system

i have a good system for how i use my pc outside of fsx. i do however want a graphics upgrade of fsx. here are my current specs

CPU:AMD Phenom II X4 965 Processor

Motherboard: ASUS M4AA7TD PRO

Graphics: GTS 250

It's okay but really want a performance lift in the graphics, price isnt an issue if i get a good improvement.

what are my best options?

I believe that even the graphics in FSX respond more favorably to a better CPU than GFX processor. The more cores, and faster speed, the CPU has, the better the GFX in FSX. Yes, your GFX card has some influence, but the CPU will give you a better return for your investment, so to speak.

Basically, spending $XX.XX on the CPU will improve the graphics more than the same amount spent on a GFX processor card. Get the best CPU your motherboard and wallet will support, then worry about a better GFX card.

Does that help?

Pat☺

Okay so a Intel processor running at 4GHz+ is pretty much the top shelf (and only 1) Intel processor available.

Remember I have a AMD Phenom II X4 965 Processor - what is minimum you would recommend I upgrade to?

Any Intel i7 CPU will more than double the performance of your current AMD CPU. This comparison may help you decide: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=amd+phenom+ii+x4+965&id=370 .

Keep in mind that a change to an Intel CPU will also require a new motherboard and RAM. You'll also have to upgrade the GPU as the GTS 250 will be a significant bottleneck. And, all of that will undoubtedly require a new PSU as well.

Doug

What's the number next to each CPU? mine has 4,267

New motherboard I knew about.

Graphics card I was going to try keep and upgrade in 6 months.

PSU? is that power supply?

Greetings All,

I can tell you from 1st hand experience that i7 4790K @ 4.0GHz blows the lid off my AMD 970 BE overclocked to 4.1GHz. The performance increase was MUCH more noticeable than my upgrade from a GTX 280 to a GTX 660. I dropped $500 on the CPU and motherboard; the rest of the components fit the new motherboard. I have a Corsair 850 watt power supply that works superbly.

I haven't had a chance to overclocked this one yet, but the Seattle area, in Orbx's PNW and running Active Sky Next is giving my stutter free performance in the 27-31 FPS range (locked at 31). Mind you, the A2A Cessna 172 is my most complex aircraft and I usually bounce around in FR's Super Cub, Ant's Tecnam Sierra or Lionheart's Quest Kodiak.

Respectfully,

Brian

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=amd+phenom+ii+x4+965&id=370

What's the number next to each CPU? mine has 4,267

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=amd+phenom+ii+x4+965&id=370

It's a relative performance measure used to compare one CPU against another. It is not a quantitative measurement of any particular function or functions. While there are some variances to consider it's safe to say that a CPU with a Passmark mark of 10,000 is a bit more than twice as fast as your 4267. How do these measures relate to FSX? Since FSX is highly CPU dependent, the higher the Passmark score the higher the FSX framerate and the quicker the texture loading will be.

Doug

PS: And, yes, PSU is power supply. I'd look for something in the 700-750W range. And you can certainly use the existing graphics card for a while - it'll just slow things down a bit.

number= how good it is.

higher= better.

cpu=central processing unit. (is same ase processor.)

you have AMD cpu. (brand is AMD)

i7= Intel (Brand is Intel)

The intel one won't fit in your motherboard.

An Intel cpu needs an intel mainboard, an AMD cpu needs an AMD mainboard. wrong one and it won't fit/work.

A motherboard is the main part of a computer.

It is the part everything attaches to.

The cpu does all the fast calculations.

CPU's are much more expensive then motherboards.

You will need two that match nicely.

a fast cpu, and a motherboard that has all the connectors you need.

the k- cpu's (like the i7-3790k) can be overclocked.

to be able to overclock the cpu you will also need a motherboard that will allow it. Not all motherboards allow overclocking.

It will take you some searching to find one that is perfect for what you want from it, (and your budget). Take your time for it. The better your research, the better your computer will be.

It will also mean you know all about it in advance. Instead of having a computer, and really not knowing the first thing about it, like you would have with a pre-built one.

