I'm new to building PC's, Help!

[X-Plane Australia]

My current situation is that I am running x-plane 10 on a standard 2008 macbook. It is now at the point where it can hardly handle WED. After only owning Mac's beforehand I looked at building a PC. I found that it is even cheaper than I thought to build a powerful system. My only problem is that I have very little knowledge of computers, I have done some research but I know that there are some very knowledgable people on these forums who could give me some advice and guidance (I'm not even 100% sure the parts I grouped together below will be compatible).

 

This is what I came up with...

 

Is it overkill?

$2850 Australian Dollars (almost parity with the USD). It may seem like a lot but I payed $2,200 for a macbook 13" back in 08

 

My questions:

Something I don't understand is memory. Would it be better to go for faster memory but 16GB instead of 32?

Also what do you think of the GPU, as far as I know it is arguably one of the best variants of the GTX 680.

 

Are there enough PCI (another thing I don't understand) slots on the motherboard for everything?

 

Is 1000W enough power? I intend to overclock the CPU.

 

 

Thanks Andy

[karingka]

Basically, with that setup, you will be able to run X-Plane flawlessly, max settings! It's expensive, but fair. You're paying for what you get. 

 

First off: it is the processor and the graphics card that will contribute to FPS in X-Plane, which is what you want. RAM (memory) won't. 16 GB is more than enough, 32 GB is pointless. Basically it allows you to run more programs at once without memory overload. I doubt you'll be running so many programs at the same time with x-plane, so it's useless. 

 

In fact, the setup is a bit overkill. I think you should stick with the GTX680, however. That is a beast. You don't really need the cooler x6, the standard fans are usually fine if you play in a relatively cool room. 1000watts should be enough, even if you overclock. You won't need to with the GTX680, default settings will be fine. Keep the i7, that's also very good and will last you a long time with that power. Oh, and get windows 7. It's easier to use considering x-plane actually works properly on it (unsure if it does on 8). Do it just to be safe. I'm not sure about the PCI thing, maybe some one else will be.

Edited December 3, 2012 by karingka

[chris k]

Yep - Basically this is what you want in term of a direction to take:

 

CPU: Quad Core i7 / Ivy Bridge / Around 3Ghz-ish

GPU: nVidia GTX 680 with min 2 Gb of VRAM 

RAM: 8 Gb DDR3 at some reasonable speed (1333/1666)

 

Everything else is just case/power supply/hdd/lights/plastic to hold it together. You could probably build a system simmilar to this for $1000-$1500 depending on the source of the parts.

 

i.e. $769 for a GX680? You can get the 2 Gb version for $600-ish $AUD here in Chatswood or Crows Nest in Sydney

 

- CK.

Edited December 3, 2012 by chris k

[Gjalp]

Pretty much what Chris said. The PCI thing is just space taking. I havent plugged anything into my PCi slots in years as everything is motherboard bound. My nVidia card is made by Gigabyte but there are others around that will do the same thing for a fraction of the price. My system cost NZ$1500, and its plowing along nicely with Win7 64 and XP 64.....and I only have 2Gb of ram!!!!!!

 

Definitately go with the i7, the GTX680 and the 8Gb of ram. Its a no brainer!

 

What monitor are you uysing or are you getting one of those as well?

 

Slainte,

 

Andy

[X-Plane Australia]

I will remove the 32GB of memory, I agree, it is way over the top. I will swap in 8 GB or 16 GB.

 

You all seem to like the CPU and with 6 cores (12 hyper threaded) it should be fun for AI aircraft.

 

I don't mind paying a bit more for the case and PSU as they should have a much longer lifespan than the actual computer components.

 

Now onto the GPU. I am aware that it is a but much for the current X-plane but I don't mind getting ahead. I might even "turn to the dark side" and have a look at ORBX YMML. I am also tempted to play some Battlefield 3 for those who are familiar. 

 

How much will 4GB of vram benefit me compared to 2GB? I will only have a 1 monitor setup, currently I am looking at the following monitor http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/ips277l-ips277l-black-p-60517.html?sort=2a (I am a fan of the thin bezels). 

Edited December 4, 2012 by X-Plane Australia

[karingka]

In terms of speed (FPS), it won't have much effect. It'll allow you to load much more texture space and maintain a high FPS. This could come important when running XP or FSX, but not so much in games such as COD or Battlefield. 

[Gjalp]

Nice monitor choice but the refresh rate is a bit slow....14ms. You can get a good LCD for the same price with a 2ms refresh rate. This is important as it tells you how fast you screen will update. I have a viewsoinc that I love, is 24" and has a refresh rate of 2ms, is full HDMI 1080p HD. SInce you are going to be staring at this thing pretty much all the time you are using it you might as well get a good one

 

Hope that helps.

 

Slainte,

 

Andy

[X-Plane Australia]

Sorry for the late reply

Thanks for the monitor advice, I never even considered the refresh rate of the monitor, after a little more research I found that as nice as IPS monitors are they are not great for gaming.

 

Thanks

Andy