System Hardware: PC | MOBO | RAM | CPU | HDD | SSD | PSU etc

Hi everyone, I haven't been on here or simming since 2008! So I have a few questions. First, whats changed?! I need to build a new PC or laptop, whats the best sim, fsx or xplane these days? Can anyone also get me up to date with the latest and best cpus etc for xplane/fsx? I was away because I was taking flying lessons! Cheers Ian

I'm building my new computer this week and I do plan to overclock. I'm using an i7 3770k on an AsRock z77 Extreme4 Mobo. This is my first OC, so I don't plan to go crazy with it. I'm thinking 4.5 GHz is completely attainable after watching tutorials and reading various overclocking threads. A big question I have is when adjusting Vcore should I use fixed or offset mode? I'm leaning offset for the power saving benefits and protecting my CPU. Although the fixed mode you get consistent power input no matter the load on the CPU. I can see this being a plus in that you don't have to worry about power fluctuations especially when flying. Although I'm sure in the long term it af…

Just a quickly my main gaming machine has a 500GB 7200RPM usual HDD and I am about to reinstall Windows's 7. I have a 64GB agility SSD going spare jut wondering wondering if I will get more FSX performance if I install windows on it and FSX or windows on the 500 and the 64 separate with FSX on it Thanks

Yup...another new rig thread...it's been 7 years since I built my last rig so it's time to upgrade! MOBO - ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard CPU - Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz Video Card - EVGA 03G-P4-3668-KR GeForce GTX 660 Ti FTW+ 3GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Storage (x2) - OCZ Agility 4 AGT4-25SAT3-256G 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) PSU - CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD CPU Cooler - Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SS…

I am building my new system and received my parts today. My motherboard came with a single stick of corsair vengeance 8gb 1600. I didn't realize I was receiving only a single stick so here's my question. Should I order a second stick and have 16gb knowing that is overkill or just order new set of 2x4gb faster with lower CL for same price?

I read this article and it had me wondering: http://www.zdnet.com/how-ssd-power-faults-scramble-your-data-7000011979/ Pardon my ignorance, but I know the UPS I have here has some sort of line protection in it that goes beyond handling big power surges. There is some feature designed to provide maybe a stable current and it supposed to be a good thing for sensitive electronics.

This one will be a beast...POW http://videocardz.com/39618/nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-pictured

i have a amd fx 8120 running at 4.2ghz n HD 7870 when i play fsx the video card downclocks i want to know if it is my cpu gpu or psu Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX AM3+ Motherboard, AMD FX-8120 X8 3100MHZ 16MB 125W AM3+, Sony Optiarc 24X DVDRW SATA OEM, WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA HD 7200/32MB/SATA-6G, Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz 2x4, Thermaltake Overseer RX-I Full Tower Gaming Case, DIAMOND 7870PE52G Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler for i5, i7, 775 and AMD, COOLMAX ZP-750B APFC/V2.3/EPS12V/V2.92 80+ BRONZE

I'm planning on building a new machine around a couple of SSDs and a 1 TB HDD. Just read an article on problems with power faults causing data loss on SSDs. Article can be found here: http://www.zdnet.com/how-ssd-power-faults-scramble-your-data-7000011979/ Has anyone experienced problems with power faults and SSDs. I'm thinking that I should use an UPS to smooth the input power. Jim Driskell

In both FS9 and FSX sounds are terrific, but I have no sound to my rear two speakers with 5.1 surround. With all other applications, all five speakers are producing sound with no problem (ilel CD's, Tapes, Streaming, Testing etc.). In addition to this, with the latest drivers for my MB, I am able to test, adjust or equalize all speakers with no problem. In past years with previous operating systems and FS versions, I remember also having this issue at times, but assuming that I ever knew what it was and if it would be applicable to the current setup, I have forgotten the solution. I have found numerous posts regarding this issue, but have overlooked the solution …

