Me and my flying buddy, the i7-975....

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Funny, how soon you can adapt to perfection. Funny how that perfection equates to normalcy. FSX, an i7-975/GTX285 based system, and myself. We have been flying all over FSX's world...and truly, what a virtual world that now is.No more tweaking! No need. The only time I have opened up FSX's config file was to only turn on WIDE VIEW to TRUE. That's it.Since having set up FSX on my i7-975/GTX285 (it happens to be a Dell 730x H2C, but could be any other purchased or built system based on the aforementioned CPU/GPU team), I just fly. Having gone to this system from my Pentium 4 3.4GHz/ATI Radeon 1950 Pro (256 MB) has changed how I enjoy, and perceive FLIGHT SIMULATION forever. No more being the mechanic, tweaking the software. No...rather just...ENJOYING the software and hardware, watching it render the virtual world as close to real as it gets to date. Water bodies that LOOK like what you have seen flying over them in real life. Topography, looking like what it does when you fly over it. Trees that look like trees, and not shimmering half-formed, 'trying-to-get-into-focus' representations. Mountains that are just THERE. Not blurred, not moving, shaping, snapping, but merely, there to enjoy as you pan around the cockpit. Forests, streams, rivers, bluffs,...now all there where they should be, and so importantly; IN FOCUS. No tweaking to get there. You only have to now hit FSX's 'start button'. :) The rest now happens without any of the user's desperate CONFIG intervention of the past.The level of immersion is deep. You FEEL that you are flying. My system now gives me in FPS limiter lock down 30's and beyond. With FSX's FPS set to UNLIMITED, and the lock-down 30 I have set, STILL SEES this powerhouse of a CPU trying to break out into the sky. I will get 39 FPS jumps as the processor is trying to fight against the 30 fps lock down I have set for it. Sort of like hey USER...don't fence me in! LOLOLOLOLOL. As far as going down below 30 FPS, I have seen it do so in dense, heavy cloud to dips of 17-22 FPS, BUT...and this is a VERY BIG 'BUT'....NO performance hit WHATSOEVER! Let me repeat that...NO PERFORMANCE HIT WHATSOEVER! Even at reported dips of FPS to 17-22 (which of course lasts for a second or two) you still get uninterrupted smooth and scrolling animation along your flight path. No snapping of scenery. It is there, THEN, NOW...and in focus...there for you to enjoy and assimilate as real world events....that you are moving across this vast world of FSX alongside the real.I have never been more happy, happy and contended than when having made the decision to invest in a i7-975/GTX285 system. It has brought such joy, value, and entertainment WAY BEYOND the dent to the wallet. Way beyond.I heartily encourage everyone who is reading this, to consider stepping up to the aforementioned CPU/GPU combo to run your flight simulation software, whatever that may be, and then...no longer be a tweak-head...but just do your circle-check, slip into the virtual plane, and take to the most real 'virtual' sky that you will ever see. Clouds, oceans, streams, mountains, creeks, forest and fauna...all in crisp detail for you to immensely enjoy.Finally, I have been doing this with a totally stock system, no need to hot-rod it after having put it back to spec from a sustained 4.2 GHz overclock. The performance is stellar with it pounding out 30 'beautiful' frames per minute, no matter what it must be asked to render. I run under the most intense scenery demands at a chilling 38C CPU temp. The interior of the system stays at 82 F or less when under full load based upon a warmer part of my home where I presently have it, but goes down to 78F under idle This is in August. I have a high performance copper based air cooled solution and if you put your hand to the exhaust output of the back of the tower, there is no heat coming off of it. Just slightly above room temperature. I am running with all of my BIOS CPU cooling technology in place. SPEED STEPPING, C-TECH, etc, which keeps the i7-based system CPU as cool as it can be. I am running in TURBO mode with settings TWO (2) bin speeds above the i7-975 spec bin of a 25 multiplier which has my CPU climbing to just under 4.00 GHz when it senses the need to reach that speed. The beauty of TURBO, is that it can only be there for the blink of an eye, and then be back to a lower core (and cooler running environment) speed in less than the blink of an eye. It also adjusts its voltage needs along with any GHz ramp-up...and this is seamless and invisible to the user as they are running and enjoing their sofware. TURBO is truly and actually OVERCLOCKING within spec. It gets the job done with the 975.Cheers!Mitch

[ryanbatc 13,028]

Pics?

