Thinking of upgrading my hardware

[full]

I'm thinking of upgrading from my Q6600 to a;

i5 2500k
ASUS sabretooth motherboard or ASUS P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3
Corsair H60 cooler
Corsair 16GB @1600Mhz

What do you guys think ? Ive heard there isn't much difference in performance between the i5 2500k and the i7 6200k, only the 2600k does the Hyper Threading, but i maybe wrong.

[huub vink]

I wish I could help you, but I'm afraid my knowledge on this subject is very limited.

Cheers.
Huub

[Roger]

Hi Craig,
There's a few hardware experts around here so I'm sure you'll get some replies. I have the Q6600 too on vista 32 bit os and I need to do the same but maybe not for another 6 months or so. Trouble is when I build it I want solid state drives so this is making the excercise more expensive!

[stovall]

Roger, just completed building my new computer with the Windows 7 64bit OP on a 120 GB ssd. You will not regret doing this. Windows is like lightening. Very pleased with everything. Makes IwoJima look and fly great.

[Roger]

I know...one of these days Tom. Trying to save a few shekels for retirement, lol!

[ryanbatc]

I'm thinking of upgrading from my Q6600 to a;

i5 2500k
ASUS sabretooth motherboard or ASUS P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3
Corsair H60 cooler
Corsair 16GB @1600Mhz

What do you guys think ? Ive heard there isn't much difference in performance between the i5 2500k and the i7 6200k, only the 2600k does the Hyper Threading, but i maybe wrong.

That's basically what I have except the older P67 mobo and only 8GB ram. I have the same cooler. It's great but not superb. I OC to 4.4GHz with vcore of 1.356v and with IBT high stress test I usually avg 70-71C temps. FSX Around 57-59.

Your proposal is an excellent system. What will your video card be? I recommend a GTX 560ti at the least.. but I use a GTX 570 - it's awesome.

[capun]

You may have a typo, so I assume that you are comparing the I5-2500k and the I7-2600k.

Unless you are using multi-threaded programs (3DS Max, PhotoShop, etc) there is no big difference between them. The I7 has a larger L2 cache and it is a bit faster but more expensive.

For most Flight Sims, Processor Speed is more important than HyperThreading. Apps have to be optimized to use HT otherwise the performance hit due to pipeline flushes negates its advantage. Pipeline flushes are usually caused by instructions jumps/calls to instructions not in the pipeline, fairly common in games. I don't know of games optimized for HT

[spatialpro]

comparing the I5-2500k and the I7-2600k

Same dilema here. What would be the difference, purely for FSX?

I'm also holding off because I want to rebuild with SSD, but can't take the price hit right now.

[fxsttcb]

I recommend a GTX 560ti at the least.. but I use a GTX 570 - it's awesome.Good recommendation. Unless you are planning multiple monitors or resolutions beyond 1080p anything mor than a GTX 460 or equivalent will not show an improvement in FSX. One of the video gurus over at flightsim tested a GTX-570 vs his older GTX 460, with no other changes to anything, his FSX results were identical.

With a little better cooling solution both the 2500k and 2600k should overclock to ~4.5 GHz stable. Of the 2500Ks I have built so far, using Noctua NH-D14 and CP12 air coolers, none have refused to get to at least 4.5GHz at less than 1.38v(my personal 24/7 max) and stay below 85c-linx, 70c-FSX.

As previously noted, HT on the 2600K is useless for gaming and can be detrimental to your overclock. Personally, the 2500K is the gaming king...Don

[full]

Thanks guys, Ive gone for the i5 2500k as it seems a winner IMHO and at £167 I can't go wrong :)

Is the Corsair H80 cooler any good ?

Still not sure about the motherboard either.