Sad Day, came home a 2 week vacation

[Jim Kallinen]

And went to fire up my old Dell XPS 730x to process some final day vacation shots and it the fans on it were real noisy and started

revving up faster and faster, then it started making loud hi pitched noise like a bearing was about to go when froze up solid. Had to

hard boot it off and upon reboot, fans made the same noise and 3 loud beeps from the MOBO. It fried. 

 

So today I decided to move away from Dell after over 10 years of owning them.  Decided to custom configure a system from Ibuypower.com

and put together a serious computer. 

 

http:// iBUYPOWER Case: Erebus Full Tower Custom Liquid Cooling Gaming Case - Black Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 3930K Processor (6x 3.20GHz/12MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core i7 3930K w/ Intel Performance Tuning Protection Memory: 32 GB [4 GB X8] DDR3-1866 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan - 6GB - Single Card Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 -- 4x SATA 6GB/s, 4x USB 3.0 Primary Hard Drive: 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive Full system spec

[Cameron]

Sounds like a nice, new machine, Jim. I'm not entirely sure on the Titan (great card), mainly because it gets bottlenecked on a lot of CPUs, but it certainly won't run X-Plane bad! Have you considered  4GB 680 or 3GB 780 instead? You may get more bang for your buck there!

 

Either way, you'll have a lot of jealous people in the X-Plane community after you.

[Ntr09]

You should move on up to the new Haswell CPUs if you intend on the Titan performing well. Worth the extra $30 dollars. 

 

-NR

[sqrt(-1)]

I'd take the 3GB GTX 780 over the 4GB GTX 680 because it's about 30% quicker.

Edited June 28, 2013 by SqrtOfNegOne

[Hueyman]

Why everyone is saying to take the latest Haswell ? it's not that powerful, just save energy and it's new...

 

For now, the 3930K and 3970X are just the best out there

[Cameron]

I'd take the 3GB GTX 780 over the 4GB GTX 680 because it's about 30% quicker.

 

True, though relatively "negligible" within X-Plane. It depends on your setup (screen resolution, desired texture settings, etc). In some instances the 680 in 4GB form may be better (I have this card after upgrading from the 2GB version...HUGE difference for the settings I run).

 

The 780 is no slouch, and also why I mentioned it. You really can't go wrong with either card!

[sqrt(-1)]

Why everyone is saying to take the latest Haswell ? it's not that powerful, just save energy and it's new...

 

For now, the 3930K and 3970X are just the best out there

 

That's because, per thread, the 4770K and even the 3770K have higher performance than either the 3930K or 3970X.

[sqrt(-1)]

From Cameron:

In some instances the 680 in 4GB form may be better (I have this card after upgrading from the 2GB version...HUGE difference for the settings I run).

 

The 780 is no slouch, and also why I mentioned it. You really can't go wrong with either card!

 

 

 

I currently have both versions of the 680 now in two different machines.  (Gigabyte GTX 680 SOC 2GB and EVGA GTX 680 Classified 4GB) 

 

All else being equal, the 2GB card gives me consistently better framerates.

 

Agreed on not going wrong with either one, but if you take into account the significant increase in memory bus bandwidth on the 780, it would be really difficult for me to pick the 680 again, even with the 1GB extra VRAM.  Nvidia must have realized choking down the memory bus from the 580 to the 680 wasn't such a great idea, especially with larger VRAM capacities.  I'll try to locate the test I found for you that illustrates this.

Edited June 28, 2013 by SqrtOfNegOne

[Cameron]

The 2GB card gives me consistently better framerates.

 

That's shocking. I used a specific case study in sim to compare my two cards. In the same scenario, the 2GB gave me between 19 and 26 fps. The 4GB, on the other hand, shot into the 45-60 range. Of course, this meant I was exhausting my VRAM on the 2GB since the boards and chips are pretty much the same. So long as you're not really exhausting that, your performance between the two should be pretty similar (is SOC higher speed than classified?).

 

Agreed on not going wrong with either one, but if you take into account the significant increase in memory bus bandwidth on the 780, it would be really difficult for me to pick the 680 again, even with the 1GB extra VRAM.  Nvidia must have realized choking down the memory bus from the 580 to the 680 wasn't such a great idea, especially with larger VRAM capacities.  I'll try to locate the test I found for you that illustrates this.

