Happy with the spec for flight sims - but is the case OK?

R

Ratfink

Member
Hello all,

I'm looking to PC Specialist to build me a new PC spec'd mainly around my love for serious flight sims, like the DCS Series, FSX with add-ons, and Falcon BMS, etc. I will be attaching my existing Saitek X-52 Pro and Combat rudder pedals, plus TrackIR 5. I am thinking about Cougar MFDs some point, and think I'll need a decent PSU.

I have been using the sim community forums for advice on the spec I need to play the sims, which I have decided will be based around I7-3770K and GTX670 as the main items. An I5-3750K would suffice it seems, but I would feel more comfortable with the extra grunt of the I7 for future.

I don't plan to overclock as the spec is more than sufficient to achieve high FPS at max settings now, though future releases may require more performance and it would be nice to have the option in a year or 2. I also want to keep noise down, as the machine will be going into the dining area of the house - hence my question about the case I've picked. It's noted for its sound proofing, though will it be ok for the components I wish to have put in it? Is there a better alternative? The reviews I've read imply it's adequate for keeping things cool, but not if going for serious overclocks. I guess if needs be I could always replace the case and improve the cooler if I do choose to OC and the temps are too high.

Anyway, here's the spec I put together. Comments appreciated.

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R4 BLACK PEARL QUIET MID-TOWER CASE


Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache


Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT: PCI-E 3.0 READY,WIFI, SLI, X-FIRE


Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT)


Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready


Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)


2nd Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE


1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW


Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£86)


Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£59)


Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)


Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs


USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD


Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)


Thanks!!
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Morning,
If you are planning to OC your cpu the cpu cooler you have chosen is fine, my understanding of quiet cases is that it slightly reduces the noisy but with a trade off on cooling. You may want to consider a caviar black as a secondary drive and a cheaper alternative will be the non-pro version of the motherboard you selected.
 
R

Ratfink

Member
keynes said:
Morning,
If you are planning to OC your cpu the cpu cooler you have chosen is fine, my understanding of quiet cases is that it slightly reduces the noisy but with a trade off on cooling.
Click to expand...

Thanks keynes, yes I read the cooling performance is 'middle' for the R4 case, and can be improved by taking out unused drive bays.

keynes said:
You may want to consider a caviar black as a secondary drive and a cheaper alternative will be the non-pro version of the motherboard you selected.
Click to expand...

Do you happen to know what make/model PC Specialist use for their 'stock' 1TB 7200rpm 32MB cache HDD?

Come to think of it, what make/model of GTX 670 do they supply?

I think the PRO MB will be better value long term, but I'll look into that.

Cheers
 
R

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Member
Not sure if Win8 is a wise choice at present- but will it be worth it long term?? I know DCS and Falcon BMS work OK on Win 8, but it's an OS for touch screens and tablets
 
I

ilike2burnthing

Gold Level Poster
Windows 7 & 8 game benchmarks - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-8-gaming-performance,3331.html - spoiler alert, they're essentially identical and only one game had any problems running on Windows 8 (and it was fixable).

If you just want 8 to stay a lil more modern and have the benefits of it being quicker, lighter on resources, etc. but hate many of the cosmetic changes then feel free to have a look at some of these sites to revert back to a windows 7 look and feel:
- http://www.classicshell.net/
- http://www.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-windows/9-windows-start-menus-windows-8-208963
- http://www.pcworld.com/article/2011537/bend-windows-8-to-your-will-with-these-free-tools.html

If you can't be bothered with all that then just stick with windows 7, it won't stop being supported for quite some time.
 
Toxophilix

Toxophilix

Bright Spark
Ratfink said:
Not sure if Win8 is a wise choice at present- but will it be worth it long term??
Click to expand...
I agree it's very hard to say.

Imo the best strategy for us consumers is just to choose the OS we most enjoy using at present. The longer term is very hard to predict. Something I'm not convinced about is that Win 8 will succeed even on tablets. It's just ugly when you look at it next to iOS and Android.
 
Toxophilix

Toxophilix

Bright Spark
ilike2burnthing said:
If you just want 8 to stay a lil more modern and have the benefits of it being quicker, lighter on resources, etc. but hate many of the cosmetic changes then feel free to have a look at some of these sites to revert back to a windows 7 look and feel:
Click to expand...
Yes, I thought about updating to Win 8 and using one of those products. It is an option. There is the possibility that Microsoft will intentionally break those things in a patch, though. They knew, before Windows 8 launched, that customers would prefer the classic look and feel. That's why they removed it, after all: to force users into the converge-with-tablets path.

