New PC Build

[n122vu]

Since I have a shiny new nVidia GTX 970 OC that is incompatible with my Acer Predator, and a shiny new EVGA 700 watt power supply, and an extra case, I've decided to build a new PC in the next couple of months. Here's the basic outline of my build.

• I have chosen newegg as my initial supplier for most of the parts based on service they have provided in the past with RMAs and support.
• Based on advice from multiple forum members and other sources, I've decided to go with a Core i7 processor.
• My goal is to keep the price of the remaining parts somewhere in the area of $500-$700 USD.

List of parts needed:

• Motherboard
• CPU
• Memory
• SSD Drive - Primary/OS, ~120GB, SATA 6GB/S
• Internal Hard Drive - Data, 2TB, 7200 RPM, SATA 6GB/S

Here's my first run of sourcing the parts I still need:

Wow. A little steeper than I expected on the price, but again, this is a first pass. I'm going to source similar parts from other vendors to see if I can bring it down just a bit.

If anyone has any suggestions for changes/better fit, I'd love to hear them.

2VU clear of the active.

 

[RisingFury]

16 MB of memory might be overkill. I have 8 and I hardly ever go over 4, even with my sloppy way of leaving everything open. You might opt for two sticks, not four.

On the other hand, the page file will then eat up quite a bit of that precious 120 GB SSD.

I'd recommend a 240 GB SSD (or whatever is available in that range) instead of a 120 GB, even if you have to sacrifice the RAM for it.Hard drive goes faster than you think...

Also, when buying SSDs, the common measure for reading and writing speeds are sequential reading and writing speeds, which are fast. But in reality, reading and writing is not sequential and speed drops. There are some models that retain high speed even through non-sequential reads and writes.

If you see the same model of the SSD with two prices, with the prices differing by 5 to 10 USD and no different in description, the difference is likely that the non-sequential speeds. Get the slightly more expensive one.


Also, get a 15 000 RPM hard drive. Trust me, worth it. You're gonna want Orbiter to have access to fast loading when reading those nasty large files

 

[n122vu]

Thanks for the tips, especially on the SSD reads/writes. Good piece of information that I didn't have before. :tiphat:

The 16GB of RAM, 120GB SSD, and 2TB 7200 RPM are the same as in my current rig (mostly - current SSD is 128GB instead of 120). I still have at least 75% of my SSD free after 2+ years, so I don't plan on going higher than that for this one. 99% of my software has been installed to my 2TB data drive, with only a few exceptions whose developers need to be flogged for not offering the option of specifying the installation directory.

Also worth mentioning, I do plan on also keeping my Acer, probably for a while anyway to run some older games. Since the beta runs fantastically on it, that will likely be where Orbiter 2015 resides. I'll probably splurge for a 15k RPM drive for that one later this year then.

Good stuff, thanks for the feedback.

 

[n122vu]

Getting closer to my target price range. I found that actually moving up to the 4790K Haswell would save me $20 at Newegg, and going with 8GB RAM at initial build with option to add more later naturally chopped the total cost of that component in half. No changes to any of the other components yet.

Here's the 2nd pass at sourcing the parts from Newegg:

Still about $70 more than where I'd like to be, but I can almost live with that. I'm halfway tempted to go with the Z87 version of that motherboard rather than the Z97, or even the Sabertooth Z97 board. Any thoughts or advice on that?

Any other feedback is more than welcome.

Thanks,
2VU

 

[Fabri91]

Unless you actually need the extra features of such a pricy motherboard I'd suggest getting, for example, the entry level ASUS Z97 motherboard, which will allow you to retain the OC potential of your CPU since most of the relevant hardware has been moved into the CPU itself. You'll then be able to take the savings home or get a bigger SSD which will enable you to install FSX and/or X-Plane on it, dramatically cutting short on load times or texture loading stutter.

In general SSD prices have started coming down big time, and they're much faster than any mechanical drive in the random read loads typically encountered and silent, especially compared to a 15k rpm drive.

Regarding Z87 vs. Z97, make sure that the older board is compatible with your newer CPU (the 4790k is a revised 4770k introduced at a later time).

EDIT: you can save 20 more bucks by going with a WD green 2TB drive for pure storage, which is a 5400 rpm (much quieter), especially if all your main programs were to be installed on an SSD.

