Power Supply

Guys what power supply I need for a core 2 duo system? I know the wattage I need, the question is regarding the make and type.

What's recommended?

Go here: http://www.newegg.com/Power-Supplies/SubCategory/ID-58

 

Use the menu on the left side to select wattage, fitment, connections, etc. to drill down to what you need. Your mobo and ancillary components(drive(s), video cards) will dictate what is necessary.

 

Energy Efficiency, if it is modular, or, not, and a few other options, are up to you.

 

At the top of the page is a "Sort By" dropdown. Select "Best Rating".

Check out a bunch of the top rated stuff. Take your time and read the individual reviews.

Those reviews are written by unpaid USERS. Take the lowest reviews with a grain of salt.

 

Good Luck,

 

Don

Thank you.

Corsair is the most recommended CPU manufacturer these days, correct?

I'd get a Seasonic.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

Most of Corsair's offerings are very highly rated...BUT...some aren't even good doorstops.

 

Antec, CoolerMaster, EVGA, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling, Rosewill, Seasonic, and a myriad of other manufacturers, very well could have a better offering in a specific fitment.

That's why I recommend reading user reviews in the specific category(s) that fit your needs.

I have a few PSUs that are generally considered junk, but, have served me well for 7 plus years.

Just about every mfg hits a home run with one, or some, of their offerings, so you'll be well advised to do your homework and find what best meets your needs, within your budget.

 

If you want to select a few(mfg and part number), and give us your system specs, we can probably give some Pros/Cons.

 

Don

Got it thanks. I had a 750W Rosewill, it died wthin 2 or 3 years and I installed a 450W Antec which I believe is underpowered, slowing down my system.

Will read reviews.

Oh boy, looks like it is a "rocket-science" to manufacture these...

no matter the Make, people get many defective units.

I ordered EVGA semimodular.

Don, what is the best CPU to go with the Asus P5N32-SLI board?

 

ps

I installed the power supply, works ok so far.

Don, what is the best CPU to go with the Asus P5N32-SLI board?

Unfortunately the limited availability of Socket LGA775 CPUs, especially the faster ones, makes it hard to upgrade.

 

Go here for the full list of supported CPUs: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P5N32E_SLI/HelpDesk_CPU/

 

The Core 2 Duo E8400 and up, plus any of the "Extreme" chips with the 1333FSB are desireable. If you can find one. When you do...it's gonna be expensive...rare parts are.

 

If you do find a candidate, most of those also overclock pretty well.

You'll hafta Google the OC process 'cuz I simply can't remember.

There are many, many, threads here, that are pretty explicit about LGA 775 overclocks.

IIRC, the E8x00 chips were discussed quite often.

 

It may be worth your while to save your money and do a mobo/CPU/RAM upgrade.

You'll get much more Bang for the Buck...Don

Thanks got it, no reason to upgrade.

Money is no primary issue, there are two factors preventing me from upgrading at this time:

1. not enough time to play sim.

2. no serious hardware evolution took place since I stopped playing sim in 2010-2011. Although many cool advances occurred with hard drives, memory and video cards, the CPU technology hasn't progressed much, as we have only one step-up advance from C2Duo to "i-Series" since 2007 when I built my C2Duo system. The current CPU technology doesn't provide for full advantage of FSX still, as seen from comments on this forum and utube.

I shall wait another few (or 5) years for the new architecture of CPU that would justify the build and will drag me in into playing the sim.

Well, It's not that CPU technology hasn't evolved, It's just that it evolved in a different direction than what was envisioned by the ACES team. Instead of faster and faster CPU's, we saw the advent of multiple cores, faster memory, and increasingly GPU bound platforms, all of which FSX can't fully utilize. Regards

Thanks, now we understand.

So what are the prospects? How is going to be with FSX?

we have only one step-up advance from C2Duo to "i-Series" since 2007 when I built my C2Duo system.

 

That is a bit of a misstatement. As we are now on the 5th generation of "i-series" some would say that we have had at least 5 steps from the C2D.

 

The challenge for FSX-ers is there is, for kow, no economical way to deal with the internal heat generated when chips get much above 4-5 GHz.