[Guest 413X3]

Just wait until the holiday season to buy one, right now prices are too high for every part. memory, mobo, and processor

[Guest j0nx]

How many of these threads are you going to start? Yes, we know you are loving your new system. Congrats, again...

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

How many of these threads are you going to start? Yes, we know you are loving your new system. Congrats, again...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------You're right. Very right...Ad nauseum.... No more.....Mitch

Pics?

---------------------------------------------------What's a good program for screen captures?

[markturner 0]

Funny, how soon you can adapt to perfection. Funny how that perfection equates to normalcy. FSX, an i7-975/GTX285 based system, and myself. We have been flying all over FSX's world...and truly, what a virtual world that now is.No more tweaking! No need. The only time I have opened up FSX's config file was to only turn on WIDE VIEW to TRUE. That's it.Since having set up FSX on my i7-975/GTX285 (it happens to be a Dell 730x H2C, but could be any other purchased or built system based on the aforementioned CPU/GPU team), I just fly. Having gone to this system from my Pentium 4 3.4GHz/ATI Radeon 1950 Pro (256 MB) has changed how I enjoy, and perceive FLIGHT SIMULATION forever. No more being the mechanic, tweaking the software. No...rather just...ENJOYING the software and hardware, watching it render the virtual world as close to real as it gets to date. Water bodies that LOOK like what you have seen flying over them in real life. Topography, looking like what it does when you fly over it. Trees that look like trees, and not shimmering half-formed, 'trying-to-get-into-focus' representations. Mountains that are just THERE. Not blurred, not moving, shaping, snapping, but merely, there to enjoy as you pan around the cockpit. Forests, streams, rivers, bluffs,...now all there where they should be, and so importantly; IN FOCUS. No tweaking to get there. You only have to now hit FSX's 'start button'. :) The rest now happens without any of the user's desperate CONFIG intervention of the past.The level of immersion is deep. You FEEL that you are flying. My system now gives me in FPS limiter lock down 30's and beyond. With FSX's FPS set to UNLIMITED, and the lock-down 30 I have set, STILL SEES this powerhouse of a CPU trying to break out into the sky. I will get 39 FPS jumps as the processor is trying to fight against the 30 fps lock down I have set for it. Sort of like hey USER...don't fence me in! LOLOLOLOLOL. As far as going down below 30 FPS, I have seen it do so in dense, heavy cloud to dips of 17-22 FPS, BUT...and this is a VERY BIG 'BUT'....NO performance hit WHATSOEVER! Let me repeat that...NO PERFORMANCE HIT WHATSOEVER! Even at reported dips of FPS to 17-22 (which of course lasts for a second or two) you still get uninterrupted smooth and scrolling animation along your flight path. No snapping of scenery. It is there, THEN, NOW...and in focus...there for you to enjoy and assimilate as real world events....that you are moving across this vast world of FSX alongside the real.I have never been more happy, happy and contended than when having made the decision to invest in a i7-975/GTX285 system. It has brought such joy, value, and entertainment WAY BEYOND the dent to the wallet. Way beyond.I heartily encourage everyone who is reading this, to consider stepping up to the aforementioned CPU/GPU combo to run your flight simulation software, whatever that may be, and then...no longer be a tweak-head...but just do your circle-check, slip into the virtual plane, and take to the most real 'virtual' sky that you will ever see. Clouds, oceans, streams, mountains, creeks, forest and fauna...all in crisp detail for you to immensely enjoy.Finally, I have been doing this with a totally stock system, no need to hot-rod it after having put it back to spec from a sustained 4.2 GHz overclock. The performance is stellar with it pounding out 30 'beautiful' frames per minute, no matter what it must be asked to render. I run under the most intense scenery demands at a chilling 38C CPU temp. The interior of the system stays at 82 F or less when under full load based upon a warmer part of my home where I presently have it, but goes down to 78F under idle This is in August. I have a high performance copper based air cooled solution and if you put your hand to the exhaust output of the back of the tower, there is no heat coming off of it. Just slightly above room temperature. I am running with all of my BIOS CPU cooling technology in place. SPEED STEPPING, C-TECH, etc, which keeps the i7-based system CPU as cool as it can be. I am running in TURBO mode with settings TWO (2) bin speeds above the i7-975 spec bin of a 25 multiplier which has my CPU climbing to just under 4.00 GHz when it senses the need to reach that speed. The beauty of TURBO, is that it can only be there for the blink of an eye, and then be back to a lower core (and cooler running environment) speed in less than the blink of an eye. It also adjusts its voltage needs along with any GHz ramp-up...and this is seamless and invisible to the user as they are running and enjoing their sofware. TURBO is truly and actually OVERCLOCKING within spec. It gets the job done with the 975.Cheers!Mitch