 

[n122vu]

Ok, thanks for the advice on the motherboard. That board was actually on my short list before I settled on the Maximus VII Hero. Switching to that one brings me below the $700 USD mark, putting it in my available budget.

As far as the SSD, I think I'm going to stay at 128GB. I won't be installing any of my programs on it unless the program doesn't allow the option. Everything will be installed on the data drive, so minimum 7200 RPM, worth the extra $20 for me.

I may get a second SSD down the road specifically for housing Steam/flight sims, and have the data drive become a true data-only drive, but for the time being, I'm very satisfied with the performance of the SSD/HDD combo I have in my current rig. That's what I'm going to replicate in my new build.

Appreciate the advice though. All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,
2VU

 

[Fabri91]

You're welcome! Seems to be a solid build you've got there.

I'll just throw in another suggestion, though: by going with an i5 4690k you'd save 100 USD which you could again either take home or put in an SSD.

Thing you'd loose is hyperthreading, but since it still is a quad core and flight sims have a bit of a history of not really taking advantage of many cores it would still be plenty adequate, unless you do much video editing or other workloads which would indeed better utilize such a CPU. I'd be curious to know what the reasoning is behind choosing the i7/hyperthreaded variant of the same CPU.

 

[RisingFury]

As far as the motherboard goes, go for only the model that supports your components and doesn't limit them, or your future expansion that you *definitely* will do.

Don't drop money on a motherboard "just because you *might* upgrade later".

 

[n122vu]

Don't get more than I need unless I know I'm going to need more later. Got it.

Thanks,
2VU

 

[Fabri91]

It's essentially what I have suggested in my replies, but here a summary of what I'd do:

Total: 654.96 US$

I went with 8GB of RAM which should be enough and the MB has 4 DIMM slots anyway so should you need more memory you wouldn't have to ditch the original two, and with 16GB the total comes in at around 720 USD.

 

[n122vu]

I'd be curious to know what the reasoning is behind choosing the i7/hyperthreaded variant of the same CPU.

Mainly, various comments I've seen the past few months on YT, forums, etc. Not really part of my research for parts, just observations I've made off-hand. Several DCS, XP10, and FSX vids I've seen that looked fantastic, many had the 4790k as part of their build. I'm to the point where if I'm going to be using this PC as both an entertainment and training platform, I feel comfortable putting money into it so I can not only run everything well, but also share videos of my experience with FRAPS, twitch, etc.

Basically, I don't want to buy something that will run FSX:SE, DCS World, and XP10 at max, only to have FSX:SE "the next generation," DCS World 2 or XP11/XP12 etc. bring it to its knees in 2 years time. That's exactly what happened with my first PC build in 2007, and I don't want to repeat those past mistakes (although I may be tempting fate by reusing the case from that old beast for this build, but it has so much room, the GTX 970 will be able to breathe easily).

 

[Dantassii]

Sounds like a system that will be able to handle my Lunar Station at 60 FPS.

Dantassii
HUMONGOUS IMS shipbuilder.

 

[Fabri91]

Then it appears that you're set! Time to build it now!

 

[n122vu]

Just need to wait until I file my taxes for this year. I usually get my W-2 around this time (will have 2 this year since our company spun off) so it may be a week or two before I get that completed. As long as it's a decent return & I don't have to pay in, I should be ordering the parts within the next 2-3 weeks.

I might just take your advice on the 4690k. I've been reading good reviews and a lot have OC'd it to match the 4790k's base frequency.

I thought about keeping with the 4790k when you mentioned video editing, but I'll be keeping my current rig as well, so I may record my videos on the flight rig and then offload them to the other machine for processing. I've also considered streaming to twitch in the future just for personal use/sharing with friends. I may stream a few on my current rig to see how performance is.

 

[Fabri91]

Well, it's not theat the 4690k is bad for video editing, but it might make sense to go with the 4790k if you often edit videos. My 4.5 year old overclocked i5 750 didn't have any real problems the few times I edited something.

Can't say much about streaming since I've never done anything like that, but if it's possible to offload the load to a second PC in a practical manner it would seem like a good idea.

 

[RisingFury]

Go with the stronger CPU. It's not even a question.