I'm looking at them now. So far, this page: http://www.jetlinesystems.com/performance.html seems pretty much 100% spot on. The only thing they need to do is update it so it includes some new hardware like Core i7 2600K, Core i5 2500K, and the Radeon 6xxx series and Nvidia GTX 5xx series.

The systems seem to be built using very high quality parts (although again they need to update them to newer hardware that's been released in the past couple of months). I'll compare the prices with other websites...

edit:

OK I compared jetline systems with a system where all parts of purchased individually from newegg.com. If newegg doesn't have the part I'll use a similar part.

JET LINE SYSTEMS:
Coolermaster HAF
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
EVGA X58 SLI Chipset
Intel Core i7 930
Corsair H50
6gb tri-channel DDR3-1600 CL7
1536MB Nvidia GeForce GTX 480
Corsair AX850 power supply
integrated audio
1TB WD Black Edition SATA 7200RPM
Single Drive: 22x CD/DVD Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe
TOTAL : $2,626.00

newegg.com
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $99.99
EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 SLI 3 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $209.99
Intel Core i7-950 $294.99
CORSAIR Hydro H70 $102.99
G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI $109.99
EVGA 012-P3-1570-AR GeForce GTX 570 $359.99
CORSAIR Professional Series AX850  $189.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ $69.99
ASUS 24X DVD Burner $19.99
COOLER MASTER HAF 932 $139.98
TOTAL: $1600

So basically a better system will be $1000 (62%) cheaper if you buy from a website like www.newegg.com and assemble it yourself. Other stores should have similar prices to newegg but will do assembly for you for an extra $50-$100. Jetline systems is simply not worth it unless they update their price list (it is likely they will since they still haven't included the GTX 580 on any of their systems...). I would recommend them IF there prices were only a couple of hundred more than neweggm but at the moment it's not worth it.

If you're looking at buying a new system for MSFS, wait a week and I'll have a guide up for a system that's better than a $2600 Jetline computer, but for $1500 (not including screen, joystick, software)

Sure.

I have email, msn, private messages on simv, and this thread... Would you like me to PM you my msn address?

I guess the first questions to ask are - what exactly are you doing with the PC? FSX? Gaming? What is your budget? Do you want a new screen?

In my opinion, the best sweet spot in terms of budget is around $1500-$2000 because it will give you some of the fastest computer hardware that should run FSX extremely well, while also being very good value. A hugely more expensive computer isn't going to be much of a help.


SCREEN:
A big beautiful screen (>21.5 inch) is an absolute must, running at a resolution of 1920*1080 or 1920*1200 or above. I don't know much about running multiple screens so I cannot help out there.


PROCESSOR:
The best processor at the moment is the Core i7 2600. It is a 3.4ghz Quad Core with hyperthreading. The Non-disclosure agreement has ended so all the reviews have been released (e.g. http://pcper.com/article.php?aid=1057&type=expert&pid=14 http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i... ) within the past few days, however they are generally not found in many stores. Wait a few days, or a week, and this will change. Anyway, the i7 2600 is based on brand new technology, so it should be very future-proof for well-over a year. It's the third fastest desktop processor in existence (the only faster ones cost twice as much). So anyway, it is excellent value for money, really fast, also has a very low power consumption. I highly recommend overclocking this processor because it's extremely easy and you can get massive gains from doing so - like 4.5ghz completely stable (whoa). If you plan on overclocking, make sure to get the Core i7 2600K variant, rather than the i7 2600. You can view performance per dollar, performance per watt, and a comparison with other processors in the PCPER review I linked.

Core i7 2600K is $317 (this one can overclock)

Core i7 2600 is $294 (this one cannot overclock very far)

Don't need to add extra cooling if overclocking, as the K model now ships with an updated cooler which is more than adequate.


MOTHERBOARD:
Motherboard, it depends on what you want really. I would expect the best to be ASUS ones and Gigabyte ones like the Gigabye GA-P67A-UD3R, GA-P67A-UD3P, ASUS P8P67 series. Make sure to look at the expansion slots and things like USB3.0, and E-SATA if you need those. Make sure the motherboard is socket 1155 for it to be compatible with the Core i7 2600 / 2600K, with the P67 chipset. I would probably get an ASUS motherboard simply because they have beautiful UEFI BIOS which looks nicer and should enable the computer to boot somewhat faster.

Motherboards are usually around $150.


