Man, I wish I knew all this tech stuff. But is it clear that the i7 990 will outperform the i7 2600? So if I am building a new machine for FSX and disregard price, the 990 is the best option.

If you check numerous threads here and all around, you will see that 990x will only rarely outperform 2600K. Depending how high you get the 990x and in which application, it will outperform. By how much? 600€+ more to get MAYBE 10% more performance (FSX)? And an old socket which won't be developed ANY further?Mark this: it is not worth it. Ever.

If you check numerous threads here and all around, you will see that 990x will only rarely outperform 2600K. Depending how high you get the 990x and in which application, it will outperform. By how much? 600€+ more to get MAYBE 10% more performance (FSX)? And an old socket which won't be developed ANY further?Mark this: it is not worth it. Ever.

This topic has been beaten to death, even the 2500K will actually outperform the 990X since FSX can't take advantage of those 2 extra cores and HT. It's not "maybe" a 10% faster, it will be SLOWER in FSX, and as you say, going with 1366 means no room for future upgrades. Intel will probably release hexa cores in 2012 for LGA1155 anyway

This topic has been beaten to death, even the 2500K will actually outperform the 990X since FSX can't take advantage of those 2 extra cores and HT. It's not "maybe" a 10% faster, it will be SLOWER in FSX, and as you say, going with 1366 means no room for future upgrades. Intel will probably release hexa cores in 2012 for LGA1155 anyway

THANK GOD I GOT THE 2500K!!!!!!!!!!!

Same here. I now have it at 4.8 with 1.36 vcore Need to install FSX soon to see how it goes.

This topic has been beaten to death, even the 2500K will actually outperform the 990X since FSX can't take advantage of those 2 extra cores and HT. It's not "maybe" a 10% faster, it will be SLOWER in FSX, and as you say, going with 1366 means no room for future upgrades. Intel will probably release hexa cores in 2012 for LGA1155 anyway

Agree if we are talking of FSX only....with X-plane it will be another story as X-plane will have true multicore support ...here...

As for Flight we don't know yet but I hope it will be the same...if it does the 980 or 990x will be better because of their 2 additional core, now get a load of this...AMD is coming out with an 8 core....heee hawwww..... http://www.fudzilla.com/processors/item/22101-more-bulldozer-specs-surface

Intel will probably release hexa cores in 2012 for LGA1155 anyway

Intel has another platform in the works to be released later this year which features a 2011 pin LGA socket. This will be the platform that will support > 4 core processors in the immediate future. 1155 pins aren't enough to drive the memory interface Intel intends to use with future > 4 core processors (quad channel), hence the need for a different socket.

Intel has another platform in the works to be released later this year which features a 2011 pin LGA socket. This will be the platform that will support > 4 core processors in the immediate future. 1155 pins aren't enough to drive the memory interface Intel intends to use with future > 4 core processors (quad channel), hence the need for a different socket.

Ivy Bridge is supposed to bring quad cores as entry level and also hexa cores for the mainstream platform that will not be quad channel memory chips (who cares anyway). It's still possible those IB will be LGA1155 compatible with 6 cores - 2 memory channels

Ivy Bridge is supposed to bring quad cores as entry level and also hexa cores for the mainstream platform that will not be quad channel memory chips (who cares anyway). It's still possible those IB will be LGA1155 compatible with 6 cores - 2 memory channels

1155 6-core chips are certainly possible, I just don't think it will happen because it would cannibilize higher margin socket 2011 sales.

Ivy Bridge is supposed to bring quad cores as entry level and also hexa cores for the mainstream platform that will not be quad channel memory chips (who cares anyway). It's still possible those IB will be LGA1155 compatible with 6 cores - 2 memory channels

Some peoples do care about quad chanel memory, beside playing FSX some peoples do some heavy stuff with their computer. By the way look at this beast for the Sandy Bridge.... 8 PCI-Ex16 slot (one more than mine :Cry: ) .....pffff http://www.overclock...al_p67_review/1

1155 6-core chips are certainly possible, I just don't think it will happen because it would cannibilize higher margin socket 2011 sales.

I'm with you on this one.I've always been an Intel a really excited user as Intel was always on top of the CPU performance wise compare to AMD specially for FSX but look like the Bulldog CPU will give Intel a run for their money...can't wait to see the reviews on it.

