Running i7 950 @ stock 3.07 with XMS 1333 CL7 RAM (7-7-7-20).I can overclock to 3.8 but can't hit 4 or above due to the speed of the RAM and also as my cooler cost me £20 so not expecting to hit high speeds.Is it worth replacing the RAM with XMS 1600 CL9 and a Corsair H70 water cooler or should I do a complete upgrade to Sandy/Ivy.I can get the RAM and cooler for around £90. If the performance difference between a full upgrade for around £500 and a small upgrade for £90 is negligible then I would rather save my money.Any advice please? Purely for FSX nothing else.

Edited January 23, 201214 yr by graham3278

You can try setting your RAM manually to 1600 9-9-9-27 for example. I don't think you'll need new RAM, just loosen those timings so you can run it at 1600 and allow for a 200 BCLK overclock or something like thatWhat's that cooler exactly? And your case?

Just hold off for Ivy Bridge.I'd go for one of the Asus Z77 motherboards and an Intel Core i7 3770K.(Overclock the heck outta it)This will be around twice as fast as your current system. Also, go for an Nvidia Geforce GTX780.Stick with one of the 8GB DDR3 2000 kits. (Dirt cheap right now)Seriously, you will be able to run FSX at all right sliders and frames will be silky smooth.

Just hold off for Ivy Bridge.

+1. Tri-Gate process, PCIe 3 (2x the BW of PCIe2).Cheers,- jahman.

Edited January 23, 201214 yr by jahman

OK thanks. I am fortunate enough to be able to buy the upcoming hardware so will wait for feedback with the GTX 780 etcAs that could be around April/May I may still OC this machine soon.

GTX 780

I assume you meant the GTX 680. :Big Grin:Cheers,- jahman.

I assume you meant the GTX 680. Cheers,- jahman.

No the 780. Apparently 600 series is being skipped and Nvidia going to 780

A leak coming from PCINLIFE presents a slide showing performance comparison between a GTX 580 and a GTX 780.That’s right, a Nvidia GeForce GTX 780. This leak is right in time for counter AMD’s Radeon HD 7970 performance leaks that showed some impressive performances. It’s only sounds right from Nvidia to retaliate and skip the 600-series to go head to head with AMD’s 7000-series, stepping up the GeForce to 700-series branding.

http://www.eteknix.c...fast-as-the-580

Edited January 24, 201214 yr by graham3278

No the 780. Apparently 600 series is being skipped and Nvidia going to 780

Oh, how unusual for hardware companies...I wouldn't bother paying too much for new memory to be able to possibly OC just that little bit higher. Im not fully aware of what memory settings you have availible on the i7 950 but I would not be surprised if you can find settings that will let you overclock further with your current memory. If you are thinking of a full upgrade anyway I think a new overclockfriendly architecture will feel a lot more satisfying for your money anyway.

Just hold off for Ivy Bridge.I'd go for one of the Asus Z77 motherboards and an Intel Core i7 3770K.(Overclock the heck outta it)This will be around twice as fast as your current system. Also, go for an Nvidia Geforce GTX780.Stick with one of the 8GB DDR3 2000 kits. (Dirt cheap right now)Seriously, you will be able to run FSX at all right sliders and frames will be silky smooth.

Spot on! This goes for Graham and anybody else reading this.I believe you're correct about the naming scheme of the new graphics cards, but seriously be careful. I think nvidia may release an intermediate generation of cards that are nothing more than die shrinks of current cards. I'm not sure if they will call them "Kepler" or not, but what you want to wait for is the newly designed 28nm cards, not just 28nm die shrinks. Now I'm going to have to go look for some news on the subject.

Edited January 26, 201214 yr by cmeeks

but what you want to wait for is the newly designed 28nm cards, not just 28nm die shrinks. Now I'm going to have to go look for some news on the subject.

I am almost 100% positive that Kepler is coming with this new series. It is supposedly going to blow Fermi out of the water.

I am almost 100% positive that Kepler is coming with this new series. It is supposedly going to blow Fermi out of the water.

per watt. I have high hopes too, but nvidia has been incredibly quiet so I don't have much to go on regarding total performance. They have been very clear that it will blow fermi out of the water per watt. It's too bad the 28nm process has given them as much trouble as it has.

Edited January 26, 201214 yr by cmeeks

They've apparently been having very low yields with the 28nm process.

Uh .... ohh...... Hope they can get things ready for release. I am not all to worried as they are a multi-billion $$ company. I think that they can figure out a solution. *I hope*