prospective FLT-SIM rig --- reality check

[SDsc0rch]

its been a looong time (mid-90s) since i built a system specifically for a flight sim - haven't had my attention on PC hardware in the interim

 

but i want in to this sim!

 

so, i gotta put together a system

 

been paying attention here on the boards for the last month or so - and i brought my IT guy in today to go over some back-of-the-envelope speculation for a gaming computer

 

just wanted to put these thoughts here and get some feedback from y'all

 

you know this sim - i don't

 

you know what this sim will demand - i don't

 

 

here's what i've come up with so far...

 

 

mobo - asus maximus formula

CPU - intel 4770 (seems like ppl are advising to avoid AMD - might be some issues w/ DCS - ?)

RAM - 16GB

vid card - nvidia GTX770 (again, i've heard ppl saying there might be issues w/ ATI cards - go w/ nvidia)

 

 

those are the core specs i've come up with

 

although cost is a consideration, i've kinda got some scratch so i'm not as sensitive as i have been in the past

 

 

i should also say i'm building this rig with expansion in mind - i'm thinking at about 2yrs out i'll (perhaps) upgrade the CPU and maybe add a second vid card in SLI - and maybe even upgrade to more/faster RAM also

 

so.. yeah - just wanted to bounce this off y'all - get some other points of view...

 

thx

[Griffin]

Seems good right now except for the RAM. Unless you really need 16GB of RAM for something else, DCS won't use that much. In case EDGE will use so much, you can always buy more later. Faster speed RAM may not bring you any noticeable difference so don't pay premium bucks for some super fast RAM. IMO 1600MHz is fast enough. Someone else prove me wrong if you think DCS does benefit from faster RAM.

 

If you want to upgrade your CPU later, make sure you buy a Z97 chipset motherboard. Z87 will not support Haswell Refresh (2014 release) or Broadwell (2015 release) CPU's, while Z97 will.

 

I haven't had any issues with AMD in DCS but in CPU's Intel is the only way to go until AMD comes up with a new architecture.

 

Are you buying an SSD drive? It's a must have! If you didn't already include an SSD, I suggest you halve you RAM to 8GB and use the money for an SSD. Go for the best $/GB price, Samsungs are generally great for price and quality but anything else is equally good if you find a good deal.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Griffin

[Griffin]

Looked at your MoBo and not only does it seem old architecture, it's pretty overkill unless you're planning to do some serious overclocking and want some very premium features.

If you're like me, want to do some basic overclocking, have a high quality board with nice features but nothing too fancy, I suggest you go for something in 160$ range. Seems that Gigabyte and MSI have their great bang for the buck Gaming 5 motherboards. Gigabyte seems to have slightly better power feed components but check which has the better overall features.

Asus Maximus Hero is a bit more expensive but could be a great option too if you like the features and want to pay premium for them.

 

If you want water cooling and WiFi, which the Formula has, I know nothing about those. :)

[NeilWillis]

My rig consists of a Geforce GTX 680 Graphics card, a ASUS Sabretooth Z77 motherboard, 32 Gb of RAM, an Intel i7-3770K CPU running at the standard 3.50 GHz, and a solid state 250 GB hard drive carries Windows 7 and my beloved flight sims.

 

With all the graphics options maxed out, running (for the present time only) a single 1920x1080 pixel 3D monitor I'm getting a frame rate in the high 40s during most operational conditions including multiplayer sorties on T'internet.

 

The overkill was to enable me to run 4 monitors, which my aching wallet will be forced to stump up for in the very near future - although Occulus Rift is seriously tempting too.

 

The most important aspect of a new rig is to consider the power supply unit requirements carefully, and to make sure you have plenty of cooling. Especially if you intend to start overclocking stuff. Heat is a killer.

Edited May 31, 2014 by NeilWillis

[xxJohnxx]

The setup looks pretty decent.

I would recommend a GTX780Ti though. It's somewhat more expensive but you definatelly should get better performance, especially with that processor.

It might also has some benefits once EDGE comes out, because that might better utilize the GPU.

