To Build, or Not to build...

[AlphaWhiskeyFoxtrot]

OK, so Im running FSX on a laptop, and am getting decent performance but am unable to run SP2...

So basically My question is, Should I build or buy, and If I were to build, as a first timer, what does it take?

My budget is1500, but it is some what flexible.

Thanks,
AWF

[Butcherbird17]

Building one can be cheaper than prebuilt as you pick what you want to have in it, and the satisfaction that you put it together with your own hands. Plus the fact that it can be future proof (upgrades) down the road.

Joe

[txnetcop]

AWF you can build a great gamer around $1500.00. If you really decide you want to build. I have plenty of step by step material to help you as others in the forum will testify. The best part is that you will know your computer thoroughly and be able to upgrade your own unit without worrying about exceeding your warranty. Building your own unit is so easy a 5th grader can do it. I know I have one those little guys and he built his own with a minimum of help from dad.
Ted

[AlphaWhiskeyFoxtrot]

Hum, Interesting.

So just as an overview, what would I need to start a Build and how long does a build take? Also, are there "Kits" or do you buy everything separately.

I just want to know what I'd be getting into before I commit to anything.

Thanks!

AWF

[Butcherbird17]

No kits so to speak, you can however buy a barebones system that might be the case, mobo, cpu and memory preinstalled in the case. You would then have to add the PSU, vid card, hd/d's + OS. I bought a barebones system back when the p4 HT cpu's were first released from ebay for 500 bucks w/shipping. It was the first system i'd had put together and was very rewarding when i was finished and it posted.:icon_lol: I've put together 4 builds since then and will never buy a prebuilt ever again. Almost all retail parts come with step-by-step instructions with pics:d to help with installing. Id take Ted's offer and hook up with him as he gets to see most of the new stuff out there before we do and knows his stuff when it comes to system building.


Joe

[Wiens]

AWF,

I'll atest to the fact that building your own isn't a problem. In fact, my 6th grader helped me and was able to point out the next steps. Ted has some great guides for building your own system; check them out.

You've already done the hard part and that's determine the budget. Next, determine if you want a DX10 capable system. If so, Vista is your route. Check out Newegg.com for prices and parts.

I built an XP/DX9 system last spring for less than what your budget is and it rocks FSX w/Acceleration.

Oh, and get a monitor that is no smaller than 22". :d

Good Luck!!

Kevin

[txnetcop]

Here ya go AWF. There is more where this came from:

Part 1
http://youtube.com/watch?v=F9fAM8vlh_Q

Part 2
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-OCdbQbd6-c&feature=related

Part 3
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lChzQo1TbII&feature=related

Part 4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JG3NE3qnKuk&feature=related

Part 5
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j3YIIAzwnQA&feature=related

Part 6
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jcuyt29As7c&feature=related

Part 7
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JPowv-0UcT8&feature=related

After viewing get with me on latest parts and prices
Ted

[Bruce Thompson]

I use the same 22" Samsung 226BW Monitor that the Guy in the vid's used, it's a Gem.

Bruce

[txnetcop]

I use the same 22" Samsung 226BW Monitor that the Guy in the vid's used, it's a Gem.

Bruce

It is a fantastic monitor for the price. It was highly under-rated at first. Now it is very popular and gives vivid color renderings.
Ted

[AlphaWhiskeyFoxtrot]

Ill look through thos when I have time, and I'll try to get back to you by the weekend.

Thanks,
AWF

[IanP]

The only danger of building your own is when it doesn't work. For example, my PC prior to this had constant rebooting issues. I actually have something that passes for a qualification at building PCs and have done it both professionally and personally since the early 90s, so I'm hardly a newbie. I bought all the parts from one place, so I wouldn't have the "it must be the other guy's bit" arguments that my old boss used to use on everyone.

