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Flight Simulator PC Build

SirStiggie
By SirStiggie
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Hello everyone,

 

I've been a bit of a lurker on the board for awhile now and felt like it was time to post my build. It's been a little over 12 years since I last built a PC as my work required that I be mobile. When I started my flight simulation hobby, I quickly realized that a laptop, no matter how powerful, was going to give me the performance I needed. After many months of research, I finally bit the bullet and bought the parts for my PC. The specs are as follows:

 

CPU:      Intel 4790K OC'd to 4.6GHz

MB:        Asus Maximus VII Hero

RAM:     Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 X 8GB)

GPU:      EVGA GTX 980 SC ACX 2.0 X 2

HD:        1 X Samsung 840 Evo SSD 250GB, 1 X Samsung 120GB SSD

Case:     Corsair 750D

PS:         Corsair HX-850

Cooling:  Corsair H110i

 

OS:        Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Sim's:    MS FSX Deluxe, P3D 2.4, X-Plane 10

 

 

 

There are a couple of other HD's in there that I had laying around but not worth mentioning. Cable management is still a WIP.

 

 

PC_zps87bfae6b.jpg

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Hello everyone,

 

I've been a bit of a lurker on the board for awhile now and felt like it was time to post my build. It's been a little over 12 years since I last built a PC as my work required that I be mobile. When I started my flight simulation hobby, I quickly realized that a laptop, no matter how powerful, was going to give me the performance I needed. After many months of research, I finally bit the bullet and bought the parts for my PC. The specs are as follows:

 

CPU:

Don't forget to follow your topics..

Are you still gonna edit this ? :D

And just wondering, how many screens or how big of a screen are you gonna use?

"We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami.

 

mini eLiXiVy: my open source 65% mechanical PCB, a build log, PCB anatomy and discussing open source licenses: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1366493-elixivy-a-65-mechanical-keyboard-build-log-pcb-anatomy-and-how-i-open-sourced-this-project/

 

mini_cardboard: a 4% keyboard build log and how keyboards work: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1328547-mini_cardboard-a-4-keyboard-build-log-and-how-keyboards-work/

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Don't forget to follow your topics..

Are you still gonna edit this ? :D

And just wondering, how many screens or how big of a screen are you gonna use?

Sorry about that, not sure why it did not post everything I entered. Fixed.

 

I currently have 1 HP W2408 that I used with my laptop but will be replacing it with a 28" as soon as I recover from buying these parts.

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accurate flight sim.

 

cpu power,

not exacly xD you still neeed a good gpu

~New~  BoomBerryPi project !  ~New~


new build log : http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/533392-build-log-the-scrap-simulator-x/?p=7078757 (5 screen flight sim for 620$ CAD)LTT Web Challenge is back ! go here  :  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/448184-ltt-web-challenge-3-v21/#entry601004

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Welcome to the forums.

 

FSX: Get an i5-4690k with 16GB RAM and an R9 270

DCS: i5-4690k with 16GB RAM and an R9 280x (Multiplayer is fucking GPU intensive.)

X-plane: i7-4770k with 16GB RAM and an R9 280x

cough cough.. 4790k

~New~  BoomBerryPi project !  ~New~


new build log : http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/533392-build-log-the-scrap-simulator-x/?p=7078757 (5 screen flight sim for 620$ CAD)LTT Web Challenge is back ! go here  :  http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/448184-ltt-web-challenge-3-v21/#entry601004

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Welcome to the forums.

 

FSX: Get an i5-4690k with 16GB RAM and an R9 270

DCS: i5-4690k with 16GB RAM and an R9 280x (Multiplayer is fucking GPU intensive.)

X-plane: i7-4770k with 16GB RAM and an R9 280x

Interesting recommendations. A lot of reading I've done always says FSX and P3D plays nicer with nVidia GPU's for some reason. 

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Sorry about that, not sure why it did not post everything I entered. Fixed.

 

I currently have 1 HP W2408 that I used with my laptop but will be replacing it with a 28" as soon as I recover from buying these parts.

Very nice. Be sure to post some pics of the final results on your desk.

What do you use to control the airplanes? A flight stick or joystick or something? 

"We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami.

 

mini eLiXiVy: my open source 65% mechanical PCB, a build log, PCB anatomy and discussing open source licenses: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1366493-elixivy-a-65-mechanical-keyboard-build-log-pcb-anatomy-and-how-i-open-sourced-this-project/

 

mini_cardboard: a 4% keyboard build log and how keyboards work: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1328547-mini_cardboard-a-4-keyboard-build-log-and-how-keyboards-work/

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Interesting recommendations. A lot of reading I've done always says FSX and P3D plays nicer with nVidia GPU's for some reason. 

You could always apply the GTX 970 to these builds.

