AH gaming rigs showcase!

[zeromajin]

Hello everyone, I am new to AH and its boards.

I thought it would be helpful to me, and to people wanting to build/upgrade their PCs specifically for AH to have an idea of the spectrum of PC builds people use and the performance they should expect from each.

So, I'd love it if some users would post their rig specs, with some benchmarks / personal opinions of running AH or even optionally include other benchmarks (Heaven, 3dvantage, crisis bench ect.)

And if it's convenient, post some pictures of your PC setup as well! It's far more civil to trade PC pics then wife/gf pics, though admittedly not as fun.... 

I've heard some of your guys have some really impressive controller schemes/cockpit mock ups, and I would enjoying seeing something like that. I currently play with a run of the mill flight stick, since this is my first time playing a flight combat sim, but it would be inspirational to see some more elaborate control schemes if I were to upgrade my controllers.

Thank you all in advance!

[1701E]

Well welcome to your new addiction, very few have broken that bond.

You'll find the player base has an extremely varied amount of computers.  Some have built them with no budget, some built with a budget, some who don't want to build, and so on.  I've seen some 10 year old Dells playing the game and some systems running more than $2000.


I use a system/set-up I built on a bit of a budget.
 Aerocool M40 Cube Case
 Biostar A785GE AM2+/AM3
 AMD Phenom II X2 555 ~3.7GHz
 2GB Transcend DDR2-800MHz
 EVGA GTX 260 896mb
 OCZ StealthX 700Watt
 WD 320GB HDD
 Various peripherals

I run:
 2048 Textures w/ Hi-Res - 1680x1050 - Full AA - Max Sliders - Detailed Water/Terrain - Shadows at 2048 w/ Building shadows - Smooth Shadows.
I run ~50-60 FPS on average in battles, but I don't fly LW often enough to test real stress in the game.
3D Vantage score: 15335

It runs great for Medium-high gaming and everyday use for about $700.  It runs Crysis on Medium-High at ~45, and most games (NFS, RE5, GTA, AH, DiRT 2, etc) on High-Ultra at ~45-60.


Set-up:

Keyboard mount slides out and holds keyboard/mouse/joystick.


Dremel (lack of-) skills done by Airflyer, opened the spot above the CPU for better airflow.

 

[Spikes]

My Rig:
Case: NZXT Lexa S
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
Proc: Q9550 OC'd @ 4.0ghz
GFX: Sapphire HD5770 x2
PSU: OCZ 600W Modular

Built Oct 09, approx 1200 bucks.

[zeromajin]

Wow, what great responses guys! Exactly what I was looking for, I asked and you guys delivered!

1701E : What an awesome setup, maximum bang for buck there too. Anyone would be hard up to spec a build with those benches @ $700

I really like your retractable keyboard design, an innovative space saver.


Spikes : Your PC is quite the looker! The CPU heat sink is very slick looking. Gigabyte boards always have a stylish flair as well.
 Not really much of an ATI guy myself, but they certainly get the job done and then some. I noticed you have an SSD in there as well, whats the specs on that?

(BTW have to admit as good as your PC looks, I spent a lil more time watching your avatar gif. lol)

 

[zeromajin]

1701E : Can you actually play AH with a wheel, or is that for other games?

[1701E]

1701E : Can you actually play AH with a wheel, or is that for other games?

In theory I could but it has only 1 axis (2 with pedals) and I need all 3 to fly without looking like a wingless bird.
Normally use it for DiRT 2, NFS, etc. The pedals get used for rudder in AH though.


Also, many have fallen prey to Spikes bouncing, it's a curse we shall now call Spikeounceology.

[The Fugitive]

My son put my box together for me. I have,

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     E6850  @ 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
3328MB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS

I have everything turned up/on in the graphics except self shadows and building shadows. Other shadows are at 1024, and I use the HiRez pak. I never notice the frames slowing. When I do have the numbers on it stays at 60 fps.

This is my desk with the controls up...



...and this one with them down. I have since split the arms so that the controls stay upright while under the desk. I didn't like the idea of the stick hanging down when I wasn't playing. I figured the spring tension would weaken.



Of course we know what I use to fly in   

[zeromajin]

Nice stuff Fugitive! Those collapsible flight controllers are a smart feature! And your cockpit, it's one thing to build controls, you had to build the front half of a plane! That must make for a seriously immersive experience.     

[zeromajin]

While I certainly cannot hold a candle to you guys control schemes, my PC is certainly worth looking at.

Case is a Cooler Master Haf X with a custom expanded side panel window I did myself, as well as replacing all the stock red LEDs and soldering in new blue ones.

All my other specs are in my signature.

She weighs in at a hefty 65lbs (steel case) and boast a hearty 7.9 WEI score (not that anyone really cares about WEI)

[BaldEagl]

Everyone who's been around here has seen these pics but since you asked.  I built this machine in the spring of 2008.