What was causing my reboots? The hard drive didn't like the motherboard. It took days to find this out and eventually I just swapped the hard drive out for a bigger one from a different supplier and all was fine. The shop refused to accept that either the hard drive or the motherboard was faulty, so the mobo stayed in the machine with the new drive and the other drive went into Mrs. P's PC as a D (actually I think it was about a G, by that point, but anyway!) - the point is that individually both components were fine. Put them together? If it ran for an hour without a BSOD and self-reboot it was a miracle. The average time was as long as it took to log in to Win XP.

Computer shops really will go out of their way to avoid doing warranty replacements because it costs them until the manufacturer admits the part is faulty. Some are better than others, but the vast majority I've met are as bad as each other.

I should point out, however, that incompatibilities such as that are far from the norm. That was why this particular one baffled everyone so much because everything we tested worked fine until you put it all together! :banghead:

Ian P.

[mustang]

AWF you can build a great gamer around $1500.00. If you really decide you want to build. I have plenty of step by step material to help you as others in the forum will testify. The best part is that you will know your computer thoroughly and be able to upgrade your own unit without worrying about exceeding your warranty. Building your own unit is so easy a 5th grader can do it. I know I have one those little guys and he built his own with a minimum of help from dad.
Ted

Wow, Ted, this is very timely in my case. I will check into each item you posted below. I haven't built a pc for about 5 years and, despite self doubts, am going to do so in about three days when my parts arrive. I just sent my last pc up in smoke (due to a mistake made in hasty work) a few days ago.

While I'm chosing to stay with XP because of my intense involvement in combat flight sims of all flavors, I could easily change to Raid with two identical SATA2 drives on the way. I know nothing about Raid but would go that way if it offers speed or redundancy. I was just about to contact you for how-to guides when I saw this thread.

Thanks for being so helpful!

Art

[txnetcop]

Wow, Ted, this is very timely in my case. I will check into each item you posted below. I haven't built a pc for about 5 years and, despite self doubts, am going to do so in about three days when my parts arrive. I just sent my last pc up in smoke (due to a mistake made in hasty work) a few days ago.

While I'm chosing to stay with XP because of my intense involvement in combat flight sims of all flavors, I could easily change to Raid with two identical SATA2 drives on the way. I know nothing about Raid but would go that way if it offers speed or redundancy. I was just about to contact you for how-to guides when I saw this thread.

Thanks for being so helpful!

Art



How to install a SATA drive NCIX tutor
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XbK2DrPFwSY


Part 1 from Expert Village
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-GMr2qEL1jY&feature=related
Part 2 from Expert Village
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KIW77_vfIYg&feature=related

It's easy as you can see:
Ted

[mustang]

Thanks, Ted!:ernae:


Art

[Wiens]

I have the Samsung 22" monitor, it's a beauty!! :d

Kevin

[AlphaWhiskeyFoxtrot]

Ok guys,
Looked through the Vids and talked with the Boss (Unlike you oldies, Boss=Dad:icon_lol:) and he said, that he wouldn't put more than 1000 bucks into it, I once I show him the product, I may get an extra 200, but no more. :banghead:

I'd like to save where it least affects me eg. Sound, Hard drive space, Disk Drives, Cases/housings. (I Don't need a monitor, Ill just plug it into our TV.)
I also won't need MS Office of any sort, and just need a simple Vista OS. (62 Bit from My understanding.)

I Just need something that can Run FSX SP2 well for now as I can always upgrade in the future.

Ok Ted, Lets see what we can bang out! :ernae:

Thanks
AWF

[Butcherbird17]

AWF, Here is a quick slapped together intel based system. It consists of.....
cpu, mobo, memory, vid card, hd/d, psu, case and os. Of course parts can be changed which will add or subtract from a $1000 limit. I tried to find parts that had free shipping to help with final price. All parts are from newegg.

