Need guidance on new Flight Sim/HTPC functionality Rig

[Caveman]

It's been 3 years and it's time to build a new rig...

The primary purpose of the rig is for flight simulation. But... I'd like to incorporate elements of HTPC into this build to "break the ice" and give me an understanding of the HTPC basics and improve the usefulness of the machine. To that end, I'm looking for some general comments on how I can improve the functionality, etc...

The rig will be set up in a "Media Room"; more specifically the closet of this room. This is a sizable closet (42" wide x 9 ft long). At one end of the closet, the stereo Rx, HD DVD player, and Comcast DVR and HDMI switcher are set up on a glass rack hanging on the wall. There is 1 HDMI cable that goes into the wall and up into the attic where it runs to a PJ in the center of the media room. The PJ shines its image on a 102" screen. The room is plumbed for 5.1 surround, though currently only the center and stereo speakers are hooked up.

At the other end of the closet is a home cockpit with rudder pedals, throttle, stick, Buttkicker Gamer, Track IR, 20" LCD, etc... This is where the new PC will reside. I plan to output video and sound via HDMI to the switcher on the other side of the closet to take care of my sight/sound needs from the PC. Aside from using the PC as a vault for Movies and music, I hope to be able to watch someone on the 102" screen while they sit in the cockpit flying on the 20" monitor. I'd like to export flight sim video/sound locally and on the "big screen" and stereo. Local sound at the flight sim will probably be headphones.

In general, I believe the rig will be along the following lines:

W7 OS (dual boot XP)
ATCS 840 Case
Watercoooled I7 920 to 4+GHz (or air if that’s possible)
6 to 12Gigs of high qual RAM
5850 Vid card
2, 60 GB SSDs in RAID 0
1, 1.5 TB HDD for storing music/video
Sound Card – no idea what to get…

Again, the primary purpose of the rig is to play flight sims and games with max FPS.

But, I also plan to use the new PC to store files and provide an easy way to do "media sorts of things". I'm thinking of using the PC to play Blue Ray DVDs instead of buying a dedicated Blue Ray player. I assume this is why people incorporate a BR DVD player into their PCs... I'm also assuming I can use the broadband connection on the PC to stream NetFlix movies to the PC and then send signal out of 5850 to HDMI PJ input. There is a CAT 6 drop to the new PC and a long range Buffalo Wireless Router a few feet away that currently broadcasts to other laptops in the house downstairs.

Budget is there for about $1500, but want to save where possible – it’s more important to have speed than storage space.

Most of my uncertainty is configuration based:

1) What other things could/should I add to this system?
2) What would be a smart way to rig up storage space? Is RAID 0 on SSD overkill (I need the space so maybe single drive makes more sense)?
3) I’m going with 1366 MoBo solution since I want upgradeability on CPU a year down the road.
4) I’d like to have XFire/SLI capability but based on what I’ve heard, it’s not useful for flight sims since you get micro pauses.
5) If I’m going to use a separate Blue Ray player, is there a compelling reason to have a Blue Ray DVD player on the PC?
6) What kinds of DVD players should I get? I was thinking a lightscribe Read/Writer and a cheapo DVD reader for ease of copying DVD to DVD as best bang for buck.

Any wisdom folks can bestow will be appreciated.

 

[Doublejr]

At least with FSX CPU is more important than GPU. Although the GPU helps a lot when cranking up all the settings and playing at 1080p.

 

[Caveman]

Yes... I'm basically going with the fastest CPU and GPU I can afford. My main questions are configuration based to get the most out of the hardware I buy and some general guidance.

Flight sims will be IL-2 (and SOW: BOB when it comes out next year), FS9, FSX, Lockon, BLackShark, etc...

 

[Caveman]

Was hoping for more help... : )

Anyone?

 

[mmntech]

At least with FSX CPU is more important than GPU. Although the GPU helps a lot when cranking up all the settings and playing at 1080p.

FSX is vary fickle though in the performance department. I still can't run it on high settings with my Phenom II X3 and get a stable frame rate.

I've experimented a lot with MSFS. Here's some pretty general ground rules in terms of performance.

-Higher clock speeds seem to give a bigger impact than number of cores. (hopefully FS11, if it ever comes out, will support GPGPU physics) You can't go wrong with an i7, especially overclocked, as you get the best of both worlds. I'm not sure how many cores FSX can take advantage of though. Up to four anyway.

-It likes boatloads of RAM. I think a 6gb setup would really benefit it so it can use all the 3.5gb allocated to it. (FSX is 32-bit of course, hopefully there will be a 64-bit version of FS11)

-It doesn't like SLI or Crossfire. I've heard from a lot of people that FSX runs better with these turned off. You're best with a vary powerful single GPU unless running more than two monitors.

-It loves GDDR. I think the 256mb of GDDR on my gfx card is what's choking FSX. Since all the 5850s come with 1gb, I doubt this will be an issue.

-HDD speed is a major plus. I'd throw FSX onto one of those SSDs as it frequently has to access texture files, terrain data, etc. It probably accesses the HDD more than any other game I've seen.

I think the system parts you've picked are fine.

 

[Caveman]

Mmntech, Thanks for your input. Most of what you say seems to be corroborated by things I've researched with regards to FSX - it is certainly a hog.

That said, I plan to run other sims as well... And have HTPC functionality.

Does anyone have any comments regarding questions 1, 5, and 6 in OP?

 

[mmntech]

Mmntech, Thanks for your input. Most of what you say seems to be corroborated by things I've researched with regards to FSX - it is certainly a hog.

That said, I plan to run other sims as well... And have HTPC functionality.

Does anyone have any comments regarding questions 1, 5, and 6 in OP?

The sum of my computer knowledge comes from trying to get FS to run smoothly. It's a never ending battle. Unfortunately I've forgotten 50% of it at least since I left the hobby for a couple years. Basically, if your rig can run FSX smoothly, it can run just about anything.

To #1, I wouldn't add anything. You're already outputting your audio via HDMI so you don't really need a sound card unless you're running audiophile grade headphones.

To #5, if you're already using a standalone player, there's really no need to have a PC one. No software comes on BD. So unless you're ripping them with AnyDVD or want to burn home movies at 1080p, I'd say just opt for the standard DVD burner.

To #6, from what I've heard, they're all six and half a dozen of each other. Get any SATA one. Using two drives sounds good.

 

[Zap]

-HDD speed is a major plus. I'd throw FSX onto one of those SSDs as it frequently has to access texture files, terrain data, etc. It probably accesses the HDD more than any other game I've seen.

That might be a good idea, having the games on a separate SSD from the OS.

I would suggest looking into Intel 80GB SSDs. They cost around the same as the 60/64GB "good" SSDs and you won't have to worry about making sure you get one with a "good" controller. If you don't know why I say "good" then check in the Memory and Storage forum, but basically you want an SSD that uses an Intel controller or Indilinx controller for maximum and continued performance. Samsung controllers perform a bit less but are reasonably consistent as well. AFAIK most other controllers tend to degrade in performance.

Something else is with the graphics, perhaps check with some forums dedicated to flight games. Not sure about other titles, but BITD when FSX came out everyone was saying that the Nvidia cards (back then, the 8800 GTS/GTX) were much better cards to have for FSX. I don't know if that trend has continued with later Nvidia cards or if it flip-flopped to ATI cards (like 3D shooter games have done) but it is worth researching.