Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - Deciding on new computer

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | Deciding on new computer

DVA10131
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Posted onPost created on April 10 2012 07:03 ET by Robbie Johnson

I am getting ready to purchase a new computer in the next few days, but unfortunately my hands are kind of tied because I have to be able to get financing on it, so I cant really customize it to my liking. I have narrowed it down to 2 choices, but I was hoping for some help in deciding.

#1: i7 2600 (no k); GTX550 Ti 1GB; 8GB RAM
On this one I am a little worried about the motherboard, bestbuy doesn't say what kind it is but from what I can tell it only has 1 PCIex16 port and 1 PCIex1 port, and 2 DIMM. This would leave my options for future upgrades to the system rather limited. I do like that it has an i7, they seem more 'future proof', and if I decide to upgrade something later, it would be a lot easier to swap video cards rather than processors.
Link: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iBuyPower+-+Gamer+Extreme+Desktop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/5036319.p?skuId=5036319&id=1218601980294

#2: i5 2500k; GTX560 2GB; 8GB RAM
With this one, it looks like there is plenty of room for extra ram and an extra video card in SLI if necessary. The video card is the one I would most likely upgrade to if I bought the other one; from the benchmarks I've seen it is a lot better. This one also features a 'k' processor and liquid cooling so I could easily overclock quite a bit.
Link: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iBuyPower+-+Gamer+Extreme+Desktop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/4894194.p?skuId=4894194&id=1218573501669

Pretty much what it comes down to is better processor vs better GPU. Anyone have any feedback/advice?

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

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Posted onPost created on April 10 2012 16:53 ET by Thiago Braga

Why Best Buy? Don`t do that. Build your own PC. I think it will be cheaper if you buy the parts apart. Go to Amazon, Newegg. Best prices for PC parts

Thiago Braga (DVA9545)

Posted onPost created on April 10 2012 23:01 ET by Robbie Johnson

I am considering building one, as of now im just under $900 after rebates on it. Still trying to decide on the components though, but its really not that much cheaper than buying one of the above (even considering the GTX560 Ti I picked) if you want to see my current list here is the link: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=26942628
I also have to figure out if I can get financing on there though... but if anyone has any recommendations on the build, I would appreciate feedback

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300

Joined on November 17 2007

Western United States

31 legs, 54.8 hours
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Posted onPost created on April 12 2012 12:01 ET by Louis Vanbelkum

I doubt there is a way to finance through any of these computer building sites.
Buy from tiger direct i think it may be a little cheaper for most components. Also you are trying to buy the upgrade version of windows you need to buy the full windows or download it off line and pirate it not that i support that or anything. I also could be missing it but you forgot a harddrive also.

Without buying windows you can spend about a grand on a 2500k or 1100 on a 2600k on tiger direct. That price includes a 7850 you could save about $50 by going with a gtx 560 1 gig, and a 500 gig HDD. IF you plan on using a old HDD and cd drive you could be at 1055 with a i7-2600k.

Posted onPost created on April 12 2012 17:57 ET by Thiago Braga

Louis Vanbelkum wrote:

I doubt there is a way to finance through any of these computer building sites.
Buy from tiger direct i think it may be a little cheaper for most components. Also you are trying to buy the upgrade version of windows you need to buy the full windows or download it off line and pirate it not that i support that or anything. I also could be missing it but you forgot a harddrive also.

Without buying windows you can spend about a grand on a 2500k or 1100 on a 2600k on tiger direct. That price includes a 7850 you could save about $50 by going with a gtx 560 1 gig, and a 500 gig HDD. IF you plan on using a old HDD and cd drive you could be at 1055 with a i7-2600k.

Yes, you can finance thru newegg.com. using bill me later and just for comment, I hate Tiger Direct in my opinion.

Robbie, What is your budget? Don`t get yet. I`ll help you to get a great deal. I also have Win7 Ultimate for free activated.

