New core i7 PC from Dell. Need help! Options

[mintchris]

So I am passing my old PC on to my brother and need a new one.
MY old system was a first gen quad 2.66 with a 8600 graphics card.
I have two options for a new system from Dell.

System 1:
Components Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English,Intel® Core™ i7-860 processor(8MB Cache, 2.80GHz),[/color],8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 4 DIMMs,1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache,nVidia GeForce GTX260 1792MB GDDR,316X DVD+/-RW Drive,Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio,

System 2:
Components Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English,Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz),,9GB Tri-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs,1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive,nVidia GeForce GTX 260 1792MB
,[color="#000000"],16X DVD+/-RW Drive,Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio,

So what do you guys think would be a better option for FSX? Can I upgrade the video card eventually without having to upgrade anyother components?
What about overclocking for dummies? Is that an option on these systems and is it an easy task for someone who knows nothing about that kind of thing?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
PS System 2 is an extra $100. Not that it really matters. Just FYI.

[fwerff]

So I am passing my old PC on to my brother and need a new one.
MY old system was a first gen quad 2.66 with a 8600 graphics card.
I have two options for a new system from Dell.

System 1:
Components Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English,Intel® Core™ i7-860 processor(8MB Cache, 2.80GHz),[/color],8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 4 DIMMs,1TB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache,nVidia GeForce GTX260 1792MB GDDR,316X DVD+/-RW Drive,Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio,

System 2:
Components Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English,Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz),,9GB Tri-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs,1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive,nVidia GeForce GTX 260 1792MB
,[color="#000000"],16X DVD+/-RW Drive,Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio,

So what do you guys think would be a better option for FSX? Can I upgrade the video card eventually without having to upgrade anyother components?
What about overclocking for dummies? Is that an option on these systems and is it an easy task for someone who knows nothing about that kind of thing?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
PS System 2 is an extra $100. Not that it really matters. Just FYI.

Go for the i7-920. It is a bit more future proof, provides greater memory bandwidth and overclocks more easy (the P55 motherboards are sensitive to getting overheated when overclocking. There are several articles about this).

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Frank

[ryanbatcund]

Go for the i7-920. It is a bit more future proof, provides greater memory bandwidth and overclocks more easy (the P55 motherboards are sensitive to getting overheated when overclocking.

Can you overclock a Dell? I'm honestly not sure, hence why I'm asking. I know other manufacturer's lock their BIOS, or at least lock those important parts you need access to for a successful OC.

[mintchris]

Can you overclock a Dell? I'm honestly not sure, hence why I'm asking. I know other manufacturer's lock their BIOS, or at least lock those important parts you need access to for a successful OC.

I have no idea. If I cannot overclock would it be better to go with the 860 since it has a higher clock speed? Will that system run FSX well with a few add-ons like scenery, traffic, etc? is 25-30FPS out of the question with add-ons?
Thanks!!

[Sesquashtoo]

I have no idea. If I cannot overclock would it be better to go with the 860 since it has a higher clock speed? Will that system run FSX well with a few add-ons like scenery, traffic, etc? is 25-30FPS out of the question with add-ons?
Thanks!!

On selected Dell Gaming Rigs...you certainly CAN overclock! I purchased my Dell XPS 730x Gaming Rig last July, and have my i7-975 running at 4.011 GHz and my 1066 MHz RAM overclocked to 1337 MHz.

I WOULD make sure though that the new XPS 8000/9000 series DOES allow for overclocking in their BIOS. The XPS 630/730/730x series does/did.

Mitch

[duckbilled]

And don't purchase any warranties. You will nullify them by overclocking so they are a waste of money.

[UlfB]

Go for the i7-920. It is a bit more future proof, provides greater memory bandwidth and overclocks more easy (the P55 motherboards are sensitive to getting overheated when overclocking. There are several articles about this).

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Frank

The problem is the Foxconn socket. Not a general problem with the P55 mobos. Here is an article regarding OC:ing P55 http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3671

And here is an article on the socket problem http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3661

[cbreeze]

Greetings,

I happened to notice your post and found myself in the same position a couple of months ago. I have had several Dell systems and have been very happy with each one. My current Dell is about six years old and I wanted a new system specifically to run FSX. Dell is the first place I went. I soon realized that my options were limited and the price very big. In the end, I could have spent almost $5,000.00 and probably wouldn't have been happy with the FSX performance.

Since I don't have enough computer knowlege to build my own computer, I spent hours on the different forums and decided what components I would want. I took my specs to several "botique" builders on the internet. I finally settled on one builder and my computer is being tested as I wright this. The builder I selected has tons of positive feedback and I expect that I will be happy with the end result. Not to mention that I saved almost $1,500 over the Dell with a better system.

One thing I learned from my research is that in order to get the most out of FSX, you have to pick your components wisely or you are just waisting your money. I have nothing against Dell and if I wasn't really into FS I would have gone back there.

I am just throwing this out for thought. You might want to price out a computer with some other builders before you decide.

Cbreeze

[FTD1949]

I'd go for the I7 860. I am extremly happy with my system and have found NO need to overclock at all with the Turbo Feature. The overclocking problems with
the Foxconn sockets occurred at EXTREME overlclocks approaching 5 Ghz. I'm not sure about the 920 future proofing as who knows what sockets will be around
2-3 years from now. Every time I've built a system I ended up with a new mobo anyway even though I thought I was future proofing with the last board.
Sockets seem to change more than once during a 2 or 3 year period.

At any rate I think the 860 is an awesome processor condsidering I moved from a Core2Duo E6850 overclocked at 3.6 Ghs. (socket 775 by the way which I thought
was future proofing).

Just my two cents.

Craig

[mintchris]

I'd go for the I7 860. I am extremly happy with my system and have found NO need to overclock at all with the Turbo Feature. The overclocking problems with
the Foxconn sockets occurred at EXTREME overlclocks approaching 5 Ghz. I'm not sure about the 920 future proofing as who knows what sockets will be around
2-3 years from now. Every time I've built a system I ended up with a new mobo anyway even though I thought I was future proofing with the last board.
Sockets seem to change more than once during a 2 or 3 year period.

At any rate I think the 860 is an awesome processor condsidering I moved from a Core2Duo E6850 overclocked at 3.6 Ghs. (socket 775 by the way which I thought
was future proofing).

Just my two cents.

Craig

Thanks for that.
How are your frame rates? Are you running any add ons?

[duckbilled]

I'd go with cbreeze's suggestion. Otherwise, if you can overclock, go with the 920. LGA1366 should be around for a little while I hope. As it stands, I am more than happy with the performance from my system.

[FTD1949]

Thanks for that.
How are your frame rates? Are you running any add ons?

I have no problem with frame rates except when FSX AI traffic is being used by VOX ATC. I will remedy that soon by installing
one of the AI flight programs.

I fly the Level D 90% of the time. Your mileage may vary according to personal taste though.

I currently have GEX, UTX, FEX andVox ATC, and Active Sky installed along with a few airport sceneries.

Craig

[McCrash]

Read some reviews on those processors. Megahertz counts! I would suggest faster system memory. Also don't expect miracles when it comes to FSX.