Hey Mitch, did not know you had a new system dude!! Can you tell us a bit more about it? :( :( Glad you are loving fella, now go and fly!!

[brucets 94]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------You're right. Very right...Ad nauseum.... No more.....Mitch---------------------------------------------------What's a good program for screen captures?

Mitch -Use FRAPS and do both screen shots and video clips. Put some videos together using both in Windows Movie maker! Btw, your posts have actually breathed a little life into this forum as far as I'm concerned!! Your enthusiasm is a little fresh air!Bruce (the guy you talked into replacing the video card a couple years ago - in the nude)

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Hey Mitch, did not know you had a new system dude!! Can you tell us a bit more about it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Edit...lol.I got the message with the bottom part, LOL!Computer? What computer?........-----------------------------------------------Gone Flyin' Mitch :( :( Glad you are loving fella, now go and fly!!

Mitch -Use FRAPS and do both screen shots and video clips. Put some videos together using both in Windows Movie maker! Btw, your posts have actually breathed a little life into this forum as far as I'm concerned!! Your enthusiasm is a little fresh air!Bruce (the guy you talked into replacing the video card a couple years ago - in the nude)

--------------------------------------------------Ok...will do later on, after the fun-rush.Looking back...I agree with the poster. Belabored it a tad...lol. Now, more flying...and less typing, LOLOLOLOL! Glad that you enjoyed the read, and hey...that ATI 1950 Pro is still powering the P4. A great card! When you are ready, or want to...check out the i7-975 part. You absolutely won't be disappointed. Nobody that has one is, well...to my knowledge.Mitch'er

[CVEP 13]

Have you tried CS 757 at Heathrow? I really wonder what the FPS will be. I love your enthousiasm and would like to read more about your computer and its performance.

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Have you tried CS 757 at Heathrow? I really wonder what the FPS will be. I love your enthousiasm and would like to read more about your computer and its performance.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------No, I haven't. I have add-ons for Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Toronto. Nothing for Heathrow. I have not purchased any big iron, but have in G.A.Other than the above, in FPS 30 FPS lock down, including KJFK, it pretty much stays hovering around 30 FPS, dipping a little, climbing a jag. But a very good lock mostly at 30-31 FPS. The real story though as others with this system have commented...is that performance stays in the acceptable/happy range even when the i7-975 dips to 17-22 FPS range in those short blinks of an eye. On my P4, that would amount to poor control, stutter, and memory issues. Overall, a good FSX gaming solution.Mitch

[brucets 94]

--------------------------------------------------Ok...will do later on, after the fun-rush.Looking back...I agree with the poster. Belabored it a tad...lol. Now, more flying...and less typing, LOLOLOLOL! Glad that you enjoyed the read, and hey...that ATI 1950 Pro is still powering the P4. A great card! When you are ready, or want to...check out the i7-975 part. You absolutely won't be disappointed. Nobody that has one is, well...to my knowledge.Mitch'er