CPU: C2D e6750 1333fsb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
Memory: Kingston HyperX pc2-8500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134586
Video: XFX 8800GT 512ddr3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150252
HD/D: Seagate Barracuda 250gb sata2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
PSU: OCZ StealthXstream 600w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 534 w/2x120mm case fans
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119106
OS: Vista Ultimate 64bit OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116215

Total price with any shipping added comes to $1005. Im sure some of the parts can be found cheaper from other retailers, but i just checked at one. Hope this helps you with the Boss.:d

Joe

[txnetcop]

AWF, Here is a quick slapped together intel based system. It consists of.....
cpu, mobo, memory, vid card, hd/d, psu, case and os. Of course parts can be changed which will add or subtract from a $1000 limit. I tried to find parts that had free shipping to help with final price. All parts are from newegg.

CPU: C2D e6750 1333fsb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
Memory: Kingston HyperX pc2-8500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134586
Video: XFX 8800GT 512ddr3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150252
HD/D: Seagate Barracuda 250gb sata2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262
PSU: OCZ StealthXstream 600w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 534 w/2x120mm case fans
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119106
OS: Vista Ultimate 64bit OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116215

Total price with any shipping added comes to $1005. Im sure some of the parts can be found cheaper from other retailers, but i just checked at one. Hope this helps you with the Boss.:d

Joe

Actually I like your choice. Let me tell you why. I would wait to buy and x-48 board for my new Penryn when I upgrade. I don't the results I have seen with the 780i boards, they are proven to be inconsistant. SLI nor Crossfire does you no good at present in FSX or FS9 but might in FS11, so then you make your upgrade to Penryn and x-48. DDR3 memory has not proven to be any faster than the DDR2 1066 for the most part, but will as the BIOS improves in the x-48 boards. Right now for speed the G92 engine is still the best, but from what I have seen at TechCor the 3870 and 3870 x2 give the best looking graphics by a wide margin(no I am not an ATI fan, I own an Nvidia Superclocked), so that will have to be a choice that AWF makes I guess. Still with nHancer the video card you picked is a good choice for rendering graphics and speed. I also like the case you picked as it is easy to cool. However, AWF you will want to spend some money on a Zalman 9700 heatsink to cool that processor and get the most speed out of it. Consideering the price we have to work with, good pick, Butcherbird.

One more thing, unless you are there to unplug during a storm, may I suggest you buy the best surge suppressor money can buy, I just found out the hard way why I shoulda:banghead:
Good luck AWF
Ted

[AlphaWhiskeyFoxtrot]

http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingCart.aspx
So this is what It looks Like, Im not sure I understood what You were saying about the X-48 board Ted.

Ill Put in an order when I get approval from Boss and you guys...


Also, Would you get any waranties?

Thanks ButcherBird and Ted!

AWF

[Butcherbird17]

X-48 is the next chipset to come out for intel mobo's. As Ted posted there is a hit or miss with the X-38's and 780i's (nivida chipset) out now as in most cases the P-35 mobo's out perform them. If you add another 50/60 bucks to the total for the Zalman 9700 you'll have some pretty good cooling to OC the system.
On a side note..We can't see your shopping cart as we need to be logged in with your user name.:d
Ted, hope you didn't lose any thing major. I know if i did i'd still be crying.
On another side note.. I just finished my build, so for now my system is complete until the e8500 are released. specs....

e6750 @3.4
GA-P35-DS3R rev1.0
4x1gb Kingston HyperX pc2-8500 w/Corsair memory cooler
eVGA 8800GTS (G92) 512ddr3
Seagate 250gb sata2, WD 160 sata (backup)
Vista Ultimate x64/XP SP2
Cooler Master Stacker 830SE

Joe

[txnetcop]

X-48 is the next chipset to come out for intel mobo's. As Ted posted there is a hit or miss with the X-38's and 780i's (nivida chipset) out now as in most cases the P-35 mobo's out perform them. If you add another 50/60 bucks to the total for the Zalman 9700 you'll have some pretty good cooling to OC the system.
On a side note..We can't see your shopping cart as we need to be logged in with your user name.:d
Ted, hope you didn't lose any thing major. I know if i did i'd still be crying.
On another side note.. I just finished my build, so for now my system is complete until the e8500 are released. specs....

