The Tangmere Pilots extend a warm welcome to visitors in the Guest Room. Please feel free to register, drop by the Guest Room to say hello. If you are looking to join a squadron, we are currently recruiting. You can browse the rest of our site to see if The Tangmere Pilots fit what you are looking for.

Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Get advice on your tackle, or for Charlie to ask questions when he's broken his computer.

Moderator: Bunny

Gosho
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Posts: 888
Registered for: 6 years 10 months
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Gosho »

Here are some tips for building the PC yourself from Intel

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en ... ng-pc.html

Also, make sure to get CPU thermal paste, too. The Arctic brand is a classic.
User avatar
Nummy
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Posts: 821
Registered for: 18 years 10 months
Location: Oktoberfest Anywhere
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Nummy »

Good stuff Gosho.
I'm ordering the case in the next day or two.
Any preference white versus black?
Black is traditional but white looks very cool.
And maybe helps see better inside if it is white also.
It's a nice looking case.

And probably pick up the CPU cooler too.
Is this it:
Deepcool GAMMAXX GTE V2 120mm CPU Air Cooler (Black)

And thermal paste. Roger. Thanks
"The flash of a Spitfire's wing, then, through the misty glare of the summer sky, the first flash of a sharpened sword."

Vincent "Jimmy" Sheean, American journalist, watching a dogfight over Dover, August 1940.
User avatar
Eddie
Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 1239
Registered for: 6 years
Location: Between Hungary and Prague
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Eddie »

It is really easy to build a PC, you basically have everything provided to you on a plate and you need only one screwdriver and a table with good lightning. Just read up about it beforehand and double check your every move, the risk is small but still there that you will damage some of the components.
I built my current PC half a year ago, being my first build and it was very enjoyable.

As for the build itself, I have a 3700X with a stock cooler and have been running pretty heavy fluid dynamics on it, in addition to gaming, etc. Went on 100% for one hour and never had a cooling issue, but the 3700 comes with a bigger cooler. I would definitely advice you to research about this smaller cooler, if it is still that good as its bigger brother.
As for the case and fans, you really want to have good airflow through the case. One of the biggest mistakes is not to have good cooling :D
Image

RAF-Czechoslovakian exile troops, F/O. Eddie Havran - No.601 Squadron, Yellow Section, West Malling, 1941
Oberfeldwebel der Luftwaffe, Engelbert von Raben - Jagdflieger der Jagdgechwader 26, Westfront, 1944/45
USAAF, 2LT Eddie Raven - 379th FS, 362nd FG, 9th Army Air Force, December 1944
User avatar
Eddie
Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 1239
Registered for: 6 years
Location: Between Hungary and Prague
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Eddie »

You actually dont need thermal paste for AMD CPU, because they come with preapplied one. Also, I really dont think that a standalone cooler is necessary, Im just saying to research it a little to be absolutely sure :grin2
Image

RAF-Czechoslovakian exile troops, F/O. Eddie Havran - No.601 Squadron, Yellow Section, West Malling, 1941
Oberfeldwebel der Luftwaffe, Engelbert von Raben - Jagdflieger der Jagdgechwader 26, Westfront, 1944/45
USAAF, 2LT Eddie Raven - 379th FS, 362nd FG, 9th Army Air Force, December 1944
User avatar
Nummy
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Posts: 821
Registered for: 18 years 10 months
Location: Oktoberfest Anywhere
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Nummy »

Eddie sounds good.

And the girl in your avatar is one beautiful lady.
I assume she is a Valkyrie, as they are known to consort with ravens.
(Germanic folklore 101)
I was married into a family of Valkyries for fifteen years once.
Four of 'em.
It was interesting.
Their mother was the daughter of a German Baron, and the girls
came out of the same mold--bright, beautiful, generous girls who
could be forgiven if they got a bit Imperial at times.
Which was, after all, their birthright.
"The flash of a Spitfire's wing, then, through the misty glare of the summer sky, the first flash of a sharpened sword."

Vincent "Jimmy" Sheean, American journalist, watching a dogfight over Dover, August 1940.
User avatar
Nummy
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Posts: 821
Registered for: 18 years 10 months
Location: Oktoberfest Anywhere
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Nummy »

I've been looking around at basic gaming computers, the idea is to get up and running,
and I found this DELL thing at an affordable price.
'Plug in and go' looks like the quickest way to 'Get one up."

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/desktop ... lsrc=aw.ds

Gadzooks what an URL

Comments please.

