...would it be possible to build a computer that would let you never worry about bad FPS in FSX anymore no matter what scenery you were using and which a/c you were flying?I've had my FSX rig for some time now and I figured I would stick with it until MS Flight is released which I was hoping would use the HW in a more efficient way giving better performance with the HW I already have but now that I will most probably stay with FSX for who knows how long I'm thinking what I could do to get the best possible performance in FSX.I have my current HW spec in my signature and what I'm wondering is what I could do to get the best possible performance in FSX with the goal to be able to have the FPS locked at let's say 30 all the time and never having to worry it will drop to sometimes between 10-15 FPS when I'm in the PMDG NGX at a huge airport like Aerosoft's Mega Airport Paris CDG and there is a bad overcast and lots of online traffic around me...is there HW that could give me that experience?I haven't really cared to follow the latest HW evolvement lately but what I found now after a very short research was...Motherboard - ASUS RAMPAGE IV EXTREME (for example)CPU - Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition 3,3GHz / 15MB / Socket 2011 (which I hope I could o/c ALOT with my aquaduct360 XT mark III external water cooling system currently cooling both my CPU and GPU)...then of course some real fast memory and as for the graphics card card I'm not sure if I would benefit from replacing my current NVidia GTX 480 already running GPU @ 800 MHz, Memory @ 2000 MHz and Shader @ 1600 MHz...as we all know FSX is far more CPU than GPU dependent although I wish FSX would use the GPU power in a far more efficient way...Looking forward to your input and comments fellow FS pilots, the kind never stopping to look for a few more FPS

That thing will be insane. Period.

Get an I5 2500K, a P8Z68-V (Pro) Gen 3 and then upgrade to Ivy Bridge in April

Edited January 6, 201214 yr by dazz

will Ivy bridge support the P67 ?

Yes it will Shane. Our board already has the BIOS that adds IB compatibility available in the product page. Been running it for weeks without issues

That thing will be insane. Period.

Quite honestly I actually feel a bit insane only having these thoughts in my head but I'm soooo tired of always having to fight against bad FPS in FSX for the last couple of years and now that MS Flight doesn't seem to be what we all hoped for that means I will stay with FSX for years to come and if I knew there was a way to finally get rid of this never ending struggle against bad FPS I might consider doing a crazy thing like this. But what I don't want is to spend this kind of $ only to find I still have to fight against bad FPS...

Get an I5 2500K, a P8Z68-V (Pro) Gen 3 and then upgrade to Ivy Bridge in April

So are you saying I would get (much) better performance with an I5 2500K than with my current I7 920 running @ 4.1 GHz?Will have to Google the other stuff you mention...

Quite honestly I actually feel a bit insane only having these thoughts in my head but I'm soooo tired of always having to fight against bad FPS in FSX for the last couple of years and now that MS Flight doesn't seem to be what we all hoped for that means I will stay with FSX for years to come and if I knew there was a way to finally get rid of this never ending struggle against bad FPS I might consider doing a crazy thing like this. But what I don't want is to spend this kind of $ only to find I still have to fight against bad FPS...So are you saying I would get (much) better performance with an I5 2500K than with my current I7 920 running @ 4.1 GHz?Will have to Google the other stuff you mention...

You can expect a 30 - 40% more FPS with an overclocked 2500K. It won't have you pegged at 30FPS in all situations, but pretty close.The thing is that the $1000 3960X will not perform any better in FSX

You can expect a 30 - 40% more FPS with an overclocked 2500K. It won't have you pegged at 30FPS in all situations, but pretty close.The thing is that the $1000 3960X will not perform any better in FSX

Ok, that's great info!Would that 2500K CPU fit in the same socket where I currently have my I7 and would it work with the memory I have installed today meaning I could get that 30-40 FPS increase by simply replacing the CPU?

You'll need a new LGA1155 board, but the RAM should work if it's 1.65V or less. LGA1155 is dual channel though, so you would be running 4GB in dual channel and 2GB in single channel, or you can get another 2GB and run 8GB all in dual channel

You'll need a new LGA1155 board, but the RAM should work if it's 1.65V or less. LGA1155 is dual channel though, so you would be running 4GB in dual channel and 2GB in single channel, or you can get another 2GB and run 8GB all in dual channel

Ok, thanks!Well this is tempting getting 30-40 % better FPS not having to spend a fortune.And about that Ivy Bridge which I understand is the successor to Sandy Bridge, how will that affect FSX performance and would it be worth waiting for...? I'm thinking if I have used my current HW for a couple of years now I could use it another couple of months if new architecture that FSX would benefit from is just around the corner.

