Need advice on build

[Navy84]

I would like your opinions on this build. I need a new computer to get back into flying and have been thinking about trying to build my own. Have never done it before and thought it would be fun and keep all the crappy software off that you get with a store bought computer. I think everything is compatible but how well will it run the game?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202113
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231568
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416806
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

[TequilaChaser]

I would like your opinions on this build. I need a new computer to get back into flying and have been thinking about trying to build my own. Have never done it before and thought it would be fun and keep all the crappy software off that you get with a store bought computer. I think everything is compatible but how well will it run the game?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202113
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231568
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416806
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

not bad for $687.78 ( plus a couple extra $10  to $15 dollar mail in rebates after purchasing )

I myself do not see where anyone needs 6 cores, I would opt for the following CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113326
AMD FX-4350 Vishera Quad-Core 4.2GHz Socket AM3+ 125W FD4350FRHKBOX Desktop Processor   currently going for $79.99 and currently has a $10.00 off promo code to drop it to $69.99  ( I have the black edition unlocked version of this particular CPU )

I would opt for Windows 7 Pro SP1 64 bit, instead of Home Premium version, it is worth the extra $40 increase in cost in my personal opinion........ Home Premium Win 7 tops out at total use of 16 GB's of System Ram, to where Win 7 Pro tops out somewhere around 192 GB's of Sys Ram ( least I think it is 192 GB, am quickly trying to draw from memory about this, I know it is a lot higher than 16 GB , heh )

Everyone has their own views regarding memory brands, PC component brands etc...

I would opt for Crucial Ballistx DDR3 1866MHz   2 x 8 GB Dimms ( then can upgrade to doubling it to 32 GB later on if you'd like )

I have switched 3 different PC's over from using Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz DDR3 Ram to either Crucial Ballistix  or Muskin Stealth, and have found that they run better and load up right at start up at their advertised speed, without having to go in to the BIOS and use Intel's XMP profiler or tweak it on AMD boards to get the advertised/bought at speed........ all my Corsair Vegeance DIMMS that were bought advertised at 1600MHz DDR3   loaded up either at 1066MHz or 1333 MHz, and maxed out after overclocking to 1600MHz......

as for the Western Digital Blue 1TB Drive.....  I have had 1 go bad ( bad sectors, etc in least than 1 year, I have lost a 450GB Velociraptor WD 10,000 RPM HD in less than 16 months, and have lost 2 WD Black 1 TB Drives in under 3 years ( all since 2009 ), I have lost 2 Toshiba drives ( one was actually in a sony VIAO Laptop ), and have lost 3 Seagate HD's varying from 250 GB up to 1 TB , all Seagate Drives lost since 2013......when I say I have lost them, they were not mine, but belonged to the people who came to me to fix/repair their computers, some of them were family members who picked out some of these parts when they built their PC's or when I built their PC's for them.. only the 2 Black 1 TB drives and the WD Velociraptor 450GB drive were my own....

I know Western Digital bought out my favorite Hard Drive maker, Hitachi, but they still seem to be using Hitachi and/or HGST on their hard drives, and some hard drives now have "A Western Digital Company" on the placard spec decal on the HD's these days.......

I have not lost not one Hitachi Hard Drive going back to the 90's..     YMMV


if I was going to purchase a Western Digital Hard Drive today, I would go with WD black or WD Red................. and not mess with WD Blue nor WD Green, again my personal opinion


as for SSD drives............ I am strictly Crucial(Micron) SSD user in my own PC's or for my Parents or Daughter's computers..... with the exception of using 1 Muskin 120 GB SATA III SSD


I think you have a good solid cheap build,  Navy84, I would consider dropping down to the FX4350 4.2GHz quadcore CPU  and I would consider opting for Windows 7 Professional SP1 64bit


Good Luck on your Build, Sir

TC

edit: regarding your AMD PC Build, comparing it to my current build I recently did a few weeks ago, and I am using windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64bit for my OS ( I also am using Windows 8.1 Pro 64 it on this computer, I have 2 Crucial SSD drives in it and 2 Hitachi 2 TB Drives in it )

Mushkin Memory I converted to:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226404
Mushkin Enhanced Stealth 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 997069S

