domenic Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Hi Guys, As you can see I am in desperate need of a system upgrade. I am a little unsure whether I should go for an i5 or an i7 CPU, any thoughts you may have on the advantages of an i7 over an i5 would be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks Dom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Kane Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I have an I7 but not too fussed about it.....An I5 overclocked is good enough for FSX. Consider a sealed liquid cooling kit as they are easy to install now and good for overclocking. I am using the Intel Thermal Solution and it works great, easy installation and not expensive. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taph Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I went for an I5 to reduce cost, as hyper-threading which comes with an I7 causes issues with FSX so needs to be turned off. However it depends on what other uses you will be using the computer for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchE Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 i5 for FSX Dude!! No benefit with an I7 unless you are going to multitask other things not fsx..As Matthew K said above, get some good cooling too!! He's spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean (PC Aviator) Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Essentially, whatever CPU you can overclock safely to the highest Ghz speed... e.g for FSX an i5 overclocked to 4Ghz would run FSX better than an i7 running at 3.8. Since you are already running at 3.4Ghz though, you would want to be able to run your next CPU at something around 4.3Ghz to 4.5Ghz IMO to make it worth the upgrade... so if you can find an i5 that will go that high with a decent cooler, then go for it... if not, you will need an i7, and have to cough up the extra. You would probably benefit from a slightly better video card too, but the CPU upgrade should come first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CristiC Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 And if you want to upgrade easily, take an i5 with K like 2500K or 3570K (the last one is marvelous) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domenic Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 Thanks for your replies, I only use my computer for uni work and a couple of other games I play once in a while, which are no where near as resource intensive as FSX with addons. I am thinking at least 16GB of RAM to go with it, I think my 4GB is a real bottle neck along with my graphics card. I was thinking of upgrading my graphics card first and then getting a new M/B CPU and RAM in the new year, but I though that a new GPU would give may possibly give me more bank for buck at this present moment. My ORBX scenery looks nothing like on some of the screenshots here or videos on youtube, lol It seem that the majority of people are using Intel as opposed to AMD, Is there any particular reason for this? I know some AMD processors have 6 and 8 cores wouldn't more cores be benifical? Cheers Dom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockliffe Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Hi Dom, FSX is CPU dependent, far more, and I mean far more than the GPU. So... if you want more bang for your money, then without doubt upgrade to a i5 and Overclock her. However, I am referring directly to FSX, but, if you intend to run the computer with other games then I agree a GPU upgrade maybe more worthwhile, only you can make that decision. The same applies to the memory, anything more than the recommended 6gb (or is it 4gb?) for FSX will not be used and as such a waste of hard earned cash, but as I said, unsure how memory is used in other PC applications/games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sightseer Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Domenic - You mention AMD. I've always used AMD in the past and Ive been a big fan. I switched to an i5-2500K this time because AMD seemed to be pushing the 'APU' and they didnt have any 32nm chips when I was looking at upgrades. The biggest thing I noticed when I switched over to Intel was an increase in 'microstutters'. I dont know why it is. My new i5 way outperforms my old AMD Phenom II 940 DDR2 (and it should). what I didnt know until recently was just how much of a bottleneck my old 9800GT was to my new system. I just moved to a GTX 660 and everything is faster. I still have microstutters though. I think AMD is under rated. I think people here mostly have Intel systems becuase people here mostly have Intel systems. AMD is a lot cheaper and they do have 32 nm DDR3 chips. I sometimes wish Id held out a bit longer and gone that route. But with all that said - The i5 2500K is a great little chip. I hate the stock Intel cooler and it was much more of a pain to install than AMD's default cooler ever was but I got it installed securely and it works good enough. I would definitely use another cooler though if I were doing it again. I cant recommend one because I have no experience with any of them. I will say that a z68 board using an SSD cache will work quite well over time. It may not be necessary any more because SSDs are coming down in price. At first I thought the cache was not a good idea because I had blurries but after running the same areas a few