Simviation Forums

Hi.

I've been thinking about the specs for my next PC, and this is what I've decided:

Intel Core i7-970
ASUS ENGTX590 GeForce GTX590
8GB DDR3-1066
Seagate Barracuda 3.5

what i would recommend is that you ebay / google the items to find your price,
this is a good spec computer but i would think that you may have to build it yourself
i havent seen a system with water cooling that you can buy off the shelf

as i said i would recommend that you build this one if you have the knowledge

www.newegg.com

A lot.

I wouldn't advise getting a system like that because a $315 processor (Core i7 2600K) isn't far behind the 990X. It's also possible that a month after you buy it, it will become a white elephant because some new processors are coming out in a month or two that might possibly match or exceed the 990X for less than half the cost.

Core i7 970 isn't much slower but is MUCH better value and overclocks similarly under good air cooling (I think water too, not sure).

The only time I think it would be worth getting a $1000 processor is if you know that nothing will touch it for a long time, and that it's leaps and bounds ahead of other processors. Neither is true.

Also, consider this:
Lots of folks are doing fair to good flying FSX without spending $1500-$2000+ on a computer.
A good store-bought computer with 500-600W power supply, 4+ (even 3+) GB RAM, i7 930 (or AMD counterpart) and top shelf (even mid-shelf) video card are all that's truly necessary. You can go as big as you want, but you will notice a diminishing return for money spent. Specs like these are found on PCs @ frys.com regularly. Nothing huge about those numbers, anymore.
O/C the CPU, low-latency RAM, solid-state drives are all a bonus, but again, the reward is really just that extra little bit only an obsessed FSX junkie (like myself) would notice. Gains, yes, but substantial, not as much.
The biggest gain for me was a great video card. Although FSX is very busy, and mainly CPU hungry, it seemed to me that having a good video card to handle the graphics stuff left the CPU to do other things.
Also, limit the framerate. The difference between 30+ or 40+ is barely noticeable. TV only gives us 24 FPS. An LCD monitor can only give you 60-75 tops, anyway. If the thing only has to render 30 FPS, it can do other things in the between time.

In summary, go as big as you can afford. And beware: Don't be fooled into thinking more expensive means better performance. Do your homework.

Hope this helps.

www.newegg.com

A lot.

I wouldn't advise getting a system like that because a $315 processor (Core i7 2600K) isn't far behind the 990X. It's also possible that a month after you buy it, it will become a white elephant because some new processors are coming out in a month or two that might possibly match or exceed the 990X for less than half the cost.

Core i7 970 isn't much slower but is MUCH better value and overclocks similarly under good air cooling (I think water too, not sure).

The only time I think it would be worth getting a $1000 processor is if you know that nothing will touch it for a long time, and that it's leaps and bounds ahead of other processors. Neither is true.

I have been considering the i7-970 but I've heard the i7-990X  is 100% safe to overclock. Is the i7-970 100% safe as well? If so, then I'll go with that and save $500.

Nothing is 100%  safe is overclock and there's no reason to suggest that overclocking 990x is any safer than 970.

[quote]Nothing is 100%

Is the i7-970 compatible with DDR3-2133 RAM?

Not sure.

I think it would run but it wouldn't run at DDR3-2133 unless you increase the base clock yourself.