NZFF

by **tomkilpatrick** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 5:41 pm

Hey guys, am thinking of building a new computer for Flight Sim, and web development.

Here we go:

CPU - Intel Core i5-4440 3.1Ghz - $210
CPU Cooler - Corsair H100i Water Cooler - $160
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H - $235
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16Gb DDR3-1600 - $190
Storage - Intel 335 Series 240Gb SSD - $200
Storage (2) - Seagate Barracuda 1Tb @ 7200rpm - $80
Graphics - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 - 2Gb - $274
Case - Cooler Master K380 - $100
Power Supply - Corsair 650W Semi-Modular - $184
Network - Asus USB 802.11 WiFi Adapt. - $114
Sound - Asus Xonar DGX 24-B 96KHz - $24

Total: $1,771

Okay, now here's my reasoning for each part.

CPU - I didn't want to go too overboard, the i5-4440 offers good speed and I managed to get it cheap. If I went and got an i7, it would draw too much power, and too be frank, the new socket i7's aren't cheap.
Cooler - I went for a Water Cooler basically because it's more efficient than a standard air cooler. Carries the warmer water away, then re-cools it, rather than drawing the warm air away and potentially to other components.
Motherboard - Looks kind of cool.
SSD - I went for SSD because I am going to install my OS on it, and the majority of my Flight Sim files. The other program files will go onto my HDD.
HDD - Heard they're very reliable, and it's SATA 3 enabled, so speed!
GPU - I've heard really good things about this card, and it has good support for FSX and P3D, which I plan on scoring soon(ish).
Sound + WiFi card - For mixing multi channel audio (FSX, TeamSpeak, Custom ATC, Music), and just a simple WiFi reciever to pick up channels from my Server down the hall.
Case - Not only does it look cool, but it has a lot of room for expansion and is very open - allowing excellent air flow.
Power Supply - I could get it reasonably cheap, and offered more than enough power, and has a lot more to offer if needed.

Thanks to a few friends in the right places I could get discounted prices, and I hope to have this built within a month of two.

-T

by **Ian Warren** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 5:55 pm

I'm sure it maybe an idea to keep the SSD for your OS and the quick work ... but go a RAPTOR 1TB for FS/Sim and storage .... other than that its a thumbs up.

I did like the description and what you want the system for so, it dose make it very handy for others to add best recommends

by **Dontcopy** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:43 pm

For the most part it looks reasonably good. I would ditch the watercooler in favour of a beefier GPU. A stock i5 won't throw out much heat at all and since it's a non 'k' version you're not really gonna be able to overclock it. So there is not much point in the watercooler.

You'll probably also find that the Sound Card won't offer much, if anything over the one that comes on your motherboard.

In terms of storage, have a gander at Samsungs 840 series of SSDs. Really good, but in saying that there is nothing wrong with the Intel one.
I would swap the Seagate out for a Western Digital Caviar Black/Blue, Seagate have been plagued by reliability issues lately.

Ummm, I would suggest you take a look at upgrading to an unlocked CPU if possible and definitely throwing more money at the GPU. And I'm sure you can find a cheaper WiFi adaptor than that. This for example http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components...sp?partid=20477

by **rocky289** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 8:20 am

You will find that CPU a bit slow.
A new build for flight sim, should be capable of at least 4.0GHz.

8GB memory should be enough.

You will also need some good case fans as the CPU is not the only componant that gets hot.

by **deeknow** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:41 am

Yeah I'd also take the Cooler out and save money on RAM (8GB is enough) and spend it all on a faster CPU, that's where you'll see the most benefit of an upgrade.
Also, the GPU will be fine, I personally wouldn't bother at the moment with upping that, I've got the earlier generation 560Ti which is getting on a bit now but does the job nicely.

by **tomkilpatrick** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:43 pm

Alright, so what I've done is popped in a new CPU, HDD, RAM, got a new CPU Cooler.

Details:

CPU - Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz - $410
CPU Cooler - Noctua NH-U9B SE2 - $80
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 - $120
HDD - WD Black Series 1TB 7200RPM - $105
HDD #2 - WD Caviar Blue 500GB 7200RPM - $70
NIC - Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 - $80

New Total: $1,882

I was talked into buying the Caviar Blue as a back-up for FSX/Web Dev files by a mate of mine. The 4770K will be enough to last me a few years at least. The CPU cooler is a hefty wee thing, I've heard online that it is well worth it though. RAM - downgraded thanks to you folks

Still sticking with that Corsair Vengeance though - only the best. And the new NIC should do the trick - thanks Dontcopy.

by **rocky289** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 3:11 pm

Nice choice for CPU.

That cooler will be struggling.
Better to go bigger.

http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?z=p&a...amp;qr=pricespy

by **Dontcopy** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 4:36 pm

QUOTE

Nice choice for CPU.

That cooler will be struggling.
Better to go bigger.

http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?z=p&a...amp;qr=pricespy[/quote]

I highly doubt that cooler would struggle, the only situation that it would struggle in is under very heavy overclocking. The Coolermaster cooler that rocky recommended is by far inferior to the Noctua.
Much better choices overall. Should be a sweet build.

Intel Core i7 870 @ 3.90Ghz
8GB Corsair Dominator @ 1790mhz CL8 8-8-8-21
P55-GD65
Corsair H80
Two HD 7950 Vapor X cards in Crossfire
40GB Intel 320 SSD
1TB WD Caviar Blue
150GB WD Velociraptor
Corsair 400R
Seasonic 850W 80+ Gold Modular PSU
3 x Samsung Syncmaster 22" LED 1920x1080P

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