 

Between that and the trend away from desktop computing I doubt we will ever see Intel (or AMD) building the 6-8 GHz chips we need for FSX. The chips FSX was designed for.

 

peace,

the Bean

...the CPU technology hasn't progressed much, as we have only one step-up advance from C2Duo to "i-Series" since 2007 when I built my C2Duo system. The current CPU technology doesn't provide for full advantage of FSX still, as seen from comments on this forum and utube...

 

I beg to differ!

 

Using FSX Mark 11 as a benchmark can make it easy to compare old vs new Dual Core systems for FSX. Or, any system for that matter.

An older rig with an E8500 @ 3.15GHz, 8800GTX, 4GB DDR2-1066, and a Velociraptor scored 19.8 ave, 12.0 min, and 26.3 max FPS. The E8500 entry is here, on Line 57: FSX Mark 11, E8500

 

The new Pentium G3258 Anniversary @3.2ghz, GTX460, 8GB DDR3-1600, and 7200rpm HD scored 34.6 ave, 23.7 min, and 46.7 max FPS. The G3258 entry is here: FSX Mark 11, G3258

Check out his G3258 4.2GHz(oc) results too.

 

Stock it's roughly 75% better, and a simple OC nets more than double FSX performance on one of today's budget systems.

For a budget Dual Core, the Pentium G3258 has proven to be a stellar FSX performer and overclocks quite well.

 

For another comparison, the 2012 rig in my sig gave me this FSX Mark 11 result: 45.7 ave, 25.0 min and 66.0 max FPS.

 

Accumulative improvements in CPUs, Chipsets, PCI(e), I/O capabilities, and GPUs, have made today's systems much better for FSX...Don

Don these statistics are default FSX, isn't it?

What happens when you use addons? Mega Airport/FSDS JFK + Ground Services + Traffic (not much, say 50% enough), Active Weather (3/4 maxed) and finally, a PMDG 747 or 777 taxing around these conditions. What will be your performance with i7 CPU? Can it be 18 FPS?

I don't need 30-40, but if I had 22 in these conditions, I would consider it worth $2-3000.

I installed a 450W Antec which I believe is underpowered, slowing down my system.

 

Computers don't run slower with underpowered power supplies. It won't run faster if you get a 1200W PSU; if anything your power consumption will go up because the PSU is less efficient at lower draws.

 

To be honest, 450W is more than enough - the reason why most CPU manufacturers spec crazy power supplies is that they want to ensure that they are getting enough amps on the 12V line. If you get a good PSU, 450-550W is plenty.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

For the purpose of bench comparing FSX systems, the FSXMark11 test requires a completely default FSX.

SP1 and SP2, or Acceleration, are acceptable. It uses FRAPS to log the min/max/avg FPS.

 

The author of FSXMark11, Corey Meeks(THANK YOU!), includes instructions, with all of the settings, and optional FSX.cfg changes necessary so we can accurately compare systems. Apples to apples...

 

From here on, I'm gonna get windy...:p

 

With all of my add-ons, I do a Before/After bench when I make system changes.

I'm forever playing with my hardware!

 

If I want to compare Aircraft, I test each and compare results.

Before/After FSX Settings tests are relative too.

 

My system this week: i7-3820 @ 4.875GHz(24/7), HD 7970 OC; Core 1125, Memory 1575, 16GB DDR3-2400 @ 2400MHz 10-12-12-28

My settings:

Graphics tab: 1920x1080x32, Unlimited FPS, Texture Res = Max, Lens Flare & AA checked.

Aircraft Tab: Medium High(no shadows on itself)

Scenery Tab: Ultra High, except Scenery Complexity = Extremely Dense

Weather Tab: 90mi, Detailed, Low Density

Traffic Tab: Airline & GA = 60%, Airport Veh = Med, Road = 0%, Ships & Boats = 20%

 

My goodies:

154GB add-on Scenery: Aerosoft, FTX, Freebies, my own, etc., etc.

64GB add-on Aircraft, mostly military freebies & payware, tons of other freebies with a few pay 'liners & GA

20GB AI Aircraft: Every WOAI, Every MAIW, and a large mix of other freebies.

800+ Traffic Files enabled in the library at any given time.

Traffic Explorer shows 230 AI at FSX Mark 11 load time.