times, the blurries went away. but now Im dealing with something new and this thread isnt the place for it. (its got something to do with my resolution and filtering or something -- its like LOD clamp was off but its not) anyway - good luck with a decision. In my opinion, an i5 with SSD and a good graphics card will do you quite well - but get another cooler for the CPU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS7 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I don't doubt sightseer's experience that his AMD sytem was stutter free and he now has them with his Intel rig. However, I doubt there is any evidence that it is the CPU causing it. In the swap, a new mobo was necessary, ram, a new install, memory drivers, etc. Reasons for micro stutters are too numerous for this thread. My point is get AMD or Intel, whichever you desire. But don't make that decision on the false assumption that an Intel cpu will cause micro stutters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coubs Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 hyper-threading which comes with an I7 causes issues with FSX so needs to be turned off. I can't say that I've experienced any problems with mine and hyperthreading turned on. Is there something I should be paying attention to for risk of damaging something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domenic Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 Cheers For the info guys, I guess I have been toying with an intel i5 3570k. I also had the thought of purchasing closed loop water cooled heatsink to see what more i could get out of my current CPU in terms of Overclocking! Dom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sightseer Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I don't doubt sightseer's experience that his AMD sytem was stutter free and he now has them with his Intel rig. However, I doubt there is any evidence that it is the CPU causing it. In the swap, a new mobo was necessary, ram, a new install, memory drivers, etc. Reasons for micro stutters are too numerous for this thread. My point is get AMD or Intel, whichever you desire. But don't make that decision on the false assumption that an Intel cpu will cause micro stutters. I didnt mean to suggest that my AMD system was stutter free because it surely wasnt. I just noticed the microstutters more when I switched to the faster Intel system. I sometimes wonder if the increased fluidity of a faster system doesnt make the microstutters more noticeable. and Im still convinced the microstutters are somehow AI related - but I have no idea. Setting everything to its lowest possible setting doesnt get rid of them all. (for me) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuisong Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Cheers For the info guys, I guess I have been toying with an intel i5 3570k. I also had the thought of purchasing closed loop water cooled heatsink to see what more i could get out of my current CPU in terms of Overclocking! Dom Hi Dom, I'm sure you will be very happy with the i5. FSX runs great on mine and it is not even overclocked and is fan cooled. So I still have some room to improve it if I need to later. The reviews I have read stated the there is no advantage to having the i7 for FSX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredmanning Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I didnt mean to suggest that my AMD system was stutter free because it surely wasnt. I just noticed the microstutters more when I switched to the faster Intel system. I sometimes wonder if the increased fluidity of a faster system doesnt make the microstutters more noticeable. and Im still convinced the microstutters are somehow AI related - but I have no idea. Setting everything to its lowest possible setting doesnt get rid of them all. (for me) I found on another gaming forum that the nVidia 8800 series video card had a known problem with microstutters in some games. At the time I was using the 8800 GT and an 8800 Ultra on another computer and I was frustrated with the microstutters in FSX on both. Upgrading to a GTX 260 and now to the GTX 580 eliminated the microstutters. Your 9800 GT is a rebadged 8800 GT and it may be the cause of your microstutters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venturi Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I overclocked my i5 but didnt see any difference at all, not that I needed to but was just an experiment. Tuning FSX is waaaaayyyy more important than OC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean (PC Aviator) Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Overclocking my i5-750 using an Antec Kuhler 620 sealed water cooling system from 2.66Ghz to 3.7Ghz stable made a BIG difference to FSX performance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockliffe Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 I can't say that I've experienced any problems with mine and hyperthreading turned on. Is there something I should be paying attention to for risk of damaging something? Hi Joe, it is always suggested that hyperthreading be turned off when used with FSX, primarily because FSX does not recognise hyperthreading. Also, if I am correct, with hyperthreading turned on, the CPU will run hotter and so impact on the ability to efficiently