New flight sim build

[TreeTopFlier]

Happy New Year everyone!

I am ready to move up to FSX (Microsoft flight simulator 10). My 7 yr old computer could run it with upgrades so I came to this site looking for help.

After spending several days on the site it's now obvious I need to start from scratch. I never would have considered building a computer but I think I can do it with Rob's instructions and the support of the senior members and this forum.

I'm looking for a package that hits the cost/performance sweet spot and will go together without to much trouble. (very limited experience)

The computer would be used for video editing and high end flight simming
Budget $1,000 - $1,500
Have all the peripherals including 80GB external HD
Thinking Raid 0 or raid 0+1
Vista Home Premium
64bit?
Upward compatable

Thanks for your help
ttf

[Jamie Nixx]

I'll price your rig for you :D

[ANOVA]

Are you planning at using 4 80 gig HDs for your RAID?

Mismatched speeds can slow down a RAID 0 setting
Mismatched storage space will mean that all your HDs will store that lowest ammount. Example: If you run an 80 gig at 72,000 rpms and buy three 150 gigs that run at 100,000 rpms all four will run as 80 gig HDs. As for the Rpms, they'll run at their normal rpms your slower HD will act as a bottle neck slowing down the system.

As for the rest, if you go with the parts listed on Robs site, you should have an upgradable computer tht will run fine.

Why 64 bit? Check to see if your peripherals have 64 bit drivers.

[The Wise Monkey]

64-bit allows you to use 4GB+ of RAM.

Wow, a HD that runs at 100,000 rpm... :O

I think you mean 7200 and 10,000... :D

[Jamie Nixx]

The 4GB of Ram would come in very handy for FSX.

[ANOVA]

64-bit allows you to use 4GB+ of RAM.

Wow, a HD that runs at 100,000 rpm... :O

I think you mean 7200 and 10,000... :D

Uh yep, that's what I meant. Oh well, as SSDs take over, RPMs will matter not.

Will 64-bit allow for the use of existing peripherals?

[TreeTopFlier]

Just the kind of feedback I need. Let's keep it simple by going RAID 0 and 32 bit. I can use my external drive to backup important stuff. That will allow me to spend more on other components.

[Jamie Nixx]

Ok all prices are from Newegg.

Q6600 CPU, $279.99.
Asus P5K-C Motherboard, $135.99.
EVGA 8800GT, $289.99.
Antec 900 case, $59.99. (get this while its hot, its been reduced from over a $120)
Corsair HX520w, $99.99. (this is also a fair bit cheaper than it was a couple of weeks ago)
Corsair XMS2 2gb memory, $47.00 or the 4GB kit is $90.
Extra 80GB HD for Raid WD Caviar, $42.99.

Windows Vista home premium 32 bit, $109.99 (the 64 bit version is only $2 more).

Total including OS $1065.93.

As you can see you still have a fair bit of your budget left so if you want to go for 4GB of memory (hardly going to dent the rest of your budget)

[ANOVA]

TreeTop:

I didn't mean to scare you off 64-bit. Just check to make sure all your peripherals have 64-bit drivers available. An online search should yield the information.

Good luck with the build.

[TreeTopFlier]

Jamie, thanks a bunch. It should be a solid rig. The case is already ordered.

Is the fan on the Q6600 adaquate or do I need to add something more substantial?

I assume you were refering to the overclocked version of the 8800 GT?

I went for the 4GB memory kit and am thinking about using 2 WD SE-16 250GB HD's for the RAID 0. Probably overkill?

I plan to upgrade this machine over time including going to 64bit if there's a good reason. I noticed that the CPU supports 64 bit. What about the other components?

[Jamie Nixx]

Yes that would be the superclocked 8800GT.

I wouldn't say the HD's were overkill, you will get a nice performance turnaround and a lot of storage.

64bit CPU's have been around for years, so you have no worries there ;)

[TreeTopFlier]

Is the fan that comes with the CPU adequate or do I need to install something bigger?

[Jamie Nixx]

It depends, some folks have had problems with the fan not bieng substancial enough.

To be on the safe side you can pick up an excellent cooler called the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro for about $20, its one of the best around and will keep the Quad cooled nicely.

[Mike Cooper]

My new machine was soley built for lfight sim X and is made up of the following :

CPU = Athlon 6400+
M/board = Gigabyte AM2 AMD690V MATX A L
H/disk = Maxtor DiamondMax 21 320GB 7200RPM 8MB U100
C/d = LG Electronics LG 20X DVD+/-RW/12XRAM
Fan = Gigabyte VOLAR CPU COOLER " it does fit in the Case "
Graphics = MSI GeForce 8600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCIE Dual DVI TVO
RAM = Kingston ValueRAM 1GB 240Pin DIMM PC2-4200 Non-ECC DDR2 CL4 x 2 = 2GB
Case = Dabs Value Midi Tower 400W Black

Went together like a dream, thought the fan won't fit its BIG had 1/2" spare in the case. software not problems up and running. great for Flight Sim X 35-45 fps with everything turn up.

[TreeTopFlier]

Thanks but I ordered the package Jamie priced, (see above). I hope it goes together nicely like your project.

Rob recommends using Goback 4.0 which is no longer available. Do I need something else for this build or will the backup utilities in Vista HP cover me?

[FunGus]

I built a similar rig for the IL2 flight sim.

http://digitalstore.ubi.com/178/3021/product/Buy-IL-2-Sturmovik:-1946-Download


I can run the maximum graphics settings for the game and still get back 60 frames per second.

Prices are from mwave (Nov 07). http://www.mwave.com/mwave/index.hmx?

Case: Antec Nine Hundred ($97.50)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 LGA775 ($269)
CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS9500 ($52)
DVD: LITE-ON ($34.90)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 MB/s ($165.9)
Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 ($93)
Motherboard Intel Socket LGA 775: ASUS P5N32-E SLI ($179)
Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ($109)
Videocard: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 320mb 320-P2-N815-AR ($279.99)
Software: Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 ($92.73)