 

FSX Mark 11 tests yesterday:

B738 everything maxed = Avg: 14.113 - Min: 12 - Max: 16, not so pretty good

B738 my normal settings except max clouds added = Avg: 21.744 - Min: 20 - Max: 23

Captain Sim KC-130 my normal settings except max clouds = Avg: 13.300 - Min: 11 - Max: 20

B738 my normal settings except "Clear Skies" = Avg: 34.043 - Min: 24 - Max: 42

Captain Sim KC-130 my normal settings / "Clear Skies" = Avg: 31.837 - Min: 23 - Max: 39

 

As you can see, my HD7970 struggles more with clouds than hi-def aircraft. GTX 980 in my future.

 

BTW: With all of the hardware advances made to date, you can build an i7-4790K system that will stomp my $3500 rig for a tad under $2000 delivered. Now, that's progress!

*******************************************************************

A really good, all new, air cooled dual core system using the G3258 can be built for ~$1100 delivered

 

Add $200 for a larger case fitted with a 280mm(2x140mm fans) h20 closed loop for more OC headroom.

Add a higher end CPU for a Quad Core performer...Don

Thank you all.

Don you are saying a Video Card plays a big importance, doesn't it? Will a $600 card like GTX 980 make sense? We are not saving here, the goal is to either make the FSX operable with add-ons or it doesn't worth bothering. The only expensive components here are SSD hard drives and a video card (I just did a little homework myself but will still need assistance here).

I figured I need a 1050-socket i7 CPU 4 GHz, not a 2011-socket one which does nothing to FSX and has no expendable future anyway.

Video Cards go up to a $1000 (like GTX Titan) question is will FSX take advantage of it?

What is the best stuff I need that makes sense for FSX?

 

Keep in mind the priority here is not much the FSX itself, but some new exciting products like Airbus X, 777, the new Tristar... these products now attracted my attention and my mind is set on it. Buying however any one of these for my current system just makes no sense )))

I also wonder about the 1050-socket CPU's future prospects if any.

Is it expected to stay around? for how long? Anything new expected within 2 years?

Worst case we can always get a new socket CPU along with the motherboard but I prefer my system to have a potential expansion property for a 5-year period (not a requirement, a preference). I figured a 1050-socket has been around here for a while now and is approaching its middle age if not its final days. I couldn't figure it out, please enlighten.

1) Right now, I can easily overwhelm my older HD7970. Mostly cloud and transparency issues that an nVidia GTX 780/780Ti/970/980 should overcome.

The Titan hasn't shown me anywhere near $1,000 worth of performance.

Especially vs the GTX 980. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1351?vs=1060

 

Today, an i7-4790K, good h2o cooled, on a decent(~$200+) Z97 mobo, with fast RAM(DDR3-2400 & +), SSDs(1 OS, 1 FSX), and a GTX 780 or better is going to be about as good as it gets.

 

2) The Broadwell: Unlocked Quad-core desktop version is slated to be released during Q2 2015. It will use the existing LGA 1150 socket. Looks to be the last iteration to use LGA 1150.

It's successor, Skylake, is projected to use a new LGA 1151 socket. Oddly, Skylake release is expected not long after Broadwell, but won't include unlocked versions, initially.

What concerns me is, with each successive die shrink, overclocked CPU temp has gotten harder to control.

So far, most of the newer chips have shown a performance increase that allows us a lesser overclock. Intel has moved to a better internal Thermal Interface, which should be of benefit, but, only time will tell if the shrinks are gonna be Boon or Bust, for us...Don

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadwell_(microarchitecture)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylake_(microarchitecture)

oh boy, Skylake it due in less then a year from now. I give up...

I was never into overclocking because additional few Hz will increase sim performance by 3-5%, yet overstresses the processor, it's like trying to go 62 mph on the car normally going at 60 mph by pressing a gas pedal all the way down to the floor, so overclocking is not my thing.

On the other hand, I've read that (this is analogically to past history with 775) the initial round of 1151-motherboards may be limited to early Skylake CPUs, non-upgradable.

We have to discuss this a bit further so to evaluate whether it makes sense to wait for skylake or not at all.

