Hotspot Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Hi all, Ignoring bang for buck issues, just considering stability, CPU long life issues and freedom from tweaking the Bios regularly, would anyone be in a position to advise if i) smooth FSX performance is likely with an unclocked i7 920, (although i've been told it runs automatically in a 'turbo' mode @ 2.793 instead of stock 2.6)? ii) if the answer is no, how stable would the i7 920 be OC'd @ 3.6, would it run FSX OK at that and would tweaking the Bios be regularly required to keep the computer running? iii) would an i7 950 @ stock 3.06 or an i7 975 @ stock 3.33 run FSX OK? Thanks fellas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkemp Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Koorby (John Venema) uses a thing called the Uber2 which is an i920 overclocked to 4 GHz for developing the scenery. It is solid as a rock. Of course you need a suitable high performance heat sink/fan to keep it cool. I have seen articles on http://www.tomshardware.com/ which show the ins and outs of overclocking the i7 processors. I understand from those articles that turbo mode can be turned on or off in the BIOS in some mobos. There is also a thing called overspeed protection that kicks in when the processor exceeds certain power dissipation and current draw values. It can also be disabled in some BIOSes. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclocking-core-i7,2063.html Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krono Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Hi I run an I7 920 at 3.8ghz 1.2cpuv x19 multiplier 200mhz bus speed and air cooled. Runs smoothly at just under 70c using Everest ultimate stress test at 100% load. FSX runs as smooth as you could hope with numerous other programs for weather, radio etc in the background. Just watch your multiplier and bus speed give roughly the correct settings needed for your ram. I hope this helps. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Kae Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 I think I will stick with my 2 x 3.2GHz C2E QX9775 QC's for a little while longer, with all the other bits and pieces added to this system, she does not even gringe at highly populated areas even at highest settings, not tweaked at all really, couple of little settings here and there but nothing major as such, a year old now but still going strong, very happy I spent the money on this at the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkemp Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I was browsing mobos and CPUs on Umart the other day and found that they had P55 boards listed and priced, even though the i5 (1156 pin) for which they are designed is not officially released. Get this, you can get one for less than $200 Look here: http://www.umart.com.au/newindex2.phtml?bid=5 I don't reckon the i5s will be more expensive than the i7s because they are, as far as I can gather, meant to fill the low/middle ground. So I expect them to be around the same price or lower than the i7 920. The i5s are due out this month so I have adopted a "wait and see" approach before I do anu upgrading. For me to upgrade to an i7 920 would cost me near $1000 just for a decent Mobo, CPU, RAM and CPU cooler. Ouch !! Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotspot Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 Thanks for the responses fellas - decisions, decisions unless we are in JK's happy position I notice the i5 2.66 has already hit the street @ about the same price as the i7 - here you go http://www.megaware.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=92478 thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Harris Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I got my i7+board from megaware, very happy with it the i7 overclocking method was a little different than my old E8400, but with a quick google search I got a "how to" and within 15 minutes I had it humming along at 3.6. cooling is a V8 coolermaster ($95). the after market cooler is a must have, as is a good high airflow case (HAF922 are great at around the $170 mark) Temps about 40-65 (mind you its veeeery cold here, and I sit in the cold kitchen, we'll see when summer comes around again) The key with the i7 seems to be getting it above the 3.0 mark (which it does easily), after that FSX is fantastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotspot Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 I got my i7+board from megaware, very happy with it the i7 overclocking method was a little different than my old E8400, but with a quick google search I got a "how to" and within 15 minutes I had it humming along at 3.6. cooling is a V8 coolermaster ($95). the after market cooler is a must have, as is a good high airflow case (HAF922 are great at around the $170 mark) Temps about 40-65 (mind you its veeeery cold here, and I sit in the cold kitchen, we'll see when summer comes around again) The key with the i7 seems to be getting it above the 3.0 mark (which it does easily), after that FSX is fantastic Yep Meatycus, I have a board - small bro to evga Classified, called Evga SLI LE, (but won't be using SLI) with a Thermalright extreme cooler (one fan) and an aftermarket cooler on a GTX280 with three 92mm fans. The case has five 140mm, two 120mm and an 80mm fan under the CPU, so should get the flow thru that Mozz recommended. I'm still umming and ahring about the CPU, and while it will be an i7 I can see the merit in Jack's approach (a different post) of using a slightly oc'd 975 rather than a 920 at nearly full bore, as I don't have any experience with overclocking, although the tutorials are tempting. That said the dollars for the 975 are a big ask, but I probably won't get whatever until the W7 OS is released. At this late stage don't want to mess with an OS that has to be upgraded at release date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricky76 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I think I will stick with my 2 x 3.2GHz C2E QX9775 QC's for a little while longer, with all the other bits and pieces added to this system, she does not even gringe at highly populated areas even at highest settings, not tweaked at all really, couple of little settings here and there but nothing major as such, a year old now but still going strong, very happy I spent the money on this at the time So how does the dual cpu work for ya? Thats pretty impressive sir! And I thought I was excited with my i7950 rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradHosking Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I changed my GFX card the other day and it made a HUGE difference. Running pretty much it all at full now. My Specs Q6600 - Running at Stock Zotac GTZ275 - At stock 2x2GB Geil DDR2 1066 running at correct voltages (2.4V when normal RAM runs at around 1.8V...make a big difference!) Windows 7RC which will soon be RTM Standard drives. Nothing flash about that. Runs around 40-60fps at very high settings. No tearing with the TrackIR which I was getting with the ATI 3870 No FSX.cfg tweaks. After the GFX card change I am very happy with the way my system is running and all of it is at Stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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