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

Hi Further to my previous thread I have now decided to move to P3D V4 from FSX. As my old FSX PC has been claimed by my son I have also decided to build my own PC solely for P3D use. I have never built a PC before and looked at pre built ones but decided to try and build my own, both as a fun project and so I would know exactly what went in and could upgrade as I go if/when I need to. I have also read a lot that P3D is more reliant on processor rather than graphics card so thought I would spend on that and save on on the graphics card, this can always be upgraded easily later if need be. As a result I will be getting delivered tomorrow: …

Hi First and foremost, this is less of a question than it is a warning to P3D users who think about new hardware. I've recently upgraded to a new rig. The old one was a decent performer yet had some issues with ground objects. After a while it became a bit boring flying over mostly empty surfaces. The new machine features a GTX1080 and a 7700k with some sane overclocking enabled. The system runs both, P3D v3 and X-Plane 10. Performance is stunning. P3D with GSX comes to life like never before while I still get plenty of fps. Same for X-Plane. A lot of ground activity makes the whole experience a lot more immersive. However, there's a serious problem re…

I know that with emergence of v4 there will be a lot of people building new systems. I just wanted to let you know that if you decide to get the STRIX Z series boards from ASUS, your 7700K chip will not work in it unless the BIOS version is after version 0600 and up and since these boards do not have BIOS flush button, you're end up returning it to the seller or sending it to ASUS for BIOS update. If you want to save yourself time and hassle, just spend a little more and get the Maximus series.

Hi All, I am looking at upgrading my PC, but using a few parts and upgrading the rest so I can transition to P3D v4 with no issues. Current Parts - Re-Use - Upgrade Parts - A few questions regarding this upgrade! Will the ANTEC 902 V3 Gaming case be okay with these parts? What motherboard can take 4266Mhz DDR4? I am struggling to find one, that also includes WiFi. Would anyone recommend any other GTX 1080Ti? Will the AX750 handle the GTX 1080Ti? Any thoughts, please let me know!

A quick reality-check question... I'm about to start my new build (probably next weekend, still waiting for some parts to get to my doorstep), and wanted to double check the current thinking on the best way to apply TIM between the CPU and the heatsink. Have tried to read up, and my current understanding is: -- Apply a VERY small amount - say, the size of a grain of rice, not a pea like in the old days -- DON'T spread the TIM by hand. Instead, place the heatsink on the CPU, and let the pressure do the work Do I have it right? Please advise if there's a different/better way to do it. Please note I'm not worried about the TIM between the CPU die an…

Hi, I am building my new PC to run P3D with the following addons and specs, I5 6500 GTX 1050 8GB DDR4 RAM EVGA 430W PSU https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/dQPq2R REX ORBX, FTX global ect. UK2000, Aerosoft, Eiresim ect. Airports. PMDG 737, 777, QW RJ85 and 757, Aerosoft A320X. Any advice on this PC? I am buying the parts tomorrow and was wondering if anyone has similar specs and could share a config?

My hdd is making a sound when the pc is running. I have 2 normal hdds that are nearing the 10 year mark. Funny thing is the pc boots but keeps freezing while it does the beeping sound. No bsod. Does anyone know what part is failing?? I'm hoping it's the hdd and not anything else. https://goo.gl/photos/FTWRF6VPPAH8nbHM8 Cheers in advance

OK, getting to my final pre-build questions. Still have a decision to make about storage. Have read through a bunch of threads, here and elsewhere, about the merits of M2 NVMe drives vs. standard-issue SATA SSDs, and the arguments seem to be pretty convincing that the only benefit of the M2 NVMe's would be faster load times - there wouldn't be noticeable gains in P3D (or X-Plane?) performance. My one remaining question is - is there any argument for going with the M2's for future-proofing, in case some future sim update takes advantage of the faster speeds and higher bandwidth? Or am I likely to have replaced the whole computer a couple of times before the M2's would m…

I don’t recall when this started, but if the power supply in my PC is switched on at the mains, then even before booting the PC, all the motherboard and case LEDs are on. Also, if the PC is completely powered down at the mains, once applying power from the PSU, all LEDs light up, PLUS there’s a small noise from the DVD player, so that’s also receiving power from the PSU prior to booting. I removed the PSU and tested with another (smaller) unit, and the issue stopped. As a result of this, I purchased another new PSU, assuming this one must be faulty. Not so it seems as, having spent almost £100 on the new PSU, it also happens with this one too. I know it’s not …

I'm looking to upgrade my 6 year old Sandy Bridge-E system to a new system with a Kaby Lake i7-7700K CPU. I know the guidance for FS9 and FSX (and now P3D) with older systems was always to have a separate sound card to offload the overhead from the CPU. Is that still the guidance or doesn't it matter anymore with the newer and faster CPUs?

Hello, I'm curious what the community's options and experiences are with open air vs reference blower style Graphics Cards. I'm looking to buy a GTX 1080Ti for my custom flight sim / gaming PC, and would love to learn more about the differences. Best, Leon

hello guys, ive got 16gb corsair vengance ddr4 3200mhz in my system, but on my shelf i also have one stick 8gb ddr4 2133mhz by crucial. when i first upgraded my system i only puy the 8gb stick in but then upgraded to 16gb dual channel and took out the 8gb as i thought it might mess with the system and the way it will think about using the ram, i know i sound so stupid here :(. would it be a wise idea to put the 8gb back in to make it 24gb or would that mess with the dual channel operation and p3dv4 in general. many thanks.