Mitch -I bought a Q6600 @ 3.6 and a GTX8800 Ultra 768 about 16 months ago. It's not quite where you are now---still some popping, blinking, shimmering etc but it does pretty good overall. It'll be at least another year before I upgrade again. You've got my juices flowing again though!! You are VERY good at that!!! I do want to see the videos though. That will tell me a lot! I am going to start keeping a running list of the top of the line components, using Nicks recommendations, for a future purchase. Right now it looks like you've got the optimum setup. Did you get the ram with the specific timings etc that he recommended?Bruce

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

Mitch -I bought a Q6600 @ 3.6 and a GTX8800 Ultra 768 about 16 months ago. It's not quite where you are now---still some popping, blinking, shimmering etc but it does pretty good overall. It'll be at least another year before I upgrade again. You've got my juices flowing again though!! You are VERY good at that!!! I do want to see the videos though. That will tell me a lot! I am going to start keeping a running list of the top of the line components, using Nicks recommendations, for a future purchase. Right now it looks like you've got the optimum setup. Did you get the ram with the specific timings etc that he recommended?Bruce

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi Bruce, Reading your present system...you no doubt are having a blast, regarding what we BOTH had those many months ago, lol. An ATI 1950 pro was big news back then..About Nick's recommended Mushkins...I read another one of his posts where he stated..and rightly so...that my having had NO in-between system before my present i7-975/GTX 285 and my faithful P4...would be the ingredients enough for me to go HYPER (lol) at the keyboard in extolling the advances I see with the i7 system. So....with chewing the cud on that....I figured to fly...fly...and fly some more with the 7-7-7-20 timing 1066 MHz Tri channel that came with my rig. It is Crucial, and I have never had a failure in buying aftermarket from them on other things. So...taking in his line of thinking...I would like to 'desensitize' myself with having gone to the i7...and after about a month or so...will THEN (yes..I intend to) buy the Mushkin Kit with the recommended timing. I then hope (as he said I would with a more modern baseline) see a major difference between the Ascents (1600's) and the Crucial 1066's. I'll of course honestly report if there was system performance increase to justify the expense and effort. :) Track record though...nothing that Nick has advised, for me to date, has dudded out. That's in granite. The guy's got the track record... :)Mitch

[brucets 94]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi Bruce, Reading your persent system...you no doubt are having a blast, regarding what we BOTH had those many months ago, lol. An ATI 1950 pro was big news back then..About Nick's recommended Mushkins...I read another one of his posts where he stated..and rightly so...that my having had NO in-between system before my present i7-975/GTX 285 and my faithful P4...would be the ingredients enough for me to go HYPER (lol) at the keyboard in extolling the advances I see with the i7 system. So....with chewing the cud on that....I figured to fly...fly...and fly some more with the 7-7-7-20 timing 1066 MHz Tri channel that came with my rig. It is Crucial, and I have never had a failure in buying aftermarket from them on other things. So...taking in his line of thinking...I would like to 'desensitize' myself with having gone to the i7...and after about a month or so...will THEN (yes..I intend to) buy the Mushkin Kit with the recommended timing. I then hope (as he said I would with a more modern baseline) see a major difference between the Ascents (1600's) and the Crucial 1066's. I'll of course honestly report if there was system performance increase to justify the expense and effort. :) Track record though...nothing that Nick has advised, for me to date, has dudded out. That's in granite. The guy's got the track record... :)Mitch

Mitch - Well, it certainly sounds like you've got a winning combo right now as you can't seem to fault it in any way--- so far!! It will be very interesting to see what your thinking is a few months down the road.Bruce

[brucets 94]

Mitch -Here's a video I made about 5 months ago on this rig.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY_lxBP5DSgBruce

[Geofa 108]

How many of these threads are you going to start? Yes, we know you are loving your new system. Congrats, again...

Hey-I love seeing a flight simmer having fun-seems like the exception on the forums as of late....I've been having such fun for years by turning down stuff on my lowly computer that I didn't think was all that important-but if Mitch can get it by having latest hardware and everything turned up full more power to him!Congrats Mitch!