What do you think of this build?

[blyndy]

Hi, how does this build look? I would use it for moderate playing of Flight Simulator X at 1920x1200, hopefully with gfx as high as possible.

-CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 620 ($100) (overclocked to ~3.25 Ghz)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103706

-mobo: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H micro-ATX (not DDR3 compatible, oh well) ($80)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128394

-ram: DDR3G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 ($97)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166

GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5 ($180)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102858

PSU/case: undetermined

Total: ~$457

Are the components mismatched? I could change the GPU to the slightly better performing and cheaper 4870 1GB, I would like the DisplayPort and lower temp though... But can the CPU feed either of them?

Is the AII X4 going to be a bottleneck in a lot of games?

P.S. prices are just for reference, I know they might be cheaper elsewhere.

 

[Jd007]

For $20 more, get the AM3/DDR3 version of that board and this DDR3 RAM kit instead. No reason to spend roughly the same amount of money on an AM2+ motherboard with DDR2 memory now.

As for GPU, take the 5770. The CPU is enough. That Athlon II X4 is pretty fast, especially if you push it a little with a bit of OC. Just a note though, Flight Simulator X is a very poorly optimized game, even on the top end machines it runs pretty badly (especially at busy airports). Plus I think the frame rate is capped at 30.

 

[MisterDonut]

I love FSX. Flying PMDG 747-400's is sex for me (GE of course). On an on-topic note, pick up the DDR3 kit, as mentioned above. It's a better performance for the same price. As for PSU/case, Corsair has the most reliable PSU's (popular, at least) that I can say because nobody I know has a problem with theirs, and I would pick up an Antec 300 Illusion as that is a great case for the money.

 

[blyndy]

For $20 more, get the AM3/DDR3 version of that board and this DDR3 RAM kit instead. No reason to spend roughly the same amount of money on an AM2+ motherboard with DDR2 memory now.

As for GPU, take the 5770. The CPU is enough. That Athlon II X4 is pretty fast, especially if you push it a little with a bit of OC. Just a note though, Flight Simulator X is a very poorly optimized game, even on the top end machines it runs pretty badly (especially at busy airports). Plus I think the frame rate is capped at 30.

Great! I thought there wasn't a DDR3 version.

It's interesting to hear that Flight Simulator X is poorly optimized. Easy to beleive. I Hope an SSD will help it with loading at least a bit.

 

[blyndy]

I love FSX. Flying PMDG 747-400's is sex for me (GE of course). On an on-topic note, pick up the DDR3 kit, as mentioned above. It's a better performance for the same price. As for PSU/case, Corsair has the most reliable PSU's (popular, at least) that I can say because nobody I know has a problem with theirs, and I would pick up an Antec 300 Illusion as that is a great case for the money.

I'll have a look into those corsair PSU's. I'll be getting a micro-ATX case, I wish Antec had more mATX cases.

 

[notposting]

I just got my own FSX setup going recently...you want max CPU power. It's far more CPU oriented than GPU (go Intel instead??). Download both service packs off MS website (or buy the Acceleration expansion which includes both). Nvidia cards work better (sucks for me with my Radeon).

Do some searches there are some tweak guides out there (I need to find them again but waiting on my new hardware (an Intel rig) to arrive first anyways). Got myself setup with 22" monitor, Saitek X52 and CH pedals, and TrackIR 4. It pretty much rocks

edit: just the service packs alone improved performance on my machine quite a bit....

 

[solofly]

GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5 ($180)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102858

I would go with XFX, you'll get better resale value...(should you decide to sell it one day)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150447

 

[blyndy]

What's better about the XFX over the sapphire card that gives it better resale value? better name recognition?

 

[fffblackmage]

XFX has double lifetime warranty. Basically, if you sell the graphics card to someone, the warranty coverage can be transferred along to him/her.

 

[MisterDonut]

Has anybody actually used a lifetime warranty? It's pretty hard to really break your GPU after a year of use, unelss you really, really abuse it. Lifetime is nice, but is it necessary? Sapphire seems to get the thumbs up on the egg, and it's cheaper around other sites.

 

[solofly]

XFX has double lifetime warranty. Basically, if you sell the graphics card to someone, the warranty coverage can be transferred along to him/her.

Exactly, not to mention you can overclock the card and change the cooler without voiding the warranty...(just make sure to keep the original parts in case you need to RMA)