Hi guys, After trawling the net for advice/tutorials etc. I still can't get my system to overclock. I have a 3.3GHz Intel Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge which should according to Dell be able to be overclocked to at least 4.2GHz. There are two factory set overclock profiles in the bios but these do not effect the performance in any way. I have tried manually changing the bios settings but the speed still remains at 3.3GHz. Has anyone had experience in overclocking? After spending a great deal of wonga on a system that should be configurable, I'm feeling a bit short changed. Mike

My memory has lifetime warranty and one of the modules from my PC2-8500 kit failed. However because the modules are obsolete the closest replacement they can offer is a PC2-6400 kit. Corsair Vengence TWIN2X4096-8500C5D 4GB kit PC2-8500 (1066MHz) 5-5-5-24 2.1V for Corsair XMS TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX 4GB kit PC2-6400 (800MHz) 5-5-5-15 1.8V I believe that both models have the same heat spreader. Is this a reasonable replacement or should I seek some kind of refund and buy another brand of PC2-8500 modules?

Was wondering if these temps are good temps, the 66 never moves always at 66 then again acording to the boards manual it says it's suppose to be at 66 no matter what. Anyways just curious. During gameplay cpu goe's up to the 50's and video card temp also around 53,54

The computer that I am buiding up has two Memory Hard disks: 1st Hard Disk 480GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW) 2nd Hard Disk 1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE Which of these should I install windows 7, fsx and the addons?? Thanks guys

Hi guys, i am currently in the process of pricing a new setup for FSX, my current one is OK but i don't get any performance at the heavier airports and i do not run AI or autogen so i've decided it is time to upgrade. I have about £400-£500 to spend, i already have a good ATX case (NZXT Lexa Blackline) although it'll need a good dust down with a new setup, i currently have and plan to keep W7 64bit, 550w Corsair PSU and Gainward 1GB GTX 460 GLH and four hard drives, my current plan is to upgrade the CPU, motherboard, memory and go for a watercooling unit so that i can overclock the CPU really well. At the moment i have my eye on the following Intel 2700k & the…

Hi, all. I'm wanting to get some opinions on a very nice system that I had built up in 2009, but unfortunately have never used. At the time I was looking at this for FSX and I'm wondering if it well still hold up pretty well for that sim or should I just use it for FS9? The system is as follows: i7 965 3.2GHz., 8MB L3 Cache processor Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme Heatsink ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard (I didn't want to get into over-clocking, but this board would allow for it) 6GB (I think) of Mushkin PC3-1600 DDR3 memory PC Power and Cooling 750 Watt PSU GeForce GTX280 w/1G DDR3 Vista Home Premium 64-Bit OS I don't remember the exact harddrive setup, but as I r…

Hello, Not sure if I posted this in the right place, but as the title states I've had this problem since building my pc back in Decemeber. From various threads, I read that it is best to overclock the cpu after installing FSX and the GPU, which I did. I've also done all of the tweaks to the cfg file, but that doesn't seem to solve the problem. In any scenario, my frames won't go over 30, even in cruise when there isn't much scenery loading or in areas where it's not heavily dense with scenery. Below is the setup that I have. I am also running Nvidia Driver 310.70. Assistance is much appreciated! i5 2500k 4.5Ghz OC GTX 660Ti 2GB Asus P8-Z77V Noctua N…

Not sure how that value is decided but CPU-Z shows the CPU clocking in at 4.8GHz. Not sure if I want to believe the value displayed in the UI but here it is: I am experiencing CTD's with Aerosoft Airbus Extended which is what I was using as I took the screenshot. On another note, I accidentally pressed OC Tuner in the ASUS BIOS when I was taking screenshots of my settings for later reference, I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

Cable management during the build for inside the case is important, sure, not just for the appearance (when you can see it), but also for the airflow. However, some people, such as myself, is also somewhat a tidy freak. With powerful machines, fancy monitors, speakers, control columns, all sorts of USB cables, headphones, TrackIR and everything else coming out of your computer, it may sometimes be difficult to keep everything tidy. I am trying to keep tidy, with everything that I use regularly in simming and daily usage, but have failed to do so (or at least from an appearance point of view). I would like to ask and see, how do you place your computer accesso…

