Tom Anderson Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Hey all, After reading some posts on the forum and doing some flights out of YMMB in the game with poor FPS I did a bit of thinking and have decided to upgrade my computer at the end of the year. Another factor in the decision was my flying instructor's comment that I should attempt to build my own PC as it'd cost less. So with that in mind, I complied a list of parts I need/want from the sites listed on staticICE and here's what I came up with... Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem CPU 2.66 Ghz 4 Cores 8 Hyperthread D0 SLBEJ stepping LGA1366 - $358.00 Asus, ENGTX285-HTDI-1GD3, GTX285,1GB,512bit,DDR3,648Mhz,2xDVI,HDCP,HDTV,HDMI,PCIE2.0 - $485.00 Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME MB, LGA1366, Intel X58+ICH10R, QPI 6.4GT/s, DDR3 2000, PCI-Ex16, SATAII, RAID, IDE, 2xGbE LAN, 8ch audio, 2oc PCB,USB2, Heatpipe - $399.00 Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB KIT DDR3 RAM, Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB (3x 2GB) PC-12800 (1600MHz) DDR3 RAM, 32x240-pin DIMMs, Triple Kit, Non ECC Unbuffered, 8-8-8-24 1.65V RAM $242.95 Coolermaster V8 CPU Cooler (180W Cooling) -includes Clip for LGA1366 Socket - $89.00 Thermaltake 750W Toughpower QFan Power Supply with Cable Management - $226.60 Western Digital 1TB HDD SATA2 WD Hard Drive - $85.25 WD1500HLFS Western Digital 150GB, VelociRaptor, SATA-II, 10000RP - $189.90 Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 - $85.00 Overall cost (without W7, as of today): $2160.10 What I have in my possession currently that will go with these parts is a Thermaltake V9 Case and a DVD reader/writer (and of course an LCD, keyboard, mouse etc.). The rest of the PC can be an upgrade for my brothers PC (Mobo, CPU, Ram, GPU, Power Supply, HDD). My plan is to buy these parts at the end of the year when I've got the cash to buy them and when Win 7 is out (would rather start from scratch then bother to muck around taking off XP and so forth). That way they will hopefully be cheaper too (or maybe something new might come out that's cheaper and better?). Now to my questions for the tech-savvy people. Would I be able to overclock the i7 to 4Ghz and keep it stable? Is the power supply enough wattage to keep everything alive? And is it as easy as reading the instructions to put everything together? Thoughts and comments welcome. Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerd-tech Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Nice research there mate. Build-wise, I don't see any problems. On DIY, to be honest, either read several guides online or read the motherboard manual several times as this is the most informative thing out of all of them methinks. Take your time and remember to screw in the motherboard stand-offs. For the GPU, I would think you would be much better off with either one of the new HD5*** series. Either the 5850 or the 5870 will do you fine. And these both outperform the 285 easily and one is cheaper. They also support newer technology (DX11) which will be supported in future updates of FSX or newer games. You should be able to OC the 920 to 4Ghz at least, hopefully you get lucky and get a good chip which will let you OC like mad The PSU is more than enough but I would suggest to change to the Corsair HX-750 as these are more widely used and brilliantly supported, both pre-purchase and post. Besides that good luck, and if you want help with the build just PM me in the future if it's needed. All the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiko Glatthorn Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Make sure you'll get a D0 batch i920. Some stores handpick those (at least where i ordered in Europe). And if possible decide for CL7 RAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Anderson Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 Thanks for the replies guys Have updated the original post with the different 920 (bit dearer?). With the Ram Heiko, I was doing a bit of searching last night on how to overclock an i7 to 4ghz and found this pdf: http://lakesidepc.com/Core.i7.920.oc.4G.2008.12.12_ENG.pdf. They're using Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 6GB (3x XMS3 2GB) PC-10600 (1333MHz) XMS DDR3 For X58 MB/i7 Core, 3x240-pin DIMMs, Triple Kit, 9-9-9-24, 1.65V, so should I go for that instead? (Cheaper too). That PSU is a tad cheaper too, although was going with the Thermaltake one as it's the one John uses... (as you can tell, I'm going for the cheapest stuff that works, money's hard to come by at 15, time to get a job me thinks ). I've always stuck with nVidia though, after my old ATI died on me I made the switch and haven't had a problem since (touch wood). Also the fact that at least 4 or 5 people here have the 285 and have nothing but good news about them. Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated Just one thing to remember is that I'm not planning on investing until Christmas or the New Year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiko Glatthorn Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 1333 CL9 is about the most lousy RAM you can get. I seriously wouldn't consider that one... And they even run those below spec to achieve stable 4 GHz ? Oh dear.... 1200 CL9, better stay with DDR2 lol. Btw, never ever use software overclock, BIOS only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Anderson Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 Hehe I wouldn't know the difference (By now you can probably tell I have little knowledge when it comes to hardware, hence why I'm trying to learn). Would Kingston 6GB 1066MHz DDR3 ECC CL7 DIMM (Kit of 3) with Thermal Sensor, 6144 MB, SDRAM-DDR3, 240-pin DIMM, 1066 MHz, Gold, CL7 do? Or actually, any recommendations? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Hanley Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 The Thermaltake Qfan PSU's in Australia now have a lifetime warranty...hence why I bought one when my old one crapped itself. I almost bought Corsair, but the life time warranty sold me. http://www.thermaltake.com.au/Support/LifetimeWarranty.aspx Cheers Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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