I'm sitting on an AMD FX6100 with an R7 260x with about 30-40 frames in DCS multiplayer on a 50-player server. You'll get a much more enjoyable experience with an intel platform. Do NOT go below 16GB for flight sims, though. these games eat up your RAM so fast.

 

Edit: I now see that you've built it. :|

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Very nice. Be sure to post some pics of the final results on your desk.

What do you use to control the airplanes? A flight stick or joystick or something? 

 

Thanks for the compliment.

 

I have a Saitek Yoke and two (2) Saitek Throttle Quadrants. I also have Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. I mostly use the Logitech along with 1 TQ as it takes up less space than the yoke and between the two of them, have enough buttons to make simming pretty nice. 

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You could always apply the GTX 970 to these builds.

I'm sitting on an AMD FX6100 with an R7 260x with about 30-40 frames in DCS multiplayer on a 50-player server. You'll get a much more enjoyable experience with an intel platform. Do NOT go below 16GB for flight sims, though. these games eat up your RAM so fast.

 

Edit: I now see that you've built it. :|

No worries, not sure what happened when I was creating the post. I do agree that 16GB should probably be standard but I got away with 8GB for 2 years with my laptop so not too bad. Simming on a laptop, bad idea  :)

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No worries, not sure what happened when I was creating the post. I do agree that 16GB should probably be standard but I got away with 8GB for 2 years with my laptop so not too bad. Simming on a laptop, bad idea  :)

Yep. very bad idea. Ever thought about getting a HOTAS?

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  • 3 months later...
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Quick update:

 

Cleaned up the cabling and added a second GPU:

 

WP_20150510_22_28_38_Pro%201_zpsmlpyudmo

 

Currently have the CPU OC'd to 4.8GHz and the H110i is doing a pretty decent job in my heavy use (Far Cry 4, P3D 2.5) keeping temps in the mid to high 60's C when gaming.

 

I've also added a second GTX 980 and while the performance is impressive, I am in the unforeseen circumstance of looking at watercooling the GPU's as the temps on the upper card are in the high 70's to low 80's C.

 

Anyone have any idea if a 280mm rad will fit in the front of a 750D?

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  • 1 month later...
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The evolution continues.....

 

Both 980's have been sold and replaced with a single 980Ti. It was originally reference card but the cooling performance was horrible which neccessitated an upgrade using EVGA's Hybrid watercooling kit. With the exception of being a pain to install, I am very impressed with the performance of this kit. Idle temps are in the mid 30's and I have not seen temps rise above 55deg C with any game.

 

WP_20150626_21_12_21_Pro_zpsvxwwnzq1.jpg

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You built almost exactly the same rig I had in mind for my "return to FS" rig. The only problem is I'm living in the ME currently n someday when I return back home lugging around a full tower config will cost me a bomb with baggage rates these days.. So the only hiccup for me is trying to put together a small footprint m-ATX build with maybe the ROG gene.. But not sure which case to go with

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  • 1 month later...
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A little bit of an update  :D

 

I've been trying to get a second EVGA 980 Ti for my rig but nobody seems to have my model in-stock.

 

Thanks to the advise of a few members, I've ordered an Asus 980 Ti with the reference PCB and cooler.

 

I will be adding the EVGA Hybrid watercooler to it. Since the Asus is also a reference PCB, I'm not expecting any trouble but you never know.

 

I will post an update when this little project is up and running.

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A little bit of an update  :D

 

I've been trying to get a second EVGA 980 Ti for my rig but nobody seems to have my model in-stock.

 

Thanks to the advise of a few members, I've ordered an Asus 980 Ti with the reference PCB and cooler.

 

I will be adding the EVGA Hybrid watercooler to it. Since the Asus is also a reference PCB, I'm not expecting any trouble but you never know.

 

I will post an update when this little project is up and running.

This build went from a high end gaming build to an off the charts epic build. Can't wait to see how the 2 980 TI's look.

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.. off the charts epic build.

Uh....not sure this would be considered epic in comparisons to many of the builds here but thanks  :D

 

After an eventful afternoon couple of hours which included an upgrade to Windows 10, I think I have a stable machine. I was having a lot of issues running some games like Battlefield Hard Line and Dirt Rally, specifically the game freezing for no apparent reason and also throwing Direct X errors that made no sense to me. It took me a while to figure out that the issue was related to Asus AI Suite 3. I removed it and the system is now relatively stable.

 

I say relative because when under load for 15 or 20 minutes, the system just shuts itself off. I suspect the power supply (Corsair HX 850) may not be sufficient for 2 of these cards (500W TDP combined) plus an OC'd 4790k. So far, I have not had this happen when doing minor tasks like browsing or running Office apps.

 

Any other suggestions as to what could be causing this would be appreciated.

 

Apologies for the messy cable management.....

 

WP_20150807_10_41_56_Pro%202_zpsyy1upncs

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