i5 vs i7

[LTCSZ]

Knowing that more is usually better, in the big scheme of things, will I see a huge difference in FSX using an i5 processor instead of an i7? Thanks,

 

Steve

[CptCaveman]

A huge difference? Not really. A noticeable difference, yes. The extra computational power of the i7 will allow you to add more "bells and whistles" to your sim of choice than the i5 can manage.

[il88pp]

The main difference is the i7 has hyperthreading. The i5 does not.

Fsx can't make use of hyperthreading.

So, if the clockspeeds of both are the same, there is hardly any difference.

 

But, the i7 comes in higher clockspeeds then the i5. And clockspeed (Ghz) is what is most important for fsx.

 

The i7 also stays a bit cooler then then the i5, so if you go all out and get the -k variant, it is a little easier to overclock the i7 to a high number.

 

I chose a i5, at the time there was the i7-3770k and the i53570-k. Same clockspeeds, so I chose the I-5 and a cooler instead of the i7 that was 100$ more.

 

For the next generation though, the i5 4690k and i7 4790k have a different clockspeed. 3.5-4.9 ghz i5, and 4.0-4.4 ghz i7.

In that situation the i7 is so much faster it would be worth it.

 

Those are the top processors of those product lines, maybe you weren't looking at thos etypes at all of course.

Anyway, for two processors of the same clockspeed, there is no real benefit to the i7 for FSX.

 

For ather programs, the ones that do use hyperthreading there will be benefits of course.

 

-----

Also, not all processors have the same extra functions.

for example vt-x and vt-d, used for virtual machines is not in every processor.

My i5 for example does not have the capability of directly controlling hardware from within a virtual machine.

 

See more details here:

4790k

http://ark.intel.com/products/80807/Intel-Core-i7-4790K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_40-GHz

 

4690k

http://ark.intel.com/products/80811/Intel-Core-i5-4690K-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz

 

For finding those pages all you need to do is type the processor number into google. then click the Ark page.

Lots of info on those pages. If things are not clear there, just type them into google until you know what it all means. A new CPU is quite an investment.

[il88pp]

On second thought, about top of the line, there are some newer processors out now too. The ones I mentioned work with ddr3 ram. The newer ones work with ddr4 ram. That could improve things a lot.

I'm not sure if their clockspeed is as high, or if it's on balance improvement.