I'm looking at a new rig mainly for FSX with use of lots of fs9/fsx photoreal scenery, REX and some other airport addons:Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 Intel Core i7 i7-920 / Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366Corsair Dominator 6 GB DDR3 - 1600 MHz - CL7 ( 7-7-7-20 ) MSI N285GTX SuperPipe OC GF GTX 285WD Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS (1x)WD VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS (2x)Corsair TX750W Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 24-bits - 192 kHz - 109 dB SNRAntec Twelve HundredNow my question is if this setup is good enough to run without any hassle in high settings, is 1600mhz RAM a overkill for a core i7 920 and is it better to have a lower mhz RAM with better CL timings. I've read postings by NickN but it's still not clear. I'm planning to OC to at least 3.5Ghz on the core i7. thanks in advance.

I'm looking at a new rig mainly for FSX with use of lots of fs9/fsx photoreal scenery, REX and some other airport addons:Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 Intel Core i7 i7-920 / Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme 1366Corsair Dominator 6 GB DDR3 - 1600 MHz - CL7 ( 7-7-7-20 ) MSI N285GTX SuperPipe OC GF GTX 285WD Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS (1x)WD VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS (2x)Corsair TX750W Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer 24-bits - 192 kHz - 109 dB SNRAntec Twelve HundredNow my question is if this setup is good enough to run without any hassle in high settings, is 1600mhz RAM a overkill for a core i7 920 and is it better to have a lower mhz RAM with better CL timings. I've read postings by NickN but it's still not clear. I'm planning to OC to at least 3.5Ghz on the core i7. thanks in advance.

You have a solid configuration.The RAM decision will be dependent on your overclock--but CAS 7 @ 1600 is not overkill, especially when the CPU is clocked up. The 920 has a max CPU multiplier of 20, so an OC to 3500 MHz is going to give you a BCLK of 175 MHz, leaving you with the option to run your RAM at either a 10x multiplier (1750 MHz) or an 8x mult (1400 MHz). 1750 is a pretty good stretch from 1600, but might be possible at CAS 7, or at CAS 8 if that doesn't work. You could also try running 1400 at CAS 6 with that memory, too.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

The 920 has a max CPU multiplier of 20, so an OC to 3500 MHz is going to give you a BCLK of 175 MHz, leaving you with the option to run your RAM at either a 10x multiplier (1750 MHz) or an 8x mult (1400 MHz). 1750 is a pretty good stretch from 1600, but might be possible at CAS 7, or at CAS 8 if that doesn't work. You could also try running 1400 at CAS 6 with that memory, too.

Thanks for the suggestion, what do you think is better in performance, the 1750 cas 7 or 1400 and cas 6, or is it just try & error on that one?

Thanks for the suggestion, what do you think is better in performance, the 1750 cas 7 or 1400 and cas 6, or is it just try & error on that one?

Look at NickN's post #12 in this thread: http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=255816It has a useful chart you can use to compare various clock speeds and timings. 1750 MHz and CAS 7 gives you CAS latency of ~7.9ns, 1400 and CAS 6 at 1400 is ~8.6ns. The problem, of course, is you don't know what speed/timings to shoot for in your RAM purchase before you OC the 920.One real advantage of having an unlocked CPU mult is not having to select RAM before you know where the CPU's sweet spot is.RegardsBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Finally managed to get my new system up and running at 3,6Ghz, but i was aiming for 3,8Ghz for better performance including higher RAM speeds, but it seems to be stuck at this speed (i can't boot if i raise the BCLK higher then 180). These are my settings:CPU Clock Ratio*..............................:20CPU Frequency .....(Ghz)...................:3.6Intel® Turbo Boost Tech..................:DisabledCPU Cores Enabled............................:ALLCPU Multi Threading..........................: DisabledCPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)...................:DisabledC3/C6/C7 State Support....................:DisabledCPU Thermal Monitor.........................:EnabledCPU EIST Function............................: DisabledVirtualization Technology...................:Enabled (disabled give me a unstable system)Bi-Directional PROCHOT.....................:DisabledUncore & QPI Features [Press Enter]QPI Link Speed*..............................:x36QPI Link Speed* .............(Ghz)....... :6.48Uncore Frequency...........................:x16Uncore Frequency..............(Mhz).... :2880 MhzIsochronous Support.......................:EnabledBCLK Frequency (Mhz)*...................:180PCI Exxpress Frequency (Mhz)...........:AUTOC.I.A.2..........................................:Disabled>>>>>Standard Clock ControlCPU Clock Drive (mV).......................:800mVPCI Express Clock Drive (mV)............:900mVCPU Clock Skew (ps)........................:0psIOH Clock Skew (ps)........................:0psPerformance Enhance......................:StandardExtreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.)........:DisabledSystem Memory Multiplier (SPD)........:x8Memory Frequency (Mhz).................:1440DRAM Timing Selectable (sPD) ..........:ManualChannel A Timing Settings [Press Enter]>>>>>Channel A Standard Timing ControlCas Latency Time...........................:7tRCD............................................:7tRP..............................................:7tRAS............................................:20>>>>CPU VoltagesLoadLine Calibration.....................:Disabled (Enable also give me boot error when higher the BCLKCPU Vcore.................................:1.33750v (tried also 1.38500v but still boot error)QPI/VTT Voltage.........................:1.315VCPU PLL.....................................:1.880v >>>>>MCH/ICH VoltragePCIE.........................................:auto QPI PLL.....................................:auto IOH Core...................................:autoICH I/O.....................................:auto ICH Core...................................:auto>>>>>DramDRAM Voltage............................:1.640vDRAM Termination.......................:AutoCh-A Data Vref...........................:AutoCh-B Data Vref...........................:AutoCh-C Data VRef..........................:AutoCh-A Address Vref......................:AutoCh-B Address Vref.......................:AutoCh-C Address VRef......................:AutoI just wonder if my CPU (DO stepping) is only able of running at 3,6Mhz or is it a setting I set incorrect, because raising the Vcore and QPI voltage didn't improve any stable overclock higher then 3,6Mhz. I'm thinking about the auto setting of the PCIE/QPI PLL and IOC core voltages or the RAM timing i should raise to 8, but i guess that would make it only worse, I need some expert opinion what I can try. Framerates and smoothness are not too well at bigger airports (around 14fps) and lots of photoreal terrain right now. Of course I followed Nick's guide to set up the system and FSX.