computer build help

[alan cottrill]

Hi All.
My computer is getting a bit long in the tooth now,and is struggling with frame rates with FSX and with the new games.
So i have decided to have a go at building my own all singing and dancing machine,so i need advice as to the best/quickest items to put in a new case,which i will need for cooling it.
Thinking of an ASUS m/board (most powerfull one for pentium)
WIN 7 OP SYSTEM
PENTIUM (quickest one they do)
either ATI RADION/GFORCE video card (quickest and best gaming they do)
not sure which sound card to have.
at least a 1tetra byte hard drive
dvd writer (which ever is best on market)
Best power unit to use with top end spec computer
Best ram to use at least 1gb
Any help in getting the system specs i am after,and putting names and numbers against the bits list i would be greatful.
Regards alan.

[DaveB]

Hi Alan

I don't keep my finger on the pulse with such things I'm afraid but one thing to note on your list.. at least 1gb ram.. with the system you intend building, start thinking at least 6 or 8gb ram. 4gb would be a base minimum I reckon.. anything less and you're wasting your time

ATB

DaveB

[Garry Russell]

Indeed Dave

I have 1gb RAM......FS9 could run a lot better and FSX runs very badly indeed.

[TSR2]

Several smaller drivers are better than 1 big one. Aim to have a separate hard disk for FS. 4GB RAM should be fine with an x64 operating system, you definately won't need more than 6GB. Always Nvidia on the video card. I'll have a look at actual models numbers when I get home.

[DaveB]

you definitely won't need more than 6GB

I was being rather opulent Ben.. in the belief that with 4 holes on the mobo, it'd be rude not to fill them all (as money seems of little relevance) I was also thinking in 2's and keeping the memory matched but of course, you can get matched 3gb dimms too

ATB

DaveB

[TSR2]

Sorry Dave, wasn't having a go, but was typing when it when someone sat at my desk for a "chat" so needed to finish quickly

Quite right on the 8GB, if you've got 4 slots you may as well put 8 GB in, or 4 GB, but leave two slots empty. Actually, 4GB and leve to slots free is probably the best plan, as if you thing the perfoormance is great with just the 4GB, then you can use the money you've saved on buying GenX.

[DaveB]

Good one Ben! Things always work themselves out when the right logic is applied

ATB

DaveB

[Chris Sykes]

Hi Alan,

I currently run a system that is as bellow, overall its runs FSX nice and smooth. And runs COD6 brilliantly!
Quad Core Q8650 3.0Ghz (£270) (Upgraded from the E8500 two weeks ago)
8GB OCZ Reaper RAM (4x2GB) (£80-100 a set of 4GB)
Asus Striker 2 Formula (£200)
3x Veloci Raptors 600GB in total (£200 for 300GB and about 2x£100 for 150GB)
2x 8800 GTS 640Mb in SLI (Ebay Bargins, £140 for Pair)
Coolermaster 1000W PSU (£120)
Creative Sound Blaster (£100)
Antec 900 (£70)

If your Going Asus Motherboard (my Stirker 2 Formula) came with a sound card with it and uses the PCI-E x1 slot but i dont use this. Asus motherboards are easy to use, set clock speeds and upgrade the BIOS (never do it in O/S!)
-My E8500 ran FSX ok, but the Quad seems to run FSX loads better, best bet is go Quad.
-4GB is deffinatly the advised minimum with FSX, plus try to check they are in the Qualified Vendors List for your Motherboard (not always a must but can cause issues) and matches the Speed settings with your Motherboard!
-HDD advice is to not keep FSX on the same Drive as your O/S, if your O/S drive fails so does your FSX!
-NVidia cards are recognised to work best with FSX, if the newer ones work better than the older 8800 series i dont know...
-PSU are somethings you will need to predict what you are having in the case, how long your having the kit for and if your adding to it in the future, you can easly get to the PSU's limits easly! Extra Wattage is better!


Alot of the above is always down to your balance between budget and need, you can upgrade parts later.
Hopefully this will help a little, but please ask if more is needed!

Regards

Chris

[TSR2]

As Chris says, 8800 series is the optimum card for FSX, anything newer will be great for newer games, but make no difference for FSX. Asus boards are the business. Depending on your speaker set up, the onboard sound may be fine. What I would say is definately set £100+ asside for things like GenX. There is lttle point in having an all singing all dancing machine if you are flying default FSX.

[Vancouver]

All above good advice although I suggest minimum 6GB of DDR3 RAM for Win7.
And don't skimp on the PSU - get 1000 Watts minimum which leaves plenty of juice spare for any further upgrades.