PC Specs

[imchief]

Hi. Been throwing around upgradig (starting from scratch based on my current PC) my desktop. I was brousing craigslist and found this one for sale. I know FSX doesn't support SLI but its part of the build. I wan't to have the best FSX experience I can (currently still FS9 do to inability to run FSX to its potential). I can not build the machine for what he is selling it for (don't know how he can do it for that) so is there something I'm missing? IS this a good build for FLight Simming for the forseable near future? Price is $1000 US Here are the specs:

CPU: Intel I5 3750K 3.5Ghz (overclocked and stable at 4.2Ghz)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-LK LGA
Memory: Corsair XMS3 16G (2x8G) DDR3 1600Mhz
VGA: 2x EVGA 650Ti Boost 2GB Super-clocked videocards (SLI configuration w/ OC)
Power Supply: Corsair CX750 PSU
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H-60 liquid cooler (Dual 120mm Fans, Push-Pull configuration)
Case: Zalman ZM-Z9 U3, with external fan controller and temperature sensor
Hard drive: Western Digital 1TB WD Blue 7200rpm
Disc Drive: LG Blue-ray 12x w/ 3D playback
OS: Windows 7 Home

Thanks for your input.

[Bass]

"I know FSX doesn't support SLI"!!
I run my 2 Hawks in FSX

[imchief]

I wasn't saying that it won't work only that the benifits from 2 cards are not exploited as are multiple corps.

[OldAirmail]

That's a strange setup.

Some of the parts sounds like they were put together by a knowledgeable person: overclocking & a water cooled CPU.

Some specs seems strange to me, such as the dual EVGA 650Ti cards combined with, what seems to me to be, a marginal power supply, the Corsair CX750 PSU. This power supply would not be my choice for TWO video cards that require "400 watt or greater power supply" EACH. Add the overclocked CPU power requirements, easily over 100 watts when stressed, and it starts to get too much.

(Side note - the Corsair CX750 PSU only seems underpowered for this system)

400 watts X 2 = 800 watts. 800 watts +110 for the CPU = 900+ watts (wattages from Newegg & Toms Hardware).

And that doesn't factor in the power requirements for the mother board, memory, hard drive, etc.



And then you get to the memory; "Memory: Corsair XMS3 16G (2x8G) DDR3 1600Mhz".

Is this Windows 7 Home BASIC? 32bit or 64 bit?

Windows 7 Home Basic 32 bit max = 4 GB

Windows 7 Home Basic 64 bit max = 8 GB


64bit Windows 7 Home Premium is better off.

Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit max = 4 GB

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit max = 16 GB

So if the OS is 64bit Windows 7 Home Premium, then you're ok in that department.


OPTIONS
Have you considered re-using your old case and building your own computer from parts? I think that you can do better if you go that way.

Newegg is a great place to start off by reading reviews from others (although some of the negative reviews are from idiots).

Pricewatch.com is a great place to find great prices on components.




TigerDirect can be another good site, especially for a "barebones" system

If you're not all that hot on picking out the parts & putting it all together you could buy a "barebones" system. Barebones usually are a case, power supply, and motherboard. They may come with CPUs, memory, and graphics cards.

They don't usually come with hard drives. Many people install their old drive as a way to save money on both drive and operating system. If your old drive isn't so hot, you'll have saved enough money that you can buy a better one.


This one may, or may not be a good deal, I'm just showing you a sample. $509.99





One last thought - I would much rather buy a reconditioned (returned) computer with 64bit Windows 7 Pro, than ANY new computer with Windows 8.

Good luck.

[imchief]

Thank you for that input. Maybe the power requitement issue is why he's selling it. I used newegg when I built my current desltop in 2005. The tech has changed a lot since then and I haven't kept real up on it and there are so many varying opinions on what parts to use to build a good flight sim rig.

[OldAirmail]

"I used newegg when I built my current desltop in 2005."

Good for you!

I tend to replace parts every few years as sales come up.

One of my best strategies is to buy as good a motherboard as I can afford, and a pretty good CPU. In 2 or 3 years time, that expensive CPU that you couldn't afford has come way down in price.

I just checked PriceWatch. The i7-3770 CPU that cost over $1,000 when I bought my motherboard is now only $275.

Another strategy is not to try to buy the VERY BEST & FASTEST computer that I can find.

One, I don't have that much money. Two, in a years time it isn't going to be the best & fastest any more.



The 2 things that have given me the best speed are fast hard drives (SSDs now), and fast video cards. Luckily fast cards for flight sims aren't all that expensive nowadays.

I've got all of this running on a video card that costs less than $100!




OOOPPs. That's an old picture. The same video card driving those screens is also running a new GPS screen too. Did you notice that I said video card, not cards.



By the way - with all of those screens running I'm getting between 35 - 55 FPS in FSX. And all I have for a CPU is an i5 CPU.



So you can get a very good flight sim computer put together for less than $1,000!

[imchief]

Wow! That's awesome! Your setup is pretty much what I want to do with mine. Thanks again.

[OldAirmail]

The video card that I have is a Radeon HD 6850. There are much newer versions of that series

I mis-spoke about it being under $100. The one in the link is used (returned) for $100 + shipping.

There are several things that I like about the Radeon series.
1 - they're fast and, relatively, cheep.
2 - right out of the box, they're made to run 3 monitors. You don't have to buy a VERY fast video card AND TripleHead2Go for an additional $200 - $300.

The biggest negative is that you probably shouldn't update the drivers unless you have a problem with the old drivers.



I haven't added a post there for a while, but you might want to read some of what I've written in The poor mans sim pit. (Most of the good stuff starts on page 3 & later)

It may save you from some of the mistakes that I made.

[Hestntonpms]

I think you're better off spending the money on a better CPU than a high end GPU but the set up that was originally posted sounds like a good deal to me all except for the 2 video cards running on such a small power supply, other than that I would say that 3rd Gen i5 set up is pretty good for the price, my thing with buying someone elses Computer is and especially if it has been OC'd is How do I know how long it has left on it, how hot has this person tested this thing ?

I think you could set yourself up with a great MOBO and an i7 4770 and a decent GPU for a grand or so .
I think the 4770 is a beast of a CPU!

[logjam]

I am sure whatever you buy will end up doing the trick. However, please be careful buying anything from Craigslist, it has a reputation of being the world's biggest fence. Also there's always a possibility of a serious infection. There's a good product on the market right now that I use it's called a "Fixme stick." Runs outside the boot sector to clean up any latent malware etc http://www.fixmestick.com