I am using my Mushkin Memory on an AMD build using the FX4350 Black Edition 4.2GHz(4.3 GHz Turbo )( using 4 X 8 GB Modules : total 32 GB Sys Memory ), I am using the exact same Motherboard you have chosen, as well as the same DVD-DL Re-Writer, and I am using a Sapphire DUAL-X AMD Radeon R9 270X OC 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort pci-e 4GB GDDR5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA5751XU3271


Crucial Memory I converted to:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148740
Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Gaming Memory Model BLT2KIT8G3D1869DT1TX0

I am using the Crucial Memory on my Intel i7-2700k PC Build ( using 4 X 8 GB Modules : total 32 GB Sys Memory )

[Navy84]

Thanks for the input TC. Do you think this build will be enough for AH III when it's released?

[Bizman]

That should be enough for AH3, it's been said to be much more GPU dependent as the current one. Perhaps a video card of that quality but with even more memory might be better if you'd like to use higher than HD resolutions or triple monitors or something like that. But for that price, I believe that's about the best you could get. I'm planning to use my HD6970 with the new AH as long as it's playable.

For what I've understood, AMD processors and AH are still somewhat of a game of win or lose: AH might be able to use two cores or then again only one. Intel would be a safer bet. Other than that, a beautiful build.

TC mentioned SSD, but they don't add a single digit in the frame rate. They "only" make Windows and games installed on it load much faster. If you can afford using two minutes more for getting into AH, an SSD is not needed.

Also, as TC mentioned, everyone has their own views regarding brands, components etc. I've read that memory MHz speed doesn't actually play a significant role, at least not within the next higher or lower speed. Higher speeds often have higher latencies, which may nullify the benefit of the higher MHz rate. I've been quite happy with both Seagate and Western Digital hard disks, a friend has had very bad luck with Hitachi's during the last decade or so. I recall someone (Skuzzy, Chalenge?) having some knowledge about the different models within a brand. It was something about consumer (=who cares) and professional (=built to last) models, which only show in the price tag and model number.

Statistically a hard disk will show its manners in mere weeks in frequent use. If it lasts more than a couple of months, the prediction is it probably will be good for a couple of years, after which the countdown will start. It may last a decade, or only a few years. It depends on multiple variables, starting from physical damage caused by accidental impacts to solar flares.

[Navy84]

Thanks Bizman. Was a little worried about having to redo this when AH III came out. So I guess nobody sees any hardware conflicts that will cause this not to work?

[Chalenge]

Just to add a note concerning SSDs. It has been very popular on this board and others to use SSDs as the boot drive. I have found this is the least cost effective way to use them, with only the caveat that using them in servers makes things more efficient to some degree (particularly image restores). If you use your system the same way nearly every day, and you have not defeated the Windows processes for SuperFetch, and ReadyBoost, then using an SSD with Intel Smart Response Technology will make your HDD mounted OS seem as though it is on an SSD. The difference between a HDD mounted OS is significant, while it never really meets SSD performance, but the thing is you do not need to spend an arm and a leg for a massive SSD. There are benchmarks available to demonstrate the potential, but the bottom line is that you can make your system snappier just by using a $50 SSD. Of course, not all motherboards support it, so read up on it before proceeding.

Anything newer than a Z87 MB will likely already have ISRT built into the BIOS, and may even have M.2 ports built in and ready to use, though a standard SATA SSD (along with a MB that supports SATA RAID and ISRT) is all that you need.

ISRT Benchmark:  http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2593&page=3

[mikev]

as you  i built my first computer . planning is the most important part of the build. budget comes next.
 may i suggest using this site to plan .  https://pcpartpicker.com/  you can make several builds  after you register save them and post them on here. this will help with the compatibility as well and give you prices to match. my first impression is the graphics card. when it comes to gaming thats where the $$$ goes. as of now 2 gigs reminds me of the gtx 750 i had with my old system where i had issues. the 2 gigs was fine at times but other times not so good , in fact poor to the point where i was fed up. i spent so much on constant upgrading on that system if i had just put the cash into what i have now i would of broke even and had 10 times a better system. so for now i would plan it out .
if you were to decide to go with a LGA 1150 intel chip i could save you a few $$ as i have this on sale for $100 still untouched in its shipping box

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130770&cm_re=MSI_Z97-GAMING_5_Motherboard_-_ATX-_-13-130-770-_-Product

[Bino]

...
I've read that memory MHz speed doesn't actually play a significant role, at least not within the next higher or lower speed. Higher speeds often have higher latencies, which may nullify the benefit of the higher MHz rate
...