[NSeidl]

Hey! First post here but I'm very active on other forums and reddit. I'm an avid gamer and have played a multitude of games, ranging from League of Legends to DCS. I've built many gaming builds, and have a recently built a DCS cockpit+sim with my dad.

 

Your CPU choice of a 4770 is great. 99% of games aren't bottlenecked by the CPU, so you won't need to overclock.

 

16GB of RAM is a bit overkill if gaming is the main purpose of this machine. I was fine with 8gb.

 

With regards to motherboard, you don't need anything special. Some people have mentioned Z97 boards, but again, you won't need to upgrade your CPU for a WHILE. Go with something in the middle from Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI.

 

For your storage setup, buy an SSD and an HDD. My standard is a 250gb ssd(Samsung's 840 EVO are extremely good) and a 1tb HDD(Seagate or Western Digital, take your choice). SSD speeds are wonderufl.

 

Now, the most important part, the graphics card. AMD cards are better for higher resolution, less graphically intense games with respect to what the graphics LOOK like. This is because they come typically with more VRAM, which is necessary for surround setups. I recommend getting a 290/290X right now instead of a 780/780Ti-while the NVidia's are technically faster cards, the AMD ones excel at higher resolutions. Down the road, adding a second 290/290X will make your rig a monster.

 

The case is really your choice.

 

For power supply, get something 800W or more. I'd give about 300W to each GPU.

 

 

Here's what you should be looking at:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qYc223

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qYc223/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qYc223/benchmarks/

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($196.63 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($91.75 @ Newegg)

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($151.85 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290X 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($549.99 @ TigerDirect)

Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($106.18 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($152.93 @ Amazon)

Total: $1637.14

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-31 20:56 EDT-0400)

Edited June 1, 2014 by NSeidl
Added PCPartPicker build.

[Griffin]

Your CPU choice of a 4770 is great. 99% of games aren't bottlenecked by the CPU, so you won't need to overclock.

Hi and welcome to the forum! An excellent first post and I think it's almost spot on.

AFAIK DCS belongs to the 1% that's bottlenecked by the CPU because currently the game engine only uses one core. We are really hoping the new graphics engine "EDGE" will change that (hopefully by the end of 2014). That's why overclocking is quite popular. However if you're not planning to overclock, the non-K version should suffice.

With regards to motherboard, you don't need anything special. Some people have mentioned Z97 boards, but again, you won't need to upgrade your CPU for a WHILE. Go with something in the middle from Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI.

Here I need to argue a bit. While the CPU evolution has slowed down quite a bit, there is no point in getting an old architecture motherboard. Z97 isn't something "special" and doesn't cost any extra. With the zero extra cost you will get much more options in the future. With Z87 you're limited to 2013 CPU's, with Z97 you also have 2014 and 2015 CPU's!

Did I mention it doesn't cost any extra?

 

GA-Z87X-UD4H is an excellent board but with GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 you'll get a newer chipset, better audio and some more modern connectivity for the same price. A no brainer.

If you think that all that connectivity on the Gaming 7 is redundant and want to save 10$, grab the Gaming 5.

 

Same goes for the MSI equivalents. Gigabyte has slightly better power feed components but if you think MSI offers better overall features, it's a great option too.

[SDsc0rch]

thx for great input guys

 

{taking notes........}

8)

[Kuky]

My 2 cents: CPU is good (do overclock it, doesn't have to be extreme but do, do it :) ) 16GB of RAM is not anything you will need (I use about 1/2 of that when I fly, and I have 16GB also... it's not too expensive so its no big deal, just don't need to go for ultra expensive RAM, medium priced will do, you really won't see ANY difference in game).

 

Video card, get as fast as you can... it will always be beneficial, just don't get dual GPU combo, DCS is not good with it (maybe EDGE will change this, if it does, you can always get second card or new one)

 

Solid performance motherboard, and good for overclocking. What I look for in motherboard is all ports I will use, and as we need lot of USB peripherals, I like it to have lot of rear USB ports... and I like stability, and ASUS boards are so far like that.

 

Last word... make sure you get SSD for OS and games... you WILL benefit from lot faster loading times and faster loading OS... opening/closing programs... it just IS worth it.

