Need recomendations on PC parts

[Fakum]

Motherboard croaked! Looking to replace,, of course that means an upgrade!

Planning on buying an i5 2500k CPU, w 8 GIG of ram, re-using all other components listed in my sig except for what im looking for recommendations on below. Primarily, this rig is for DCS A-10!

Thanks for any help.

Im looking for suggestions on motherboard (about $200 budget on that Id say)

Im looking for suggestions on SATA 3 SSD 90 – 130 GIG (about $150 budget on that Id say)

Im looking for suggestions on RAM, 8 GIG (about $50 - 100 budget on that Id say)

Edited January 13, 2012 by Fakum

[Lallan]

Personally that is fort to much to spend on RAM... you should spend say $75 or so ( i live in the UK so not sure about the price difference) I think that the price is about £1 - $1 (lucky you guys)

 

GO for asus MB, here is the one that I would recommend P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 it has PCI 3.0 as well being able to support both SLI and crossfire.

 

AS for an SSD I would recommend going for corsair this one CSSD-F90GBGT-BK. It is a monster an you could maybe get a 120GB one of this version for your budget.

 

As for the RAM i would suggest corsair again this one CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9. If you really want you could put to lots of them in making it 16GB :O

 

Or you could save about $150 here and there and get a better GPU... that one is a little out dated man :/

 

HOWEVER my personal opinion would be to wait until Intel realizes there new processors and GPU that way you can either get the new version or get more for your money and get last gen stuff but higher spec versions

 

Hope i :helpsmilie: ed you :thumbup:

[EtherealN]

Agreed, 200 dollars on just 8 gigs of RAM is massive overkill - you'll be purchasing a kit of 3GHz sticks that will get you roughly 0.1 FPS over what you'd get from a 60 dollar kit of 1600MHz sticks... I have done some performance tests with OCing RAM, and the performance changes were always within the error margin of my data.

[Pilotasso]

I also think that motherboard and the RAM are too expensive for what your aiming at. you can run that CPu with motherboards and RAM costing half as that. And then you can expand on any of the other components.

 

You can try SSD's like Crucial m4, Samsung 830 series or the new OCZ octane. Intel ones cost a premium for their reliability.

 

If you can fit any of those on your budget, avoid Sandforce 2000 drives for now until they start showing with proven firmware in volume from factory.

Edited January 13, 2012 by Pilotasso

[Daze]

Cheap as possible upgrade without liming performance

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233202

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502

and since you are buying the 2500k, and plan on Overclocking, you will need a half decent CPU cooler to maintain good temps:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835426023

[Fakum]

Thanks for the feedback so far,,, just for the record,, I made a typ O in there on the ram budget obviously,,, I corrected it now. Thanks

 

Hmmmm, ya really thing I should upgrade the GPU? I certainly wouldnt mind, but I would expect that to be about an additional $200 - $ 300 wouldnt it? What would be recommended that would be reasonably inexpensive and be a worth while improvement over what I already have?

Edited January 13, 2012 by Fakum

[Pilotasso]

A newer cards either AMD or Nvidia, like the HG 6870 or the GTX 560 would easely outperform yours for less that $160.

 

The new generation is coming online and youll probably get even better ones soon for this price range.

[Daze]

5850 to 6870/560 non Ti is definitely not worth it. If I were you, I would wail until the 7850/70 come out, sell your 5850, and buy either the 7850/70

[jeffyd123]

i would consider trying to get an i7 CPU if you can ... maybe instead of the SSD... when you can afford to add in the SSD then maybe that would be a way to go.

[Pilotasso]

An I5-2500K is just as fast for gaming. The 2600K is faster for 3D rending, movie convertions, compression and other highly threaded enviroments thanks to hyperthreading and 8 logical cores (versus 4 on the 2500K), which is not the case with ED's simulations.

[ralfidude]

To get decent FPS for this sim, what matters is the frequency speed of the chip. 4Ghz or higher, and you are golden, anything less and you will hit spots of less than 20FPS.

 

I would know... I have a 3GB GTX 580, 12GB or Fast RAM, and 2TB Barracuda XT, with a I-7 960 at 3.2 GHz, and I can hardly break 40 FPS. However there are areas that dip me down to 12FPS.

 

Its sad.

 

 

Really really sad.

 

All the while I can run all my other games at ultra with over 60FPS, Arma II, Crysis, BF3, etc n so forth.

 

Id be happy with a steady 36FPS. :( Sniff...

[EtherealN]

To get decent FPS for this sim, what matters is the frequency speed of the chip. 4Ghz or higher, and you are golden, anything less and you will hit spots of less than 20FPS.

 

WAY too simplistic. Don't worship the gigahurtz. Computers are more complex than that. ;)

(As an aside, I haven't actually used my overclock in months, so I'm under 4GHz, and I don't have any FPS problems.)

 

All the while I can run all my other games at ultra with over 60FPS, Arma II, Crysis, BF3, etc n so forth.

 

...most of those being games developed to run on more than 5 years old hardware, leading me to question the relevance. ;)

 

Not saying you aren't having performance issues, but your perspective is too simplistic.

