I OC'd my i7-940 to 3.52 GHz with the BCLK at 160MHz. I did this using the Easytune6 that came with the Gigabyte board. The temps seem OK (maybe 12-14 degrees higher than standard clocking when using FSX & the PMDH MD-11), and there's a clear improvement both in frame rates as well as smoothness. However, when using some other several add-ons, like the Digital Cheyenne, I hear a background popping, about every two seconds, kind of like an old 33-1/3 record playing with a scratch in it. I don't hear it in the MD-11. Anyone know what the cause is? I'm guessing the OC numbers need some tweaking, but I don't know where to start.Thanks.

I OC'd my i7-940 to 3.52 GHz with the BCLK at 160MHz. I did this using the Easytune6 that came with the Gigabyte board. The temps seem OK (maybe 12-14 degrees higher than standard clocking when using FSX & the PMDH MD-11), and there's a clear improvement both in frame rates as well as smoothness. However, when using some other several add-ons, like the Digital Cheyenne, I hear a background popping, about every two seconds, kind of like an old 33-1/3 record playing with a scratch in it. I don't hear it in the MD-11. Anyone know what the cause is? I'm guessing the OC numbers need some tweaking, but I don't know where to start.Thanks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Update your sound drivers with the latest, if you haven't already done so. Also, from my experience, if you can get your overclock'ed i7-(whatever) to the 3.5/3.7 GHz range...you will have no issues with running anything smoothly with FSX. I am running Turbo-Clock'ed at 3.69 GHz...and as far as I am concerned, my virtual FSX world is as real and smooth as I had hoped for. For anybody else reading this...you don't have to wait any longer. A high-end i7/nvida GTX 285 has tamed FSX and made it a joy to use. You only have to get your i7 system to the mid to high 3' GHz range. After that, the gain is reduced vs GHz obtained. A few FPS, and nothing more. Smoothness is seen in the mid 3's...Mitch

A 920 is nice but it sure hasn't tamed fsx for me by any means. Install ut2 with 60% traffic or higher and you'll see what I mean. I still am getting 15fps in many airport areas due to the ai. I sure wish something could be done about the toll that ai planes take on this sim. Hovering over chicago ohare with probably 50 or 60 heavies visible I average 20fps with most settings 3/4 of the way or higher. It dips from time to time to the mid teens or jumps to the low 30's. I think I need about double the power of this 4ghz 920 to be truly happy with the performance of this sim at my current settings. This rig is on average about 20-30% faster than my E8400 system which it replaced but going from 12 to 18fps really isn't anything to write home about. I sure wish those ut2 devs could find a way to make this addon perform better...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Update your sound drivers with the latest, if you haven't already done so. Also, from my experience, if you can get your overclock'ed i7-(whatever) to the 3.5/3.7 GHz range...you will have no issues with running anything smoothly with FSX. I am running Turbo-Clock'ed at 3.69 GHz...and as far as I am concerned, my virtual FSX world is as real and smooth as I had hoped for. For anybody else reading this...you don't have to wait any longer. A high-end i7/nvida GTX 285 has tamed FSX and made it a joy to use. You only have to get your i7 system to the mid to high 3' GHz range. After that, the gain is reduced vs GHz obtained. A few FPS, and nothing more. Smoothness is seen in the mid 3's...Mitch

I agree with that statement. Last weekend I lowered my OC a tad to 3.93 from 4.05 using a BCLK of 206. This allowed me to run my Ram at 1650. FPS were not at all effected and the sim actually runs smoother.

I don't want to start another thread on this, I was wondering if any of the expert could look at these numbers for me? I believe the memory speeds should be at 7-7-7-24 but instead they are at 9-9-9-24.CPU: i7 920. Mobo: Asus P6T (Standard, not Deluxe), Memory: OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK Here's what I'm getting exactly on CPUz v1.49Core Speed - 3800MHzMultiplier - x20.0Memory Speed - 9-9-9-24Mobo Settings:BCLK Frequency - 190 (Anything above it is unstable, it boots to XP64 but crashes when it gets to the desktop) DRAM Freqency - 1524MHz (This is as close to 1600 as I can get setting BCLK at 190)CPU Voltage - 1.35QPI/DRAM Core Voltage - 1.35DRAM Bus Voltage - 1.64 - this mobo would not let me set it exactly at 1.65Should I be concerned about the memory speed at 9-9-9-24? Do you guys see any problem with these settings?Thanks in advance.

I agree with that statement. Last weekend I lowered my OC a tad to 3.93 from 4.05 using a BCLK of 206. This allowed me to run my Ram at 1650. FPS were not at all effected and the sim actually runs smoother.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------To finally (for myself...) put the over-and-above the 3.6GHz/3.7GHz sweet-spot range for CPU speed, to bed...I did the following:I have run stable for the last two hours not only FSX, but a range of software that I use daily...with the following system config:I did this:I overclocked the system to reach 4.013 GHz by:Bin speed of 27 x BCLKclock of 148 MHz at a CPU voltage of 1.38 volts with resulting RAM speed of 1189 MHz (stock is 1066 at 7-7-7-20-1T timings)All ran stable for hours with normal FSX and other software use.This is what I found:With FSX FPS set to UNLIMITED and not locked down by either itself, or other software (FPS Limiter), I only achieved 2-3 FPS above output at 3.609 GHz. What I DID 'pick-up'...was stutter in turns, where at 3.609 GHz...it (FSX) was as smooth as butter in all operation.Secondly, I then shut down FSX and booted using the Limiter. Same inferior performance. Like others have said by their usage, and not just myself...we have found that the true sweet-spot in CPU GHz output is 3.5 to 3.7 GHz. I then went back into the BIOS, and only changing the BCLKclock back to SPEC 133 MHz...I returned to FSX and once more had fabulous performance in all regards.So...for myself at least, I have decided to run the system until it drops....at 3.609 GHz. In running this speed rather than 4.013 GHz...I in no way suffer system-wide performance loss, let alone FSX performance in all manners.That's 27x133.7= 3.609 GHz.Cheers,Mitch

Mitch - agree totally with your observations.My system is a q9650 which is now at 3.88 with mushkin 1800 8-8-8-24-1t. I had it at 4G and with a LOT of experimenting found that the sweet spot on MY system is 3.88.It will bench for hours at 4 but FSX doesn't seem to like it while at 3.88, my frames are there and most important, the action is smooth.I keep repeating NickN's mantra - you need to find the balance spot for your system.Just slapping in settings becuz they work for someone else is a path to frustration.I've been in FSX heaven for almost 6 months now and know what you mean. Glad you got it sorted out with your new rig.Enjoy!!Vic