£650 spec for FSX

squerble

squerble

squerble

Soldato
Joined
13 Apr 2009
Posts
6,465
Location
UK
Hi all, I'm running FSX on my MacBook Pro 13" at the moment but it really doesn't cut it so I'm looking at getting together a PC made purely for that.

I have a monitor (23", 1680x1050; old but it still looks good), a mouse and a Win7 Home Premium x64. So I need just the base unit and a keyboard.

I think it's generally known that an Intel/nVidia combo seems to work best with FSX so I'd like those (no AMD/ATi). I would also presume the recommendation on here would be to sink most of the budget into the CPU/cooler to enable me to overclock? I don't think there's much point in going over 4GB RAM (unless 8GB isn't a big jump in price). Just to reiterate, the budget is as close to £650 as you can.


As an additional question; is it worth buying a fan controller for the case fans or should I just plug them into the motherboard?
 
Purgatory said:
Do you have a flight stick and rudder pedals ? FSX is not great on a keyboard and mouse mate you really need a flight stick (Joystick) to really enjoy it.
Click to expand...

Yep, already got a joystick (with throttle and twist for rudder). Will look at the Saitek X52 Pro next though I think when this one bites the dust. I should probably qualify that I'm running complex add-ons (PMDG MD11X/NGX/747X) etc so I'm not new to FSX :)
 
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Thanks, that looks ideal so far. Will the 600W be OK for the load I'll be putting it under?

I suppose I could save a little extra by dropping to a cheaper case (I had a CoolerMaster 335U last time which I found more than adequate), plus the drop to free shipping. I was looking at a sound card with optical out but I've just looked at the mobo and it has a build in digital-out so that should be fine. I could then pay for a better CPU cooler (especially if I'm going to overclock).
 
Thanks for the spec Purgatory. Really like the look of that case; I wouldn't normally look above £30-35 for a case but it looks very smart, especially with the 230mm fans.


I'd like to ask again though, are fan controllers worth a purchase? (E.g. a 5 fan controller for £25?)
 
Wow, I didn't expect to cause an argument by asking for a spec :p

The kicker is, I don't quite have the money yet to purchase this, so it could be anywhere up to 3 months before I can buy it (I could be impatient and purchase on finance/credit card, but then I'd be paying over £200 extra over the course of the payments). The idea of the thread was to kick-start the level of spec I should be looking at, as well as getting my head back into the various motherboards and chipsets.


I'm going to stir the pot and say I still really like Purgatory's build, mostly for the look factor - especially the case. The budget could possibly be stretched to £700, it would just be a little extra time 'til I purchase, and a few of the builds have crept up to around £700 anyway.
 
Good call on the case, I'm going to order these three parts now:

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
OCZ ZS Series 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £56.99
(£47.49) £56.99
(£47.49)
Thermaltake VK60001W2Z Element S Case - Black £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £24.12
(£20.10) £24.12
(£20.10)
Sub Total : £105.08
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.25
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £23.07
Total : £138.40


I would have ordered the Prolimatech cooler (red to match the case) but a few people have chosen the Gelid and it seems to get a good rating. I can order a few more components after pay day later this month!

Edit: I added the Asaka 230mm fan as going from the reviews the case doesn't include the side fan as the part code would suggest.
 
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honosuseri said:
If that's the case you want then you are getting it at a good price :)

Might be worth leaving out the PSU. You might see a nice modular one come on offer and then you'll kick yourself. If you want that PSU then fair enough, once it's delivered you can bridge the green and black wires in the 24pin connector (paperclip test) and this will allow you to "test fire" the PSU without having a mobo connected to it to determine if it's DOA.
Click to expand...

I was actually supposed to change the PSU for the Modular equivalent; that'll learn me for not checking! I've submitted a ticket against the order so hopefully it will get amended before the order is dispatched. I've also checked the review on the case and it appears this doesn't actually come with the side vent, so there was no need for the additional fan anyway! I've asked for this to be removed on the order too!

I think I'll be triple checking next time! :p :rolleyes:
 
Purgatory said:
Bravo Zulu :D Yes good choices. That cooler is pretty good too and I was going to mention that PSU too after seeing it come on offer. Did you ask for free shipping as a forum member ?
Click to expand...

