Recommend a cooling option?

GLaDOS

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Hello all,

I'm planning to build a new system this winter. I mainly will use this PC to play Flight Simulator X (my favorite hobby) and also some other games. Eventually, I may end up putting a 4 TB HDD in so it can double as my Media Center, as well.

I've compiled a parts list and had it vetted a few times on the different Flight Sim forums. However, I'm still on the fence about which CPU Cooler to use. The Corsair H100i came highly recommended, but others have warned about using water-cooled units and suggested that there were air coolers that were quieter and more efficient (i.e. NH-D14). Because I've never installed a water-cooling unit before I've been a bit hesitant and would really appreciate anyone's feedback and suggestions.

The parts list can be found here: GLaDOS - Saved Part Lists - PCPartPicker

I'm also certainly open to suggestions or feedback on any of the other components as well. As always, I greatly appreciate everyone's help!
 
Pretty sure we've been over this, but there isn't a reason really to have such cooling on a CPU that doesn't require OCing for the particular task.
Either way, the parts in the list can be changed to the 4670k and a lower end ASRock Z87 board. Gaming doesn't utilize HT, so there isn't a reason to spend 100 extra bucks on the i7. Also believe I mentioned this before too.

As to the cooling in general, no, AIO units are perfectly safe to use and have less than a 10% chance of actually failing. Probably more like less than 5%, but giving margin of error. They are extremely easy to install (easier than Noctua's mounting system for sure) and put far less weight on your motherboard. So I recommend the H series over ANY air cooler even if the D14 performs better than the H80i. Silence is all a matter of fans you install onto the radiator. It's not really fair to compare a cooler which comes with one of the worlds most silent fans against some of Corsair's noisy fans. So if noise is really a deal, grab 2 120mm Noctua P12s and put them on the radiator. Performance, less weight, and silence. The best of both worlds.

Also, get the 840pro over the 840.

Another thing I might mention is if you are planning on running 2D Surround on a single 780 you might have an issue with having FSX rendering all the way up. When you get into that high of graphics, the game moves more into the GPU bottleneck rather than the CPU. I've played a full blown modded FSX setup before, modern CPUs have absolutely no issue playing the old game.
 
Shoot, you're right - I did start a thread on this PC build here. Sorry about that. I still appreciate your feedback, though.

I was planning to OC the CPU - FSX is a CPU-intensive program, so the more GHz I could get out of my CPU, the better. That is why the the Corsair H100 was initially recommended and why I've put it into my parts list. If the failure rate is in the 5-10% range, I would certainly feel comfortable with that.

Noise isn't a huge deal - I just didn't want anything absurdly loud. But I'll certainly take a look at the120mm Noctua P12's.

Ok, thanks for the advisement on the 780. Are there any GPU's capable of running those kind of graphics across three monitors? I've heard the SLI doesn't always place nice with FSX.
 
Like I said in the previous thread, FSX was a CPU intensive program when it came out, in 2006, when the majority of people had single core CPUs or a C2D. We have literally 5-10x the amount of CPU power at our disposal. The last time I played the game was a year ago with a first gen Core i5 750 using what I think was the first iteration of REX and Traffic Extreme. I didn't have to OC then, so a CPU 3 gens ahead of that won't need it either. BUT just for you, I'm in the process of getting my copy all up to date and the latest version of REX just to give you a clear indication of how much CPU power FSX doesn't need anymore. I'll be disabling 2 cores and HT on my 3960x (2nd gen Sandy Bridge) to give you an accurate example of what you'll be looking at in CPU usage. Just taking a while to download since my internet is being lame.....which it usually is lol.
ETA is 41 minutes to finish the last 2GB.

Before you ask why I'm doing that, it's because I really don't condone the "want" aspect of OCing unless there is the "need' aspect. I'm all about overclocking, but only if you need to. Definitely don't want fellow forum goers spending more money on cooling if they don't really need to.

If you're running stock FSX, a single 780 should do ok. If you're running the HD textures on REX then you'll have an issue unless you double up. The next step from that is the Titan, but some pre-OCd 780s reach Titan level performance out of the box anyways. Not worth the extra 400. You'll just have to see, as I don't know anybody personally who has a 780 and Surround that can load up FSX for an accurate answer.
 
I'd hate to have to ask you to do that PP Mguire. I'm only basing the OC aspect off of what I've read and what others have told me. I currently run FSX on a laptop, which stinks - all sliders down.

Ok, I'll take my chances with the 780 for now. I'm going to add additional scenery and add-ons over time so I'll just have to see as I go. Worst case, I can upgrade to the Titan down the line.
 
Yea well, having extensive experience with the program I can tell you, it'll run perfectly fine without any OC which is exactly why I'm doing it. Plus, I want to anyways because I didn't realize they had updated REX so much. Besides, I'm already half way done. Just waiting on REX to finish downloading. Already have the program installed and such.

Q1 next year Nvidia is supposed to release Maxwell, so might not even need a Titan. Time will tell though.
 
Double post, but you'll know I updated.

Basically, the average use is about 30% and it only spikes up when I fly over an airport. At the end of the video I talk about the borderless window mode, don't worry about it. When I recorded I forgot you were doing Surround. Although if you decide to add another card to put extra gadgets for the sim on there the info will help.

FSX 4 core with REX Test - YouTube
 
Wow thanks PP Mguire! You definitely took some serious time for this response! I really appreciate it!

I am very impressed what kind of graphics you can get with an i5. You are the first person who has suggested OC'ing was not necessary and your video is definitely good evidence of that! I'm definitely going to need to go back and review my parts list! You probably saved me some cash - thanks!!
 
Wow thanks PP Mguire! You definitely took some serious time for this response! I really appreciate it!

I am very impressed what kind of graphics you can get with an i5. You are the first person who has suggested OC'ing was not necessary and your video is definitely good evidence of that! I'm definitely going to need to go back and review my parts list! You probably saved me some cash - thanks!!
That's the idea.

Don't forget, that my GPU is like, the equivalent of an underclocked 660ti too. You'll have a 780 so it'll be much smoother, and the 4670k is faster clock speed wise and architecturally vs my Sandy Bridge based CPU. That being said, I don't think your spikes over airports will even get near 90%.
 
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