First Custom FSX build

[G1000Pilot]

I am going to be purchasing my MB and CPU shortly and wanted to know what you all though about the X4 9950. I never have traffic maxed out I mostly fly online via Squawk  Box. Does anybody have any input to this processor?

Thanks!

[Wii]

Amd will not perform NEARLY as well as Intel well. Nick will be here in moments to correct this

[NickN]

It depends on what you are coming from if it will equate to anything for you but if this FSX you are talking about anything AMD pretty much bites for gaining perf

[G1000Pilot]

Well AMD is not the way to go then! can you help me with the differences between the:

Intel Core i7 920 Processor

&

Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Processor


I think the i7 might be a good bet because i could upgrade eventually since it supports DDR3. This brings me to my next question, do i really need to get DDR3 memory right away? Is there a big difference as of yet?

[NickN]

your trying to build a FSX tower and use addons along side FSX

I have 2 questions and will check back tommorow..

1. Are you running FSX now with these addons?

2. What are you running for a system right now... CPU, memory, video card, motherboard

[G1000Pilot]

Nick:

I currently have an old PIII and i am not running FSX (i have it but for obvious reasons i do not choose to use it haha).

I am building something from scratch, all I will run along with it is Squawk Box over the VATSIM network. Being a real world pilot, I would like the game to run with Med-High settings around 25fps. Again, the water scenery does not matter, traffic does not matter, etc.

Most importantly (which you seem to stress) I would like something that i can adapt to some new technology for the next 1-2 years.

Thanks so much!

[NickN]

I think after you fly FSX you may reconsider the "I dont need secenery" thought

[G1000Pilot]

The 940 it is. I do not want to clock right away, but it will be a nice option to be able to when the new FSX comes out. Any instructions I can read on this that you could recommend?

If I am not planning on overclocking at first I can use the 1333, however, at which point i plan to OC it would be in my best interest to upgrade ram.

I will be running Vista x64 on the new system.

As far as components, I am purchasing all new ones. I have a custom case that keeps it really cool, but everything else will be new. Any input to the other components would be great.

$2,000 without screen is my range for now.

What is the graphics card I should plan on? If i get an HDMI compatible one would it be overkill to hook it up to my 52''?  ;D

Thanks Nick!

[NickN]

Either a 260 or 280GTX.. and if you can afford it, go with the 280 and get the fastest core and memory speed you can... they are sold with different specs for core and memory speed.

640 core speed and

Do keep in mind the higher the resolution the greater the load.. 1920x1200 is a good resolution to work with in a 24" monitor




CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115201

MEMORY: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227365

[cause88]

Nick
both of the links to overclocking showed a 404 error on my system.

[NickN]

oppsss

sorry.. links fixed

[G1000Pilot]

Thanks a bunch Nick.

As far as hard drives are concerned, does it help to run FSX on its own HD?

[NickN]

I do

Anything that places the data at the edge of the platter increases performance through basic geometry.

I format the FSX drive to 64K clusters instead of the default 4K using Acronis Disk Director (Windows does not allow 64K) and that cuts way down on fragmentation.. you lose a little space but its worth it to keep it clean.

I use O&O Defrag and run multiple passes of Complete\Name defrag with a reboot between each pass... there is a list in the FSX forum for system optimizing and using the right software for defrag.. sticky at the top of the forum


With the larger Raptor you can install everything to one drive however you can not format the drive to 64K clusters.. no Windows partition can be formatted to anything other than 4K

Do not partition performance disks.. one drive, one partition.. only partition storage disks that hold backups and that type of data

[G1000Pilot]

if i were to buy that drive for FSX would it matter if i did not have a top end one with VISTA installed on it?

[NickN]

You could get away with a different drive for the OS but dont use the ones you have now unless they are modern SATAII units.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148309

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136320