Looking for some guidance on bringing two mixed sets of ram together as one. The ram is the Corsair Dominator series: 2x4GB 2133 c9-11-10-27 1.50v 2x4GB 3000 c12-14-14-36 1.65v My system: ASUS Z87 PRO running the I5 4670 @ 4.7ghz My goal: 16GB system ram running somewhere between 2400 C9 to 2600 C10

Looking for some advice. I'm wanting to upgrade my hardware for V4 coming out i'll do the upgrade in a few months after i require new hardware. I'm running a i74770k, ASUS Z87-A and a EVGA GTX980ti. Using windows 7 I read on simforums (Nick) that a Skylake i76700k is ideal and a 1070 for V4 link below. So what hardware will i need to upgrade to a skylake CPU chip guys? http://www.simforums.com/forums/nickns-p3d-guide_topic54815.html

Hi all, I recently rebuilt my PC and re-installed FSX everything has now settled down and is working pretty well. As part of my spend on the new PC I acquired an M2 Memory stick (512MBs) which I have not yet deployed. My FSX performance is good except when I am getting close to one of the large commercial Airports e.g. KLAX KDEN etc., when I approach one of these airports my FSX freezes for a few seconds while the airport textures are loaded when I am a few miles out. I was wondering, if I replace my FSX SSD with the M2 memory card would these texture loading lapses be reduced or disappear or is there a better way to utilise an M2 card to assist with FSX performance? An…

So I just made this same post on Tom's hardware but I thought it could also be an FSX problem. So I just replaced my motherboard because for some reason the old one died and when I loaded everything in FSX up it was fine, but for some reason now, when I load up my PMDG planes, the button clicking sounds and cockpit environment play through my monitor and then the sub sound of the engines play through my headphones. This is going to be a problem when flying on vatsim and I was planning on that today, but FSX being FSX or my computer being itself decided to produce the daily showstopping problem. I just don't understand. Even today it was actually working fine but when I we…

Good Morning Apologizes for another ram / motherboard thread I Currently have the below motherboard. Im led to believe it can hold 32 gig ram. https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/P8Z77V/ Would it be able to hold the below ram with a 980ti installed aswell. http://www.ebuyer.com/700768-corsair-vengeance-pro-32gb-4-x-8gb-memory-kit-pc3-19200-2400mhz-ddr3-cmy32gx3m4a2400c11r Also am I right in thinking if p3d v4 is 64bit it will use upto 64 gig of ram. Many thanks in advance.

Hi Guys, Another what do you think of the system that I am looking at getting over the weekend. Primarily for P3D V3 and onwards to V4 Intel i7-6800K 3.4GHZ Asrock X99 Taichi Motherboard G-Skill DDR4 Trident Z3200-32GB 2 x 16GB Red MSI GTX1080TI 11GB Coolmaster V850 Gold 80+ 850W PSU CM Hyper 212 LED Turbo Red Cooler SAmsung 960 EVO 250GB M2 for main operating system 3TB of additional space non SSD as I understand does not really make a difference Any advice would be much appreciated. Cheers Smiley

Hi everyone. Couldn't believe my timing when I got permission off the Captain to head out and by a new rig for flightsim, when lo and behold Prepar3d V4 is announced the following day! I'm coming over from FS9 so this is quite a jump for me. Anyway below is a system i'm looking at. Could you please let me know whether this is more than suitable for Prepar3d V4? I know it hasn't been released, but some of you tech gurus with far better knowledge than i would have some understanding based on what's currently known. I have a budget of $4000 AUD ($2984 USD, $2668 Euro), this comes in at AUD $3200, and i have to include a monitor/4K TV which obvi…

Any suggestions of the best and cleanest way to install an older nVidia driver?

So here is what I'm currently running; i7 7700K @ 4.6, Asus Dual OC GTX1070, 8gb Ram @2400 & the CPU cooler is a Coolermaster TX3 Evo. Initially I was running the CPU at 4.8ghz with hyperthreading on but the temps were starting to creep into the mid 80's so I've turned hyperthreading off and gone down to 4.6ghz and temps sit at 70 or below which I'm comfortable with. I've set P3D up as per Rob's guide so I run the settings he recommends. For the most part I'm pretty happy with the performance but there are times where I think 'shouldn't it be running a bit better?' in terms of FPS. I can't run MSAA or SSGS without a massive FPS so I haven't bothered with tha…

My PC froze today and now when I start the PC again, it quickly shuts itself down with a message "CPU Temperature" issue IS it my CPU (Intel Core i7-6700K ) that is dead of the 100i Watercooler I have that stopped functioning? I can feel the fan on the cooler working... Dang! I managed to get into my BIOS and the temp is showing 89degrees. That is too hot.

Howdyhoooo y'all! So there's been a lot of talk about the cheapo hyper-threaded Pentium G4560 (60-70€) with great single-core performance but, unfortunately, no unlocked multiplier. However, there's the i3 7350k with excellent overclock abilities, 5GHz no problem but with a big caveat: the price! It's costs here, where I live, around 200€ and then you have to add a Z270 board for it, another 150€. I would never consider the i3 7350k if I didn't play FSX a lot. I do play other games too but not to the same extent. I have a Pentium G3258 that now resides in my girlfriends PC which did a admirable job running FSX @4,0GHz so I reckon that i3 with HT+5GHz should do wonders for…

Hi. I have been running FSX SE for awhile now at around 16-25 FPS with the Aerosoft Airbus and GSX. I am going to sell my pc and am going to buy a new one. I have a budget of $400-$450 and am planning to run the addons above, sceneries, and possibly FTX global. I want to be able to run 25 to anything above 30. I have been looking at custom built rigs you can buy online but i am still unsure about what Graphics card is minimum. All responses are appreciated and I want to thank the dedicated community.