Edited January 6, 201214 yr by WebMaximus

This is certainly a tough call as there are some possible developments on the horizon in both HW and SW. You did after all say $$$ was not a concern.I have been perusing the threads for several hours relating to the Flight let down and found a thread from an Orbx developer stating that P3D will have (it seems sooner than later) support for the newer HW that exists and that it will allow a more GPU and CPU dependent version of FSX to exist.If you are staying with pure FSX for the long haul and will not consider P3D then I would follow the advice dazz gave as it is GOLD. However... if you think that P3D might be the future and that they will in v2.x bring FSX into the modern age of GPU and multi-core monsters your RE4 3960X has a future. Get 64GB of super-RAM, OC it to 2400+ and slap a pair of GTX 580s or HD6990's (I'd say 7990's but I think you will need your own nuclear power plant to run a crossfire on those beasts and still probably cause rolling blackouts in your local area). You are talking no concern for $$ so I can get wild right? Maybe an EVGA SR-3 eATX board with 2 3960x's and the 7990s. Thats without thinking of Xeon chips. If P3D gets there... "prepare to open wallets" is all I can say. That's without factoring in IB or IB-E... oh boy.

Ivy Bridge is not really a new architecture Richard, it's a die shrink, but also comes with a new technology called tri-gate, and PCIe 3.0. Nobody knows what improvements in OC and performance we can expect from that yet

This is certainly a tough call as there are some possible developments on the horizon in both HW and SW. You did after all say $$$ was not a concern.I have been perusing the threads for several hours relating to the Flight let down and found a thread from an Orbx developer stating that P3D will have (it seems sooner than later) support for the newer HW that exists and that it will allow a more GPU and CPU dependent version of FSX to exist.If you are staying with pure FSX for the long haul and will not consider P3D then I would follow the advice dazz gave as it is GOLD. However... if you think that P3D might be the future and that they will in v2.x bring FSX into the modern age of GPU and multi-core monsters your RE4 3960X has a future. Get 64GB of super-RAM, OC it to 2400+ and slap a pair of GTX 580s or HD6990's (I'd say 7990's but I think you will need your own nuclear power plant to run a crossfire on those beasts and still probably cause rolling blackouts in your local area). You are talking no concern for $$ so I can get wild right? Maybe an EVGA SR-3 eATX board with 2 3960x's and the 7990s. Thats without thinking of Xeon chips. If P3D gets there... "prepare to open wallets" is all I can say. That's without factoring in IB or IB-E... oh boy.

Well...I guess both us the FS community and the HW manufacturers are hoping P3D (or someone else) manages to "rebuild" a more modern FSX and I should start saving up some $

Ivy Bridge is not really a new architecture Richard, it's a die shrink, but also comes with a new technology called tri-gate, and PCIe 3.0. Nobody knows what improvements in OC and performance we can expect from that yet

OK, thanks Dario!At this moment I think I'll stick to my current FSX rig and wait to see what is around the corner both in regard to new HW but also and that is even more exciting Prepar3D. In it's current version I don't think it's anything for me especially after reading the NGX performs worse in Prepar3D compared to FSX but in an upcoming version where (and if...) they manage to make FSX use today's HW in a more efficient game then we're all in for some REALLY exciting simming...I'll keep my fingers crossed !!!

Well...I guess both us the FS community and the HW manufacturers are hoping P3D (or someone else) manages to "rebuild" a more modern FSX and I should start saving up some $ :wink:OK, thanks Dario!At this moment I think I'll stick to my current FSX rig and wait to see what is around the corner both in regard to new HW but also and that is even more exciting Prepar3D. In it's current version I don't think it's anything for me especially after reading the NGX performs worse in Prepar3D compared to FSX but in an upcoming version where (and if...) they manage to make FSX use today's HW in a more efficient game then we're all in for some REALLY exciting simming...I'll keep my fingers crossed !!!

Good call: now's the right time to sit tight and see what emerges in the next few months.Tim

With the inabilty for FSX to take advantage of extreme high end hardware it not worth it.

If FSX was the only option for long time forward I think I could justify spending a few more $ to get better performance even if not great performance but now that we might see an alternative in P3D hopefully in a not too distant future that will make better use of the HW I'll wait a while longer.