Specs:

CoolerMaster tooless case (except for the mods to hide the wireing )
Intel E6750 (2.66 Ghz) OC'd to 3.2 Ghz (1600 Mhz FSB @ 1.363V VCore)
Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro CPU cooler on Arctic Silver thermal paste.
EVGA 780i Motherboard (P08 Bios w/15.46 nforce drivers)
4 Gb Kingston HyperX DDR2 800 SDRAM @ 4-4-4-12 timings @ 2.0V
EVGA 8800 GTS G92 512Mb (197.13 drivers but I'm going to back to 196.21)
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatailty Pro
2x Seagate 250Gb 7200 RPM AS series 16Mb HDs (OS/Applications & Local Storage)
2x Seagate 500Gb 7200 RPM NS series 16mb HDs (Network storage/back-ups)
Asus DVD burner
Asus DVD drive
Floppy drive (Sony?... don't remember)
PC Power & Cooling 750W Silencer (62.4A single rail 80+ Certified)
Windows XP Pro
Klipsch 2.1 speakers
LG 22" monitor (1680x1050 @ 2ms response/59 FPS refresh)
Microsoft mouse & key board
Logitec mike
Saitek AV8R Joystick
Linksys Wireless-G Router
Matrix stereo wireless transmitter (reciever is connected to my stereo at the other end of the house)

I run high res textures, all sliders maxed with all shadows off at 59FPS (refresh rate) steady in all situations.  I can run shadows without loss but not smooth shadows so choose not to run them at all.







Here's the set-up.  The comp has since been moved to the right side of the cadenza to give me a little more footroom.  The keyboard is adjustable for both hight and angle and slips under the cadenza to save space.  I use my mouse wheel for throttle.



And here's my old Dell which I ran in these tests
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,270181.15.html (midway down the page and on the next page) if you want to know how little it takes to run the game:  

[Spikes]

Spikes : Your PC is quite the looker! The CPU heat sink is very slick looking. Gigabyte boards always have a stylish flair as well.
 Not really much of an ATI guy myself, but they certainly get the job done and then some. I noticed you have an SSD in there as well, whats the specs on that?

(BTW have to admit as good as your PC looks, I spent a lil more time watching your avatar gif. lol)

 

Thanks, the SSD looking drive is actually just a normal 2.5" sata notebook drive. Took it out of a previous notebook and figured why not make use of it.



That is an awesome PC you have got!

[Dragon]

Mine:

E6750 OC to @3.0
Asus P5NE-SLI Mobo
2 Gig Crucial Ballistix RAM
EVGA 9800GTX+ 1 Gig VC
WD 320 GB HD
Cooler Master 850W PS
Samsung 22"

I run with sliders maxed, 2048 texture size, 2x anti-aliasing, all eye candy except smooth and shadows on others. 

Occasionally will drop to 50 fps in a massive furball above CV, but normally steady at 59.

[TilDeath]

I have a few systems, but I will start with this one first... Ol' Blue (soon to be retired)

Case: NZXT Tempest (custom paint 69 Corvette Blue Metal Flake)
MB:  EVGA X58 SLI
CPU: i7-920 (stock at 2.67GHz running 24/7 @ 4.2GHz on Air)
HSF: Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B  NB silent fan 62CFM @ 14db
Mem: Corsair XMS 6GB 1600Mhz running at 2006Mhz
GPU: EVGA GTX 285
HD1: WD Raptor 300GB
HD2: WD 1Tb 64mb cache
PSU: PC Power & Cooling 750
DVD: Samsung SH-S223L
Fan Controller: NZXT Sentry LX

Runs everything turned on and up

Will post other systems over the next few days.  AHII installed on each.

[zeromajin]

I have a few systems, but I will start with this one first... Ol' Blue (soon to be retired)

Now you and I think alike when it comes to PC builds my friend.

i7
WD
Nvidia
Air over water
Evga (although I'm partial to Asus myself Evga is DEF just as good)
Nzxt Fan Controller (I have the NZXT Sentry LXE Touch)

Hell you even name your builds like I do, the build posted is Eva (pronounced Eeee-va Wall-E style, my daughters fav movie)

Nice oc on the 920, though voltage is a bit high for my taste, I'm confident your Pro Mega has no problem keeping it in spec. I wanted to use my Noctua NH-D14 in Eva, but ultimately went with the Super Mega just because I had not had the opportunity to run one first hand. I was not disappointed, since it far less bulky, and provides comparable results.

Always a big fan of the EVGA boards.  And your obviously a fan of good cable management.  (My Eva was a nightmare due to the number of drives/fans even with the fully modular PSU)

It's an exceptional build my friend.


 

[Dragon]

I have a few systems, but I will start with this one first... Ol' Blue (soon to be retired)

I'm gonna be opening a retirement community soon and would be thrilled to give Ol' Blue a new permanent home.