx-and-how-to-tune-it_topic29041.html Read through it, read through it again to be sure and then read through it again! You may be doing some things a bit back to front but that doesn't matter. You will certainly have some questions on this so as usual don't be afraid to ask.
Another thing you may want to think about (has your brain exploded yet? LOL) is ditching Vista for Windows 7 64bit, IMHO even XP 64 handles FS better than Vista - hell, an operating system written by my dog would too! I can get Win7 for £70 this side of the pond so you should be able to pick it up for peanuts stateside.
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
January 28 2012 04:05 ET by Joel Robinson
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The way I understood it, you have to do a clean install. This means I'll have to UN-install my FSX..which I don't have a problem with. I lost the Lear 45 and Cessna a while back while merging files into the unused aircraft file folder I created and now their gone. Problem is how do I save rewards earned and my logbook?
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
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Posted onPost created on
January 28 2012 04:28 ET by Alan Barber
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When you uninstall I THINK FSX gives you an option to keep save files etc.
Edit: If not the file is here http://flyawaysimulation.com/forum/topic/35769/backing-up-fsx-logbook-and-rewards/
Edit Edit: If you are going to unistall FSX this is a really good chance to get the most from your setup - I'm quite happy to walk you through it.
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300
Joined on November 17 2007
Western United States
31 legs, 54.8 hours
15 legs,
18.7 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
January 28 2012 13:06 ET by Louis Vanbelkum
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David Garrison wrote:Ignorence is spelled "Ignorance", Louis
Certainly not an intel fanboy.. I have had AMD processors and enjoyed them. My argument was referring to gaming performance. The last time I checked, the 8120's were lacking in gaming compared to the 2500k and 2600k (which is what I meant by "sandy bridge" as those two are really the only relevant ones regarding gaming/fsx).
This has been fixed the problem was not with the physical CPU but the way windows used to treat the 8 cores.
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
|
Posted onPost created on
January 28 2012 13:47 ET by Alan Barber
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Louis - Bear in mind that FSX was only ever patched as far as to use dual/quad cores so I'm not sure if it could take advantage of 8 - could be wrong though. Prepar3d (Lockheeds Martin's take on FSX) is having the code rewritten so this may change.
I have seen you mention that you are going to get another GPU and run SLI. Remember that FSX does not benefit from SLI at all so if your rig is purely FSX you may want to reconsider and save your money.
I've been researching the differences between the AMD and Intel CPU's as far as FSX performance goes and whilst it would be true to say that the majority of users are favouring the Intel route the only way to be 100% certain is to benchmark both using the same PC and swap out the mobo and CPU half way through the test and then see. I can't see many suppliers letting you buy 2 cpu's and 2 mobo's on the basis that you will return the one that comes second in a benchmark test.
At the end of the day I'm over the moon with my 2500k as you are with your AMD.
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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|
DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300
Joined on November 17 2007
Western United States
31 legs, 54.8 hours
15 legs,
18.7 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
January 28 2012 15:29 ET by Louis Vanbelkum
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| Fsx does use all my cores but not very strongly
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DVA7016
Senior Captain, B767-300
Joined on February 14 2009
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
"I5 2500K - 560GTX - 8GB Ripjaw"
Essex GB
385 legs, 1,090.6 hours
384 legs,
1,089.6 hours ACARS
1,821 legs, 4,442.9 hours total
|
Posted onPost created on
January 28 2012 16:02 ET by Alan Barber
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Yep, When I used to run FS9 on a quad core, if I brought up the resource monitor it would tell me that all four cores were being used, but I know what FS9 could only use one. Just one of those Windows idiosyncrasies. I could have worded what I said better (as usual) - when FSX first starts it will use as many cores as it it needs, once it has settled down it does not need to utilize as many, so someone in your position could limit FSX to a few cores and assign any apps that run to use any spare. Having 8 cores will not make FSX run faster, but if you utilize your cores well it can make it run smoother. Case in point: When I used FS9 on a quad at first I would suffer from stutters when other apps butted in to use the same core. I found a program which I could run before FS which would assign different cores to different apps i.e. FS on 0 ASE & Radar Contact on 1 etc etc. After doing this stutters were few and far between.
