Best FSX Computer for $2500 Max!!

[shoumi]

Hi Guys,

I need some help in deciding what kind of computer to buy for FSX.

I am presently building a LEVELD 767, and will be using the following.

1. FSX
2. LEVELD 767
3. REX
4. UTX (Canada, USA, Europe)
5. Ultimate traffic
6. Other addons such as Radar Contact, etc

For outside visual. I am looking at 3 short throw projectors (in time) or large 48" monitors.

Now, based on your experiences, what kind of a rig can I purchase? My budget being $2500 CDN max!!
I have been looking at the i5 and the i7 cores, but not sure what would be best suited to FSX setup like mine.

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Taufeeq

[autocadplease]

Buy the fastest CPU you can afford. FSX doesn't take full advantage of video card's GPU or memory - so don't waste money buying some high end video card. A SSD drive may help a little.

[Rockeyes]

How about putting one together? A company I use is ‘OverclockersUK’ but I’m sure you will have an equivalent supplier. It’s true that FSX does not rely as much on the graphic card as some but why limit yourself?
Here is a system I currently use which runs FSX, REX2 etc with sliders to max. Frame rates around 40 depending on what else I have running etc.
x 1 - *OVERCLOCKED* Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz @ 4.00GHz Max Asus P6TD Deluxe Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel DDR3 Bundle
x 1 - Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (11161-03-50R)
x 1 - Corsair TX 850W ATX SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-850TXUK)
x 1 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Retail (Full Version)
x 1 - Fractal Design Define R2 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl
x 1 - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev B CPU Cooler (Socket 77511561366)
x 2 - Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ)
x 1 - Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
x 2 - Fractal Design 140mm Silent Cooling Fan
x 1 - Fractal Design 120mm Silent Cooling Fan

I think that’s about 2100 CAD. You could obviously save if you have Windows7, changing the case and fan options etc and not buying from rip off Britain where fuel is currently £4.70 gal = $7.20gal

[shoumi]

Hi Grant and Rockeyes,

Thanks to both of you for the kind input.

Unfortunately, I am not that capable to put the thing together myself.
However, I have been checking on Ebay and they seem to have the i980X on sale.
I have done some customization on the order, it is as follows:

INTEL i7 CPU: Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition i7-980X 3.33GHz 12MB LGA1366 CPU
INTEL i7 CPU FANS: INTEL HEAVY DUTY LGA 1366 COOLING FAN
ADVANCED THERMALPASTE: ZEROtherm ZT100 Thermal Grease

INTEL LGA1366 MOTHERBOARDS: ASRock X58 Extreme Core i7 / Intel X58/ DDR3/ Quad CrossFireX & Quad SLI/ A&GbE
DDR3 TRIPLE CHANNEL MEMORY: 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel
MEMORY HEAT SPREADERS: 3X MEMORY HEAT SPREADERS

HARD DRIVES 1: Western Digital Raptor 150GB 16MB CACHE SATA 10000rpm
HARD DRIVE FANS 1: THERMALTAKE HIGH PERFORMANCE HARD DRIVE COOLING FAN
OPTICAL DRIVE 1: - 22X DVD-RW DUAL LAYER W/LIGHTSCRIBE

PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARDS: ATI RADEON HD 5750 1GB DDR5 2DVI HDMI CrossFire PCI-EXP Video Card
SOUND CARDS: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 24-bit Sound Card
NETWORK CARDS: REALTEK GIGABIT 10/100/1000 ETHERNET (ONBOARD)

CASES: APEVIA X-Dreamer3 Metal Case w/ Side Window-GREEN
CASE FANS: (1x) THERMALTAKE/ANTEC ULTRA-QUIET CASE FAN
CASE EXHAUST SYSTEM: PREMIUM CASE COOLING SYSTEM

PROFESSIONAL WIRING: LET'S USE PROFESSIONAL WIRING W/ROUND CABLES ON MY PC
POWER SUPPLY: 550 WATT ATX POWER SUPPLY (BASIC LOAD)

KEYBOARDS: - 103 Keys PS2 Basic Wired Keyboard
SPEAKERS: - 2.0 Channel Multimedia Speakers
MICE: - 2 Buttons Wired Optical Mouse

A system like the above will sell for about $2500-2600 USD, which is close to my range.
Although, I know it is hard to tell without actually having an exact build such as above what it would be like.
But do either of you think I can get at least 35-40 fps in the busiest airports with the addons I am planning for?

Rockeye-with all sliders maxed and addons running, is 40 fps smooth enough?

I am building a full scale simpit, and I need the power! I can probably try and overclock the 980X later on.

Thanks again guys,


Taufeeq

[Rockeyes]

The system spec looks good to me, although I’m not a computer expert I would be tempted to drop the additional sound card, the on-board sound should be more than enough. It would be interesting to find anyone who can tell the difference between the sound card on a modern motherboard and a S.B using the same speakers. There is nothing hi-fidelity about warnings and engine sounds etc wise. Drop the sound card and upgrade the power supply.

I would go 650W minimum, 750W comfortable and 850W should cover you for future crossfire support etc. OK now for frame rates. I was told from a guru years ago that anything over 25 frame/sec the eye would struggle to see any difference. A friend of mine on an old PC poodles around in FSX with frame rates often around 15 fps so at around 40fps with all the settings maxed out you will not have a problem.

Personally I would be reluctant to buy a PC of eBay especially if you are not too familiar with PC’s. I had a power supply fail after 2yrs and was able to get a replacement under the 3yr warranty without any problems from a well-known dealer. I’m sure that that can’t often be said by some flee bay sellers.

I will P.M you a link for further reading on PC’s and FSX etc. Not sure of the rules here at the moment

[shoumi]

Hi Rockeye,

Thanks for the reply.
You are right, it is better to have a more powerful power supply.
The only reason I originally chose the sound card was because FSX allows 2 sound cards for ATC and other sounds.
How did you overclock your's to 4 Gig??!!

If you cannot post the link here, please send the link to my email at scorpiostings2002@yahoo.ca.

Thanks,

Taufeeq

[Rockeyes]

Hi Rockeye,
How did you overclock your's to 4 Gig??!!
Thanks,
Taufeeq
By adjusting the BIOS settings.

Number of cores 4 (max 8 )
Number of threads 8 (max 16)
Name Intel Core i7 930
Codename Bloomfield
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 1366 LGA (0x1)
CPUID 6.A.5
Extended CPUID 6.1A
Core Stepping D0
Technology 45 nm
Core Speed 4000.0 MHz
Multiplier x FSB 20.0 x 200.0 MHz
Rated Bus speed 3600.0 MHz
Stock frequency 2800 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, EM64T, VT-x
L1 Data cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 4-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 4 x 256 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L3 cache 8 MBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes

Turbo Mode supported, disabled