I can haz gaming computer?

[DHG BULLITT]

Tech guys, I'm building a computer for gaming (mostly flight simulator, just started school for my IFR/CFI/II training).

I have FS9, I will probably stick with that, I'm not sold on FSX just yet.

I have a budget of about $600, I'm willing to stretch it $700 if need be.

Here is what I want to know.

Is it worth an extra $80 to go with the new Phenom II X2 line over the Athlon offerings? I say $80 because if you step up to the Phenom you have to buy a more expensive Mobo as well so I'm including the price difference in Mobos also.

I am looking at an Athlon II X2 @ 3.0 Ghz vs a Phenom II X2 @ 3.1 Ghz. I will most likely overclock both of them a bit (into the 3.4-3.5 range). The new phenom line up also supports DDR3...which is obviously more expensive than DDR2, I guess I could always upgrade Mobo and Ram later to DDR3 if I wanted.

Just looking for some other opinions as most online articles i've read are calling it a toss up.

 

[astrodudepsu]

Ill spec you something out and get it to you. Do you use newegg? Do you need an os? For 650 you can get a solid AM3 build.

 

[astrodudepsu]

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail

BIOSTAR TA790GX XE AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

SAMSUNG EcoGreen F2 HD103SI 1TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM


CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5C - Retail

Original Price: $346.97
Discount: -$32.00
Combo Price: $314.97

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
$150


Antec TruePower New TP-750 Blue 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE ... - Retail
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Original Price: $202.40
Discount: -$25.00
Combo Price: $177.40

That's: $641, without an Operating system. The combo's won't last forever, but when they expire others will pop up.

 

[KingBlack]

 

[CosworthRS]

It's sad how low the prices are on these now. I built a gaming pc 5 years ago and invested nearly 2k into it. Now it barely performs compared to the things that are out today.

 

[ScareCrow]

It's sad how low the prices are on these now. I built a gaming pc 5 years ago and invested nearly 2k into it. Now it barely performs compared to the things that are out today.

Thats why I was always hesitant on pulling the trigger and building a good gaming pc. I'd hate to spend that much and not be able to play the latest games a couple years down the road.

 

[03cobrarocks]

It's sad how low the prices are on these now. I built a gaming pc 5 years ago and invested nearly 2k into it. Now it barely performs compared to the things that are out today.

yea it sucks, technology lately has been upgraded substatntially about every 2 years, So build a computer today 2 years later you will start to see it becoming less "effiecent"

 

[Steeda30]

FSX is a great tool for brushing up/staying current on your instrument skills - especially if used in conjunction with VATSIM, it's really something.

I built my gaming PC last year for FSX. Went with an EVGA 780i FTW board, Kingwin Mach 1 1000W PS, Q9550 quad, 4 gigs 1066 ram and two EVGA GTX 280's.

Was dissapointed to find out that FSX really doesn't take advantage of SLI. I knew it was heavily CPU bound, so I overclocked mine from 2.83 to 3.83 ghz and it really reduced the micro stutters I was getting - but I'm also running it at max graphics settings, I don't wanna turn them down!

Astrodude's list looks like it'd be a good build, you may want to try and find a quad core for it though.

Have fun with you're instrument rating, I got mine in February - it was a blast, made my first solo flight in the IFR system a week or so after the checkride and flew from Atlanta down to Appalachicola for lunch. It was really cool to punch up through the broken overcast and cruise down on top. I requested a block clearance on the way back so I could play in the clouds a bit, was good stuff.

Got my commercial in June and am working on my CFI/II at the moment, putting together lesson plans, - hope to start flying from the right seat soon.

 

[IH8GM]

$600 you say ...just go to dell outlet pick up a QC intel for $500-$600 and get a video card with the leftover and you'll have a good rig.you wont be disappointed. If you find a dell with a 6600 you can pin mod overclock it if you wish.

 

[NyteByte]

Is there a reason you want to get an AMD CPU?

Reason I ask is that any Intel Core2 or i7 CPU in a similar price range to the AMD is going to beat the AMD in performance.

See chart:
Charts, benchmarks 2009 Desktop CPU Charts, WinRAR 3.9 x64 Beta1

 

[astrodudepsu]

Not really NyteByte. AMD is practically unrivaled below $1000.

Why? Because AMD chips OC just as well as Intel chips, AND socket AM3 is new and quite alive, socket AM2+ will accept new CPU's for quite some time.

Intel LGA775 is End of Life, meaning zero upgrade potential.

 

[KingBlack]

Intel LGA775 is End of Life, meaning zero upgrade potential.

 

[DHG BULLITT]

Here is what I have at the moment.

Phenom II X2 3.1 Ghz Callisto Black Edition
Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX
G. Skill DDR3 1066 4 GB (2 x 2gb).
OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500w PSU
plus operating system, case, and all it comes out to $630.

 

[astrodudepsu]

You don't have a hard drive or video card.

 

[thomas91169]

Thats why I was always hesitant on pulling the trigger and building a good gaming pc. I'd hate to spend that much and not be able to play the latest games a couple years down the road.

i finished my current rig two years ago. I started out with the AMD 6000+ 3.2ghz dual core, 4gb DDR2, DFI mobo and ran a used 7800GToc, and then got the funds to upgrade the PS and get a 8800GTXoc (which was the shit at the time). So the last time i did anything to this system was two years ago, and it still plays anything today on medium or max settings. I play GRiD on full at 1920x1200 iirc and it looks beautiful. This rig cost me maybe $1000 when it was all said and done. When you build them right, they last. Usually if you use top of the line stuff, it wont even be maxxed out for a year or two. Guys running single 280GTX still arent maxing them out, and when they do, they can just buy a second and keep chugging along.

I usually upgrade a little at a time. Next ill throw in two newer cards and call it a day, then in a few months afterwards ill upgrade to an I7/12gb ram/mobo combo.

 

[DHG BULLITT]

You don't have a hard drive or video card.

I emailed you my cart.

I was just giving general specs of the rig.

I have a 500 GB Western Digital and EVGA 9800 GTX picked out.

 

[ChiSVT]

486/SX/33mhz
4MB ram
64KB onboard video

 

[astrodudepsu]

I emailed you my cart.

I was just giving general specs of the rig.

I have a 500 GB Western Digital and EVGA 9800 GTX picked out.

Gotcha, yea I see it now. It was rendering weird on my BB.

That 9800 is OLD tech. For the same price you can get something like this:

Newegg.com - XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

which is newer and faster, unless you really want WoW which comes free with the other card.

 

[DHG BULLITT]

Gotcha, yea I see it now. It was rendering weird on my BB.

That 9800 is OLD tech. For the same price you can get something like this:

Newegg.com - XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

which is newer and faster, unless you really want WoW which comes free with the other card.

No but I do think I'd like to stick to Nvidia. They seem to do better with Flight Sim.

 

[DHGTerminator]

Between the things you're looking at I would also recommend an Intel Processor. The Core 2 and i7 Technology is nice in the sense that it doesn't generate as much heat or noise as the AMD chips. I've currently got an AMD Phenom 9600 in mine and love it. The one thing I would look for seeing as this is being built as a gaming rig... See if you can find a cheap WD Raptor HDD, I've seen the old 70gb ones pretty inexpensive. Then install your games on that, the 10k RPM drive makes a world of difference for client-side games and load times.

:beer: