Simming/Gaming build (June-July)

[depthstar]

Hi, I'd like advice for building a new Simming/Gaming PC. I won't be buying for a few months yet so if there are any major hardware releases/price drops anticipated I'll take that into consideration. In addition I'd prefer something that I can expand in the future to stretch a few more years out of the system.

I want something that will play Rise of Flight and earlier sims at max with a reasonably silky frame rate, and could manage IL2: Cliffs of Dover in the off chance they ever get that straightened out so that the recommended specs are a reasonable reflection of reality (but for the time being I won't be buying CoD so I don't want to throw any money in that direction if I can help it). Beyond that I don't really care about 60fps in Crysis 2 or anything, as long as the machine is reasonably competent and will hold it's own in gaming for the time being.

I'm considering:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB),

ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard,

Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 1GB

COUGAR POWERX 700 COUGAR-PX700 700W


Approximate Purchase Date: Middle of June or the start of July.


Budget Range: I'd prefer to keep it under $800, and if I can keep it under $700 that would be even better.


System Usage from Most to Least Important: I game and my computer acts as my home recording studio so I do audio editing, I don't need anything extra for the audio stuff, my current setup works fine but I'll welcome the extra CPU headspace.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Sound Card, Speakers, Monitor, TrackIR or other peripherals.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Whichever is cheap and reliable.


Country of Origin: U.S.A.


Parts Preferences: None.


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe


Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050


Additional Comments: I also need to purchase Windows 7 and a cheap hard drive (I have an external for mass storage), whichever version is the cheapest but not severely limited. If there are any slightly more expensive components with significant performance gains, or places where costs can be cut without sacrificing performance, let me know.


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[depthstar]

Actually, after seeing the $500 marathon build article, I'm leaning more towards a system within that price range, but I'll still go up to 800 if there's some vital performance increase that will be worth the dough.

 

[Dyers Eve]

Flight sims really hit the CPU/GPU/RAM hard. That CPU is the best you will do at your budget and should run the game fine. I am a bit skeptical about only 4GB of RAM. You will want 6-8GBs. Luckily newegg is having a sale and will give you 8gb of that same g.skill ram for only $15 more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231426&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL040711&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL040711-_-EMC-040711-Index-_-DesktopMemory-_-20231426-L0A

Not sure on that PSU, I never used CougarPower before. If you don't plan on doing SLI you might be able to get away with a better deal on a 5870+600ishW PSU. 5870>6870, it 's weird but it's true.