Thiago Braga (DVA9545)

DVA5255
First Officer, A330-300

Joined on November 17 2007

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Posted onPost created on April 12 2012 19:48 ET by Louis Vanbelkum

Whats wrong with Tiger Direct?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.864972
Anyways this looks like a good deal throw a gtx 560 or maybe even a 7750 the 7750 only cost like $100 and uses very little power and is cool won't compete with the gtx 560 but with fsx you won't really need the extra power

that whole set up would run you $1100 with the 7750 that which includes a 2700K, a nice HAF case, 1k gig HDD, 850W psu, 8 gigs of corsair vengeance 1886 instead of 1666 or 1333 smile

although you may want to try to copy the build and go with a 2600k instead and see if its cheaper and maybe go with the ripjaw or 1666 corsair vengeance to save a little more

i don't know alot about intel chips but i would think the 2700k is just a 2600k with a different clock speed from the factory that you could do your self
^please tell me if thats true if anyone knows

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 April 12 2012 20:19 ET by Louis Vanbelkum

Ok after a good hour + of research the 2700k is a 2600k but was picked out of the line because of it being more stable. So the price difference is the cost of the chip being a better mid range overclocking chip at a lower voltage because the chip came out better. There are 2600ks that will do the same every chip is a little different and having the 2700k title just means there is a better chance of it being one of the better ones.

Posted onPost created on April 12 2012 22:07 ET by Robbie Johnson

I actually decided on the i5 2500k for the build. The only difference between i5 and i7 is the hyperthreading, and I highly doubt FSX can utilize 8 threads. I think the build I put together is just about perfect for my needs, and I have a aftermarket heatsink to allow me to overclock by a reasonable amount. It also keeps me within my budget (strictly below $1000) while still having great performance capabilities. If anyone would like to see the current choices (updated as I change things) you can view it at http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=26942628

I might be buying it tonight or possibly tomorrow, but any feedback or advice would be appreciated.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on April 13 2012 15:26 ET by Thiago Braga

Robbie,
Louis found you a great Machine for you: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.864972 besides, I`ll change the HDD to SSD (not cheap but definately worth it.
I have a similiar machine and runs really fast.
If I were you, I would buy it. Than you can go with this one: GTX560 2GB
But your quote is really good price for a GOOD Computer.

Louis, I just think that Tiger Direct sucks on Support, Customer Service and their stuff is very highly priced. But many like a lot. I just suggested other stores.

Thiago Braga (DVA9545)

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 April 13 2012 17:04 ET by Louis Vanbelkum

i highly suggest the i7 over the i5 who ever told you they were the same chips lied they are the same manufacturing process although they are both 4 core but the i7 has more Cache and while being 4 core has 8 threads instead of 4 like the i5

if you are going to spend the $100 difference anywhere for fsx it HAS to be in the processor the better processor the more you will be happy

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 April 13 2012 17:26 ET by Louis Vanbelkum

Robbie Johnson wrote:

I actually decided on the i5 2500k for the build. The only difference between i5 and i7 is the hyperthreading, and I highly doubt FSX can utilize 8 threads. I think the build I put together is just about perfect for my needs, and I have a aftermarket heatsink to allow me to overclock by a reasonable amount. It also keeps me within my budget (strictly below $1000) while still having great performance capabilities. If anyone would like to see the current choices (updated as I change things) you can view it at http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=26942628

I might be buying it tonight or possibly tomorrow, but any feedback or advice would be appreciated.

--something i left out in above post the i7 single cores are stronger so 8 threads or not

and if you buy what you posted if you buy that you are wasting money
--
Here is why
#1-buying a $300 graphics card for FSX - buy a regular gtx 560 there will not be a frame difference between the two in fsx and i play bf3 on max graphics on bf3 if you plan on playing other games with my gtx 560 2 gig oc (save the $100 on power you will never use)
#2-Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade--thats a upgrade you already need xp or a earlyer edition installed on that harddrive for that to count so unless you plan on moving your HDD installing windows xp then upgrading ( which i am guessing what your doing so this may not count) but if your using a old 5200 rpm hdd why are you spending a grand on a system to bottleneck it really bad on a old HDD mise well downgrade other parts to get an even system
#3-Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM - based on your choice of a cpu cooler there is no point in buying that the cpu cooler will already have compound on the bottom you don't need really high grade compound because that cpu cooler is not going to do amazing tricks enough to do super overclocks
^spend the difference go with a H50 or H60 or a air cooler = to that you will have much better cooler safer overclocks even stock speeds
maybe this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103089