overclock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca22au Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 The advice given to me when I posed the same question was 'always buy the latest technology'. I have the i73960X which I haven't yet over clocked as the turbo runs P3D at 3.9ghz. The X means it is designed to be overclocked, and I would aim to take it to 4.5 when I do: but so far it's performance with a GTX680 card has been sufficient. I have liquid cooling so temps have never been an issue. Always, and always, remember that stutter free smoothness is the objective. Avoid the mine is bigger than yours competition. I lost the size competition at school but soon realised smooth got me more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockliffe Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I lost the size competition at school but soon realised smooth got me more! I thought you were an old smoothy Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice_King Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Now with the i5-3750K IMHO this is an EXCELLENT chip it not only runs cooler than it's i7 counterpart but can in fact run faster, BUT it is stable at a pretty respectable speed. I run the H80 Hydro Cooler and I have not seen this CPU running hotter than around 42 Deg when running Crysis at full tilt and then FSX 40 od with pretty high graphic settings. A friend in Bathurst is using the 6 core or is it 8 AMD and is over the moon with it but he's just an on line racer. Different strokes I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domenic Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 Thanks for you input guys, I've purchased an i5 3570k now I just need to make a decision regarding the motherboard,RAM but the biggest decision os the GPU, I am thinking 660ti maybe a 670 at a push but I'm not sure if it's worth it. Cheers Dom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 IMHO. I always had top notch rig (since I can remember), spending to much money on the newest GPU and CPU. Always deceived of my investment when playing FSX (upgraded to play stuff like Crysis), my old gaming rig was similar to yours, i'm writhing on it now. ATI 4850, win XP (at the time now win 7 32), 4 ram, E5200 dual core at 2.50GHz. FSX was running good with pretty good FPS, only with addon airplane on some very dense city that my FPS went down in the single #. then... and I say then i moved from a 22in screen to a very expensive 32 LG monitor (not a TV) at 2560 X 1600..... So the one that says that FSX is not GPU oriented... let me tell you that i could not run FSX at that resolution. About 1.5 year ago, maybe 2, again, I upgraded my rig to (at the time) the newest stuff, the I7 2600 was out but no MB to run it properly. I waited 2 month until a good MB was available. 8ram, GTX 590. The only good thing that this rig does compare to my old one is that I can play FSX in 2560 X 1600, nothing else. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanTenner Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 FSX is not GPU orientated at all. But that doesnt mean that the GPU doesnt matter at all. The CPU has much more influence to the performance but if you increase the resolution also the GPU has more work. As with all games you need a CPU which matches the GPU. So if you have the best CPU and a stone age graphics card you wont get good results. So a good graphics card is also needed. It is all about balancing your hardware. That FSX is CPU orientated just means that your output performance scales better with your CPU than with the GPU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domenic Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 I am aware that FSX itself is not GPU orintated but taxes the CPU alot. However once you add some of this fantastic ORBX scenery and airports along with environmental textures such as REX, that is when the GPU is gonna come into it's own. I have my i5 3570k, MSI Z77A-GD65, 16GB of Geil Black Dragon RAM. Just deciding on my GPU now, it's a toss up between GTX660ti or the GTX670. I have my eye on this 670 from gigabyte http://www.ebuyer.com/368520-gigabyte-gv-n670oc-2gd-gv-n670oc-2gd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domenic Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Hi Guys, Thanks for all your input, I have built my system as you can see in my signature. I have installed FSX and my ORBX scenery along with REX essentials plus. I am just tweeeking my settings at the moment to get the most out of my system. I will post some screenies over the next week or so. Thanks for all your tips and advice. Cheers Dom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean (PC Aviator) Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 FSX is not GPU orientated at all. But that doesnt mean that the GPU doesnt matter at all. The CPU has much more influence to the performance but if you increase the resolution also the GPU has more work. As with all games you need a CPU which matches the GPU. So if you have the best CPU and a stone age graphics card you wont get good results. So a good graphics card is also needed. It is all about balancing your hardware. That FSX is CPU orientated just means that your output performance scales better with your CPU than with the GPU. That is pretty good general advice there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.