# Help with selecting components



## ewessner (Dec 13, 2007)

I am getting ready to buy a computer online where you build it up from pull down menus (cyberpowerpc.com). I don't really know enough about clock speed versus RAM versus CPU power, etc. to pin point exactly what I should order to be able to run microsoft flight simulator X in the best operating mode. The main reason I am upgrading to a new computer is to be able to run this simulator and have it perform well. Below is what I have selected....I am interested in some expert advice, too much, too little, mis-allocated, etc.

CASE: Sigma Gaming Orca Mid-Tower 400W Case
CPU: AMD Athlon™64 X2 6400+ Black Edition Dual-Core w/HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD: Asus M2A-VM AMD 690G Chipset DDR2/800 SATA RAID PCI-Express MBoard w/Radeon X1250 Graphic, GbLAN, IEEE1394, USB2.0, &7.1Audio
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)4GB (4x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Optical Drive: (Special Price) 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: SONY 16X DVD-ROM (BLACK COLOR)
SOUND CARD: Creative Labs SB Audigy SE


----------



## Gamer40 (Nov 9, 2007)

Dont get a GTS, unless its the new 512 MB version, I suggest getting a 8800GT, there cheaper and better.


----------



## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

also look at a better power supply, generic one really are not much chop


----------



## wintersnow (Aug 30, 2007)

Gamer40 said:


> Dont get a GTS, unless its the new 512 MB version, I suggest getting a 8800GT, there cheaper and better.


Yes I agree tha 8800GT is cheaper, faster, more powerful, more efficent. You can have a look at the XFX PVT88PUDF4 GeForce 8800GT 256MB
And you can have a look at the PowerUp 400-Watt ATX Power Supply also.


----------



## HawMan (May 12, 2006)

That ^ PSU is terrible. Look at the Antec trio 550w, or even better, the 650w.


----------



## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

unfortunately I very much doubt that the Powerup 400W will even come close to running that setup if it lasts the day out

Take a look at this from antec, it is a very good price ATM

Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail $75 (after rebate )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371001


----------



## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

I agree. CyberPowerPC has a good selection of quality power supplies so you should be able to find for example the OCZ GameXtreme 700W as a choice.

Also if the budget allows it see if you can get a good AM2+ board like the MSI K9A2 CF or Platinum.


----------



## Jtsou (Jul 13, 2007)

You may want to read some of CyberPowerPC's reviews before purchasing.


----------



## bruiser (Jul 30, 2005)

Read comments here: www.resellerratings.com/store/CyberPower


----------



## ewessner (Dec 13, 2007)

Wow, thanks for the great advice, I will upgrade the PSU and change the video card. Do I need to worry about which case I get and the power of it? Also, seems like cyberpc has some negative feedback.....should I be looking elsewhere? Keep in mind I don't have enough knowledge to piece this together from different sources and need some place who ensure compatibility and gets the thing running for delivery.

thanks again for the help.


----------



## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Which model were you thinking of ordering?

I think with any store there will always be a few individuals who are not given good service, however most of the reviews I have read about CyberPowerPC have been relatively positive. I do not know of any other company that ships to the UK that does high end gaming computers like CyberPowerPC does, but if anyone else does please post a link. Comparing prices is never a bad thing.


----------



## ewessner (Dec 13, 2007)

Okay...with all the suggestions and reading more about Intel versus AMD....below is where I landed.....comments? :4-dontkno Again, my primary driver for all of this is a $2K or less system able to run flight simulator x.

CAS: Xion 791 Mid-Tower 420Watts with 8 Open Bays 
CS_FAN: Default case fans 
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6850 CPU @ 3.00GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit 
MOTHERBOARD: MSI P35 Neo2-FR Intel P35 CrossFire Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
MEMORY: 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory Mushkin Brand
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI 
POWERSUPPLY: 700 Watts Power Supplies Xion PowerReal
CD: 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
CD2: COMBO DRIVE (16X DVD-ROM & 52x32x52 CD-RW) 
FAN: INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK 
HDD: Single Hard Drive (160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD) 
MONITOR: ViewSonic VA2226W 22" Widescreen Color TFT Active Matrix WSXGA LCD Display 1680x1050 
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD 
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit Edition) 
SOUND: Creative Labs SB Audigy SE
Express (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA) 
_PRICE: (+1756)


----------



## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Looks like a solid build, but I would go for the OCZ 700W rather than the Xion brand power supply. Also look at the Thermaltake ToughPower choices.