MEMORY:
I rarely see FSX use above 2 gigabytes of memory although it does happen occasionally. IMHO you should get 4 gigabytes of DDR3-1600 with a CAS (aka CL) latency of 6 or 7 which should cost around $90. Alternatively you can get 8 gigabytes of DDR3-1600 with a CAS (aka CL) latency of 7 for $160. Make sure you are buying dual channel memory that runs at a voltage of 1.65 volts or less.


VIDEOCARD:
FSX does not benefit from dual graphics processors, hence it is best to get the fastest single GPU possible with the most video memory and memory bandwidth. The GTX 580 has this position although it is rather expensive @ $530. Could save a large amount of money by going with the slightly slower $350 GTX 570. Those are by far the best cards for FSX. There's also the GTX 480 which is the same sped as the GTX 570, but the 480 should be avoided since it is extremely power hungry, and rather loud. eVGA is a good brand.

For general gaming it MIGHT be a better idea to go with dual slower videocards, but this will perform worse in FSX.

relative performance: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_570/27.html
performance per dollar: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_570/29.html
performance per watt: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_570/28.html
noise: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_570/26.html

HARD DISK:
Solid State Drives are by far the fastest drives on the market which means extremely fast boot times, quick application loading, and less (or no) stutters within MSFS. They are, however, expensive. It might be useful asking people how big their FSX installations are and then deciding for yourself whether you can fit it AND Windows on an SSD (they are usually 60 or 80 gigabytes). A better bet is dual 7200rpm hard drives, one for windows, one for FSX. Bigger usually means faster so get 1 terrabyte ones. Western Digital Black 1tb are extremely good, as are Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB's.  There's also 10,000rpm drives which should be somewhat faster than 7200rpm hard drives, but more expensive and louder. I would go with the dual 7200rpm, but you probably want a second opinion on this.


POWER SUPPLY:
Converts AC power from the mains to 12 volt DC power that can be used by your computer. Basically you want something that is 80 PLUS BRONZE or better, modular, has a rated wattage of 650 watts of higher continuous, and has dual 6-pin PCI-E connectors (for the GTX 580 you will need one 6-pin PCI-E connector and one 8-pin (or 6+2 pin) PCI-E connector). Make sure it has ONE fan (not two). If you don't know what this means get the CORSAIR AX-750. Outputs extremely stable voltages, is one of the MOST efficient power supplies in existence, is quiet, and is fully modular. Will run ANYTHING. Or get a CORSAIR HX-650 to save some money, it is still very good. Should be $150 or so.


CASE:
Corsair Graphite series. Antec. I'm in Australia and we have different choices in regards to case. Search for the Fractal Design Define R3. Not sure if they have it in the US. $100-$150

IN CONCLUSION."

processor: Core i7 2600K overclocked from 3.4ghz to 4.6ghz or so.
motherboard: ASUS P8P67 PRO or ASUS P8P67 EVO
RAM: 2*2gb DDR3-1600 CL7
graphics: GTX 570 or GTX 580
windows + applications + FSX: 64gb or 80gb or 1280gb SSD
storage + applications: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1tb
power supply: Corsair AX750
case: Corsair graphite series case or Fractal Design Define R3
big ass screen

Should all be well under $2000.

You might need to wait a few days or week to get the CPU and motherboard. It will be well worth it.

Hope this helps.



Thanks.

I'd rather reply on simv, because then everyone can read it. And I can make edits. Hope that's OK. Got your email fine.

Here's an idea. Is it possible to have 1 SSD and 2 HDD?

I currently have my primary drive partitioned at 40GB (for Windows) and the rest for file storage. I have separate partitions for Windows, Applications & Utilities, Application File Storage, Longterm file storage and two for GAMES!!!

So what if I got an SSD to handle windows and HDD for the rest? Also, that means VirtMem would be on SSD.

Quote:

Yes. Most motherboards have six or even eight hard drive (SATA) connectors. The power supply I recommended (AX750) has 12 SATA power cables.

Quote:

That would be good also. SSD's are blazing fast.

quote]Quote:
My PS only has 2, OMG! Am I out of date or what!

I'm looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231351

You said stay way from anything over 1.6 so don't get
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231283

Quote:


Basically, there are main motherboard types out there, each supports a different group of processors, and memory.