 

For some people, you're right...the 780 is a no brainer. That said, I would hesitate against a 4GB card for my situation (bandwidth means squat if I'm exhausting mem!), and to MOST people it's going to be about bang for buck. With the Titan, 780, and 680 all being out now, the 680 no doubt is a great bang for dollars spent. The performance is fantastic.

[Hueyman]

That's because, per thread, the 4770K and even the 3770K have higher performance than either the 3930K or 3970X.

 

Oh yes, I see thanks ;-)

 

And what is the real advantages in X-Plane ? I heard that it can't take advantages of bi-GPU monsters such the 690, what about CPU use ?

 

Thanks

[Cameron]

I heard that it can't take advantages of bi-GPU monsters such the 690

 

The unwritten truth/word is that it can, but it's not advertised as such because Laminar doesn't test for it. This changed relative recently. Nvidia was involved in explaining the bits of weak points in code if I remember it right.

 

I personally haven't tested it recently and don't know anyone who has, but I'm sure they're out there.

[sqrt(-1)]

From Cameron:

1)  That's shocking. I used a specific case study in sim to compare my two cards. In the same scenario, the 2GB gave me between 19 and 26 fps. The 4GB, on the other hand, shot into the 45-60 range. Of course, this meant I was exhausting my VRAM on the 2GB since the boards and chips are pretty much the same. So long as you're not really exhausting that, your performance between the two should be pretty similar (is SOC higher speed than classified?).

 

2)  For some people, you're right...the 780 is a no brainer. That said, I would hesitate against a 4GB card for my situation (bandwidth means squat if I'm exhausting mem!), and to MOST people it's going to be about bang for buck. With the Titan, 780, and 680 all being out now, the 680 no doubt is a great bang for dollars spent. The performance is fantastic.

 

 

1)  When I did my test in X-Plane, I first figured out how to configure the rendering settings to fully saturate the 2GB card.  Then I applied the same settings to both cards.  Out of the box, the SOC is clocked higher not only on the GPU, but the VRAM as well.  For certain sceneries, I can run extreme texture resolution with objects and roads maxed out.  In others, 2GB won't be enough, but 3GB, as provided on the 780, would get it done...for me.

 

2)  I agree that bang for the buck, the 680 wins.  Hands down.  But for quite a bit less money than a Titan, the 780 is only about 8% slower.

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'll try to find the tests that demonstrate both the fact that a 680 with 4GB is actually choked by memory bandwidth at high screen resolutions and that 3GB VRAM at higher bandwidth would be a better solution.

Edited June 28, 2013 by SqrtOfNegOne

[Cameron]

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'll try to find the tests that demonstrate both the fact that a 680 with 4GB is actually choked by memory bandwidth at high screen resolutions and that 3GB VRAM at higher bandwidth would be a better solution.

 

I would be curious to see results of the 780 on X-Plane. While the mem bandwidth was lowered on the 680 over the 580, the 680 still ripped the 580 apart for a lot of things in X-Plane. In particular, fill rate was VASTLY improved, providing a pretty fluid experience in X-Plane 10 on a large monitor...something I can't say for the 580.

[sqrt(-1)]

I would be curious to see results of the 780 on X-Plane. While the mem bandwidth was lowered on the 680 over the 580, the 680 still ripped the 580 apart for a lot of things in X-Plane. In particular, fill rate was VASTLY improved, providing a pretty fluid experience in X-Plane 10 on a large monitor...something I can't say for the 580.

 

Fair enough. 

 

I'm curious to see the performance of the 780 on X-Plane.  It will, however, need to be fed by a strong CPU as it is a "baby" Titan.

[Jim Kallinen]

Regardless of the current debate the order is solid and credit references and bank draft went through without an issue. Paid in full

Just under 5k investment. $279 shipping special order. Full Tower case.

 

Anyone looking to buy a couple full tower Dell XPS cases, Aluminum alone might recycle for more then anyone would be will willing to mod the

case out for.

[sqrt(-1)]

I'm sure you will enjoy X-Plane with the new rig! 

