Building a PC for FSX - advice appreciated

Hi all,

 

I am thinking of building a new PC soon and have spent some time researching components. I know there are a lot of threads RE PC builds so I appreciate any comments.

 

I am looking for a computer that will run FSX on mid-high (not ultra high) settings using A2A aircraft (Cessna, Mustang and Cherokee) with maybe REX textures and some add on ORBX scenery.

 

Specs:

Intel Core i5 4690K 3.5ghz

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 OC Edition 4GB

MSI Z97 Gaming 3 Motherboard

Kingston HyperX Beast KHX24C11T3K2/8X 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3

Corsair Hydro Series H75 CPU Cooler

Aerocool GT-700SG 700W 80 PLUS Gold Modular

Samsung 840 EVO Series 250GB SSD

Western Digital WD Green 1TB WD10EZRX

 

I am happy to try OCing the CPU. Would it add a significant performance increase?

 

Thanks again for your time.

Yeah that will work, if you oc it to 4 ghz and use Kosta's tweaking guide you should be more than happy. Even at 3.5 it will work fine.

Yeah that will work, if you oc it to 4 ghz and use Kosta's tweaking guide you should be more than happy. Even at 3.5 it will work fine.

 

Sir, what performance is expected in JFK taxiing PMDG 777 with ground service and traffic 50%?

Just follow this blueprint:

http://jetlinesystems.com/performance.php

 

My system mirrors the best system in the above link and I get 1000 fps with a baseline...and now with all of my addons get about 250 fps at max sliders. Don't pay attention to benchmarks...and if you are planning on OC'ing...don't because you will put undue stress on your card...just purchase a card that can handle the job while "jogging" such as a GTX 780 ti. At max load my gpu temp barely touches 40 c

 

 

Set up

Intel Core i7-4770 Haswell Quad-Core 3.4GHz LGA 1150

Samsung 840 EVO Series MZ-7TE500BW 500GB 2.5in SATA III Internal SSD Single Unit Version

Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti

ASUS Z97-PRO WI-FI AC ATX LGA1150 DDR3 3PCI-E16 4PCI-E1 CrossFireX/SLI SATA3 USB3.0 HDMI

Corsair vengence blue 8GB 2x4GB DDR3 1600 CL9

Fractal define r4 CASE

 

FSX deluxe edition

Service pack 1

Service pack 2

 

ADDON Scenery

Orbx

FTX Global

FTX Vectors

FS Pilots FTX edition

PNW Blue

 

Earth Simulations

Isles of Scilly

Channel Isles of Man

Channel Isles of Guernsey

Channel Isles Alderney

 

TEXTURES/Weather

REX Essential plus overdrive

 

HARDWARE

Pilotmall Cockpit shell

Saitek proflight yoke

Saitek profilght rudder pedals

Saitek prop throttle box (TCM)

Saitek multi, switch,radio,bip panels

Saitek instrument panels X 10

 

Tweaks

Direct X 10

Steves Dx 10 fixer

I fully agree with the don't overclock comments. Select a CPU that will perform at the level you desire.

 

If your MB supports it, I'd suggest the i7-4790K. Same price as the 4770K. Without overclock mine runs at 4.4G during FSX flights, and I see no need for a FPS higher than 30 so I've limited mine to that rate. Eyes cannot detect faster rates anyway.

 

Water cooled system (CPU, MB, GPU, RAM) coasts at 37*C during FSX 95% CPU utilization.

 

Just my $0.02

 

RodeoGeorge

Thanks a lot for all the advice everybody. FSX is notoriously CPU hungry so the advice about buying the best CPU I can afford is very helpful. I am basically tossing up between the i54690k and the i74790k...I'm in Australia and the difference is about 120 dollars. I guess I have to decide whether the extra money will be worth it.

 

Thanks again!

I am in the same position as Tom and I posted a thread earlier (https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?284504-FSX-Newbie-Need-Hardware-Build-Feedback). It appears the video card is not a very big factor for FSX. Instead of buying an overkill card, what is a card that make sense?

Thanks a lot for all the advice everybody. FSX is notoriously CPU hungry so the advice about buying the best CPU I can afford is very helpful. I am basically tossing up between the i54690k and the i74790k...I'm in Australia and the difference is about 120 dollars. I guess I have to decide whether the extra money will be worth it.

 

Thanks again!