e6750 @3.4
GA-P35-DS3R rev1.0
4x1gb Kingston HyperX pc2-8500 w/Corsair memory cooler
eVGA 8800GTS (G92) 512ddr3
Seagate 250gb sata2, WD 160 sata (backup)
Vista Ultimate x64/XP SP2
Cooler Master Stacker 830SE

Joe

Joe, it was insured and I will get about 75% of what I had in it, but I had it set up perfectly. That little OC'd 6400 with the board and memory I had ran consistently and stably at 3.8GHz on air, FSX was smooth as silk and my settings were almost all sliders right. It was the perfect setup for an inexpensive unit. I have an E6850 and Blood Iron board waiting in the wings and I will OC an HD 3870 to see what I can do with it. My big build this summer will be a Penryn 9770 with an X-48 chipset. I've already seen a Q9770 test CPU on steroids...WOW! :medals::applause::ernae:

This is one verifier:
http://en.hardspell.com/doc/showcont.asp?news_id=1958&pageid=2144

[AlphaWhiskeyFoxtrot]

Thanks Joe, Ill take the Dive then with what you gave me!

:ernae:

Best,
AWF

[Wiens]

Joe, it was insured and I will get about 75% of what I had in it, but I had it set up perfectly. That little OC'd 6400 with the board and memory I had ran consistently and stably at 3.8GHz on air, FSX was smooth as silk and my settings were almost all sliders right. It was the perfect setup for an inexpensive unit. I have an E6850 and Blood Iron board waiting in the wings and I will OC an HD 3870 to see what I can do with it. My big build this summer will be a Penryn 9770 with an X-48 chipset. I've already seen a Q9770 test CPU on steroids...WOW! :medals::applause::ernae:

This is one verifier:
http://en.hardspell.com/doc/showcont.asp?news_id=1958&pageid=2144


Ted,

What happened? You're telling us you didn't have a surge protector? Oh, no!

Kevin

[AlphaWhiskeyFoxtrot]

Yah, I never plug any electronics directly into my outlets, I always use a Surge. Lesson Learned (Hope fully!) Ted!

AWF

[Butcherbird17]

AWF,
The one thing I forgot to add to the list was a optical drive (DVD) unless you have one laying around. If you dont try and get a sata one, they are pretty cheap. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106095
Need one to install the OS.:costumes:

Ted, WOW is all i can say. But seeing what you'll be getting, its kinda a good thing it happened. Looking forward for a mini review when you do get it. That rig should smoke (little pun):icon_lol:

Joe

[txnetcop]

Ted,

What happened? You're telling us you didn't have a surge protector? Oh, no!

Kevin

I had a UPS battery backup with surge protector but it was too old and failed(too many surges I guess). I have written the company as they insure up to $1000.00 but I was covered by a home owner policy anyway. I'm going to stick with a medium expense board and processor for now until the X-48 motherboards and Q9770 are available. I will sell the Blood Iron and E6850 when I am ready to go for it. Somebody will get a really nice juiced up system when I do sell it. The Blood Iron is mighty over-clocker, but it's a real pain to set up(too many options and OCers tend to get greedy).
Ted

[AlphaWhiskeyFoxtrot]

AWF,
The one thing I forgot to add to the list was a optical drive (DVD) unless you have one laying around. If you dont try and get a sata one, they are pretty cheap. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106095
Need one to install the OS.:costumes:

Ted, WOW is all i can say. But seeing what you'll be getting, its kinda a good thing it happened. Looking forward for a mini review when you do get it. That rig should smoke (little pun):icon_lol:

Joe

I noticed that, I (suprisingly) have an External Hanging around so I though I would use that to install! :icon_lol:

Maby Ill go around an get one some time.

Thanks!

AWF