It's really not that difficult, but it does take some time and a lot of searching on google.

Thanks so much for that response. Great detail.

Two things

1. What is overclocking?

2. How do you match a Motherboard and CPU? other than brand?

Also compare these

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=370&cmp[]=2241

Mine is cheaper but is faster? is that correct?

Thanks so much for that response. Great detail.

 

Two things

 

1. What is overclocking?

 

overclocking.

a cpu has a default speed. for mine (i5-3570k) that is a speed of 3.4 gigahertz.

it also has turbo frequency. that means it runs at 3.8 ghz if possible.

(only when necessary. I have a little program that can check the frequeny. When I check it while playing fsx the freq is usually 3.8 ghz. But when i'm just doing nothing and see only the desktop, the freq is usually even less then 3.4 ghz. sometimes as low as 1.6 ghz I think.

You set the frequency in the BIOS setup menu. This is 'program' embedded on the motherboard. It works even when no harddisk is attached.

My processor is set up in that menu at 3.4 ghz. This is the default correct value for mine.

The point is. By setting this higher, you can make your computer work faster.

BE AWARE. this can DESTROY your processor.

Setting it to work faster then the specification creates more heat.

To much heat and the processor is dead. And it often takes other parts, like memory down with it if it dies.

Overclocking can improve how well fsx runs. but don't take it lightly. study it first. (google 'overclocking', and lot will come up.

People that overclock usually buy a good processor-cooler to keep the temperatures down. don't try to overclock with a basic cooler.

You can use a -k processor without overclocking. I'm doing that now. It's running at default settings. If I want more power in the future it's possible.

2. How do you match a Motherboard and CPU? other than brand?

The keyword here is "socket"

google: i7-4790k

and you will find the specifications of the processor.

the socket it fits in, will be in that list.

The mainboard you choose must have the same socket.

for all the other items in the list: google the thing you want to know about, plus, i7-4790k

------------

Both these questions could have been answered by google.

I'm not angry you asked:) not at all.

But you will really need to understand about these subjects. that means reading multiple articles about one thing, by different people:

**By people trying to sell it (not the most accurate info sometimes),

**by people manufacturing it (great info, hard to understand, but well worth studying),

**by people who reviewed it (gives you a feel for the product, not always the best comparisons to help you decide),

**by unsatisfied customers (google: productX + problem. Finds a lot. then look for: productX + problem + solution (remember, you are smarter then the average user.)).

Good sites with info to look for when googling: guru3d, TomsHardwareForum,

Be prepared to spend some time on it. It will be worth it in the end. (if you like learning it's a lot of fun along the way too!)

il88pp:)

Here's another thought...you might want to Google "how to build a gaming pc youtube". Lots of video stuff there with lots of different equipment options and opinions. I think you can learn in just a few hours more than I learned in weeks building my first couple of PC's.

Ain't the internet great?

Doug

Intel 4790K CPU, MSI Z97 Gaming 7 mobo, Noctua NH-U12S cooler, Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB 2133 MHz RAM, nVidia GTX 970 GPU, Cooler Master HAF 932 Tower, Thermaltake 1000W Toughpower PSU, Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit, and other stuff:

500GB SSD - Samsung 840

12TB HDD Internal - Western Digital Black

40TB HDD External - Western Digital (mixed types)

2x Asus PA246Q ProArt 24" 1920x1200

4x Plextor PX-891SAW DVD-RW

Thanks so much for that response. Great detail.

 

Two things

 

1. What is overclocking?

2. How do you match a Motherboard and CPU? other than brand?

Each CPU has a required chipset. You can use any motherboard you want that has that chipset. Example for the i7-4690k you need a Z97 chip, so when you go to search for a motherboard look for the chipset option and choose the Z97 and you'll see what's available. Different motherboards will have different features so the more you spend the more you get built into the motherboard.

With FSX, I'm always going to go for the fastest CPU I can afford, and then worry

about video later. Even if you went to a faster CPU and had the same speed video,

the frame rate would still be a good bit higher, even if the video was a bottleneck.