The other thing is the performance expected out of Skylake. Haven't found any references to that but if no significant power boost is expected compared to i7 then it may considered another reason not to wait for Skylake.

oh boy, Skylake it due in less then a year from now. I give up...

I was never into overclocking because additional few Hz will increase sim performance by 3-5%...

Future CPUs? Broadwell's, or Skylake's, FS performance?? Your guess is as good as the rest of ours.

 

Over the last 7-8 years, overclocking has ALWAYs helped my FS systems. Be it a lowly AMD 3GHz rig or upper echelon 4+GHz Intel toy. The bottom line , regardless of architecture(AMD/Intel), OCing the CPU has, BIGTIME, been a help. The faster, the better. Bar none.

 

Personally, Im considering building an FS9/FSX/P3D only, balls out, wet, 4.8GHz+ 3258 dually, with an i5-4670K/i7-4790K as options. Just because of the FS performance potential... And my own curiosity.

An FS only, dedicated system, does not require all of the goodies associated with a Multicore/Hyperthreaded end all/do all/system. Sometimes, when considering our flight sims, in my experience, less is more.

 

Building a dedicated 2nd/3rd/4th etc., "FS only" system can not only save some coin, it can reap FS performance benefits not available with a multi-function system.

Food for thought...Don

Next CPUs will work with DDR4 only I've read, there will be too little to salvage but a hard drive and a video card (and operating system).

Don I'd like to hear your complete plan on i5/i7 system, including a motherboard spec.

Believe it or not I still use Windows XP. Ever since I got Windows-7 at work (about 2 years ago) I never liked it for unfamiliarity reasons. By now I am more or less ok with it. I assume it is necessary now for 64bit video card compatibility, correct?

Here's my Z97 Haswell wishlist... So far anywho...

 

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Full Tower Case, RC-932-KKN5-GP $129.99

EVGA SuperNOVA 850W 80 PLUS GOLD, Modular Power Supply, 220-G2-0850-XR $109.99

ASRock Z97 OC Formula LGA 1150 Motherboard, Z97 OC FORMULA $209.99

Intel Core i5-4690K Devil's Canyon Quad-Core Processor, BX80646I54690K $239.99

CORSAIR Hydro Series H110 Extreme 280mm Liquid CPU Cooler, H110 $104.99

G.SKILL Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 2400 RAM, F3-2400C9D-8GTXD $119.99

EVG GTX 970 FTW 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 ACX 2.0 PCIe 3.0, 04G-2978-KR $379.99

SAMSUNG 850 Pro 128GB SATA III 3-D SSD MZ-7KE128BW, Windows $109.99

SAMSUNG 850 Pro 512GB SATA III 3-D SSD, MZ-7KE512BW FS9/FSX/P3D $359.99

WD BLACK 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive, WD1003FZEX $74.99

ASUS DVD Burner 24X Black SATA, DRW-24B3ST/BLK/G/AS $27.99

$1,866.90 + shipping

Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Quad-Core BX80646I74790K @ $329.99 adds $90

 

Keyboard, Mouse, and OS, are still up in the air.

 

I'm also considering an X99 Extreme system with 2 360mm radiators.

Nuts expensive, but, I really wanna test the i7-5930K OC and DDR4-3000+ capability vs my X79.

 

OOPS! almost forgot! Win XP drivers for todays hardware are as rare as hen's teeth.

 

IMO, Win 7 Home Prem for systems with 16GB of RAM or

Very interesting. I shall wait to see your report once the system is completed.

Now that prelude is over I am ready to start the actual discussion concerning all individual components (not all in one post of course).

First question is concerning the case and the Liquid CPU cooler. With such well-ventilated case you selected, do you really need a liquid cooler supplement?

 

I prefer Antec full tower cases (built 2 systems with Antec cases, it was popular here on forum years ago).

It has space, it looks good and straight forward. Now that you mentioned yours I checked it on newegg and indeed it looks like a well-engineered case with big fans (the name speaks for that well), compared to too many smaller fans in Antec case which will make noise I assume.

So I like your case (from ventilation point of view).

But when I saw you mentioning a liquid cooler I was surprised.

How is it mounted? Is Intel CPU stock heatsink to be in place or is it going out?

Will the new liquid cooler block access and generate noise?