New Sysatem

[Casper]

This is my first post and I'm sure my question has been asked before but I couldn't find it. I was given FSX Delux for my b'day however I don't have a DVD player and it's time to upgrade anyway. I am looking at the AMD Athlon 64X2 5200+ dual core 2.6 Ghz or the Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 Ghz E6700, 2GB Memory, with the 256MB nVidia GeForce7600 GT,HD graphics card. Is this sufficient to run FSX in an accepable manner or should I get a better proceccer or Graphics card, and no I don't have 3G's to spend.

[Mees]

It's system, dude...




Nah, well, I need the full specs, i.e PSU, Mobo, HDD but what you have now is quite good, but ya go for the E6700 instead of the AMD....



Mees

[ctjoyce]

Yawn. See stickie at the top of the forum, I didn't just write it because I was bord. Its there for a reason. Also I need to know your budget. I can suggest to you the computer that I am planing to build in April, but thats going to cost $3,000+ so I have the feeling thats out for you.

Heres a start.

Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe
2GB OCZ Titanium DDR2
150GB SATA150 10,000RPM Raptor from Western Digital.
eVGA 7950GT PCI-E
Hiper Type R 580W PSU.

The GPU's you picked are not suited for FSX. If you need the HDMI output the 7950 has a HDMI flavor. Just remember 2x mid range cards in SLi dont make one good card. They make two fast mid range cards. One 7950GT will give you better preformance.

Cheers
Cameron

[cheesegrater]

FSX like any game, is highly dependent on the graphics card. Get a good video card. 7600GT is not enough. 7900GS is the slowest video card I would even consider buying. If you are serious about running FSX you need something faster like a 7950GT or X1900XT.

You also may want to save some money by going with E6600 instead of E6700. E6700 costs $200 than E6600 and is only 260 mhz faster. The cores are the same, E6700 just has a higher multiplier. Save $200 and go with E6600.

A 10,000 rpm drive is nice, but I wouldn't call it essential.

For motherboard I think the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 is a good starting point. It is a solid board and a great overclocker at a low price. If you want SLI or other extras you can go from there.

The speed of the memory matters too. PC2 6400 is the standard. A lot of builders use slower PC2 5300.

It sounds like an OEM system because they stick a powerful CPU on a slow video card. If you are buying OEM you should check the prices of individual parts to see if you are getting good value.

When buying/building a system the best thing to do is read hardware reviews so you know what you're getting. You might want to check out HardOCP since they benchmark OEM systems and video cards using FSX.

http://www.hardocp.com

[DizZa]

Get the Core 2 duo E6600 and a X1950XT. The 7600GT is a fairly fast card, though, with the 200$ you saved from dropping the E6700 and getting a E6600, get a X1950XT. The X1950XT pretty much kills everything

[cheesegrater]

Hehehehe. It doesn't kill the 8800GTS. They cost about the same too.

[DizZa]

Hehehehe. It doesn't kill the 8800GTS. They cost about the same too.

Huh?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... ategory=48

[congo]

Casper you are on the right track except for the graphics card, you'll need a better one than a 7600GT though.

An Intel E6600 cpu on an Intel 965 or 975X chipset based motherboard with full o/c bios support is much better in my opinion than an E6700 without a thought for the mainboard.

I suggest a 512mb GF 7900GS video card if you are on a budget, otherwise get a video card in the 8000 series. Try to get 2gb of ram as well.

The mainboard is very important, you can get a cheap one, it just has to be the right one. Ask if you need advice on it.

[ctjoyce]

I would actually say a 680i insted of the 975X. Aparently they clock the same.

Cheers
Cameron