And everything loads faster, and the improvement will be seen on anything run, not

just FS. IE: rendering video, etc.. Most times a new CPU will require a new MB,

so you want to get as good a CPU as possible to get your normal lifespan from

the MB and the whole puter build in general.

I just rebuilt to an i7 4790 from the AMD Phenom II at usually 3.5-3.6 ghz.

Mine is a regular locked 4790, not a 4790k. I would prefer the unlocked chip

any day, but they offered me a price I couldn't refuse on the regular 4790,

so... And even at avg 3.9 ghz with blips to 4.0 ghz which is what mine runs using

FSX, it's still pretty much as fast as a scalded house cat compared to the old

Phenom II. And I'm still using only the default HD 4600 video so far and it's

running pretty good. With a really good video card, it would do a lot better

when the video load cranks up. Like with super dense clouds on top of dense

scenery. That's about the only scenario that can slow this chip down with

the onboard video. It eats any scenery I throw at it, and spits out the seeds.

But both dense scenery and super dense clouds on top of the NGX 737, and you

finally start to see the video bottleneck creep in and fps drop some.

I pretty much rebuilt from scratch this time around, except for all the older

drives I still run, and two of those were only four months old.

And I kept my old puter pretty much intact for a change so I can use it for other stuff..

An AMD Phenom II is still not a total slouch and still worth using for other stuff. :)

I got a bundle with the i7 4790, MSI Z97 MB, A dual fan water cooler which I

haven't needed yet, new 850 w modular PSU "bronze", new Zalmon case, 8GB of RAM,

because I only had 4 GB with the old box, and one more new 2 TB HD to install Win 7 Pro

64 on. I'd have to add it up, but I think I spent about $585 for all the new puter parts,

and then $110 or whatever it was for Win 7 Pro 64. I had been using XP 32, and was

fed up with the low VAS for FSX.. That made a big difference too.

Still could use a good video card, but it's running well enough off the onboard

video, I'm not in a big rush to get one. I'm not running a real high screen res

which probably lets me get by a bit easier with that video.

But I'd like to get a good one eventually so it can eat super dense clouds as well

as it does the scenery. Hopefully anyway..

I always look for bundle deals every time I build a new box.. Helps that a Fry's is

nearby, along with Microcenter, etc, etc.. But I always get the best bundle deals

at Fry's it seems.. I ended up paying $198 for the i7 4790, which is $110 off the

recent regular appx $309 or so. At this moment Fry's shows the i7 4790 at $309,

and the i7 4790k at $339. So I was able to stomach the locked chip better knowing

it was a C note + less price. I asked them if I could swap to the "k" for more $$, but

being a bundle deal, they wouldn't let me. I guess they had a pile of 4790's they needed

to move.

Should be good for at least another three years or so I would think.

It was going to Win 7 64 that spurred me to rebuild, as the OEM OS couldn't be

transferred from box to box, and I knew my old AMD machine was getting a bit aged.

Didn't want to buy Win 7 twice, so I rebuilt now to get it over with.

Here you go. Everything you need to know, from buying the hardware right through to setting up the operating system.

Read it all, it is a long read. You won't be disappointed.

THE FSX COMPUTER SYSTEM: THE BIBLE

http://www.simforums.com/forums/the-fsx-computer-system-the-bible-by-nickn_topic46211.html

I wish I had read this years ago, and now just finished a system using this advice, will blow your socks off.

You can find a list (provided by Intel) of all (not just Z97) 4790K-compatible motherboards here: http://processormatch.intel.com/MotherBoards/CompatibleBoards . It's probably not all-inclusive but it's way more information than any of us need. That said, I'd stick with a Z97. But, then again, opinions are like belly buttons.....

Doug

I found the bible a difficult read. Hard to spot the drops of good advice between all those biblical references.

Instead I much prefer Kosta's Hardware and software guide:

https://kostasfsworld.wordpress.com/fsx-software-and-hardware-guide/

take your time, lots of info coming at you at once in this thread.

enjoy!