FSX Upgrade Dual to Quad Core Worthwhile ?

[Bjoern]

Using DDR2 you should still be able to push the Q9450 to 3.6. For my home unit I had a Q9550 running Patriot PC2-9600 1200mhz ram at 4.0Ghz on air. It ran FSX very very well with Win7.

Well, I can't. The multiplier of a 9450 is 8 at best and my board's usable FSB range ends at a little over 400 Mhz.

[txnetcop]

Well, I can't. The multiplier of a 9450 is 8 at best and my board's usable FSB range ends at a little over 400 Mhz.

I did this on an EVGA 780i with Tuniq tower cooling two or three years ago:
CPU Core - 1.375v
CPU FSB - 1.325v
SPP (NB) - 1.45v
MCP (SB) - 1.5v
SPP (NB) << - >> MCP (SB) - 1.3v
GTL Ref: Lane 1,3,4: +20mV, Lane 2: +30mV
Timings 5-5-5-18
FSB 1850/4 = 462.5
Memory below the FSB is at 1066
Attachment 18520
3.7Ghz

[Stratobat]

Thanks for the advice, Ted.

Regards,
Stratobat

[marklaur]

Well it looks like I will be upgrading to a quad core, or after reading some of the replies the new AMD 6 cores may be worth a look.

At work out IT dept, always buys Intel as they think AMD will not last as long. (They keep PC's about 6 years if they can in the labs, for HPLC equipment)

From a quick look even the AMD motherboards are cheaper. I would presume the Gigabyte ultra durable boards would be built to the same standards, but their AMD boards are much cheaper. In Australia at least.

Is there any truth in what they tell me about Intel lasting longer than AMD?

Regards MarkL

[Stratobat]

Hey Mark,

Is there any truth in what they tell me about Intel lasting longer than AMD?

I think both brands offer a three year warranty on their processors but there are a number of mitigating factors to consider before you can arrive at an outright answer. For example, reckless overclocking can reduce the life of your components (Althought by how much I do not know) and poor housekeeping can also limit the life of your components.

I've had the same AMD machine for the past four years now.

Regards,
Stratobat

[txnetcop]

Well it looks like I will be upgrading to a quad core, or after reading some of the replies the new AMD 6 cores may be worth a look.

At work out IT dept, always buys Intel as they think AMD will not last as long. (They keep PC's about 6 years if they can in the labs, for HPLC equipment)

From a quick look even the AMD motherboards are cheaper. I would presume the Gigabyte ultra durable boards would be built to the same standards, but their AMD boards are much cheaper. In Australia at least.

Is there any truth in what they tell me about Intel lasting longer than AMD?

Regards MarkL

I prefer Intel personally. They really are faster processors, but AMD isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I do like what AMD has brought to the marketplace, escpecially when you consider what you pay for price/performance. If AMD was going to go under why would they rename their video cards AMD Radeon and remove the ATI label from now on? I think the two will rival each other for several years to come.

[warchild]

I'm impressed by what i see with the new I7s and the AMD offerings, but truth told I'm still running an old q6600 quad core with 8 gigs of DDR2 of ram. Its mildly overclocked to 2.6 ghz, and water cooled, but thats as special as it gets. My usual fsx performance gives me between 40 to 100 fps with most sliders set above the halfway point, and some maxed out. Even Tokyo barely causes it to flinch.

[harleyman]

Personally my experience with the I cores is they run HOT HOT HOT

and IMO offer only some memory gains over the socket 775 , say Q9650 or 9550 OCed to 3.4 and up on air

I suggest you water cool any i7

[txnetcop]

I'm impressed by what i see with the new I7s and the AMD offerings, but truth told I'm still running an old q6600 quad core with 8 gigs of DDR2 of ram. Its mildly overclocked to 2.6 ghz, and water cooled, but thats as special as it gets. My usual fsx performance gives me between 40 to 100 fps with most sliders set above the halfway point, and some maxed out. Even Tokyo barely causes it to flinch.

Yes Pam you see it really comes down to what you can live with. For instance if you own the PWN series by ORBYX you do not have to turn your sliders all the way right to enjoy some very nice scenery. The same is true with some parts of FSX stock. However if you are a scenery maniac like me and just have to have detail the AMD six core and i7 are the only way to go especially if you want speed and max scenery. It costs to see more that's just the way it is with FSX. The good news is that it doesn't take a mainframe to run FSX well anymore. If you don't mind settling for a little less on the slider side of FSX, Harleyman's E5200(or E5500) with a G31/G41 motherboard can run FSX well, and he builds it for a great price.

Harleyman is right there is a definite benefit to water cooling even if you just use the H50 Corsair ( http://www.guru3d.com/article/corsai...cooler-review/ )system which is very inexpensive to keep that CPU cool. My test system uses Reserator II and keeps the CPU at less than 50C running FAR CRY 2 and the latest HALO at full graphics and CPU set.
Ted

[warchild]

Yes Pam you see it really comes down to what you can live with. For instance if you own the PWN series by ORBYX you do not have to turn your sliders all the way right to enjoy some very nice scenery.
Ted

Well yes, i agree.. But i also run SceneryTek (sp?) North America and Asia, Ultimate Traffic, UT2, FTX, GEX, REX2-overdrive, ASA, The Solomon Islands, and a few others. Plus the planes i fly like the CS C-130 have been notorious for frame rate problems..

the only drawback i see with my particular system, is that, another year down the road, and i wont have any choice but to build another computer, but it does point up one pertinent fact. in FSX quads and more rule.. Duals can get by ( barely ) and singles are best left to grandmothers still running dos 3.1.

[Bjoern]

I did this on an EVGA 780i with Tuniq tower cooling two or three years ago:
CPU Core - 1.375v
CPU FSB - 1.325v
SPP (NB) - 1.45v
MCP (SB) - 1.5v
SPP (NB) << - >> MCP (SB) - 1.3v
GTL Ref: Lane 1,3,4: +20mV, Lane 2: +30mV
Timings 5-5-5-18
FSB 1850/4 = 462.5
Memory below the FSB is at 1066
Attachment 18520
3.7Ghz

What cooler?

[txnetcop]

What cooler?

This one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835154001 ya better have a deep case for this one Amigo LOL

[kilo delta]

This one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835154001 ya better have a deep case for this one Amigo LOL

A fantastic cooler,however. I ripped out several liquid cooling systems (Alienware liquid cooling units and Coolit TEC coolers)and replaced with this cooler as it performed better. I've a Corsair H50 sitting here and I'll give it a try on my sim pc at some stage....although my PC's temps are fine even with the chip oc-ed to 4.2ghz.

[Bjoern]

This one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835154001 ya better have a deep case for this one Amigo LOL

Don't worry, I've got my case open 24/7 anyways. The air intakes on it are too small to support all the coolers.

[warchild]

Welllllll.. ok,, this is about as practical as a bladeless potato peeler, but since your talking about cooling, quads and all things in between.. I got this from evga yesterday.. The first sound you hear is the sound of metal getting super cooled enjoy..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOfHN_MV8yc

You may now return to topic ::lol::.
Pam