Dagger71 Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 (edited) Been out of the game for a while now. Haven't had a great gaming rig in a while (due to working abroad). Finally bit the bullet and decided to go all out with the wife's blessing ;) Spent just a little over 2000 $ CnD through tigerdirect and newegg. Should have it next week. Only problem is I'm currently in western alberta so I've been trying to get reliable fast internet to no avail, so not sure how often I'll be online. I'd like some feedback on my system: Intel Core i7-4770K -should easily OC to 4.7 Asus ROG Maximus VI Hero (is onboard sound good enough for a few months before I upgrade? What recommendations for sound cards?) -One of the best i7 OC boards around PATRIOT VIPER 3 DDR3 8GB (2X4GB) 2400MHZ DUAL -Needed a good low profile RAM due to size of cooler MSI AMD RADEON R9 290 GAMING 4GB (unsure which driver suite I'll be using) -Good price for a top performer Seagate 240GB SATA 2.5 SSD (OS and main install location for FSX and possibly DCS) -Top 10 240GB SSD XFX 750W XXX Edition -Tier 1 PSU at a great price Noctua NH D14 cooler -Top i7 4th gen cooler Logitech G105 Keyboard Win7 64 pro Already have: TrackIr 5 HOTAS warthog with CH pro pedals Logitech M500 1TB hybrid SSD drive Ipad mini with Icontrol DCS 3 or 2 monitor setup 21'X3 or 24'X2 (using my company monitors for now) Edited March 30, 2014 by Dagger71
lunaticfringe Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 (edited) I have the 4770k on a Hero, and am quite content. It'll do 4.6 in the low 60s when the AVX2 instructions are tested with sub 1.2 voltages with a Prolimatech Megahalems and two of their Vortex 14s. The cooler does not conflict with the 16GB of Ballistix I have installed, and I will be installing an additional 16 to make proper use of the included RAMDisk software. I've never been one for windows or case modding, but I think the 'ol Lian Li may be getting anodized and a window to show off- its that attractive. More recent 4770ks have been hit or miss in the silicon lotto, so be prepared to play with voltages and settings to make it stick. Which cooler are you using? I choose not to pursue closed or custom loop water cooling based on concerns for those times when I'm away. Every time I've considered them, I see a rash of damaged systems and figure I'll pass. Edited March 30, 2014 by lunaticfringe
Dagger71 Posted March 30, 2014 Author Posted March 30, 2014 I have the 4770k on a Hero, and am quite content. It'll do 4.6 in the low 60s and sub 1.2 voltages with a Prolimatech Megahalems and two of their Vortex 14s. The cooler does not conflict with the 16GB of Ballistix I have installed, and I will be installing an additional 16 to make proper use of the included RAMDisk software. I've never been one for windows or case modding, but I think the 'ol Lian Li may be getting anodized and a window to show off- its that attractive. More recent 4770ks have been hit or miss in the silicon lotto, so be prepared to play with voltages and settings to make it stick. Which cooler are you using? I choose not to pursue closed or custom loop water cooling based on concerns for those times when I'm away. Every time I've considered them, I see a rash of damaged systems and figure I'll pass. My cooler is the Noctua NH D14. Other than the sheer size of the beast, it can beat just about any closed loop system. How does the RAMDisk software actually work? If its worth upgrading I might grab another pair of 4 GB sticks.
lunaticfringe Posted March 30, 2014 Posted March 30, 2014 Same with the Megahalems; that and the D14 in dual fan configuration are pretty much identical performance. The RAMDisk software works as a logical drive; you dedicate the amount you want to spend on it, the software allocates it as another drive letter, and you can install applications directly into it (which are loaded and dropped back to your hard drive at startup/shutdown). I'm figuring on the 16 to put the whole of the DCS folder in there.
