Classic British Flight Sim

Hello everyone.

Well I've been given permission (from SWMBO) to purchase a new PC for FSX and/or P3D V3 and have been looking at various options.
I'm looking at this spec from Chillblaster.
I intend to use it for Flight Sim only as my existing PC can be used for other things. I intend to use Photo scenery parts 1 to 10, Treescapes 1-8, UK2000 airports and AI traffic.
Two questions spring to mind, Is Windows 10 stable enough for FSX and/or P3D V3 and is the I5 processor good enough or should I go for an I7?

• Intel Core i5-6600K Quad Core Processor (overclocked to up to 4.4GHz)
• 8MB L3 Cache
• Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Motherboard
• 16GB DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
• Dual Channel Support on 2 DIMMs
• 4 x DIMM Slot
• 128GB Samsung SM951 M2 Solid State Drive
• 2000GB Seagate Hard Drive
• Windows 10 Home 64bit (Pre-installed & Disc Included)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Graphics Card
• On-Board 7.1 High Definition Audio
• Thermaltake E-Sports Commander Gaming Keyboard & Mouse
• LAN: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
• Aerocool 600W PSU (80+ Certified)

I would be grateful for any thoughts and suggestions before I go ahead.

Regards

John

The SSD is too small mate. Win 10 is stable enough, shouldn't cause a problem, and works well with p3d from what I can see. i5 plenty big enough for FSX, but P3D might benefit from the i7.

Hiya John

I'm no expert on this (or anything) but I'd take it off your hands I was surprised to see you going for an i5.. so often, numbers mean everything and the i7 series seem to be the 'in thing'.. if you're into bragging anyway That particular i5 should send things along very nicely If you have the option.. I'd go for a slightly bigger SSD for your OS. I have a 250gig SSD as my OS drive and while I'm still careful what rubbish I actually store on it.. it's been running now for 12months or more (Win7 Ult) and I still have plenty left including the 'spare' SSD's need to be able to do their stuff. Having a 223gig (after formatting) drive takes the worry out of it
Not sure what to say about the 2TB drive. While it's certainly big enough, I'd consider partitioning it into 2. The idea of having everything lobbed onto one partition unnerves me though I can't think of a technical reason why this should be so. I like places to 'lob stuff'.. keep it safe and useable but out of the way. You'd see load times increase by having an SSD as your Flightsim drive too but as I understand it.. the actual sim (whichever) will not actually run faster if that makes sense.
I think I've read of some 970's having a memory issue. Honestly not sure if the one you've chosen is one or if the problem has been sorted. Whatever.. 4gig is a good size to go for.. especially for P3D.
16gig system ram is probably useless as far as FS is concerned but if I were in the same position.. I'd go for the same.
Win10 seems to be pretty stable anyway mate. I don't have FS installed on it as my Win10 machines are a laptop and tablet but it's certainly do-able.

Time for someone who knows what they're talking about to chime in

LATE EDIT: there you go.. Ben jumped in I think the moral of the story is to always buy the best you can afford (even if you can't afford it sometimes)
ATB
DaveB

i5 is fine for FSX, and TBH, will be fine for P3d too. I'd go for a 250gb SSD for the OS, another 250 SSD for FSX/P3d & use the 2TB HDD for storage if finances allow.
Win10 is fine. I'd rather have the "Pro" edition rather than "Home" though.

I simply hate windows 10.

Thanks Ben, DaveB and Dave G for your thoughts and recommendations, they are much appreciated.

I’ve reconsidered and have changed the spec to incorporate your recommendations. It is now just about on budget with a 24” HD monitor.

I7-6700 Quad Core (3.4) 8MB - I may use the I5 depending on final price.
8GB RAM DDR4 2133MHz - as it will only be used for Flight Sim I’ve reduced it from 16GB
GeForce GTX970 4GB Graphics card - same card
2 x 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD - 1 for OS and 1 for FSX/P3D V3 - Do I load all scenery etc onto this drive or onto the 1TB drive?
1TB HDD - Reduced from 2Tb - It should be more than enough as I have external storage drives if needed
Windows10 Professional 64 Bit - Gone for the Pro version

I simply hate windows 10.

Ady, is it the functionality or appearance that you dont like?

Thanks again
John

Ady, is it the functionality or appearance that you dont like?

Functionality mainly, got windows 8 on my phone but just cant get my head round win 10.

Fortunately I am still on WIN7 at home.

Hi Ady,

The bigger the better with an SSD. Just having P3Dv3 and FS9 takes up 70Gb.

I would always go with an i7, if you can afford a PCIE SSD then all the better but keep away from Windows 10 if you do.

There are plans afoot to give P3D SLI in the near future so you may want to consider another graphics card at some date.

Never been a fan of on board audio, see if you can stretch to a Creative or Asus PCIE card.

Is the power supply man enough I wonder?

Nev

I don't know what the others may think but I'd be inclined to go for a faster clock i7 or go with the i5 in your original spec. While the i7 would have Win10 hopping along nicely, I don't think FSX can take advantage of all the clever stuff an i7 can do. FSX can certainly take advantage of what a 4.4gig i5 can deliver
Atb
DaveB

Well I've done it!

I eventually decided to get it from PCSpecialist, mainly because I obtained my last one from them about 8years ago.

Spec I've gone with :- Intel I7-6700 4.0Ghz, Gigabyte Z170X motherboard, 8GB RAM, 4GB GTX GEFORCE 970 Graphic card, 250GB Samsung SSD for OS (Windows 10 Pro), 500GB Samsung SSD for FSX/P3D and scenery etc., 500GB HDD for other progs etc, They suggest that the 550W power supply should be OK.

Next stage is decide what to install. Either install FSX and get it running with my existing scenery, go for the latest P3D V3.1 or both - Ive got week or so to make my mind up.

Does anyone have any suggestions or pitfalls to look out for.

Regards

John