NZFF

Hi all

Due to buy a new Computer just for FSX soon and I am looking at two systems but not sure which way to go
First system is

i5 3570k 3.4GHz 4 cores
8 Gig ram
Geforce GTX 550Ti over clocking 1GB DDR5 PCI-X
Hard drive 1TB SATA lll
mother board ASUS P8B75-M USB 4 DIMM socket 1155

Or

i7 3770k 3.4 GHz 4 cores
8 gig ram
Geforce GTX 550Ti over clocking 1GB DDR5 PCI-X
Hard drive 1TB SATA lll
mother board Asus/gigagyte P8Z77USB3 4 DIMM full size socket 1155

There is about $500 price difference and as its only for FSX which would be the best option

Cheers

Rhys

Hey Rhys. The Z77 chip-set m/b is probably the one to go for, although there are base level and pro versions usually so not sure which one is being offered to you. From a quick look around just now seems like Z77 will support faster memory, and Ivy bridge CPUs, and seems to have a few more tweaking/o-clocking options over the B75 based motherboard. It may you a little more future-proofing over time, esp if you think you will dabble with over-clocking. Take a read of the following...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/311613-3...arison-chipsets

If it were me I'd see if you can get the Z77 m/b but with the cheaper 3570K CPU (could save $150 or so).

If that's not an option then as it stands you probably wont get $500 of value out of the higher priced system for FSX in my opinion.

Either way, I would think about putting $100 or so of that saved $$$ into looking at the 560Ti GPU too.

Good luck.

It may surprise you but those two processors will run FSX at pretty much exactly the same speed.

Based on results from some pretty extensive testing that was done by one of my contributors when i was editing Computer Pilot (which i no longer do now for the record), he found that raw CPU speed is the primary factor in FSX performance... I.e. if you have a single core 3.0Ghz CPU, it will run FSX essentially at the same level as an i7 4-core CPU running at 3.0Ghz...

So, basically, what you want is the processor you can overclock the easiest so you can ramp up the raw CPU speed to 4.0Ghz+ or as high as you can get it without it melting down (you will need a decent aftermarket air cooler of course, or water cooling system if you really want to step it up).

Hope that helps!

When shopping for a new MOBO/CPU combo, I found that the i5 2500k was a better overclocker than the 3570k but pricewise a bit more. Ended up with the ASUS Z77 board and i5 3570k. Great performance.

Hi
Thanks guys ,plenty to think about. At present I am running FSX on a dual core 3.4 with a engts 450 pci-e 1gig card , 3gb ram on windows XP. I have most of the sliders set to half and under and while its flyable I want to crank up the sliders and get the most out of FSX when I finish my Helicopter simpit.
Cheers For the info so far

Rhys

Olderndirt wrote:

QUOTE (Olderndirt @ Sep 15 2012,4:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When shopping for a new MOBO/CPU combo, I found that the i5 2500k was a better overclocker than the 3570k but pricewise a bit more. Ended up with the ASUS Z77 board and i5 3570k. Great performance.

In what way was it better do you remember? Was it just that the 2500K o/clocked a little higher/safer? (I have seen mentions of the 3570 running a little hotter under o/clock). The 3570K should overclock OK on that Z77 board he's looking at. Lots of articles on the web talking about doing just that with good results. Out of the box the performance should be fine without doing any overclocking, plus you don't end up melting the PC, or burning down the house

The 3570K would seem to be the way to go given there's very little difference in price between that and the 2500K.