There's socket 1366, socket 1156, and socket 1155 (make sure you do not confuse these two)

Socket 1366 uses the X58 chipset, runs tri-channel 240 pin DDR3 memory @ 1.65volts or under, processors include Core i7 920, Core i7 930, Core i7 940, Core i7 950, Core i7 960, Core i7 965, Core i7 970, Core i7 975, Core i7 980X, Core i7 990X.

Socket 1156 uses the P55 chipset, runs dual-channel 240 pin DDR3 memory @ 1.65volts or under, processors include Core i5 750, Core i5 760, Core i7 860, Core i7 870, Core i7 880.

Socket 1155 uses the P67 chipset, runs dual-channel 240 pin DDR3 memory @ 1.65volts or under, processors include Core i5 2300, Core i5 2400, Core i5 2500, Core i5 2500K, Core i7 2600, Core i7 2600K.


So the memory you linked wouldn't even fit, because it's DDR2.

Quote:

And the first linked memory is for the P55 chipset, so if I go with the i7 2600K, that won't work either?   Uhg, so confusing. I'm sure glad your helping if not doing this for me.

Would the Corsair Hydro H70 Liquid Cooling rig work with the i7 2600K. I've never had the chance to even see a LC rig. I guess I'll need to read up on that.

Quote:

According to one of the reviews it can be OC'd without LC!!! Awesome. I forget what I'm using now for a heatsink, but it's basically a copper bowl of blades. Works pretty darn good, I wonder if I can recycle it. Would a P4 heatsink work on todays chips or is the mounting different?

Quote:

OMG! F or C. I can't even get my below 110F during the winter.

Quote:

HA, okay!!! One time my buddy and I were trying to get a heatsink off a cpu, so he held the fan with his finger while I booted into the CMOS. When it got to 160F the goop loosened enough to get the sink off.

If I was a poet, I would be able to properly express my gratitude and appreciation for your help. Spending your time to get me a big bang for my bucks. But, I'm not so all I can say is "Dear Lord, Thank this man for me."

I bumped up the SSD to http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211487
It has more read/write MB/s. And since not having the LC saves me another hundred, maybe I'll put that into a bigger SSD.

Can I send you my Excel sheet again so you can review it?

disregard

10char

trying to figure out if the memory is compatible with the mobo / cpu.

About 99% sure that memory will work, but nothing definitive. Apparently everything will launch on the 9th, so hopefully I can find out then...

Quote:

Sure.

Quote:
Thanks

Quote:
Ha, for me it is tomorrow... Thanks again for everything

Hmm, something to think about...  I'm on another forum and guys there are telling me to forget about SSDs but they don't explain why.

TRIM, there's a new term. I looked it up... not sure what it said. But I'll keep an eye out for that feature. The current 120GB I'm looking doesn't mention it. MMaybe that's why it's only $215

Do you know the advantages of SSD over 10k rpm HDDs? Besides Noise and heat? I'm getting conlicting info "searching the net" about transfer rates of SSD, 7200-HDD and 10k-HDD.  Something about the SATA capabilities...

Skittles wrote on Jan 6^th, 2011 at 8:12am:


Almost everyone that I have talked to regarding Solid State Drives has told me that they are worth it as they improve system boot times, and overall system responsiveness dramatically. It should also theoretically lower stutters and load times within FSX. The disadvantage is the huge price premium they have, of course. I have not, however, tried a SSD with FSX, so for FSX specific information you should talk to someone who has.

I have, however, used a SSD with Windows, and it is much faster than any conventional hard disk.

can compare SSD vs raptor here:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3812/the-ssd-diaries-crucials-realssd-c300/1
and here
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3636/western-digitals-new-velociraptor-vr200m-10k-...

(you can compare between the reviews since they used the exact same tests)

SSD murders the raptor in speed, heat, and noise. Raptor murders it in capacity of course.

Quote:
This is the one I'm looking at now.

The reason I wanted two is I'm still thinking they operate like HDDs.  If I keep the data on the outer tracks of the disk, it loads faster, that's why I wanted my OS and Games separate so they can both be as close to the outer edge as possible.

Is this no longer a concern for SSDs? Especially since they are NOT to be defragged?

The i5 2500k seem pretty comparable to the i7 2600k and it's $100 cheaper. If I step down on the VidCard, should I stay with the i7 or step town to the i5?

I'm sorry for being wishy-washy, but I think you understand I'm looking for the most value.

