Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler - System upgrade need opinions / advice

Delta Virtual Airlines Water Cooler | PC Support | System upgrade need opinions / advice

DVA11462
Captain, B777-200
OLP

Joined on April 14 2013
DVA Two-Year Anniversary

Anchorage, AK

91 legs, 466.2 hours
68 legs, 348.7 hours online
89 legs, 461.8 hours ACARS
7 legs, 18.1 hours event

Posted onPost created on May 25 2013 16:38 ET by Cody Hendrickson

Afternoon Gents,

As my addiction to FSX and Online flying grows it seems my current system cannot handle my needs. I'm running almost lowest graphics and only minnor addons but unfortunately my online flying has become too demanding for my system and tends to freeze a lot, so i'm looking for an upgrade i dont need max graphics with HD addons (though it would be nice) i would a system that i could run medium to high graphics with no interuptions to my online flying and maybe a payware aircraft or two. I listed below a computer that is within my buget that i feel can accommodate what im looking for. I would like to know what everyone thinks and if you feel like this new system can support what im looking for, also any advice

Processor---AMD FX-6100 3.3GHz
Processor Main Features---- 64 bit Six-Core Processor
Cache Per Processor----6MB L2 Cache
Memory-----8GB DDR3 1333
Hard Drive----500GB SATAII 7200RPM
Optical Drive -----124x DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
Graphics------Nvidia Geforce GT 610 1GB
AudioSound card - Integrated
Ethernet-----Gigabit Ethernet
Power Supply---500W
Operating System----Windows 8
Chipset----AMD 760GCPU
CPU Type-----AMD FX-Series
CPU Speed-----FX-6100(3.3GHz)
L2 Cache Per CPU-----6MB
L3 Cache Per CPU------8MB
CPU Socket Type------AM3+
CPU Main Features-------64 bit Six-Core ProcessorGraphics
GPU/VPU Type-------Nvidia Geforce GT 610 1GBMemory
Memory Capacity-----8GB DDR3
Memory Speed-----DDR3 1333
Memory Spec------4GB x 2
Memory Slot (Total)----2
Memory Slot (Available)---0
Maximum Memory Supported------16GBHard Drive
HDD Capacity-------500GB
HDD Interface------SATA II
HDD RPM------------7200rpmOptical Drive
Optical Drive Type------DVD±RW
Optical Drive Spec-------24x DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW Dual Layer DriveAudio
Audio Channels--------7.1 Ch AudioCommunications
LAN Speed-------10/100/1000MbpsFront Panel Ports
Front USB-----1 x USB 2.0Back Panel Ports
PS/22
Video Ports------1 VGA, 1 DVI, 1 HDMI
Rear USB-------6 x USB 2.0

Cody Hendrickson

Captain, B777-200

DVA10641
Assistant Chief Pilot, B757-200
OLP

Joined on March 29 2012
50 State Club
Globetrotter
Million Mile Club
US Mountaineer Club
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 25 2013 17:09 ET by Jason Boche

I'd opt for an Intel equivalent and Windows 7

Jason Boche

Assistant Chief Pilot, 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 May 25 2013 18:03 ET by Robbie Johnson

I would recommend that you build it yourself instead of buying something prebuilt; you could get a much better system for your money. If you give me your budget I can get a rough parts list together for you.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on May 26 2013 01:58 ET by Cody Hendrickson

Jason/Robbie I have heard that building a system is much better but I am very un-computer savvy person unless these parts are like "plug & play" kind of install I may be able to handle a computer build but if there's going to be soldering and other electrical skills needed I may do more harm than good.
but Robbie my budget is from $500-$750 total I know this may not get me a whole lot but like I said early all I need this to do is run FSX at medium to high graphics with uninterrupted online flying.

thanks again gentlemen for your responses

Cody Hendrickson

Captain, B777-200

AFV313
Senior Captain, B737-800

Joined on June 11 2010
Diplomatic Mission
Pushing Tin Club
Online Millenium Club
Globetrotter Extraordinaire
The Penguins Of Madagascar
Double Millenium Club
50 State Club
Boeing Buckle Down
Four Million Mile Club
GVA 10 Year Anniversary

