New PC

[VH-Rock]

Hi All,

 

I'm building (Or should I say a friend is building for me) a new PC. I have to get all the parts together first though and I could do with a little help.

 

I have acquired some major parts, but it's the smaller parts that I'm not sure of. Currently I have:

 

• Intel i7-2600 (3.4 ghz) CPU
  
• ASUS 1155 MAXIMUS IV EXTREME REV 3.0 Motherboard
  
• Corsair CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B 16GB (4x4GB) 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Blu Memory Four Module Kit
  
• 2 x ATI HIS HD5750 with Crossfire bridge (Not sure if the mobo supports Crossfire, no big deal if it doesn't)
  
• Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATAIII 6Gb/s 16MB Cache 3.5 inch Internal Hard Drive OEM
  
• SATA cables.
  

 

I know I need a PSU ( Although I'm not sure what size) and I need a case.

 

My question is, What else do I need?

 

Thanks :)

[Kuky]

You need to swap those 2x HD5750 for better single GPU video card, you'll get no benefit in DCS with CF.

 

800w (or more) good quality PSU should be enough (for CF also)

[VH-Rock]

Cheers Kuky,

 

The 5750s were given to me and I will use them for now until I can afford to spend more on a new Graphics card in the next couple of months :)

 

I'm hoping that this will be a strong enough system to last me for a while :)

[Kuky]

You'll be quite limited by the video cards but I understand when you can you can't get new video card yet, my last video card was 5870 and it was still holding on alright on most settings on high and some tweaks to go beyong that (but not everything was enabled though, like mirrors, HDR) but 5750 is less performing so don't expect good framerate with good eyecandy.. the CPU is good enough though... maybe get the unlocked multiplier (the "K" version) so you can overclock it when you feel like, it comes as good cheap way to get more performance later on.

[VH-Rock]

Thanks again Kuky, I do have the unlocked version and from what I've read, I can overclock to 3.8 Ghz, which seems like a pretty decent amount to me :)

 

Graphics cards wise, what is a good card that would enable me to max out DCS? I've gotta say, I think I'd rather go Nvidia than ATI. ATI drivers are just too much hassle.

[Kuky]

570 seems to be in very nice spot, almost matching 7970 and a tad cheaper I believe but I haven't had nVidia card for years so I'm not best best source of info on them... I can say that I do have 7970 now and overclocked to 1GHz it's rarely maxing out on me but I have limited my framerate in DCS to 38fps in Graphics.cfg (that actually gets to 40fps max in sim), my CPU is i7 950 @ 4.2GHz if that's any good referrence point for you. so anything better or equivalent is good for decent fps on high settings (but again I can't run mirrors on as they almost 1/2 my framerate, which I am certain is CPU's "fault" :))

[VH-Rock]

Ah great :) I will have a look around and see what I can find for a decent price :)

 

How about other parts that I would need that I don't have on my list? Fans etc... I'm not sure about the smaller parts and I would like to have everything in place before I send the parts off to my friend for assembly and testing :)

[Kuky]

well fans should be in the case, and CPU should come with fan cooler also... you could go on water cooling kit if you want to overclock but you don't have to get this straight away as CPU will have auto overlock and works fine on stock cooling.. only if you decide later you want to overlock more manually better cooling will be necessary and that's where water cooling comes in handy.

 

Other small parts are power cables (you get that with PSU) and sata cables for HDD (that you get with motherboard) so really you don't need anything else... kayboard/mouse and case and you're done

Edited July 20, 2012 by Kuky

[VH-Rock]

Brilliant, thank you for all the help, I appreciate it :)

[Pyroflash]

Graphics cards wise, what is a good card that would enable me to max out DCS? I've gotta say, I think I'd rather go Nvidia than ATI. ATI drivers are just too much hassle.

 

If you are semi-tight on cash, the EVGA 670 is the way to go IMO. Essentially an upgrade on the 570 without going full our on the 680.

[VH-Rock]

Something to consider, Thanks Pyroflash :)

 

I'm wondering whether it's worth getting everything and having the system built then or if I should build with the parts I have no and replace the gfx card later?

[Ali Fish]

670 with 2meg onboard is what i run. runs nice. 680 is marginally better. but has better memory options, (better for sli & triple screens), not worth the expense on single screen imo.

 

more reasons to get 600 series over 500 series that are not graphic related but power related. unless you really couldnt afford it dont go back on the tech ladder for graphics.

[VH-Rock]

So, Here are the final specs... Time to go and do some overtime I think...

 

Intel Core i7-2600K

ASUS 1155 MAXIMUS IV EXTREME REV 3.0

16GB Corsair 1600 Mhz RAM

Nvidia EVGA GTX 670 (2GB)

850 Watt PSU

500GB HD

[Pyroflash]

Build the entire system all at one time. Try not to do a piecemeal upgrade unless you absolutely cannot afford to buy a new computer at any forseeable point in the future.

[HiJack]

Also make sure you compare CPU by one core befor bying a gaming rig. Check Toms hardware:

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/x86-core-performance-comparison/3DMark11,2761.html

 

For DCS you may not need the i7-2600K

 

(HJ)

[VH-Rock]

Thanks for the help guys :)

 

All parts are now on their way to me. I did buy the EVGA GTX 670 in the end.

 

HiJack, thanks for the site :) I decided to go for the 2600k as I know a friend has one and it runs great. :)

[Cali]

2500k is just as good and was about $90-110 cheapier when I bought mine mid June.

[HiJack]

2500k is just as good and was about $90-110 cheapier when I bought mine mid June.

Yes, I'm also playing with the possibility to upgrade my server with a i5 2500K.

[Cali]

Yes, I'm also playing with the possibility to upgrade my server with a i5 2500K.

 

What are you using now?

[HiJack]

AMD X4 (old CPU) on the server, just does not run DCS World missions with 500 units and 6 players. OK for FC2 and Ka-50 but DCS World totally killed it.

 

(HJ)