Thanks
"The flash of a Spitfire's wing, then, through the misty glare of the summer sky, the first flash of a sharpened sword."

Vincent "Jimmy" Sheean, American journalist, watching a dogfight over Dover, August 1940.
User avatar
Eddie
Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 1239
Registered for: 6 years
Location: Between Hungary and Prague
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Eddie »

I'll be frank, you will run BoX on this, but probably only on low settings. It is cheap though.
Image

RAF-Czechoslovakian exile troops, F/O. Eddie Havran - No.601 Squadron, Yellow Section, West Malling, 1941
Oberfeldwebel der Luftwaffe, Engelbert von Raben - Jagdflieger der Jagdgechwader 26, Westfront, 1944/45
USAAF, 2LT Eddie Raven - 379th FS, 362nd FG, 9th Army Air Force, December 1944
User avatar
Nummy
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Posts: 821
Registered for: 18 years 10 months
Location: Oktoberfest Anywhere
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Nummy »

Thank you Eddie.
What is the best off the shelf gaming computer under 1,000 USD (About 800 BPS)
"The flash of a Spitfire's wing, then, through the misty glare of the summer sky, the first flash of a sharpened sword."

Vincent "Jimmy" Sheean, American journalist, watching a dogfight over Dover, August 1940.
User avatar
Eddie
Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 1239
Registered for: 6 years
Location: Between Hungary and Prague
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Eddie »

That I do not know! Never interested myself in built sets, sorry.
Image

RAF-Czechoslovakian exile troops, F/O. Eddie Havran - No.601 Squadron, Yellow Section, West Malling, 1941
Oberfeldwebel der Luftwaffe, Engelbert von Raben - Jagdflieger der Jagdgechwader 26, Westfront, 1944/45
USAAF, 2LT Eddie Raven - 379th FS, 362nd FG, 9th Army Air Force, December 1944
User avatar
Nummy
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Posts: 821
Registered for: 18 years 10 months
Location: Oktoberfest Anywhere
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Nummy »

Went back to DIY with this video for the 500 USD (About 480 BPS),
not upgradable but looks easy enough for a first effort.



CPU Ryzen 5 1660AF
MB: ASROCK B450 MDV R4
Video Card: ASUS GTX Super 1660
RAM TEAM T-Force Vulcanz 16 GB 3200 MHz
TEAM T-Force 250 GB SSD
Power: Thermaltake SMART 500 watts
Case: Cooler Master master box Q300L Micro ATX case

I like the smaller case.

With option for : 6TB Seagate Barracuda HDD adding 150 USD

Would it get me going at decent graphics, etc?
Cheers.
"The flash of a Spitfire's wing, then, through the misty glare of the summer sky, the first flash of a sharpened sword."

Vincent "Jimmy" Sheean, American journalist, watching a dogfight over Dover, August 1940.
User avatar
Silk
Group Captain
Group Captain
Posts: 2895
Registered for: 8 years
Location: North Tyneside
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Silk »

Sorry, Nummy. I'm not up to date with which AMD graphics cards are good or not for the game. Likewise I don't usually look at Ryzen for a gaming PC. Much of that is probably age-old bias, and I did use a Ryzen 7 in the Ops Server I just built.

The base clock on the Ryzen chip is 3.2GHz, which is ok, but not spectacular. That means that it really depends on whether you are viewing this PC as a long term rig or as a 'just for now' solution.

Maybe someone with more AMD experience with me can pick this up again.
User avatar
Nummy
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Posts: 821
Registered for: 18 years 10 months
Location: Oktoberfest Anywhere
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Nummy »

Hi Silk:
Two thoughts on this.
The idea of building my own is to do a basic one first as a learning experience.
If I botch it, I haven't lost too much.
Use with regular monitor and TIR.
Get back on OPS--barely.
Then with knowledge gained, build a much more powerful VR capable rig.

All those cables look like a snake's nest to me.

The other option is to just blow the whole wad on a commercial gaming rig.
Gets me going but doesn't prepare me to build my own.
Plus, I don't yet know good components from poor.

This is still about a month off, so I'm just going to keep trying
and get a better overview of what works well and what doesn't.
I'll probably be posting here from time to time with questions.
Thanks,
"The flash of a Spitfire's wing, then, through the misty glare of the summer sky, the first flash of a sharpened sword."