Alan BarberSenior Captain, B767-300
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DVA9193
First Officer, B757-200
Joined on November 14 2010
50 State Club
Century Club
Western United States
144 legs, 268.9 hours
133 legs,
244.7 hours ACARS
|
Posted onPost created on
January 29 2012 10:37 ET by Joel Robinson
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I want to thank you all for your input and tutorials, I really have learned a lot. Alas, I have much more to learn though. Turns out you cant just slap a new processor in, after all ya'lls diligent research and help, here is what I need really.
1. a new case
2. a new mobo
3. a new processor
4. a new way to cool said processor
5. the RAM is now ddr3 instead of the ddr2 I have
6. a bigger power supply (5 and 6 I just did in the past 30 days for my current one)
that's the minimum, aint gonna get it done for 300/ so I'm gonna start with a empty case with next years tax refund (this years is already earmarked for other more important home stuff). I'm just gonna milk this one for 11 more months, then build it and build it right with room for expansion. Why halfway do it, right?
But I do want to thank you all, I believe this thread will help generations of new pilots to increase their knowledge base of what FSX requires, thank you all God Bless.
Edit: turns out I want a SSD to put the OS on and a faster hard drive too
Edit to the Edit: Instead of the 300 to spend, next year I figure I can go 3500-3800 at Tiger Direct without overspending
Joel RobinsonFirst Officer, B757-200
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DVA6755
Captain, B777-200
Joined on December 05 2008
50 State Club
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Online Quadruple Century Club
Globetrotter
Quincentenary Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Grafenwöhr, Bayern Germany
523 legs, 1,361.7 hours
451 legs,
1,219.9 hours online
504 legs,
1,331.4 hours ACARS
14 legs,
24.3 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
February 02 2012 05:36 ET by Gerry McGraw
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Joel Robinson wrote:I want to thank you all for your input and tutorials, I really have learned a lot. Alas, I have much more to learn though. Turns out you cant just slap a new processor in, after all ya'lls diligent research and help, here is what I need really.
1. a new case
2. a new mobo
3. a new processor
4. a new way to cool said processor
5. the RAM is now ddr3 instead of the ddr2 I have
6. a bigger power supply (5 and 6 I just did in the past 30 days for my current one)
that's the minimum, aint gonna get it done for 300/ so I'm gonna start with a empty case with next years tax refund (this years is already earmarked for other more important home stuff). I'm just gonna milk this one for 11 more months, then build it and build it right with room for expansion. Why halfway do it, right?
But I do want to thank you all, I believe this thread will help generations of new pilots to increase their knowledge base of what FSX requires, thank you all God Bless.
Edit: turns out I want a SSD to put the OS on and a faster hard drive too
Edit to the Edit: Instead of the 300 to spend, next year I figure I can go 3500-3800 at Tiger Direct without overspending
Joel, I am in the process of rebuilding specifically for FSX with a ton of add-ons, as well as WIN 7 ult/64-bit and Battlefield 3. I do build my own systems and one thing I discovered in the past is you usually can't upgrade just one or two components, because one you have will always not work with the other 3 or so you bought (not always the case, just generally speaking). This is what I am considering, after a lot of research and help from my daughters boyfriend who is a well versed computer guy:
1. i7 2600k
2. Z68 Extreme 7 Mobo
3. 16 GB RAM (overkill I know, but its cheap so why not)
4. 2 GTX 570s overclocked
5. Coolmaster HAF X full case Nvidia edition (Cool color)
6. 2 120Gb SSDs in raid 0 config
7. 1000w gold certified PS
8. A good CPU cooler.
9. 2 24in Viewsonic mnitors w< 2ms response time (maybe ASUS, haven't decided yet)
When I say a ton of add-ons, I mean Active Sky 2012, GTX, as many airports as I can get my hands on, Megascenery X USA and Europe, and my LVLD 767, QW757 and iFly NGX I already own among other I can find. The computer itself will come in at around $2600 (plus shipping). All this for a SIM and a war game LOL.
I said all this because I am the same boat as you (minus dell case LOL) just wanted to let you know what I was thinking in terms of upgrades, and also because I would like Alan's input as yto how this will push my FSX/Add on plan.
Gerry McGrawCaptain, B777-200
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