Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - Building a new computer

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | Building a new computer

DVA7417
Captain, B757-200

Joined on May 03 2009
50 State Club
Everett Century Club
Triple Century Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
Online Triple Century Club

Omaha, NE USA

367 legs, 786.1 hours
344 legs, 739.9 hours online
359 legs, 774.7 hours ACARS
1 legs, 1.6 hours event

Posted onPost created on June 04 2012 08:21 ET by Aaron Large

Seeing as I just commissioned in the Navy and have started to receive my first of many paychecks, I am looking to finally build a PC worthy of flight sim and all that it has to offer. I am trying to figure out from your guys opinion of what to buy to make a good computer. I am not really looking to spend more than $800-1,000 to build it.

If you guys could give me a few ideas on what parts to put into it and where to look, your help would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Aaron Large

Captain, B757-200

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 June 05 2012 06:10 ET by Robbie Johnson

First of all congratz on the commission, sir ;). Here is a wishlist I made up for a build I am currently considering http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?Source=MSWD&WishListNumber=26942628 . It currently comes out to $1,018.87, but does not include the HDD. I am planning on reusing my current ones for this build so if you don't have an extra HDD laying around you would need to add about $100 to the price. The only thing I am current considering changing is the mobo, which I may upgrade to a better one made by ASUS.

I can make you up a more personalized wishlist if you would like. If you do, I need to know a few things. Do you plan on overclocking? Are there any parts (within the case) that you don't need (i.e. HDD, GPU, etc.)? If so, what are you planning on reusing? Do you have any parts preference? I also need the budget not including peripherals (monitor, mouse, yoke, etc).

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 07:43 ET by Aaron Large

Robbie, I was using my father's HP for the longest time. I am not too concerned on the budget but I also don't want this to get out of control. I built one computer back when I was in 6-8th grade with my father...that is my experience so I know they are relatively easy to build. As for the tech specs and what not, I am so far removed I don't even understand overclocking so your expertise on the matter is greatly appreciated.

As for parts, I have nothing other than my Toshiba laptop. That is why I am looking to get a computer that can run FS9 very well and will allow me to make the transition to FSX without needing a new computer. The budget is $800 to around $1200. I really don't want it to get above that. The peripherals will just be basics and I will upgrade them to others as I see fit.

Aaron Large

Captain, B757-200

DVA1690
Senior Captain, MD-88
OLP

Joined on May 05 2004
50 State Club
Quatercentenary Club
Online Quadruple Century Club
Stage 1 Jet Double Century Club
DVA Twenty-Year Anniversary

"Life begins at Vr"
Longmont, CO USA

477 legs, 700.4 hours
468 legs, 686.6 hours online
254 legs, 389.4 hours ACARS
3 legs, 3.9 hours event

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 10:52 ET by Trevor Bair

Congrats on the commission. smile

The pics have long since disappeared off of this thread, but I built my FSX-capable (i.e. sustained 30fps with high settings) for around the $1,000 price tag based on the following specs: http://www.deltava.org/thread.do?id=0x1801b

I'm sure you could get those parts for less than $1k now or even get BETTER components and be within your budget. Good luck.

Trevor Bair

Senior Captain, MD-88

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 16:25 ET by Robbie Johnson

Ok Aaron, I have a rough list ready for you. http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=27366768
As it stands, it comes out to $1136.88 with s/h, and $1086.88 after MIR. There are a few items that I can replace with cheaper alternatives depending on what else the computer will be used for, and I can probably get the price down by ~$100.

I choose an Ivy Bridge CPU since they do tend to work better at stock speeds and low overclocks, but when you overclock due to a design flaw they tend to overheat before you can push them very far. The unlocked processors are very easy to overclock, and you can find a lot of guides on the internet to walk you through the process. If you want a higher overclock, I would recommend a Sandy Bridge CPU. They can be overclocked significantly higher than IB and still have low temps. If you have any intention on overclocking I would go with SB.

I threw in a ASUS mobo, but there are a few slightly cheaper alternatives. ASUS boards come with auto tuning software, which can overclock your CPU automatically to a stable clock. Since you are unfamiliar with overclocking it is a nice feature to have.

For the GPU I picked a 570. It is a great card, and will take just about anything you throw at it with with high settings. If this computer will be purely for FS, while I would still recommend sticking with this card, there are some less expensive alternatives that would not result in too much of a performance decrease.

You can also pick out a different case, there are some cheaper ones that will get the job done. Its just a matter of preference, and there are hundreds to choose from.

Let me know what you think.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 19:48 ET by Aaron Large

Robbie, is there much of a difference between the i5 and the i7?

Aaron Large

Captain, B757-200

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 19:51 ET by Aaron Large

Also, since this computer will need to be hooked up via a wireless, can you please recommend a card for this.

Aaron Large

Captain, B757-200

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 20:21 ET by Robbie Johnson

Aaron Large wrote:

Robbie, is there much of a difference between the i5 and the i7?

