FSX on an Intel Core i5-3470?

Hello!

 

I have recently built a PC. I was wrong in my processor choice (AMD FX8350)

 

FSX runs very slowly on a FX8350, since it's per-core performance is very poor..

 

I have been researching Intel processors that can replace my AMD and have come across the Intel i5 3470 Ivy Bridge processor. If I am loaded with payware addons (which gives me 3fps on my AMD 8-core), how would the i5 3470 work?

 

What kind of FPS would I get?

 

Thanks in advance!

You will need to overclock it for the best results using payware addons, if that processor is clockable.

Who else is at the party? Motherboard? Ram? Graphics card? What Add-Ons?

You will need to overclock it for the best results using payware addons, if that processor is clockable.

 

Who else is at the party? Motherboard? Ram? Graphics card? What Add-Ons?

 

MoBo: AsRock 980DE3/U3S3

GPU: GTX 610 (I know, I know...)

Addons: FDST KDEN, CS 777/757/767

RAM: 16GB Ballstix Sport DDR3 SDRAM

I suspect it's not the brand you are choosing, but the clock speed giving you troubles.

 

Anything 3.5 or more on an AMD will do fine.

 

Also, throwing money at expensive 6 and 8 core CPUs is a waste. A four core will run all the apps you have and FSX only uses one core.

 

-Pv-

I suspect it's not the brand you are choosing, but the clock speed giving you troubles.

 

Anything 3.5 or more on an AMD will do fine.

 

Also, throwing money at expensive 6 and 8 core CPUs is a waste. A four core will run all the apps you have and FSX only uses one core.

 

-Pv-

 

That's what I thought too. My AMD runs at 4.4 ghz and I still only get 8 FPS with CS 777 and default KDEN.

Not the fault of the processor. You are doing something really really wrong. I get 4 times the frame rate with 25% less processor speed. If I had the rig I have now with that processor speed, I'd be singing while shoveling the snow.

 

You think you can throw enough processor on there you can have all the sliders up 100%?

No one can do that.

 

-Pv-

Not the fault of the processor. You are doing something really really wrong. I get 4 times the frame rate with 25% less processor speed. If I had the rig I have now with that processor speed, I'd be singing while shoveling the snow.

 

You think you can throw enough processor on there you can have all the sliders up 100%?

No one can do that.

 

-Pv-

 

Ok. How should I configure my sliders?

 

I have set my weather to Medium High and my scenery to High and I get 18-25 FPS. Is there any way I can go higher (FPS) without compromising realism?

Ok. How should I configure my sliders?

 

I have set my weather to Medium High and my scenery to High and I get 18-25 FPS. Is there any way I can go higher (FPS) without compromising realism?

 

You are off to a good start! Unless you really, really need aircraft labels, I would turn those off. Set your Water setting to the low 2s. AI traffic for airliners around 50% and lower for the GA aircraft. Road vehicles around 15-20%. Lens Flare and Light Bloom off, unless you can't live without them. Also turn Airport Vehicle traffic to about 50%.

...I get 4 times the frame rate with 25% less processor speed....

I'll bet your CPU is an older AM3(+) chip. The newer AMD's single threaded performance has declined quite considerably since then. The APUs(A series) are even worse. The FSX performance gap is growing. As an old AMD fanboy that makes me sad.

 

Heres some apples to apples data to digest:

 

AMD FX8350 overclocked to 5.15GHz: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/329116-fsxmark11/page-46#entry2945838

Scroll down to rzepa10's Intel i7-4770k @ 3.5GHz stock Hyperthreading OFF results and compare them.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ohWWXNtN6X_nUOsR7cP7v8f3Y-m5CyIBbFdJX3m_wWs/edit?pli=1#gid=0

Line 13, FunknNasty's 2nd Gen i5 2500K at 5.2GHz, Line 49, same guy, same CPU at 3.30GHz. Compare the line 49/3.30GHz Intel results with the AMD FX8350 at 5.15GHz.

56% more CPU speed to attain similar results?

 

Coach, I'd save my money until I could afford a $150+ Z97 mobo and an i7-4790K

At 4.0GHz stock, Turbo to 4.4GHz, and overclocking headroom the 4790K is king.