Posted onPost created on April 14 2012 03:12 ET by Robbie Johnson

Louis Vanbelkum wrote:

Robbie Johnson wrote:

I actually decided on the i5 2500k for the build. The only difference between i5 and i7 is the hyperthreading, and I highly doubt FSX can utilize 8 threads. I think the build I put together is just about perfect for my needs, and I have a aftermarket heatsink to allow me to overclock by a reasonable amount. It also keeps me within my budget (strictly below $1000) while still having great performance capabilities. If anyone would like to see the current choices (updated as I change things) you can view it at http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=26942628

I might be buying it tonight or possibly tomorrow, but any feedback or advice would be appreciated.

--something i left out in above post the i7 single cores are stronger so 8 threads or not

and if you buy what you posted if you buy that you are wasting money
--
Here is why
#1-buying a $300 graphics card for FSX - buy a regular gtx 560 there will not be a frame difference between the two in fsx and i play bf3 on max graphics on bf3 if you plan on playing other games with my gtx 560 2 gig oc (save the $100 on power you will never use)
#2-Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade--thats a upgrade you already need xp or a earlyer edition installed on that harddrive for that to count so unless you plan on moving your HDD installing windows xp then upgrading ( which i am guessing what your doing so this may not count) but if your using a old 5200 rpm hdd why are you spending a grand on a system to bottleneck it really bad on a old HDD mise well downgrade other parts to get an even system
#3-Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM - based on your choice of a cpu cooler there is no point in buying that the cpu cooler will already have compound on the bottom you don't need really high grade compound because that cpu cooler is not going to do amazing tricks enough to do super overclocks
^spend the difference go with a H50 or H60 or a air cooler = to that you will have much better cooler safer overclocks even stock speeds
maybe this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103089

After rebates the 560 Ti 448 is actually only about $40 more than the 560 2Gb, but it benchmarks just below the 570 (at $40 less). I picked that one because I want this build to last a while, so I am accounting for future requirements while not spending a whole lot more. I will be using my current HDDs (1.5tb + 500 gb; both 7200) so my current copy of XP will work for that upgrade version (also there is a workaround to install the update version on a clean drive, if that were the case). I went with a better thermal compound in order to increase the efficiency of that HS, and that HS comes highly recommended (several people I know use it with that thermal compound and can overclock to 4.7 and still maintain good temps; note I probably wont go past 4.0 and I am getting the special overclocking insurance from Intel, so no worries about killing the processor smile

). And I think the i5 is a good choice, while the hyperthreading and extra cache might help a little, I don't think it will help enough to justify $100 extra. The only things I am thinking of changing atm are the PSU from 750w to 650w since I can always get a better one if I decide to SLI later, possibly adding another case fan, and perhaps putting the mailing rebates towards another HDD (My 1.5 is actually full). But thank you for the feedback.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

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 April 14 2012 13:14 ET by Louis Vanbelkum

Get a 1 gig gtx 560 or a 6850 and oc the 6850-6870...unless this is not a pure fs gaming machine not even 1/10th of the gtx 560 ti will be used and less then 1/9th of the regular gtx 560.

But it is your money...also if i were you I would keep windows xp to be honest windows 7 is just a resource hog and completely useless imo...

DVA9677
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Posted onPost created on April 14 2012 14:10 ET by John Anderson

The one problem I would see with staying with XP is the memory management.
32bit systems only register 3gb of memory no matter how much you have installed in the system, and the only XP available as 64bit is XP Professional, and I doubt you'll find drivers for some of the newer, beefier video cards.

John Anderson (DVA9677)

Posted onPost created on April 14 2012 16:10 ET by Robbie Johnson

Louis Vanbelkum wrote:

Get a 1 gig gtx 560 or a 6850 and oc the 6850-6870...unless this is not a pure fs gaming machine not even 1/10th of the gtx 560 ti will be used and less then 1/9th of the regular gtx 560.