Skittles wrote on Jan 6^th, 2011 at 9:00am:


Personally, I would get the 2600K. It is $100 more expensive, but has the advantage of hyperthreading (probably not a big use for FSX), extra cache, an extra 100mhz, and will overclock further). The CPU is one of the most important components for MSFS. It's your call, the 2500K is also a very good product, and it is better value than the 2600K.

Definitely downgrade to GTX 570, as it is much better value than the GTX 580.

Quote:

It is no longer a concern for SSD. For some reason bigger SSDs are faster also. I don't know why though.

Quote:
So the 2500K doesn't have HT, I still intend to use the 2600, I think I just needed a little more reasoning as to why.


I'm also asking advice on X-plane.org and I'm  getting conflicting advice about CPU and SSD. And after asking questions and comments, I get chewed out for not taking it and being argumentative.

So I want to say right now... I truely appreciate your advice, time and efforts. If I come across sounding like I question your advice, I don't mean to, I'm questioning for comparisons.

Skittles wrote on Jan 6^th, 2011 at 10:58am:

Actually it's one of the quietest heatsinks available. And it can cool better than cheap watercooling.

Quote:

No probs. I'm actually thinking about building a similar system myself. I don't have the cash so it might have to wait a couple of months though.... I'm also a regular on a bunch of PC hardware forums, so it's not like it's that difficult or "hard work" choosing the parts.



Quote:

You don't come across like that at all.

Basically, I'm telling you the hardware that would purchase if I had $2000 for a FSX / general gaming system.

But if you swap to a cheaper case (less air-flow, less space for components) and power supply (might be less efficient (more heat, tiny tiny tiny bit higher power bill, louder), louder, but still very good) you might be able to save $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119215

Actually, I think it might be best to go with that case and the other Corsair AX-750 power supply.

Also ASUS P8P67 PRO should cost $190

Case    Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX $108.90
MB      ASUS P8P67 PRO         $190.00 *
PS      CORSAIR Professional Series AX750 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply        $169.99
CPU     Core i7 2600K    $316.00 *
Mem     Mushkin Enhanced Redline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996805      $84.99
GPU     EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1572-AR GeForce GTX 570      $369.99
CD/DVD  ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM  $19.99
HDD     SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive      $69.99
SSD1    Corsair Force CSSD-F120GB2-BRKT 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive    $234.99
OS      Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM         $99.99
                Total System Cost        $1,664

everything else should be found on Newegg after the 9th of January, perhaps earlier. Many stores here in Australia are selling them early.

The case is not on newegg... but it's very good and is extremely popular on the Australian computer hardware forums I go on.

Quote:
I don't want hot and loud, I have that now. I live in the mountians. During the winter it's fine, but in the summer I get paranoid about over heating. It's a P4 3.2 OCd to 3.5 and it tops at 140-150F. At 160 it crashes if it's 85+ in the house. Under continued full load of course.

The Corsair as more front ports, which I like. The only diff between the PS is #SATA ports and wattage. So yeah, I may go with the HX

"MACS" You mean Apple Macs?

Back to memory again... The P8P67 has four slots...
I should be able to get 2 of the Mushkin Enhanced Redline 4GB (2x2GB) for a total of 8GB, right? I think I'd be more comfortable with 8GB.

And again about the SSD... I can't decide. I've been doing searches about the pros and cons but I'm not getting much more...

http://www.technize.com/ssd-vs-hdd-comparison/
http://www.ssdvshdd.com/
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9134468/Review_Hard_disk_vs._solid_state_...

Can you think of anything else that may help me get off this fence?

The Fractal Design Define R3 has 8 hard disk trays, and two optical drive trays.

Corsair 600T has 6 hard disk trays, and 4 optical disk trays.

Cooler Master ATCS 840 has 6 hard disk trays, and 6 optical disk trays.

I have my doubts you are going to need the Cooler Master ATCS over the Corsair 600T, or even the Fractal Design. I doubt the quality of the ATCS is the same as the Define R3 or the Corsair 600T. Plus $200 is massive overkill for a case. In my opinion, go with the Fractal Design, if you would like more space go with the Corsair.

The Corsair AX-750 is overkill, I think a 650 watt power supply is better suited to your system. There's this, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088 and also the Corsair HX-650. The Seasonic is more efficient, and is also quieter.

Skittles wrote on Jan 6^th, 2011 at 6:39pm:

Yes.