Vincent "Jimmy" Sheean, American journalist, watching a dogfight over Dover, August 1940.
User avatar
Silk
Group Captain
Group Captain
Posts: 2895
Registered for: 8 years
Location: North Tyneside
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Silk »

Hi Nummy,

If that's the goal then this will likely be a good option.

One thought - that motherboard will support a SATA M2 drive - if you were to get a 500GB M2 and fit that instead of the 6TB Barracuda it would make all the cabling a lot simpler and still be more than adequate for IL2
User avatar
Eddie
Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 1239
Registered for: 6 years
Location: Between Hungary and Prague
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Eddie »

I would not really be worried about screwing it up, it really is easy 😀

Anyway, for the CPU, you probably miswritten the name 😄 but to be fair, for pure gaming Intel is better. The margin is quite slim though so, if you are going to use the PC for other stuff then it is viable. Its also very dependent on whether you can snipe some sales etc. You might also find someone selling an older part for the same price as the new, but having better performance.
About the GPU, I actually have the same one, as I was going for a cheap one that punches above its weight and this one definitely does in my opinion. I am running everything on highest details without fps dropping under 60. Mind you, I am playing on a 1080p 60hz monitor, so the card is perfect for my use, but might not be for someone with a bigger resolution.
The rest of the build really depends on your CPU and GPU, you generally want a motherboard that doesn't hinder your components and has some upgrade cappabilities (they are usually the part that lasts the longest, along with power supply), you want an SSD for your operating system plus some programs that you use a lot (I have been using a 250 GB ssd for some years now and I havent really felt the need to switch to a bigger one).
6TB of HDD is quite a lot, are you storing the whole Big and Bouncy collection by any chance? 😂
For RAM, you definitely need to check what is compatible with your motherboard and CPU, AMD need quicker RAMs to function properly than Intels. Definitely go for DDR4, Last I checked they were pretty cheap. 16Gb Will get you through everything today and RAM is really easy to upgrade so I wouldn't go for more if you dont have the money to spare. Also if you want to save some, then you could go for 12GB.
For the power supply, you need to add up all your parts power usage and give some margin to it. You dont want to save money here, as a bad power supply can fry your whole system. If you are planning to use your PC a lot, more efficient PS might save money on your electrics bills.

For the case, go for something that ventilates nicely, small cases might not have sufficient space for air circulation. It is also harder to assemble without experience. And dont forget to check if your motherboard fits your case.
Image

RAF-Czechoslovakian exile troops, F/O. Eddie Havran - No.601 Squadron, Yellow Section, West Malling, 1941
Oberfeldwebel der Luftwaffe, Engelbert von Raben - Jagdflieger der Jagdgechwader 26, Westfront, 1944/45
USAAF, 2LT Eddie Raven - 379th FS, 362nd FG, 9th Army Air Force, December 1944
User avatar
Nummy
Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Posts: 821
Registered for: 18 years 10 months
Location: Oktoberfest Anywhere
Contact:

Re: Advice Please: Nummy Hunkered In, Getting Ready to Blow Cash on good Sim Computer

Post by Nummy »

It's actually coming into view.
Here is today's component list which I am sure will not be tomorrow's list.

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
MOTHER BOARD: ASUS Prime X570-P
COOLER: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler
GRAPHICS CARD: ASUS Geforce GTX 1660 Super
MEMORY: Teamgroup 16 GB DDR 3200 TDTGD Dark Z
RAM: WD Blue NVMe M.2 SSD
POWER SUPPLY : Corsair RMx Series 750w PSU
OPTICAL DRIVE: ASUS 24X DvD RW
CASE: NZXT H510 

I need an Optical Drive as I have a lot of CDS/DvDs with stored info on them.
Fortunately cheap.

I haven't explored Intel CPUs yet , but what would more or less replace the Ryzen 5 above?

And I see I've got a 3600 CPU and a 3200 DDR--do these numbers have to match up?

The dual nature of the computer means it has to do video editing.
Though curiously, my cousin's old XP machine I am using now--no IL2 obviously--
does a pretty good job on short vids.
It's not that I am making feature length films.

Anyway, critiques, additions, recommendations, deeply appreciated.
I keep watching 'How to Build' vids, and it is getting far less intimidating.

Thanks chaps.
"The flash of a Spitfire's wing, then, through the misty glare of the summer sky, the first flash of a sharpened sword."

Vincent "Jimmy" Sheean, American journalist, watching a dogfight over Dover, August 1940.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests