Do you use TileProxy???

Good thing you didn't listen to me and went with the 2600K with HT

Interesting thread! For those of you experiencing the i72600k (or 2500k), would you recommend 4gb RAM or 8GB RAM (1600 DDR3)? I'm trying to decide what I need for my new build.

If you get a kit of 2 x 4 GB you can fly with larger LOD radius, have more programs open, use a RAM disk and so on. RAM was never cheaper than now.

Interesting thread! For those of you experiencing the i72600k (or 2500k), would you recommend 4gb RAM or 8GB RAM (1600 DDR3)? I'm trying to decide what I need for my new build.

Being that FSX is a 32-bit program it can only utilize 4GB RAM; there is no advantage to running 8GB in an FSX application. 8GB typically come at loser timings than capable of running 4GB. Sometimes 8GB can interfere with overclocking. My recommendation therefore is for 4GB. Why then do I run 8GB…because that is what they had in stock.Running a RAM disc is a bad idea as any gains (I doubt there are gains) are washed out by the page faults induced.

I was messing with it earlier and couldn't get my total memory usage over 3.75GB. Not even with the PMDG 747 in a flat spin over high-res photoreal scenery with 100% AI traffic... Why then do I run 8GB? Because I use my computer for many other things than FSX. If you do end up going with 8GB just make sure you go with 2x4GB instead of 4x2GB - but my recommendation is also 4GB for FSX. As others have said, 1600MHz with super low timings performs well and is actually very cheap. 2133MHz with 8 or 9 timings would also be good, though more expensive and it probably won't affect FSX much. By the way, Newegg currently has 15% off all memory with Promo Code: DM15A0111US. This is good through Jan 27th.If you like to save money: 1600 with CL6 timingIf you like to spend money: 2133 with CL8 timingFor the life of me, I can't seem to get FRAPS to record a half way decent video without cutting my framerates completely in half! Does it require a good video card to do???

Being that FSX is a 32-bit program it can only utilize 4GB RAM; there is no advantage to running 8GB in an FSX application. 8GB typically come at loser timings than capable of running 4GB. Sometimes 8GB can interfere with overclocking. My recommendation therefore is for 4GB. Why then do I run 8GB…because that is what they had in stock.Running a RAM disc is a bad idea as any gains (I doubt there are gains) are washed out by the page faults induced.

Actually, using 8GBy removes all chances of OOM's, and is better all up. I've seen my FSX use 3.8GB+. With the OS and any other programs (REX Weather engine (WASys) for example), it will all add up well past 4GBy...

Oh, I'll be right there with you after I mod my h50 tomorrow . Do you use TileProxy???

Nope, just REX, GEX and UTX

...For the life of me, I can't seem to get FRAPS to record a half way decent video without cutting my framerates completely in half! Does it require a good video card to do???

No, it requires you run Fraps in "render mode", then you can record at any frame rate you want. During recording Fraps slows FPS down as needed for your CPU and GPU to catch-up and completely render each frame. Your recorded video will then playback at the target FPS. (The reason your FPS are low during recording is of course the recording overhead.)The trick is your audio won't work due to the time stretching while recording, so you need to record the video again in non-render mode (i.e. in realtime), then use video editing software to replace the audio track in the rendered video with the auio from the second video you recorded in realtime. (Of course you can also record audio only in real-time if you know how to do this; then you can stuff the audio into the rendered video.Finally you can post your 120 FPS HD video of a flight over Manhattan with sliders maxxed out and tell everyone you are running Socket 2011 (or 79344534) but that you can't provide any more details beccause you're under NDA. :-)With "rendering" you are essentially doing what James Cameron did with Avatar (minus the $2 billion in box-office sales and the 3 Oscars). Cheers,- jahman.

Actually, using 8GBy removes all chances of OOM's, and is better all up. I've seen my FSX use 3.8GB+. With the OS and any other programs (REX Weather engine (WASys) for example), it will all add up well past 4GBy...

Well, with about 20 IE tabs open, tileproxy, FSX, FRAPS, and a couple other file folders open I was just at 4.5GB, so there you go. "render mode"? Is that in FRAPS?

I now retract any previous statements I made about TileProxy operating better with HT off - it appears I was wrong and you were correct RelaxX. Now that I finally have TileProxy up and running properly, I also can confirm that Hyper Threading on allows much better photoreal texture loading. This conclusion comes even after comparing 4.6GHz HT On vs. 5.0GHz HT Off - 4.6GHz HT On still won. And of course when blurry textures started loading while I was running 5.0GHz, frame rates began to drop.

Did you ever consider that your better result could be that at 5Ghz your CPU is throttling from being to near its limit under load from FSX instead of any effect of HT being off? FSX it self Does not take any adavantage of HT. Suggest trying 4.6 HT=off compared to 5.0 Ht=off to compare.Coming from backround in developing large scale very high res Photoreal scenery projects, I wish HT=on helped FSX itself, but under close analysis FSX makes no use of it (including the terrain engine), but thats not to say that some other program you are running doesn't.and BTW, taskmanager is not an accurate way to check...An old thread here on the subject that you may enjoy reading thru to the conclusions.. Click HereMy favorite quote from Nick "With MSFS the operand in motion is the user reading something and making a settings change. MSFS users are litterally desperate for better performance. One day they post everything is perfect, the next they post a change has made it better, and then a month later, another change has again made it better."Cheers to everyone!

Actually, using 8GBy removes all chances of OOM's, and is better all up. I've seen my FSX use 3.8GB+. With the OS and any other programs (REX Weather engine (WASys) for example), it will all add up well past 4GBy...

+1

I was messing with it earlier and couldn't get my total memory usage over 3.75GB. Not even with the PMDG 747 in a flat spin over high-res photoreal scenery with 100% AI traffic... Why then do I run 8GB? Because I use my computer for many other things than FSX. If you do end up going with 8GB just make sure you go with 2x4GB instead of 4x2GB - but my recommendation is also 4GB for FSX. As others have said, 1600MHz with super low timings performs well and is actually very cheap. 2133MHz with 8 or 9 timings would also be good, though more expensive and it probably won't affect FSX much. By the way, Newegg currently has 15% off all memory with Promo Code: DM15A0111US. This is good through Jan 27th.If you like to save money: 1600 with CL6 timingIf you like to spend money: 2133 with CL8 timingFor the life of me, I can't seem to get FRAPS to record a half way decent video without cutting my framerates completely in half! Does it require a good video card to do???

I think 1600 CL6 is the same theoretically as 2133 CL8... ( 1600 / 2133 ) * 8 = 6 I could never get my 8GB of RAM to improve things over 4GB, but I've got my neighbour's 4GB here ready for testing again. Can anyone suggest a specific scenario / settings (LOD or whatever) for the tests please?

..."render mode"? Is that in FRAPS?

Sure is!Cheers,- jahman.

Did you ever consider that your better result could be that at 5Ghz your CPU is throttling from being to near its limit under load from FSX instead of any effect of HT being off? FSX it self Does not take any adavantage of HT. Suggest trying 4.6 HT=off compared to 5.0 Ht=off to compare.Coming from backround in developing large scale very high res Photoreal scenery projects, I wish HT=on helped FSX itself, but under close analysis FSX makes no use of it (including the terrain engine), but thats not to say that some other program you are running doesn't.and BTW, taskmanager is not an accurate way to check...An old thread here on the subject that you may enjoy reading thru to the conclusions.. Click Here

Hi freebirdThanks for the thread link. I read it in its entirety and it certainly has prompted me to do further testing. Up to this point however, my conclusion is still the following:1. 4.6GHz HT On, AM=254: TileProxy textures load quickly and clearly2. 5.0GHz HT Off, AM=14: TileProxy textures fail to keep up and appear blurryThe only thing that changed between tests was HT and AM. I rebooted between tests and deleted already downloaded scenery to make sure each was given an equal chance. I will agree that the overwhelming majority in that thread reported HT off with AM=15 or no AM provided best results, so I will certainly give this a retry. In the mean time, my new radiator just arrived in the mail so I'm going to go do a little modding. I'll be back up and running in a few hours with a cooler PC.By the way, I did consider that my processor was throttling, however temps were well under control in either scenario (below 70C). I'm not really sure of how to monitor whether throttling is occuring or not, so if you have any advice I would love to hear it.

The Sandy Bridge build is complete and now up and running. Nothing loaded or overclocked yet, but enjoying fresh install of windows. This HAF 942 case is absolutely gigantic. It towers over me on the side of the desk. Beautiful too and well thought out! It will take me a few days to get most things loaded. One good thing I have found already is that the Mushkin ram runs well at 6-8-6-24 at 1.6v instead of what I had it at 1.65 before. I was expecting that I would have had to up the timings, but not so.Kind regards,

No, it requires you run Fraps in "render mode", then you can record at any frame rate you want.

There is currently a freeware version of FS_recorder.dll which does this too.scott s..

The Sandy Bridge build is complete and now up and running. Nothing loaded or overclocked yet, but enjoying fresh install of windows. This HAF 942 case is absolutely gigantic. It towers over me on the side of the desk. Beautiful too and well thought out! It will take me a few days to get most things loaded. One good thing I have found already is that the Mushkin ram runs well at 6-8-6-24 at 1.6v instead of what I had it at 1.65 before. I was expecting that I would have had to up the timings, but not so.Kind regards,

That's fantastic news Stephen. I plan to build my Sandy rig this week-end and I was quite anxious about the RAM compatibility. Those Mushkin modules are unbelievable.I've had tons of very high quality RAM in my life, the Mushkin C6 are the best: no heat, easy overclocking, reliable and rock solid. Enjoy your new baby :--)