This squares with my research, too. According to what I've read, the CAS (Column Access Strobe) timing also known as CL (CAS Latency) timing is likely to be the most significant measure of the real-world performance of RAM chips. I also understand that in terms of RAM clock speed there's not much advantage - on the average desktop machine - to going much beyond the DDR3-1600/PC3-12800 point, or thereabouts.

And, as always applies when you mix & match computer components, YMMV.   

(Specs for my own build available via the link in my signature, below.)

[GSakis]

Just to add a note concerning SSDs. It has been very popular on this board and others to use SSDs as the boot drive. I have found this is the least cost effective way to use them, with only the caveat that using them in servers makes things more efficient to some degree (particularly image restores). If you use your system the same way nearly every day, and you have not defeated the Windows processes for SuperFetch, and ReadyBoost, then using an SSD with Intel Smart Response Technology will make your HDD mounted OS seem as though it is on an SSD. The difference between a HDD mounted OS is significant, while it never really meets SSD performance, but the thing is you do not need to spend an arm and a leg for a massive SSD. There are benchmarks available to demonstrate the potential, but the bottom line is that you can make your system snappier just by using a $50 SSD. Of course, not all motherboards support it, so read up on it before proceeding.

Anything newer than a Z87 MB will likely already have ISRT built into the BIOS, and may even have M.2 ports built in and ready to use, though a standard SATA SSD (along with a MB that supports SATA RAID and ISRT) is all that you need.

ISRT Benchmark:  http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2593&page=3

One not for you may I add: The link given by you was 2012. More recent recommendations in http://www.howtogeek.com/194750/its-time-why-you-need-to-upgrade-to-an-ssd-right-now/

[Chalenge]

With the Nvelo Dataplex caching SSD approach I have been able to double those performance figures. I used the 50GB Crucial Accelerator, which admittedly is $119.95, but very nearly got the same performance as a Mushkin Reactor SSD (Anandtech Editor's choice device).

Don't get me wrong here. I am not saying that a solid state drive is for everyone. In some of my systems I still use HDDs, because the few seconds I might gain in starting the system, or programs, is not saving me anything. What I am saying is in answer to the original question, and that is that the M.2 PCIe SSD is the fastest hands down. You absolutely WILL NOT find a 1TB card at $350 (not PCIe anyway). If you want the fastest setup the PCIe system is faster than the SATA SSD approach. SATA 3 interfaces max out at ~560MB/s, while the PCIe 3.0 interface can hit speeds of 16Gb/s. SATA SSDs are no competition!

However, because these cards are SO expensive, you will want to put your programs, games, and even Windows Libraries on an external HDD (unless you just don't use a computer much). THAT is where SSD caching makes a huge difference.

[Skuzzy]

One not for you may I add: The link given by you was 2012. More recent recommendations in http://www.howtogeek.com/194750/its-time-why-you-need-to-upgrade-to-an-ssd-right-now/

That is one of the most idiotic articles I have ever wasted time reading.

[GSakis]

That is one of the most idiotic articles I have ever wasted time reading.

Which part of the article was wrong in your opinion or was it idiotic just because it's against your opinion?

[Chalenge]

Ouch! Yeah, if you posted some of that stuff on this board. . .

[Skuzzy]

Which part of the article was wrong in your opinion or was it idiotic just because it's against your opinion?

You have no idea what my opinion about SSD's are.

[GSakis]

You have no idea what my opinion about SSD's are.

Why? Most people love them in every way. Even the price is now better for users. Chalenge talks about PCI-E, why? Even sata ssd is many times faster to any spining hdd. The article from 2012 talked about 70-80 second boot times with ssd - too old information. I get 30 second boot time with raid-0 hdd and 14 second bootup with one sata ssd. Article is bad.