Quote:

Yes.

Quote:

Probably not.

Those are, from what I understand, theoretical performance figures.

Try looking at these tests:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/196?vs=194
They're neck and neck most of the time although the Corsair FORCE kills it in some areas. If get you a SSD, get the Corsair FORCE 120gb, IMHO.

SSD's are generally a premium product though. Premium products never have great value, however, for the most part you still get what you're paying for. You can just buy the Samsung Spinpoint F3, install everything on that. If you're getting bothersome loading times even after defragging, and stutters caused by the hard-disk after defragging, then go grab a SSD. Cheaper and faster SSD's are coming out all the time. Intel is about to release new SSD technology which should be cheaper.

This is $235 SSD versus $275 10,000rpm Velociraptor 600gb. Smaller Raptors are slower.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/196?vs=182

SSD advantage:
AnandTech Storage Bench - Light Workload = SSD is 5x as fast as Raptor
AnandTech Storage Bench - Heavy Workload = SSD is 2.15x as fast as Raptor
AnandTech Storage Bench - Gaming Workload = SSD is 2.11x as fast as Raptor
PCMark Vantage - Overall Suite = SSD is 1.49x as fast as Raptor
PCMark Vantage - Memories Suite = SSD is 1.35x as fast as Raptor
PCMark Vantage - TV & Movies Suite = SSD is 1.07x as fast as Raptor
PCMark Vantage - Gaming Suite = SSD is 1.78x as fast as Raptor
PCMark Vantage - Music Suite = SSD is 1.66x as fast as Raptor
PCMark Vantage - Communications Suite = SSD is 1.3x as fast as Raptor
PCMark Vantage - Productivity Suite = SSD is 2.35x as fast as Raptor
PCMark Vantage - HDD Suite = 5.15x as fast as Raptor
Desktop Iometer - 4KB Random Write (4K Aligned) - 8GB LBA Space = SSD is 86.42x as fast as Raptor
Desktop Iometer - 4KB Random Read (4K Aligned) = SSD is 286x as fast as Raptor
Desktop Iometer - 128KB Sequential Read (4K Aligned) = SSD is 1.46x as fast as Raptor
Desktop Iometer - 128KB Sequential Write (4K Aligned) = SSD is 1.49x as fast as Raptor
___________


By the way, the specifications on newegg are often not completely correct. Best look at the manufacturer site. The GTX 460 supports OpenGL 4.1. That's according to the nvidia website, here:


http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-geforce-gtx-460-us.html

GTX 570 vs GTX 460 1gb here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4051/nvidias-geforce-gtx-570-filling-in-the-gaps/4 Although the GTX 460 is fairly fast, the GTX 570 is usually significantly faster. If you don't mind loosing some value, get the GTX 570. Besides, if you ditch the useless full ATX Cooler Master ATCS and get the cheaper but equally fast SSD, you'll have enough money for the GTX 570 anyway.

I think it is a waste getting a 2600K, 8 gigabytes of RAM, paired with a GTX 460.

If you wait two weeks (20th january) you can get the GTX 560, which should be between the GTX 460 and the GTX 570 and cost under 300$. It will be a fantastic card.

But in my opinion, just get the GTX 570.

No probs.

Should be an amazing system, all the parts not on neweg already should appear on on the 9th or 10th.

Anyways, the first thing you need to do when you power on the system (before installing windows) is go into BIOS (aka system setup), go into Advanced Mode (will be in the top right of the screen), go to advanced tab, go into SATA configuration, and verify that SATA mode is in AHCI mode. If it isn't. Make sure it is.

Also, this is probably worth reading:

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=82516


You might also need to manually set the memory voltage and timings.

IMHO do not let the motherboard autotune overclocks, do everything manually.

Also, bump this thread up when you do decide to buy, because the picture might be somewhat different then. Newer SSD's are coming out all the time.

One last item...

I can't find my Building/Installation Checklist. Do you use anything like a cheat sheet when you assemble computers?

I had something like...

Quote:
Are they installed on step 8 or are they installed at step 4?

Quote:
SSHHHH!!!! Don't even say that "N" word!"

Quote:
This is always the most time consuming part. For those who have been following or are reading this for the first time... Getting Windows updated properly is a very repetitive process. After every update... REBOOT and then check for more updates manually. I recently updated a friends .NET framework from 2 to 3 and there were additional updates for .NET along with updates for XP related to .NET. So check, check and check again.