ENO Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 (edited) Probably going to be scratching your head for a bit until EDGE comes out since the AMD cards haven't been great performers (in general) with the current itteration of DCSW. Guys with rocket systems carrying AMD cards complain about it often. It isn't that it's THAT bad... but considering their systems it's not good. Guys who know what they're talking about say that EDGE will be better suited to the capabilities of the AMD cards so I suspect their performance will be more impressive once that is rolled out two weeks from now. Yeah, I know guys... I'm being sarcastic. Not sure where you're at in "western Alberta" that you can't find a good internet connection... I'm just south of Calgary- but I guess if you're in Banff or further west than that, perhaps it's more unreliable. I love and hate Shaw at the same time... Also... when you OC your rig since there's no need to use hyperthreading in DCS you might as well turn it off (unless of course you're some graphics / movie editing guy and need the additional HP for some other program). I hovered on the 4770k since I was ugprading from a 980X and 2 other I7 rigs but since I don't fold anymore and don't need the additional cores I settled with the 4670k and left it at that. No regrets. Good choice on the cooler too, btw. I won't use anything else. Noctua fans and sinks are top notch. I don't know about new sound cards- onboard will get you through but with a rig like that it's putting a race horse on a treadmill. I've always been quite fond of my Asus Xonar DX2 though I know it's a few years old. I'm not sure what the latest version of that is. Edited March 31, 2014 by ENO "ENO" Type in anger and you will make the greatest post you will ever regret. "Sweetest's" Military Aviation Art
Dagger71 Posted April 1, 2014 Author Posted April 1, 2014 So the ramdisk is only using RAM as a logical drive temporarily until you reboot. Interesting, I'll have to look into that. Eno I'm west of Edson (for work NOT by choice!) Shaw don't have any lines running here and the only other option was through a wireless AP but our place is kind of in a hole but one provider is looking to help us out so we might have high speed soon. As for the AMD issues, I was hoping they were resolved but by looking around threads, I think I probably should have gone with a GTX 770 (which was 200$ cheaper!). I used to be AMD/ATI for the longest time, then performance was lagging so I went intel/Nvidia for the past few years. During my ATI days I only used Omega drivers, due to the lack of support from ATI. Thanks for you guys' feedback. Should have the system up and running by weekend.
lunaticfringe Posted April 1, 2014 Posted April 1, 2014 Not really; speed of scenery data handed off the RAMDisk versus the SSD benefits immensely from it being available, aiding in the reduction of stutters in view changes. While your raw FPS won't increase, your overall maintained rate will based on what amounts to a pre-pre-load, far faster than the SSD can hand it over.
ENO Posted April 2, 2014 Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) I was intrigued by this whole RAMdisk concept and doing some research on it I noticed it was stating that the data had to be saved to the SSD / HDD every time it shuts down since RAM dumps everything... The stuff I've been reading is a couple years old but I have to assume that moving 7-8gigs back and forth every time you turn your computer on and off is going to exacerbate file patency. Again- it's just something I've read... have things progressed since then? It's a neat concept and I think there's some value there but it seems it's not without its shortcomings... thoughts? So the ramdisk is only using RAM as a logical drive temporarily until you reboot. Interesting, I'll have to look into that. Eno I'm west of Edson (for work NOT by choice!) Shaw don't have any lines running here and the only other option was through a wireless AP but our place is kind of in a hole but one provider is looking to help us out so we might have high speed soon. West of Edson... yeah- I suppose there IS a world west of Calgary eh? lol. I've played through my phone hotspot and it worked but wasn't fantastic- then again I've worked that area before too back in the old days and coverage for cell use wasn't great either. Now that data transfer rates have been reduced to 1024-2048 in game if properly configured, it doesn't hit your data plan so hard. I run a 6 gig plan (I work out of town as well) so it's barely a hiccup to have a few sessions online. Here's hoping you can find something that works. Edited April 2, 2014 by ENO "ENO" Type in anger and you will make the greatest post you will ever regret. "Sweetest's" Military Aviation Art
Dagger71 Posted April 4, 2014 Author Posted April 4, 2014 West of Edson... yeah- I suppose there IS a world west of Calgary eh? lol. I've played through my phone hotspot and it worked but wasn't fantastic- then again I've worked that area before too back in the old days and coverage for cell use wasn't great either. Now that data transfer rates have been reduced to 1024-2048 in game if properly configured, it doesn't hit your data plan so hard. I run a 6 gig plan (I work out of town as well) so it's barely a hiccup to have a few sessions online. Here's hoping you can find something that works. Currently running of the company's Telus data huib. 10Gb limit per month and not very reliable. Waiting on Morad to get back to me to see what they can do for me. Using their AP I can sign up for 85 Gb monthly limit with 5 down 3 up. But when they came out, the signal wasn't strong enough. I'm stuck here till at least Sept.. possibly till next march, and my rig should all be ready by next weekend. If I get a new job, I'll probably move to Calgary with the wife and dog and work out in the patch again for another year or so.
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