1155 6-core chips are certainly possible, I just don't think it will happen because it would cannibilize higher margin socket 2011 sales.

I'm with you on this one.

Well, truth is nobody knows for sure, and of course I'm no exception, but I'm more inclined to think that it will be the same thing as 1156 vs 1366, where both platforms had quad cores, entry level dual cores were 1156 exlusively and hexa-cores 1136 only. If quads are the entry level processors in IB for the mainstream platform, hexa cores should be available for both mainstream and enthusiast, while octo-cores are LGA2011 onlyPure speculation, I know. Time will tell

Some peoples do care about quad chanel memory, beside playing FSX some peoples do some heavy stuff with their computer. By the way look at this beast for the Sandy Bridge.... 8 PCI-Ex16 slot (one more than mine :Cry: ) .....pffff http://www.overclock...al_p67_review/1

I don't know a single application where tripple channel makes a significant, even perceptible difference over dual channel, so I have no faith in quad channel either, but again, we'll have to wait and see how it pans out.

I've always been an Intel a really excited user as Intel was always on top of the CPU performance wise compare to AMD specially for FSX but look like the Bulldog CPU will give Intel a run for their money...can't wait to see the reviews on it.

Let's hope Bulldozer brings some nice IPC apart of more cores like nowadays. Anyway Bulldozer's "cores" are not cores as we know them anymore, they share a lot of stuff that are dedicated resources in current architectures, so we'll see how that scales. I for one hope they start to put some pressure on Intel and there's a price war in the top of the line processors, but I wouldn't hold my breath for thatOn a side note, those who intend to use their computers for rendering, encoding and all that stuff where currently Gulftowns beat the 2600K, better keep in mind that sooner than later software will take advantage of AVX and then the 2600K will probably beat Gulftown's hexa cores even in heavily threaded applications.

Well, truth is nobody knows for sure, and of course I'm no exception, but I'm more inclined to think that it will be the same thing as 1156 vs 1366, where both platforms had quad cores, entry level dual cores were 1156 exlusively and hexa-cores 1136 only. If quads are the entry level processors in IB for the mainstream platform, hexa cores should be available for both mainstream and enthusiast, while octo-cores are LGA2011 onlyPure speculation, I know. Time will tell.

I don't know that quad core will become entry-level even with Ivy Bridge. Hexa-core chips won't be mainstream for quite some time, no matter how much we might wish otherwise. Quad core is getting there, but not quite yet.

I don't know that quad core will become entry-level even with Ivy Bridge. Hexa-core chips won't be mainstream for quite some time, no matter how much we might wish otherwise. Quad core is getting there, but not quite yet.

To be honest, I don't even think we'll need hexa-cores for years to come (unless MSFlight happens to be again a CPU hog while optimized for multiple cores, which seems quite unlikely to me)Maybe it will depend on how Bulldozer performs, if they release fast, afordable octo cores, Intel might need to make a move

On a side note, those who intend to use their computers for rendering, encoding and all that stuff where currently Gulftowns beat the 2600K, better keep in mind that sooner than later software will take advantage of AVX and then the 2600K will probably beat Gulftown's hexa cores even in heavily threaded applications.

True but that's the name of the game, in two years to three years the Sandy Bridge will also be a thing of the past, there is always something better waiting around the corner.

I'm not going to benchmark mine, but I'm loving the 2600k + GTX580 combo. At 5.1 GHz around 1.45 vcore. Seems high, but I see guys benching theirs at 1.6+ volts and I clock it down when I'm not FSX'ing. Temps max at 71c when burning, 59c while flying.The GTX580 I've had no trouble overclocking to a very high clock. I was expecting artifacts and crap all over the place with such a huge clock bump, but it flys wonderfly!I still get bogged down at big airports with 100% traffic (My Traffic X 5.3a) and 100% detail with frames dropping down to around 11 - 14 in some cases, but it seems much smoother and very flyable. Note those framerates are in the RealAir b60 Duke, which is notorious for its heavy VC, so it's probably alright in better optimized VCs. I came from a horrible i7-980x chip (I could barely hold a 4.4 OC) and gtx480, and the changes here are amazing.If you're contemplating this combo, stop, go out and get it! Feels like a 100% improvement over my last system... and it was half the cost.