Thanks again... I've added the P8P67 to my newegg wishlist... Only one thing left, well two. The CPU and then getting the Mula!!! Yes I will bump when I'm ready to buy!

Quote:
All-righty then! Go figure.

Okay, It's been printed and included with my other notes. Thanks.

Desktop versions of 2nd generation core i-series processors usually use the P67 chipset...

Hard disks use SATA cables.

As do many optical drives.

SATA III drives will work fine plugged into SATA II ports.... and vice versa..

Anyways;

They found a bug with the P67 chipset... apparently after a couple of years the SATA II ports might start giving errors which will mean a degradation of performance or the ports might stop working completely (P67 motherboards usually have two SATA III ports and four SATA II ports). If you're using more than 2 SATA ports then it might be prudent to wait until the bug is fixed, which means a couple of months, otherwise, plug it into the SATA III ports, most motherboards have two of them. Or you can just get a motherboard with a marvel controller.... most ASUS boards including the P8P67 Pro/ evo have four SATA 6 gb/s ports hence you should be fine with up to four hard disks (or 3 hard disks + a SATA DVD burner... etc)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4142/intel-discovers-bug-in-6series-chipset-begins...

In other words, for maximum reliability you will be limited to four SATA ports when using the ASUS P8P67 Pro motherboard. The ports are colour coded... use only the (gray) and (navy blue) ports. If you need to use more than those (or don't want a defective motherboard) then wait until around march/april (competitive AMD processors might be around then anyway). The navy blue ports will only work with hard disks and not with optical drives.

I guess you should wait for AMD Bulldozer and Z68... just a couple of months. LGA-2011 is coming up at the end of the year too, which is basically the really high-end version of Sandy Bridge.


And I'll reply to your email soon, been busy.

This was a good read, I myself am about to build my FSX rig based on the things I've read on this thread. I will be ordering parts from newegg in less than two weeks so I would love any suggestions about the list that I will order.

Right now here's a list of the parts I was looking at (my budget is around $2500):

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K ........$328.99

ASUS P8P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard   ....$164.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-8GBRH 7-8-7-24 ......$149.99

EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card ........$499.99

OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGT80G 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ......$159.99

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAA256MAG-1G1 1.8" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 6GB/s  ......$494.99

CORSAIR Hydro H70 CWCH70 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler ....$104.81

CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-950TX 950W ATX12V v2.3/EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply .....$149.99

Corsair Graphite Series 600T Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case  .......$144.99

...Total : $2093.92


Still thinking if i would go for the Asus P67 since im not quite sure about the "problem" is currently has, but i guess since I will be using only two Sata III drives, it wont be an issue. But i might add another WD HDD just for misc files and programs hence the 8gb ram.

So i still have about $470 for the mobo (maybe the Asus Maximus IV) and other misc stuff. Which cooling system should I get? Any good thermal paste needed?

Thanks in advance!!! 

The plugs on a 1.8" SSD are not the same as the plugs on a 2.5" SSD and the plugs on a 2.5" SSD are the same as the plugs on a standard SATA mechanical hard drive, so instead of the Crucial 256GB 1.8" SSD get the Crucial 256GB 2.5" SSD and then all your cables will work.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148363

The 950W Corsair TX950 is more than you need. A 850W TX850 would be more than enough.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022

A lot of people are getting their 2600K's overclocked to 4.5GHz and above without to much work.  I would recommend a better cooler than the H70.  The Thermalright Silver Arrow and the Noctua NH-D14 are air coolers and they both out perform the H70 and any other air coolers on the market.  The only way to get better cooling than these two is to go to a custom water loop.  Considering how tall your heat spreaders are on the ram you want the D14 would probably be the better choice since it is easier to move the fan up so it will clear the heat spreaders on the ram.
http://www.thermalright.com/products/index.php?act=data&cat_id=27&id=96
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=34&lng=en

Unless space is a problem I would get a full tower case, it will have better cooling.
The HAF-932 is a great case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
and so is the HAF-X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

The more air that the case moves in and out will allow for a higher overclock while keeping your load temps down as much as possible.  I had a HAF-932 and have a HAF-X now and like them both.  I do like the looks of the HAF-X better though.

Get this case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352006

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352005

Both are amazing. As far as I know, until recently they've been hard to find in the US. In OZ, lots of people swear by them.