The i7 has hyperthreading, and the i5 does not and the i7 usually has a slightly higher cache. For FS and really any gaming you would not see any noticeable difference between the 2, other than the extra $100 that the i7 costs, but for things like video editing, encoding, etc. the i7 would provide better performance.

Aaron Large wrote:

Also, since this computer will need to be hooked up via a wireless, can you please recommend a card for this.

I will look around and add it to the list if I find one. I can also look for a mobo with on board wifi, but I will update the list with it either way.

Other than that do you have any more questions/concerns about the build?

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 20:33 ET by Aaron Large

Nah, I am really only playing games on it. I am not doing anything beyond that.

I am sure that I will have plenty of questions when I am building the thing if you are willing to help me with any problems that would arise.

Aaron Large

Captain, B757-200

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 20:39 ET by Robbie Johnson

Ok, have you made a decision between IB and SB? Also is the GPU ok or should I replace it with a less expensive one?

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 21:14 ET by Aaron Large

I am fine with the GPU. The I guess I don't really understand what overclocking is, so I guess whatever would be simpler for me unless you can explain overclocking.

Aaron Large

Captain, B757-200

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 21:33 ET by Robbie Johnson

Overclocking is just making the processor go at a faster speed. With modern unlocked processors it is very easy to do, as long as you know what you are doing. There are tons of guides about how to do it, and it is relativity simple. The only downsides are increased power consumption and heat generation. The aftermarket heatsink I put on the list is one of the best on the market, a friend of mine got his IB up to 4.4 with it and still had good temps and you should be able to go higher with SB, but every chip is different so its not a guarantee. Since you are unfamiliar with it, you can just use the auto tuning of the ASUS mobo to give you a respectable stable overclock. I think in this case the IB would be a better choice for you.

I also updated the list with a new mobo, the new one is $45 more but has some extra features including WiFi.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 22:05 ET by Aaron Large

I know this is weird, but is it possible to get your contact information in a private email if I have questions when I start to build. My goal is to order most of the parts if not all the parts with this next paycheck to pay for it.

Aaron Large

Captain, B757-200

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 22:23 ET by Robbie Johnson

No problem, go ahead and shoot me an email rangingwarr@aol.com and I'll send it to you.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on June 05 2012 23:08 ET by Aaron Large

You should have mail if it works properly with Outlook.

Aaron Large

Captain, B757-200

Posted onPost created on June 06 2012 23:18 ET by Robbie Johnson

I got it, you should have gotten a reply. One more question, do you plan on using SLI in the future?

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on June 07 2012 16:00 ET by Aaron Large

Probably not because I have no idea what that even means lol

Aaron Large

Captain, B757-200

DVA8158
Captain, B767-300
OLP

Joined on December 31 2009
Century Club
Online Century Club
50 State Club

"Eight hours bottle to throttle."
Newnan, GA USA

197 legs, 437.5 hours
161 legs, 329.8 hours online
196 legs, 435.9 hours ACARS
5 legs, 17.1 hours event

Posted onPost created on June 15 2012 11:26 ET by Peter Bagrationoff

I too am deciding what components I want for my next build and am torn between SB or IB. I currently have an i7 860 overclocked to 3.6 Ghz and enjoy frame rates around 40 in FSX. If I get the SB I would probably stick with the Z68 chipset because I have never upgraded a CPU without replacing the MB. For Ivy Bridge the Z77 makes more sense because you get PCIE-3.0. SB CPU will work on Z68 or Z77 but the queston is will PCIE-3.0 be worth reducing the overclock capability by getting IB vs SB ? Decisions Decisions.....

Peter Bagrationoff (DVA8158)

Posted onPost created on June 15 2012 13:23 ET by Robbie Johnson

Peter Bagrationoff wrote:

I too am deciding what components I want for my next build and am torn between SB or IB. I currently have an i7 860 overclocked to 3.6 Ghz and enjoy frame rates around 40 in FSX. If I get the SB I would probably stick with the Z68 chipset because I have never upgraded a CPU without replacing the MB. For Ivy Bridge the Z77 makes more sense because you get PCIE-3.0. SB CPU will work on Z68 or Z77 but the queston is will PCIE-3.0 be worth reducing the overclock capability by getting IB vs SB ? Decisions Decisions.....

You won't see much of a difference in PCIe 3.0 unless you are running multiple GPUs, in which case it still probably wouldn't be much. It is a tough choice between IB and SB. They say IB is inherently faster, but you would need a really good aftermarket cooler to OC by a decent amount, but a friend of mine did get one to 4.4 with a Hyper 212 evo. That said I still think the SB would be better if you want a high OC, a lot of people I know have gotten their 2500ks to 5.0+ with the Hyper 212 with no problems.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

For flight simulation purposes only. Not a commercial website. In no way are we affiliated with Delta Air Lines, its affiliates, or any other airline. All logos, images, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. Delta Virtual Airlines is a non-profit entity engaged in providing an avenue for flight simulation enthusiasts.