[javelina1]

Last word... make sure you get SSD for OS and games... you WILL benefit from lot faster loading times and faster loading OS... opening/closing programs... it just IS worth it.

 

OP,

 

This is Solid! spend a little extra, and get at least a 250GB SSD. I also purchased a 1TB HDD, for all of my other "stuff". DCS & BMS, and the O/S go on the SSD, everything else is on the HDD!:thumbup:

Edited June 1, 2014 by javelina1

[SDsc0rch]

OP,

 

This is Solid! spend a little extra, and get at least a 250GB SSD. I also purchased a 1TB HDD, for all of my other "stuff". DCS & BMS, and the O/S go on the SSD, everything else is on the SSD!:thumbup:

 

yesyes! most def!

 

i'm a firm believer in SSDs - the laptop i'm writing this on right now has two HDs - 250G SSD and a 1TB standard HDD ----- when i bought it, it had one HD, i took out the disc player, bought a HD bay, replaced the orig OS HD w/ the SSD (mirrored it - that was "fun" #NotSoMuch lol) - now i have two HDs - and my laptop screams!

 

so yeah..

[NSeidl]

Hi and welcome to the forum! An excellent first post and I think it's almost spot on.

AFAIK DCS belongs to the 1% that's bottlenecked by the CPU because currently the game engine only uses one core. We are really hoping the new graphics engine "EDGE" will change that (hopefully by the end of 2014). That's why overclocking is quite popular. However if you're not planning to overclock, the non-K version should suffice.

 

Here I need to argue a bit. While the CPU evolution has slowed down quite a bit, there is no point in getting an old architecture motherboard. Z97 isn't something "special" and doesn't cost any extra. With the zero extra cost you will get much more options in the future. With Z87 you're limited to 2013 CPU's, with Z97 you also have 2014 and 2015 CPU's!

Did I mention it doesn't cost any extra?

 

GA-Z87X-UD4H is an excellent board but with GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 you'll get a newer chipset, better audio and some more modern connectivity for the same price. A no brainer.

If you think that all that connectivity on the Gaming 7 is redundant and want to save 10$, grab the Gaming 5.

 

Same goes for the MSI equivalents. Gigabyte has slightly better power feed components but if you think MSI offers better overall features, it's a great option too.

 

 

So if it's single threaded, than going for a 4670k would be the best-you don't need the hyperthreading that the 4770/4770k have to offer, and it overclocks really well. OP-go for a 4670k.

 

An updated parts list:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yJxndC

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yJxndC/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yJxndC/benchmarks/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ TigerDirect)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($77.84 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($167.27 @ TigerDirect)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($91.75 @ Newegg)

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($151.85 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.47 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290X 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($599.99 @ TigerDirect)

Case: Corsair Vengeance C70 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($106.18 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($152.93 @ Amazon)

Total: $1657.27

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-01 14:28 EDT-0400)

 

On my 3770k I got 4.5GHz with the NH-D14. The thing's a monster-it's huge, cools extremely well, and is almost inaudible. If your case fits it, you should buy it.

[Griffin]

Have you purchased yet? Intel just released the "Devil's Canyon" CPU's, i7-4790K and i5-4690K, which are essentially the same as 4770K and 4670K but with better TIM (they run cooler) and 100MHz faster stock speed. They also cost the same as the old ones so again, a no brainer to wait a couple of weeks for their shipping!

[SDsc0rch]

no - haven't purchased yet

 

thx for the heads-up!

: )

[fastfreddie]

Have you purchased yet? Intel just released the "Devil's Canyon" CPU's, i7-4790K and i5-4690K, which are essentially the same as 4770K and 4670K but with better TIM (they run cooler) and 100MHz faster stock speed. They also cost the same as the old ones so again, a no brainer to wait a couple of weeks for their shipping!

 

I was going to post the same thing about the i7-4790 since I've been looking at building a new rig. Not sure if I'm going to wait till the Haswell E that's supposed come out in September so I'll be better suited for future updates or settle for whats out now.