The i5 3470 may be a minor improvement. Until then back off the settings...Don

You are off to a good start! Unless you really, really need aircraft labels, I would turn those off. Set your Water setting to the low 2s. AI traffic for airliners around 50% and lower for the GA aircraft. Road vehicles around 15-20%. Lens Flare and Light Bloom off, unless you can't live without them. Also turn Airport Vehicle traffic to about 50%.

 

Ok. I did as you said, but with NO AI traffic. Around 18-25 FPS still.

Ok. I did as you said, but with NO AI traffic. Around 18-25 FPS still.

 

Like fxsttcb says....until you can afford to go with the Z97 mobo and an i7-4790K be happy with the 18-25 Steady FPS. Be more concerned about Sim smoothness than FPS.

"Be more concerned about Sim smoothness than FPS."

 

Agreed. Look for no stutters when Landing at enhanced default LAX in your most complex plane, with AI and the stormy theme set in the Weather dialog and no online weather, "changes over time" set to none. The object is to test using a worse case STATIC scenario which is repeatable and predicable. While on approach about to capture the glide slope, save the flight. You can then tweak, restore the flight with control-; and test over and over several times a minute. You'll find the best settings fast that way. Keep in mind SOME CFG tweaks get removed by FS when you use the Settings dialogs, so use the UI first, refine as much as you canm then visit the tweaking stickies in this forum.

Use the AA built into your card rather than setting it in FS (uncheck use application settings.)

 

Last, VERY careful and selective CFG tweaks can improve by 5-20 frames under certain conditions. Set your frame rate limiter to 30. This will allow FS to remove detail you are not using while trying to keep the highest frame rate your current settings will allow.

Note: NOT ALL tweaks work on every hardware combination.

 

Again, turn off the frame rate counter and just look for stutters. If you don't see any, and you're not getting a slide show, you are working in the right direction.

 

-Pv-

I'll bet your CPU is an older AM3(+) chip. The newer AMD's single threaded performance has declined quite considerably since then. The APUs(A series) are even worse. The FSX performance gap is growing. As an old AMD fanboy that makes me sad.

 

Heres some apples to apples data to digest:

 

AMD FX8350 overclocked to 5.15GHz: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/329116-fsxmark11/page-46#entry2945838

Scroll down to rzepa10's Intel i7-4770k @ 3.5GHz stock Hyperthreading OFF results and compare them.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ohWWXNtN6X_nUOsR7cP7v8f3Y-m5CyIBbFdJX3m_wWs/edit?pli=1#gid=0

Line 13, FunknNasty's 2nd Gen i5 2500K at 5.2GHz, Line 49, same guy, same CPU at 3.30GHz. Compare the line 49/3.30GHz Intel results with the AMD FX8350 at 5.15GHz.

56% more CPU speed to attain similar results?

 

Coach, I'd save my money until I could afford a $150+ Z97 mobo and an i7-4790K

At 4.0GHz stock, Turbo to 4.4GHz, and overclocking headroom the 4790K is king.

The i5 3470 may be a minor improvement. Until then back off the settings...Don

 

You might actually want to take a look at i3 benchmarks before you make assumptions about core performance of AMD CPUs. Or even check out the GPU performance of AMD A series chips compared to i7s. Might be something there given MS and Sony plan to buy northward of 150 million units between them.

MS and Sony obviously don't plan on running FSX. The benchmark I quote was developed specifically to test various system's performance in an FSX running environment.

So...lest you confuse someone, please, keep your irrelevant comments to yourself...Don

That still doesn't change the fact that the i3 and i7 have the same cores, and yet it's their memory controllers and L3 cache that make up for the performance difference in FSX. But if you want to claim it has to do with "single threaded performance" and imply there is something wrong with the AMD cores go ahead. But there are other people who read these forum and saying don't buy AMD does not qualify that the Intels i3s shouldn't be touched either.

To refresh your memory: FSX IS primarily a single threaded app.

Select your FSX chip from this list: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

 

Nowhere, absolutely nowhere, did I say there was anything WRONG with an AMD processor. What I did say was their performance in FSX lags that of Intel's.

In some cases, by a wide margin.

Don't put words in my mouth. Your contrary comments don't help the OP one iota.

 

This is a Flight Simulation website, dedicated to...GEE...Flight Sims...Don

To refresh your memory: FSX IS primarily a single threaded app.

Select your FSX chip from this list: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

 

Good and now you have proof that the i3 and FX processors have the same single threaded performance for one synthetic application. Not sure how that links to FSX, quite as much as memory controllers correspond to ALL applications.