----------



## ewessner (Dec 13, 2007)

Okay....I am switching the Power supply as suggested. One last question. The MB I selected shows a warning on the manufactures website concerning the FSB and BIOS. Is this something I must worry with? See the red below: 

CPU 
• Supports Socket 775 for Intel Core2 Extreme, Core2 Duo, Pentium 4 (Prescott, P4EE), Pentium D, Pentium XE/Celeron D processors in LGA 775 package 
• Supports FSB 800/1066/1333 MHz 
• Supoprts Intel 05B/05A and 04B/04A processors 
• Supoprts EIST techonology 
• Supports Intel Hyper-Threading (HT) Technology 
• Supports Intel Quad Core Technology to 1333MHz and up 


Chipset 
Intel® P35 Chipset 
• Supports FSB 800MHz, 1066MHz & 1333MHz 
• Support Dual channel DDR2 667/800 memory interface up to 8GB 
• Support Dual PCI Express 16X interface 

Intel® ICH9 Chipset 
• Integrated Hi-Speed USB 2.0 controller, 480Mb/sec, 12ports 
• 4 Serial ATAII ports w/ transfer rate up to 3Gb/s 
• PCI Master v 2.3, I/O ACPI 2.0 Compliant 
• Integrated AHCI controller 


FSB 
• Support FSB 800MHz, 1066MHz & 1333MHz 


Main Memory 
• Supports 4 unbuffered DIMM of 1.8 Volt DDR2 SDRAM 
• Supports up to 8GB memory size 
• Support Dual Channel DDR2 667/800MHz and up (Intel P35 chipset supports up to DDR2-800 officially. For DDR2 800+, manually BIOS adjustment is needed) 
Due to the High Performance Memory design, motherboards or system configurations may or may not operate smoothly at the JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council) standard settings (BIOS Default on the motherboard) such as DDR2 voltage, memory speeds and memory timing. Please confirm and adjust your memory setting in the BIOS accordingly for better system stability. 
Example: Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 PC6400 operates at 2.0V, 4-4-4-12. 
For more information about specification of high performance memory modules, please check with your Memory Manufactures for more details


----------



## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

You will be all set. The P35 natively supports the 1333MHz FSB, but does not support any RAM above 800MHz which is technically not JEDEC approved RAM anyway. You have dual channel so faster RAM will not benefit your system anyway.


----------



## ewessner (Dec 13, 2007)

Okay....after all the great help and some online viewing, I ordered the following....let the flight simulation begin:grin:

thanks for all the help:wave:


Intel Core 2 Duo Custom Build Configurator 
• Xion 791 Mid-Tower 420Watts Case with 8 Open Bays 
• CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6850 CPU @ 3.00GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit 
• MOTHERBOARD: MSI P35 Neo-F P35 Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
• MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel
• VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express 
• POWERSUPPLY: (Thermaltake Toughpower 700W Quad SLI Ready) 

• CD: 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER 
• CD2: COMBO DRIVE (16X DVD-ROM & 52x32x52 CD-RW) 
• FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer 
• FAN: INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK 
• HDD: Single Hard Drive (320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
• MONITOR: ViewSonic Optiquest Q241WB 24" Color TFT Active Matrix WUXGA 1920x1200 LCD 
• NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD 
• OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium (32-bit Edition) 
• SOUND: Creative Labs SB Audigy SE


----------



## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

Although I'm not quite in bed with Vista yet I'll give it my stamp of approval.


----------



## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Looks good, but to be honest the Audigy SE is kind of obsolete and won't be much better than your onboard. Look at the X-Fi Xtreme Music or a similar X-Fi chipset for sound that will be noticeably better.

Other than that, it looks good.


----------



## ewessner (Dec 13, 2007)

The only reason I did not go with onboard audio was that I thought it might take up CPU or ram.....from your comment I will assume I was wrong!!!! I will cancel it if I can.


----------



## blackduck30 (Sep 7, 2004)

Plus you may find that there are no vista drivers for the older cards. I know creative make vista drivers for the Audigy 2 SE but did not see one for the Audigy SE


----------



## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

The Audigy SE is essentially a SoundBlaster Live 24-bit. I've got one so I'd know! :grin:

I remember when I first gave Vista a spin I used a real SB Live 24-bit and Vista worked happily with it.


----------