Hello everyone, I spent over $150 on add-ons lately, only to find out my PC isn't working how it should anymore. Today, my PC screen went blank (black) during FSX, but also during browsing the internet, but it didn't shut down at all. In the mean time, when I had my sound on, I heard this scary vibrating sound which you normally hear during an overclock crash. Before the screen went black, there was no BSOD, nothing, it just went blank and it didn't shut down either. I waited a minute and shut it down manually. This issue has happenend a total of 4 times today. Just to clear up: during any basic activity like web browsing, gaming, or FSX, the screen goes blank wit…

Hi, I run 4.7 GHz at 1.39V for nearly a year now but just decided to do another stress test today because stability isn't forever. Just like last year I did a 12 hour small FFT Prime95 torture test and it passed without any errors. Max core temps was 71C. For a change, I decided to run Intel Burn Test for maximum stress testing. I opened task manager, CPU-Z and HardwareMonitor, and used the default settings for IBT (10 runs + standard stress level). I clicked Start and surprisingly, after only 5 runs my PC suddenly froze up. No BSOD, just a freeze, and I had to shut down holding the power button of my PC. Tried again raising the VCore, until ending up with 1.47V, but …

Hi there! I know there are loads of topics with questions about new dedicated FSX systems, but as the title says, I just can't see the forest for the trees anymore. I might've done to much research for a new system! :blink: I am a longtime FSX user but currently don't have a system that's good enough. To the point. Currently, I am a student-pilot (ATPL) in the Netherlands, and in need of a good system that will keep me current after I finish school in 5 months from now, as there aren't many job opportunities here in Europe. I'm mostly thinking about flying the PMDG 737NGX with AS2012 / UTX / REX / GEX and some Aerosoft (or other developers) airports. I want/need …

I'm two days away from the estimated ship date of my new Zeus Thunder 2500 from Cyberpower. We'll see if they hit the target date, but that's beside the point. What I am trying to do is gather all the information I'll need to get an FSX setup that is as near to optimum as possible. I'm familiar with the Windows 7 and FSX guides produced by NickN back in 2010. I used those to get my current rig up to snuff. But in order to get maximum benefit from my new Ivy Brigde, I thought it would be a good idea to get the latest and greatest guides. I stumbled across Word Not Allowed's guide and Avsim's "Official Hardware Guide" created by Paul J, both of which are recent and pu…

Hi all, Have made some purchases for my new rig with the help of quite a few here, including an ASUS 77-V pro MB + IB 3770K, H100i, etc. with all the bits and pieces, but am hung up on what to do about graphics cards. My set up is planned for 3 x 27" monitors for the external views, and 2 x 22" or so for the 2D panel views. Total there of 5 monitors, and was thinking about a 6th monitor as well for FS commander or similar. I have been looking at running a GTX 680 4GB + a GTX 670, or just 2 x 670's. Admittedly, I draw a blank on what is the best route to take here. If the 2x 670s will do just as well as the 4GB 680 etc, I won't spend the $$$. Hope for some…

Hi everybody One last build for FS9, holding out as long as I can. I've settled on the following : I5-3570k cpu GA-Z77M-D3H MB 240GB SSD for Win 7 x64 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM I'm going to keep my olde 500GB SATA drive for FS9. The main thing I would like advice on is the graphics card. Currently got a 460GTX driving 2 CRT (remember those?) monitors at 1280x1024. I want to keep these monitors, they might be old but they're good 'uns! Seems the present thinking for Nvidia cards would lead me to the GTX660TI. Is this overkill for me (I dabble in Crysis, but only for fun; FS9 is what the machine's being built for)? Happy to save a few dollars if I can. Than…