Yep free shipping. As mentioned above I missed out on the offer because I changed to the modular equivalent CPU, but that was offset against not buying the 230mm fan.
 
So the case, PSU and CPU cooler arrive today....holy ****! They're HUGE! :eek: I didn't think they were this big!

The only problem is now, I have these parts and I have the money to order the rest, so I'll be so so tempted now!
 
How does this look for components for around £600?


Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Gainward GeForce GTX 570 Goes Like Hell 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with StreetFighter 4 PC Game £219.95
(£183.29) £219.95
(£183.29)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £169.99
(£141.66) £169.99
(£141.66)
Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
(£69.16) £82.99
(£69.16)
Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £69.98
(£58.32) £69.98
(£58.32)
TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED38192M1600HC11DC) £39.95
(£33.29) £39.95
(£33.29)
LG GH24NS90 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
(£15.82) £18.98
(£15.82)
OcUK USB Keyboard - Black £3.98
(£3.32) £3.98
(£3.32)
Sub Total : £504.86
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £102.97
Total : £617.83




Edit: Could save £50 if I went for a 560Ti 448 too. Unless the step up to the 570 is really worth it.
 
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Ha I only read the first line and thought, where's my nVidia :p

Is Ivybridge worth it? I understand it's going to run hotter, especially when OC'ing.
Is the 570 worth it over the 560Ti 448?
 
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Well this week is the week! :D (Or at least, an OcUK 'offer' week)

I will be ordering - probably - on Monday evening so as not to disturb people in my house on nights. I can already see the 3570K is on a weekly offer, so I'll save a couple of quid there. I've decided to stick with a 560Ti 448. Moving up to a 570/580 is pushing the budget too much.
 
Spec critique? If recommending a different motherboard, please ensure it has an optical out built in. Cheers.

Edit: CPU is the 3570k 3.4GHz Ivybridge

RaNp0.png
 
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Lazder said:
as me and Purgatory mentioned, you are better off with 580 GTX over 560ti... 30 pound increase is nothing compared to perfromance boost you will get

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/547?vs=517
Click to expand...

Not seeing a 580 at less than £299?

Edit: Silly me. Added to basket. It's a refurb but I can live with that.
Edit 2: Added B-Grade mobo too. Web page appears to be a little broke so can't see full description but I have every faith in OCUK Customer Service :p

Does the RAM look OK?


Edit 3: Ordered :p :D
 
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honosuseri said:
B Brade means a much shorter warranty (90 days) and items can be missing. SO your mobo might not come with sata cables or the manual which will be a pain.

For RAM i would have taken the Geil 8GB RAM kit on offer, the samsung is good at overclocking but you dont need faster than 1600mhz on this socket and its more than the Geil. If i was coughing up £200 on a GPU i'd want the 2 or 3 year warranty from retail to be honest. You can still cancel or change the order if you are quick
Click to expand...

Lazder said:
its 90 day + warranty left on the card itself... if you decide to swap Ati 7850 would be decent swap.
Click to expand...



You've got me a little worried now :p I'm tempted to just stick with a 560 '448' to get a brand new card. Lazder, would have to be a nVidia; as stated in the OP, this is for FSX.

Any reason for the Geil over the TeamSpirit? Will it just perform better? The clock and CAS timings etc all look identical?
 
The guys in the warehouse will hate me :p I swapped the mobo for the 'new' equivalent, the card to the EVGA 560 448 (2 fan model), and the RAM to the Geil.


And to answer one of your first questions, I'm considering pulling the trigger on DCS A10. It's 60% off on Steam atm, only £12.00. In fact, I just bought it :p
 
honosuseri said:
You can refuse to sign the delivery and it would be sent back for refund. Let them hate you it's not their money ;)

DCS A10 is awesome. It can be seriously hardcore if you want it to be, starting the engines alone has quite a checklist lol

A10 startup for the Hardcore simguy
Click to expand...

Great vid. Looks excellent! From the reviews I've read this should be a good learning experience. I'll do the usual of chucking myself in at the most hardcore and then work down as I get more and more frustrated :)
 
Argh. Had my shipping email yesterday, but DPD still showing no data for that consignment number :( I hope it comes today. Otherwise I'll be waiting until Monday! (Set to work address).


Edit: Here. That's my weekend sorted.
 
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