[steve31000]

The 770 is actually a better buy than the 680 and costs less. There is a 4 gb version of it with better memory bus speeds than the 4gb or 2gb 680. It has the same type of memory speed as the 780. It's also 10% faster overall than the 680. It is essentially an upgraded 680. So given that it's less expensive and more powerful than the 680 makes the 4gb 770 a no brainer in my opinion. Better to go with new tech not old tech especially at a better price point. Also, if you decide, get the overclocked Gigabyte 4gb  Windforce version of the card.

[Jim Kallinen]

Here is the complete list of the build, that link did not have it all.

 

 

1 x Case Erebus Full Tower Custom Liquid Cooling Gaming Case - Black 0 x Case Lighting None 1 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion [6-Port] NZXT Internal USB Expansion System 1 x Processor Intel® Core™ i7 3930K Processor (6x 3.20GHz/12MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core i7 3930K w/ Intel Performance Tuning Protection 1 x iBUYPOWER PowerDrive PowerDrive Level 2 - Up to 20% Overclocking 1 x Custom Liquid Cooling Custom Liquid Cooling w/ Quad + Dual Radiator 1 x Liquid Coolant High-Performance Coolant powered by Koolance - Colorless 1 x Tubing Wraps Tubing Wraps (Anti-Kink Coil) powered by Koolance - Black 1 x Memory 32 GB [4 GB X8] DDR3-1866 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand 1 x Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan - 6GB - Single Card 1 x Free Stuff [FREE In-Game Voucher] - $75 Value In-Game Currencies: Hawken, Planetside 2, and World of Tanks ($25 for each title) - Free with purchase of NVIDIA GeForce GTX650 or above 1 x Motherboard ASUS Sabertooth X79 -- 4x SATA 6GB/s, 4x USB 3.0 1 x Power Supply 1350 Watt - Thermaltake Toughpower-1350M - Free Upgrade to 1500 Watt Toughpower-1500M ($40 Savings) 1 x Primary Hard Drive 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive 0 x Data Hard Drive None 1 x Optical Drive 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black *Independence Day Sale* FREE Upgrade to BLU-RAY Reader Combo Drive for Primary Optical Drive 0 x 2nd Optical Drive None 1 x Flash Media Reader / Writer 12-In-1 External USB Flash Media Card Reader/Writer 1 x Meter Display NZXT Sentry LX Aluminum Fan Control, Clock, and Temperature Display 1 x Sound Card 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard 1 x Network Card Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) 1 x Operating System Windows 8 + Office 2010 Trial [Free 60-Day !!!] - 64-bit 1 x Keyboard iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard - FREE Upgrade to A4Tech LED Backlit Gaming Keyboard ($19 value) 1 x Mouse iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse - Blood Red 0 x Monitor None 0 x 2nd Monitor None 0 x Speaker System None 0 x Video Camera None 1 x Advanced Build Options iBUYPOWER Specialized Advanced Packaging System - Protect your investment during transportation! 0 x Case Engraving Service None 1 x Warranty Erebus XL Warranty Service - Erebus XL 3-Year limited warranty + Lifetime Technical support (NOTE: This system is non-refundable. Please click '?' for additional limitations.) 1 x Rush Service Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days

 

[sqrt(-1)]

 

Here is the complete list of the build...

 

 

You are probably speaking with a deeper voice now...  

[Hueyman]

I'll get about the exact same gear as you, except I7 3970X, Rampage IV Extreme motherboard and 4X G Skill Trident X 8GB, 2400 MHz DDRIII

 

We'll rock X-Plane UP ;-)

[Jim Kallinen]

Sweet, just received an email from I Buy Power and my system has been built and tested through Quality Control and custom

packed per my instructions and ready to ship. To bad the 4th of July is a no ship day. Will have to wait till Friday for shipping

info to come in since its not going your average shipping route. $279 shipping charge.

[Hueyman]

You know, a couple of days is very little compared to a couple of year, awaiting the ability to afford a new PC ... ;-)

[Jim Kallinen]

About time, had not heard a word from them till this afternoon when they finally send me tracking #. It will be here tomorrow.

[Jim Kallinen]

This sucks, gets as far as the transit hub in Chicago and has sat for the past 24hrs, sent an email asking Why and no reply.

[Hueyman]

Any news ? Looking forward to your results