Shopping list for Future Build

[Dan Morera]

Hi guys, like some of you I'm dreaming of building a better rig for my flight simulator (see if I can finally go to fsx). So I came up with a list of parts that I like, made up of brands I have used before and feel comfortable using. Also I'm limited to what I can get as I am located outside of the US.

I have never built a computer before, but I did change my current computers: power supply, video card, and ram. Maybe some other minor stuff. So keep in mind I'm a newbie at computer building.

So I just wanted to ask you guys, if this list of parts makes sense, I'm particularly interested in compatibility, as I think performance should be ok.

Here it is, let me know what you would change or what am I missing (I know I'm missing video card still thinking which nvidia, suggestions?)

motherboard EVGA P55 FTW Edition SLI Mainboard 132-LF-E657-KR
Cooler Master 120mm Silent Case Fan 4-in-1 Value Pack - (R4-S2S-124K-GP)
Syba SY-CAB65007 3 Pin Female to 2 x 3 Pin Male Connectors Fan Power Extension Y Cable (7.75 Inches)
Cooler Master RR-B10-212P-G1 Hyper 212 Plus 775/1156/1366/AMD/AM2/AM3 Universal Direct Contact Heat-Pipe 120mm Fan CPU Cooler
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound, 3.5 Grams
Intel Core i7 860 Processor 2.80 GHz 8 MB LGA1156 CPU I7-860BOX
Corsair XMS3 4 GB PC3-12800 1600Mhz Dual Channel Core i3 i5 i7 DDR3 Memory Kit CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850-Watt TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i7 and Core i5
Antec Nine Hundred Steel ATX Ultimate Gamer PC Case (Black)
GeForce GTX 465 

Hard disk have not decided, would like your advice
I run one 32" LCD vis HDMI and then one 19" via DVI (no plans to change either soon)
Resolution 1920x1080 and 1280x1024

Thanks in advance,
Dan

[Slotback]

Change power supply to an Enermax MODU87+, Corsair AX-series, Corsair HX-series, or Seasonic X-series. Get a 600 - 750 watt power supply, 850 is overkill for that computer even overclocked UNLESS you plan on using SLI or Crossfire with power hungry graphics cards. I would recommend a modular PSU for cable management.

If it's not too much more then try and get RAM with slightly tighter timings, other than that RAM is good.

Wicked motherboard although it is expensive.If you don't need features then maybe go with something cheaper. FSX has no use for SLI or Crossfire although other applications do get significant gains.



Core i7 9xx series on LGA 1366 socket overclocks slightly better than Core i7 8xx series on LGA 1156 socket but it is more expensive. Your choice.

Cases already come with fans so you shouldn't need to purchase any more. In any case Coolermaster fans are not very good so look at Scythe, Noctua, or maybe Xigmatek fans.

I am not sure if you should change videocard or not. Apparently Nvidia performs better than ATi in FSX, although I can't find any benchmarks. However on the other hand in non-fsx benchmarks the Radeon 5850 is faster than the GTX 465 while consuming much less power. Nvidia 400 series is an epic fail hence I bought a Radeon 5770 (and people call me an nvidia fanboy?

[hhomebrewer]

Per hard drives, buy only Western Digital Caviar Black. The thin, lightweight ones offered by WD and everybody else are, to be charitable, "not a good investment." I'd get one of the dual-slot Thermaltake Blac-X external docks. Makes copying and swapping files around very easy. Also a good way to create and maintain a drive with all your precious stuff backed-up. I was using Acronis 2010 until I buggered-up something in January. I still have not yet figgered out what I did and have not set it up again. I am backing-up with the Win7 Pro utility. Take my advice: Get a back-up solution. It will save you tears and anguish later on...

[Dan Morera]

Having second thoughts on the gtx 465, but the gtx 2xx are much more expensive, and I would rather stay with nvidia.

Any thoughts? 

Oh I probably won't be overclocking this machine, either CPU or GPU, I don't know how so don't want to screw it up.

[Slotback]

Your choice.

Stock cooling is sufficient so you won't need to buy a new cooler like the Coolermaster Hyper 212+.

Get the GTX 470 then IMO.

I don't like the Velociraptor since it's loud, and expensive. Sure it's fast but it's redundant with the advent of the SSD. My advice: Get 1 terrabyte Western Digital Blue or Black, or Samsung Spinpoint, or some kind of Seagate. Do NOT get anything with 'Green' or 'eco' or 'ecogreen' on it and make sure it's a full 3.5 inch drive (as opposed to 2.5 inch UNLESS it's an SSD).