Hi All;
I posted a few weeks ago that it appeared that the graphics card on my 5 (possibly six) year old Dell Studio XPS PC had died, leaving me unable to run my sims (FSX/FS9), IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946, or even Google Earth. I've given a lot of thought to replacing the old graphics card, but with some other issues cropping up (random crashes and shutdowns). I'm beginning to get the feeling that merely swapping out the old card for new is only patching a rapidly wearing, old tire that I'm going to have to replace in its entirety in a year or two anyways. Besides, I miss simming...
So I think it's time for a new machine built for the demands of FSX.
I read Nick N.'s FSX bible - or rather, I tried to; after forty-five minutes or so my head was swimming with specs and technical jargon (I have to confess I'm not savvy when it comes to PC technical issues), but I did take away that it is possible to put together a well performing machine without a huge cash outlay. I also learned that by and large that store bought (eg. Best Buy) or factory built (Dell, HP) really aren't built to perform in the way that FSX needs to really shine. I also learned that laptops should not be considered as FSX compatible machines.
Then I came across this YouTube video that more or less seemed to follow Nick N.'s recommendations, so I'm thinking that I may go that way with a few small variations. What I'd like to know are there items I'll need for this build that I haven't considered or are unaware of that are critical to such a build. I'll be retaining my existing 22" flatscreen monitor, Logitech joystick, and Dell speakers.
Here's my proposed component list:
Tower Case/Chassis - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D
Motherboard - ASUS MAXIMUS VII HERO Socket 1150 Intel Z97 Chipset
CPU - Intel i7 - 4790K Quad-Core Processor - Socket LGA1150, 4.0Ghz, 8MB L3 Cache, 22nm
RAM Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2133MHz CL9 (The video recommends 8GB RAM at 2400MHz CL9, but I prefer to have an extra margin)
Graphics GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Superclocked 4GB GDDR5 ACX 2.0 Cooler
Two (2) Intel 730 Series 480GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (the video suggests one 240GB drive, but I want to install two SSD's: one for the PC's operating system, and the other for my sim files excluding large, add-on scenery files - they'll go on a standard, mechanical hard drive)
Hard Drive - WD Black 2TB 3.5" SATA 7200RPM 64MB Hard Drive (for large scenery files and normal PC usage)
DVD/Blu-Ray/RW Optical Drive - ASUS (DRW-24B3ST) Internal 24x DVD Writer (for burning back-up copies of aftermarket FS aircraft and scenery add-ons...and for watching movies)
Liquid CPU Cooler - Corsair Hydro Series H110i GT 280mm Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Power supply - Corsair AX860 High Performance 80PLUS Platinum Certified Fully Modular 860 Watt Power Supply
Sound Card - Asus Xonar DSX - 7.1 Channel (GX2.5 Audio Engine) - PCI-E Audio Card
Operating System - Windows 7 Premium Home Edition
Now there's a lot I don't know here such as do I need an internal DSL modem/ethernet card? My sister, who's moving to the Maritimes, want's me to get a WiFi setup so she can chat with my mom (I'm her caregiver 24/7) via laptop and Skype, so what do I need there as a part of this build? What of internal cables and getting HDTV quality video from my system? Are there any components I've missed?
I'm figuring that I can do this for less than $3,000 CDN.
I look forward to your thoughts.
N.
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