"Come fly with me, lets fly, lets fly away!"
Howick, KwaZulu-Natal ZA

2,941 legs, 9,560.6 hours
1,901 legs, 5,926.6 hours online
2,853 legs, 9,199.0 hours ACARS
58 legs, 272.0 hours event
350 legs dispatched, 155.5 hours

Posted onPost created on May 26 2013 03:03 ET by Robert Armstrong

Building a PC is very much plug and play.... A couple screws required to secure the motherboard/hard drives, its really quite easy

Posted onPost created on May 26 2013 11:54 ET by Jason Boche

Building a PC is mostly plug and play but for those who are not savvy or haven't done it before, expect it to take extra time and do be careful as the parts can be destroyed unintentionally via electrostatic discharge. The biggest problem you'll likely face is where and how to plug in the leads for the LEDs and switches on the front panel. Most motherboards are labeled pretty good these days though and only those who were building PCs 15 years ago will know how far motherboard manuals from Taiwan have come in terms of quality. We're here to help you if you get stuck and I'd bet there are some great Youtube videos out there to walk you through it. Robbie can put together an excellent parts list for your budget.

Jason Boche

Assistant Chief Pilot, B757-200

Posted onPost created on May 26 2013 12:02 ET by Cody Hendrickson

Thats good to hear then, i have seen customizable gaming PC's where you can select the componets and the company will build it for you. It tends to be a little more expensive but is that something one of you would recommend? or do these customized computer still fall short of personally built computers?

Cody Hendrickson

Captain, B777-200

Posted onPost created on May 26 2013 12:06 ET by Jason Boche

Well I'd recommend it if you were unwilling to build yourself AND had the budget. However as Robbie said, on your budget you are much better off building yourself. Use that extra $100-200 in componentry instead of assembly labor/service charges/whatever.

Jason Boche

Assistant Chief Pilot, B757-200

Posted onPost created on May 26 2013 12:25 ET by Cody Hendrickson

I'll definitely keep that in mind, I guess I'll just wait and see what kind of parts list Robbie can put together for me. Thanks again for everyone's help

Cody Hendrickson

Captain, B777-200

Posted onPost created on May 26 2013 19:21 ET by Robbie Johnson

Ok, here is a rough list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.69 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LX ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 1GB Video Card ($146.09 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($55.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $670.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 19:02 EDT-0400)

If you do not live near a Microcenter the base total would be $737.96 with $27 MIR. I couldn't get windows in without sacrificing CPU performance but there are several ways to acquire it for little to no money (many schools give it to their students at a reduced price or free). If you must purchase windows (~$90) I can throw together a different parts list but you would sacrifice the ability to overclock the CPU (which is strongly recommended for FSX). That said, the above is solid for flight sim although performance would be lacking for many modern games.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on May 27 2013 12:10 ET by Cody Hendrickson

Thanks Robbie! So my next question is, If I purchase all these components and assemble it right how do I go about programming it? Or will it just run if I push the power button?

Cody Hendrickson

Captain, B777-200

Posted onPost created on May 27 2013 15:45 ET by Robbie Johnson

Well you would first have to install windows which is very simple; just put the CD in and follow the on screen prompts. From there you need drivers. For the motherboard I typically just use the ones from the CD that is included with it, but for the video card it is recommended that you get the latest ones from the NVidia website. After that just let windows update run and you are good to go.

For the build itself there are tons of guides on Youtube that get it pretty much perfect; the only things that they regularly get wrong is thermal paste application. Here is a video with several different ways; I prefer the grain of rice/pea method. And remember when it comes to thermal paste less is more. Also, here is the Kentucky method.

Robbie Johnson (DVA10131)

Posted onPost created on May 28 2013 14:47 ET by Cody Hendrickson

thanks Robbie you've been a great help I'll post updates and build pics once i start the project

Cody Hendrickson

Captain, B777-200

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