[Lallan]

WAY too simplistic. Don't worship the gigahurtz. Computers are more complex than that. ;)

 

I could not agree anymore with you, usually when the CPU is overclocked the memory is also something that you overclock and the CAS timings will go out the window as well. But a higher CPU is very beneficial for flight sims due to them being heavy CPU orientated.

 

As for your GPU do not get a 6870 ( as you can see i am running one ) and it is not great at handling games. Go for 560ti if you can afford it, the MSI twin forza one is a monster and is quiet and is an amazing overclocker that can almost be on PAR with A 570GTX!!!

[Daze]

I have the 570 Twin Frozr III, if you want something that's ALMOST on power with a stock 570 then go for a 560 Ti 448. But again, if I was you I'd wait for the medium range 7xxx cards.

[Fakum]

An I5-2500K is just as fast for gaming. The 2600K is faster for 3D rending, movie convertions, compression and other highly threaded enviroments thanks to hyperthreading and 8 logical cores (versus 4 on the 2500K), which is not the case with ED's simulations.

 

I have read this as well on many threads,,, Thanks

 

As far as the graphics cards go,, when are these new lines comming out? I am hoping to get a new rig back online within a month,,, otherwise ,, I will get so rusty with this sim,, im already having withdraws,,, so with todays market,, whats the best options on the GPU? I see Pilotasso says says those cards would easily outperform what I have, and Jasky thinks otherwise (no idea though what non Ti means?)

[Fakum]

mmm , mmm ,, mmm,, you guys are putting me in a $300 price range on the GPU alone,,, I'm going to need a divorce lawyer as well,,,, LOL,,,, I do appreciate the great feedback though

[Depth]

I would know... I have a 3GB GTX 580, 12GB or Fast RAM, and 2TB Barracuda XT, with a I-7 960 at 3.2 GHz, and I can hardly break 40 FPS. However there are areas that dip me down to 12FPS.

 

Id be happy with a steady 36FPS. :( Sniff...

 

I've got an i7-940 at 3.1 GHZ, a 1.5GB GTX 580 and 12 GB RAM with all settings to maximum and I'm getting 56 FPS at level flight but I've never seen it go under 40. Goes even higher in external view, what are we doing different? :huh:

[Fakum]

I still have to look more into motherboards, but i came accross this SSD,, I think thats a great deal, but what about performance compared to others,, is it worth it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167047&nm_mc=EMC-EXPRESS011412&cm_mmc=EMC-EXPRESS011412-_-EMC-011412-Index-_-SSD-_-20167047-L01C

[Pilotasso]

You can settle for the 560Ti check the graphs of this card versus your 5850 in graphics limited games:

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Aliens-vs.-Predator-Enthusiast,2668.html

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Call-of-Juarez-Enthusiast,2672.html

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Call-Of-Pripyat-Gamer,2665.html

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Call-of-Pripyat-Enthusiast,2666.html

 

So no need to rob a bank or taking an extra job at night. :D

[Fakum]

WOW!!!!!!! Wife just gave me a budget of $1,000.00 to do upgrade,,, my hands are sweating LOL,,,, ok, shopping list=

 

Motherboard (with reliable overclocking abilities)

CPU (pretty much gonna stick with the 15 2500K)

Solid State Drive SATA 3 (80-130 GIG)

8 GIG ram (min)

GPU (to upgrade current ATI 5850)

 

Im good with the power supply and CPU cooling,,, heck, I might even look into water cooling if I can swing it?

 

@ Pilotasso,,, thanks for the links man! I will check them out.

[emenance]

check my sig. Trying to get BS2 in and run some tests. i2500k so far has been an excellent choice. Not as effienct with all 4 cores as the 2600k but with flight sims who cares right. Its right up there with 2600k on all other aspects.

 

I am running Raid 0 that is assisted with a 64gb cache drive. I cant find the link that compared running raid 0 machanicals with ssd but it was very impressive.

 

 

Zotac card comes with battlefield 3 and has a 30 buck rebate at newegg.com . to me that makes it about a 150 buck card. It will not work Ultra setting in BF3 in Multiplayer, just High and tweak. Will run ultra in single player bf3.

Edited January 16, 2012 by emenance

[Fakum]

So far, Im going with the 15 2500k CPU, I have an idea on the SSD and Ram and Mobo,, bit stumped on what to do for the upgrade from the Radeon HD 5850 though. I understand there is a new line rolling out soon, but cant find out when? Im certainly not expecting to be able to purchase the newline for a budget of $300-$350, but waiting for a price drop on current, just when and what to get for AMD Eyfinity config?

[Fakum]

just a bump, in addition to the above question, the best card I found so far in that budget within that budget appears to be an HD 6970 2 Gig,,, does that seem right

[Lallan]

just a bump, in addition to the above question, the best card I found so far in that budget within that budget appears to be an HD 6970 2 Gig,,, does that seem right

 

 

I agree the 6970 is a great card for the money, however if im not mistaking, you can get a 570 which has a higher bit rate and WILL out perform the 6970 for a similar budget.

[Fakum]

thanks,, I run a 30" monitor @ 2560x1600 and a 24" touchscreen at minimum,, i was about to hook up a 3rd monitor via Eyfinity on my Radeon HD 5850, but didnt get that far,,, does the 570 line support 3 monitors? or just 2?