But it is your money...also if i were you I would keep windows xp to be honest windows 7 is just a resource hog and completely useless imo...

It will be for many different games, though I agree that GPU isn't necessary for FS, it is for some of the current games along with what will be required in the future.

John Anderson wrote:

The one problem I would see with staying with XP is the memory management.
32bit systems only register 3gb of memory no matter how much you have installed in the system, and the only XP available as 64bit is XP Professional, and I doubt you'll find drivers for some of the newer, beefier video cards.

That and DirectX 11

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

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 April 14 2012 16:38 ET by Louis Vanbelkum

Robbie Johnson wrote:

Louis Vanbelkum wrote:

Get a 1 gig gtx 560 or a 6850 and oc the 6850-6870...unless this is not a pure fs gaming machine not even 1/10th of the gtx 560 ti will be used and less then 1/9th of the regular gtx 560.

But it is your money...also if i were you I would keep windows xp to be honest windows 7 is just a resource hog and completely useless imo...

It will be for many different games, though I agree that GPU isn't necessary for FS, it is for some of the current games along with what will be required in the future.

John Anderson wrote:

The one problem I would see with staying with XP is the memory management.
32bit systems only register 3gb of memory no matter how much you have installed in the system, and the only XP available as 64bit is XP Professional, and I doubt you'll find drivers for some of the newer, beefier video cards.

That and DirectX 11

AH i was not thinking about drivers or DX11 i was just thinking that you have more usable ram for windows xp if you have the 64bit one..and some older games work better on xp over windows 7

---
when you get your system together you should take some pics and post smile

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Posted onPost created on April 29 2012 17:17 ET by Vince Benningfield

I have got the last 3 computers i have from http://stores.ebay.com/MICRO-ONE-COMPUTERS
and they will build you one to your spec"s. and at a price less than you could do it your self,
and they have life time support if anything goes wrong. My next computer will be bought from here.
Vince

Vince Benningfield

Captain, CRJ-200

DVA2888
Captain, EMB-120
COMM

Joined on February 09 2006
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Posted onPost created on April 30 2012 11:24 ET by Eric Rosenberg

Very interested in maximum frame rates (and corresponding scenery detail) folks achieve on a macbook pro (2011 or 2012 versions) or imac (2011) running fs x via bootcamp or virtual session... thanks.

Eric Rosenberg

Captain, EMB-120

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 April 30 2012 17:35 ET by Louis Vanbelkum

Eric Rosenberg wrote:

Very interested in maximum frame rates (and corresponding scenery detail) folks achieve on a macbook pro (2011 or 2012 versions) or imac (2011) running fs x via bootcamp or virtual session... thanks.

Using a laptop i7 ..i7 or not will match to around a desktop i3.
I would never touch a mac in my life if i had the chance to bad my dads work bought him another laptop this time a crappy macbook with an i7 and 16gigs of ram GROSS MAC along with the ipods and ipads i want to break them alllll!!!

Rampage over, i don't think many people are going to read this your best chance is a simple google search rather then ask for it here.

AFV405
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Posted onPost created on May 01 2012 02:33 ET by Salvo Montalbano

Eric Rosenberg wrote:

Very interested in maximum frame rates (and corresponding scenery detail) folks achieve on a macbook pro (2011 or 2012 versions) or imac (2011) running fs x via bootcamp or virtual session... thanks.

I run fsx on macbook pro 2011 and I get an average of 10-20 fps with medium detail. I'm pretty happy with it, but the computer really suffers, I plan to upgrade to 8gb of ram instead of 4.

DVA2888
Captain, EMB-120
COMM

Joined on February 09 2006
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary

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Posted onPost created on May 01 2012 16:22 ET by Eric Rosenberg

OK, i've got a macbook pro 2011 also with 8gb RAM and an i7 chip -- have not installed windows on it but have wondered if this is a machine that can handle fsx. my dell xps600 runs windows7 and fs9 at good frame rates but it can't live forever... it's 7 years old (still going strong though). never got fsx on it because frame rate was more important to me than more detail. alternative of course is to do x-plane on the mac but DVA still seems most closely aligned with fs.

Eric Rosenberg

Captain, EMB-120

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