Don't under estimate the importance of a gpu...my old pc had a measly 2.14 ghz with a gtx 280 and it ran fsx smooth on medium settings with all the bells and whistles. Personally I would not cheap out on the card...I know all the naysayers claiming fsx is more cpu intensive but that has not been my experience.

Just my two cents and nothing more. Regarding overclocking or not overclocking, I'll just say this: Everyone's needs differ. I would love to be able to run FSX and all of it's 3rd party programs at stock CPU clock speeds. The latest generation of CPU,s are getting closer to this "dream" however, FSX run at max settings (including traffic), with a myriad of 3rd party payware like ORBX, My traffic, Aerosoft, REX, PMDG etc, will give almost any rig a run for its money. Maintaining 30FPS in your PMDG 777 at KJFK, with Aerosoft ManhattanX, in an REX generated thunderstorm with graphics sliders cranked, is just not possible on a sub 4.5 Ghz system, if at all. Regards

Just my two cents and nothing more. Regarding overclocking or not overclocking, I'll just say this: Everyone's needs differ. I would love to be able to run FSX and all of it's 3rd party programs at stock CPU clock speeds. The latest generation of CPU,s are getting closer to this "dream" however, FSX run at max settings (including traffic), with a myriad of 3rd party payware like ORBX, My traffic, Aerosoft, REX, PMDG etc, will give almost any rig a run for its money. Maintaining 30FPS in your PMDG 777 at KJFK, with Aerosoft ManhattanX, in an REX generated thunderstorm with graphics sliders cranked, is just not possible on a sub 4.5 Ghz system, if at all. Regards

 

So what fps performance would we expect with system like yours flying PMDG 777 into KJFK with sliders at 50%? minus REX (don't want it), plus ground service.

I'd love to hope for over-16 :-(

Thanks a lot for all the advice everybody. FSX is notoriously CPU hungry so the advice about buying the best CPU I can afford is very helpful. I am basically tossing up between the i54690k and the i74790k...I'm in Australia and the difference is about 120 dollars. I guess I have to decide whether the extra money will be worth it.

 

Thanks again!

Because FSX is basically a single threaded app, check out the single threaded categories and differences here: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1261?vs=1260

 

The i7-4790K @ 4.0GHz starts out 0.6GHz(600MHz) faster than the i5-4670K's 3.4GHz. BIG plus.

The i7-4770K @ 3.5GHz isn't worth considering. It's only $5 cheaper than the i7-4790K.

 

While CPU speed is, IMO, primary, the GPU will need to keep up.

Generally ~4GHz(or

A GTX 770 can be good up to ~ 4.5GHz, with a GTX 780 being prefered.

When @ 4.4GHz and up, a GTX 780Ti or GTX 970 will give some extra headroom.

Got a 4.8GHz+ rig? GTX 980. Titan Black performance ~$400 cheaper.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1351?vs=1186

 

Why do any of us bother with all of this? You can duplicate flybynumbers' computer for well under $2000 and

...get about 250 fps at max sliders...

My emphasis...

 

My rig(see sig) @ 4.875GHz with Ultra-High settings peaks around 90FPS at 37,000 ft.

It can sustain ~20-25FPS at a detailed AP.

Max settings? Virtually unflyable under 5,000ft near highly detailed scenery.

 

I guess I don't quite have the "Magic Touch"...Don

Question to flybynumbers:

 

Sorry if I missed it; how many monitors are you running? Any estimate on the size of hit to your FPS by running multiple monitors, say 3outside views via TH2GO, one screen for the instrument panel, and one for GPS?

 

Thanks!

I am using a 51" tv...but my old system with the 2.14 ghz processor and gtx 280...about 5 years old at least got triple digit fps with 3 24" monitors and 1 20 inch monitor for instruments...then I switched to dual projectors with no affect...I was using the th2go and dh2go. My current system would eat that setup for breakfast.

So what fps performance would we expect with system like yours flying PMDG 777 into KJFK with sliders at 50%? minus REX (don't want it), plus ground service.

I'd love to hope for over-16 :-(

 

Everyone's mileage varies, even on systems with identical specs, depending on the setup, configuration, tweaks, settings, etc etc. I can dip into the upper teens in certain situations. I'm generally satisfied with it though. Regards.

Everyone's mileage varies, even on systems with identical specs, depending on the setup, configuration, tweaks, settings, etc etc. I can dip into the upper teens in certain situations. I'm generally satisfied with it though. Regards.

 

 

Please see my hardware discussion in adjacent thread (Power Supply), your thoughts on any of the subject(s) would be appreciated.