I also wonder how long those products will be supported, at least in some cases. I like the look of Start8, but will Stardock commit to updating it over the many years I could be running Win 8? I mean, it's not exactly their core business. (This objection probably doesn't apply to Classic Shell, tbh. They seem quite serious about it.)
 
Last edited:
R

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Member
I just realised the 240GB Intel 520 SSD is very expensive - as are all the 520 series. Considering the 330 series instead, maybe the 180GB. Would that be a good move?
 
R

Ratfink

Member
Toxophilix said:
I agree it's very hard to say.

Imo the best strategy for us consumers is just to choose the OS we most enjoy using at present. The longer term is very hard to predict. Something I'm not convinced about is that Win 8 will succeed even on tablets. It's just ugly when you look at it next to iOS and Android.
Click to expand...

I've just been watching some Win 8 tutorials on youtube, and it doesn't seem to bad. The options for mouse + keyboard seem ok, and I reckon the Start screen could be made to work with some customisation. I may take the Win 8 plunge.

Now, back to um and arr over SSDs :)
 
R

Ratfink

Member
keynes said:
Either will be a good choice.
Click to expand...

Thanks Keynes. I see you went for the 520 240GB.

Thinking I may save some money with the 180GB 330. Going all out (relatively) on CPU and GPU leaves less room spending elsewhere. Not sure the 520s are worth the extra, though I read they outperform 330 and have 5 yr warranty - possibly because they're more reliable. But there's quite a price hike, and I don't get good vibes from the Kinston Hyper X SSD or the Intel 335 240GB - I read somewhere they have reliabilty issues.
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Ratfink said:
Thanks Keynes. I see you went for the 520 240GB.

Thinking I may save some money with the 180GB 330. Going all out (relatively) on CPU and GPU leaves less room spending elsewhere. Not sure the 520s are worth the extra, though I read they outperform 330 and have 5 yr warranty - possibly because they're more reliable. But there's quite a price hike, and I don't get good vibes from the Kinston Hyper X SSD or the Intel 335 240GB - I read somewhere they have reliabilty issues.
Click to expand...

I have the SSD 330 as well in another pc, both are pretty fast. The difference in performance is not going to be noticeable unless you are running benchmarks.
 
R

Ratfink

Member
So I'm getting close to ordering time, and after some consideration will likely go with

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R4 BLACK PEARL QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT: PCI-E 3.0 READY,WIFI, SLI, X-FIRE
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
240GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£86)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£59)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 60 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 2010 Professional Edition
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,504.00 including VAT and delivery.

I noticed each day when I play with the spec on the PCS website, the prices fluctuate - yesterday this build was £1,493.00! Unless I am mistaken, it may even have been £1600 the other when I was playing with SSD choice - hence the question about 180 or 240 520. I will see what it is tomorrow.

Still don't know make/model of GTX 670 - anyone know?
 
R

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Member
Why give an option to add extra case fans, when the "other features as standard" says...


"Fans Where necessary your computer will come with extra case fans fitted."

???
 
Toxophilix

Toxophilix

Bright Spark
Ratfink said:
Why give an option to add extra case fans, when the "other features as standard" says...


"Fans Where necessary your computer will come with extra case fans fitted."

???
Click to expand...
I agree the website is quite baffling on the subject of extra fans. It's really impossible to tell what you are buying with that option. I gave up trying to figure it out and just went with the stock configuration for my case.
 
R

Ratfink

Member
From what I've read from Corsair, the H60 cooler's radiator is mounted on the rear 120mm fan, set to draw air into the case, and suggests roof mount fan to extract. The R4 case is capable of that, but does not have the roof mount fan supplied as standard. Only front and rear 120mm. As I will be gaming, I would like to know if it would be advisable to have front and rear fans drawing air in (rear with H60 rad) and extra 120mm for roof extract. Would PCS tech's do that anyway? And add a fiver?
 
R

Ratfink

Member
So the new rig is now on order with PCS !! Spec as per #13

GTX 670 will be a Palit according to customer services, and fans will be fitted "to make sure it works"

Now to sit and wait :)

Thanks to all for the advice
 
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