Building an FSX PC, any suggestions?

[Travis]

Hi, my favorite flight sim community! (and only hehe) I am planning on building a flight simulator computer because im tired of 10fps average. I will most likely be ordering most of the parts from newegg.com and tigerdirect.com. If anyone has any input on brands to stay away from and brands to get, what is a better value, etc. I am more than happy to listen to all sides. I don't have an unlimited budget unfortanatly and this may be a 3-6 month process to finish completely. Here are a few things im looking for in my PC!

CPU: I have almost indefinatly decided on a intel i7 4790k Yes its a lot but FSX loves cpu.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819117369

GPU: undecided but something like 760 NVidia. (has to be a NVidia card)(personal preference/past history problems)
Needs HDMI output. I have also noticed there are several brands that make the NVidia graphics cards. I would most likely pick one with 2 fans or other good cooling system on it. But what is the difference between the different brands? better quality? which one is the best of the bunch? at least for the money.

Motherboard: anything around $200, but of course the best of that money range, I need probably 6-8 usb. basically
something nice and not saving a few bucks where I could spend 5 more bucks and get a whole lot better
Needs to have full compatibility with my case(usbs and other plugs). The case I listed below will probably be the one unless convinced otherwise
Kinda looking at:ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131989

Case: Seriously looking at: Cooler Master HAF X - High Air Flow Full Tower (chose for wiring, air flow capabilities, and many small others. May wait for a good sale on it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119225

Memory/RAM: 16GB(basically a must) wondering what the difference between 1600mhz and 2400 would do? good companies to get? I know my motherboard would have to be compatible.

Hard Drive:2 TB mechanical drive, eventually 60-120GB SSD(for win7 OS) and 500GB SSD (for FSX) Need help with brand names here too. I have had bad experiences with external hard drives. Of course these will all be internal.

DVD Drive: at this point I don't wish to buy an more expensive blue ray drive because I don't have many or any blue ray disks. Good solid brands with good disk reading abilities and probably with writing/rewriting(burning)(not the fire kind : P ) capabilities.

Power Supply: Looking towards gold 80 rated if possible and module based plugs&wires. Waiting to add up my power needs after I choose my other components. Also looking for good solid brand names here! I prefer my house not being on fire if I leave my computer on when I get home. Or catching fire on a long haul flight. I only have one small fire suppression system, aka: small fire extinguisher. which probably isn't rated for electronics either. Basically only looking for brands in this subject. Also big question: if I need say 800w for my system and I think I may upgrade to something better later. would it be harmful to either my power supply or other components to use a 1000w or 1200w PS?

Remember I am trying to build a Semi top of the line tower. not something that's $3000 usd. looking around $1500. I am currently trying to (virtually) build my system and then I will look and see if there are any good sales that pop up in the next couple months time, or bundles to save some cash. Once I pick all the components I will probably not stray from them unless something better comes up or a flaw that I didn't notice appears.

Other info:
40inch LCD TV Primary display (no secondary display but would like that option for the future) How would I do this?
4 usb human interface devices WILL be used at all times(3 FSX controllers, yoke, pedals, throttles) (1 mouse&keyboard combo.)

A Huge THANK YOU to everyone that has already posted comments below and also a huge thank you for everyone that will be or is doing so now!
Please feel free to copy and paste links to websites to help me on my adventure of this new computer.
I give anyone permission to share this post to help people with their future builds etc.

[Waterman981]

It sounds like you have a great start. I really like the Intel i7's... Do note that Broadwell is just around the corner, but that's how computers are... the next best thing is always around the corner. Intel is manufacturing Core M processors now, but haven't given a timeline on the new i7's or what to look for. In many ways I'd love to get a Sandy Bridge 2700k as they OC pretty easily to 5 Ghz with water. (I would suggest looking on water cooling... some great closed systems out there now.)

If you ever decide to jump to Prepar3D a better video card may help. For FSX though you should be great with that. nVidia's do seem to have better AA in FSX than AMD cards. Don't waste money on a high RAM video card unless you will do other gaming, or run multiple monitors. For a single monitor you don't need that much.

[CaseyRyback53]

well, the sandybridge is a good choice but it does not suport pce3, and to save money for a good board, think about a 3570k intel, it runs nice with 4.2gig..(btw...check my signature)

[Waterman981]

Yeah, there are definitely tradeoffs to get that 5 Ghz clock speed. Too bad FSX is so tied to it.

[Karl]

Travis,

Last winter I built mine, spending a tremendous amount more than I ever have on a PC. The total was just over $1,000 and didn't include hard drives or monitors. Since then I've added another $200 for a good joystick (the X55). I don't regret a dime of it, have zero buyer's remorse, and all these months later can't think of a thing that I would have done differently that would have given me more bang for my buck.

My system is I-7 based (4700K @$200) and has an Nvidea GTX770. For P3D and FSX the current mid-range I-7's give the best priceerformance. One model vs. another is getting pretty detailed. I would not cut costs and go with the AMD. A real $100 decision is the 760 vs. the 770. The extra $100 definitely equates to noticeably improved performance for in FSX and P3D. [Example: Another user with similar hardware except he has a 760 gets 25 fps at times when I am at 40-50. Under a real load I heard him remark about stuttery performance and low fps when I was getting smooth 25+ fps].

I am not sure but I think the GPU’s have reached the point that even in FSX they can make a real difference. My laptop is I7 based with an older GPU. It often struggles with FSX. Compare that to my desktop breezing through FSX with its modestly faster I7 and a great GPU. The difference has got to be the GPU.

One more note on GPU’s. The cost of a better power supply has to be factored into the GPU cost. I don’t remember what the power requirement difference is between the 760 and the 770, but it may cause an extra $20-40 to be spent on the power supply portion.

Best of luck!

[Splithorse]

I have the Evga Nividia 760 FTW card with 4 gig of GDDR5(you can get them for $250 now) and am very very happy with it. I have replayed all of my FPS games just so I could play them with all the bells and whistles. I had a GT8800 before and it was kind of slow. I use both FSX and Prepar3D and I only see a difference in P3D. FSX didn't change for me with this card since my processor is only at 2.667ghz. A faster CPU is where you should put your money if you are only looking to fly FSX. GPU for flying P3D.

[Waterman981]

Oh yeah... the one thing none of us have mentioned... SSD's. So worth it! Even if you have to get two of them and have one for the OS and a separate one for the sim.

[Travis]

Just updated my list! Thanks to all that have added input so far! feel free to add more! and everyone please feel free to post links!