Hi,

 

I'm looking to get a new system to finally move to FSX from FS9, but have a couple of questions regarding mobo and GPU components. The components I'm unsure about at the moment are:

 

Motherboards:

 

ASUS p8Z68-V Pro/Gen 3 or ASUS P8Z77-V. Both seem to have good reviews but the P8Z68-V is more expensive. What are the benefits of this card? I'll be looking at trying to overclock the i2700k to around 4.3-4.5 and from reviews I've read, both boards seem capable of this. Is this correct?

 

 

GPU:

 

GTX560ti 2GB or 580GTX 1.5GB. The 580GTX is quite a bit more expensive. From the reviews I've read it seems an excellent card, but is it worth spending the extra money over the GTX560ti?

 

Also, I'm wondering whether delaying ordering until May (ish) will bring the price down with the arrival of the new 680 nvidia cards and Ivy Bridge being just around the corner (I'm looking at getting the SB i2700K)? Thanks for the help and advice.

 

Kev

Hi,

 

I'm looking to get a new system to finally move to FSX from FS9, but have a couple of questions regarding mobo and GPU components. The components I'm unsure about at the moment are:

 

Motherboards:

 

ASUS p8Z68-V Pro/Gen 3 or ASUS P8Z77-V. Both seem to have good reviews but the P8Z68-V is more expensive. What are the benefits of this card? I'll be looking at trying to overclock the i2700k to around 4.3-4.5 and from reviews I've read, both boards seem capable of this. Is this correct?

 

I run the P8Z68-V Gen3 (non-pro) and love the board. It easily handles high OC's and run cool. The only reason I didn't go pro was not needing the extra's (more SATA or USB ports). My non pro Z68-V will OC just as high as my buddies ASUS ROG Maximus which was twice the price of mine. He just has some on board extras that I don't need.

 

I didn't see which Z77-V board you were looking at but any should really work well and OC just as high as a Z68. You just need to decide which -V board fits your needs, ie: number of PCI-E slots, USB headers, SATA ports, etc.

 

I would go Z77 right now since it runs the new Z77 PCH so as drivers mature you might see a little more performance. Both Z68 and Z77's will support IB through a bios update so there is really no reason to not just get the Z77. Plus it is a new gen board. You should easily hit 4.3-4.5 with a good cooler.

 

Antec or Corsair for easy liquid or NH-D14 for air. I prefer the Antec after using a Corsair but you will find the exact opposite from other posters.

 

GPU:

 

GTX560ti 2GB or 580GTX 1.5GB. The 580GTX is quite a bit more expensive. From the reviews I've read it seems an excellent card, but is it worth spending the extra money over the GTX560ti?

 

Also, I'm wondering whether delaying ordering until May (ish) will bring the price down with the arrival of the new 680 nvidia cards and Ivy Bridge being just around the corner (I'm looking at getting the SB i2700K)? Thanks for the help and advice.

 

Kev

 

I would find a card that works in your budget, resolution and games used. Yes I know this is a FSX forum but if you play other sims/games you might want to take them into account too.

 

Both are excellent cards you just have to personally decide price for performance. I went from the 580 to the 680 and am really happy with the results all around (FPS, heat, power,etc) at 1080p. Primarily the 680 is a beast in non-FSX sims/games. It did help smooth out my FSX especially with high AA and it runs cool which I like. I got tired of thinking I had a reactor in my case especially with summer coming around.

 

If you want a 5XX card I would just go 580 since the prices have dipped and it offers awesome performance.

 

As for the waiting until May that is always a crap-shoot. People thought with the 680 that AMD would suddenly drop the 7970 and 7950 (btw don't use AMD on FSX) pricing plus the 580 would go bargain basement. Unfortunately that is not reality and since the 680's won't stay in stock anywhere I doubt you will see the prices drop much until the market is saturated with 680's.

 

As we have seen FSX is really about the CPU and GPU is secondary in many respects. But if you do anything other sim (DCS A10) and don't want to constantly upgrade just go 580 or 680.

 

Not to throw it back at you but it is really a personal decision of budget.

 

If budget isn't a huge concern then get a 680 (avoid zotac for now just on the 680) or non-ref 580 from EVGA, Gigabyte or MSI. If budget is a concern the 560ti (448) will work just fine at 1080P or similar resolutions. You could always get a 560ti now and wait until the next set of 6XX cards to come out but the next new Kepler is not rumored to be out until October.

 

Good luck!

I'll be looking at trying to overclock the i2700k to around 4.3-4.5

 

You can easily send it to 4.7-4.9GHZ with adequate cooling.

Thanks for the advice Ben and John. The only other thing that you might be able to help about is RAM speed. I'm looking at 8GB of either - 1333Mhz or 1600Mhz. Is it worth the extra money for the higher speed RAM? Thanks again,

 

Kev

I've said this many times... do not underestimate the GPU in FSX. In geometrical sense, both 560ti and 580 are going to perform quite similarly. But in the IQ sense, as you will probably want as little as possible shimmering and no jaggies, I guess you will want to turn up antialiasing, this is where 580 is going to shine. 33% performance increase over 560ti.

I've said this many times... do not underestimate the GPU in FSX. In geometrical sense, both 560ti and 580 are going to perform quite similarly. But in the IQ sense, as you will probably want as little as possible shimmering and no jaggies, I guess you will want to turn up antialiasing, this is where 580 is going to shine. 33% performance increase over 560ti.

 

I agree with this. I went from a 560TI and am currently using a GTX 580 from my friend. When using the lower AA settings, there is litterally ZERO framerate increase, I repeat: zero, nada, nothing. However, I can turn up the AA and SGSS a little higher now. 16xS is no problem. However 32xS can cause very low fps still.

I agree with this. I went from a 560TI and am currently using a GTX 580 from my friend. When using the lower AA settings, there is litterally ZERO framerate increase, I repeat: zero, nada, nothing. However, I can turn up the AA and SGSS a little higher now. 16xS is no problem. However 32xS can cause very low fps still.

 

Well.... At high aa settings, the GTX580 is about 20-30% faster.

Thanks for the advice Ben and John. The only other thing that you might be able to help about is RAM speed. I'm looking at 8GB of either - 1333Mhz or 1600Mhz. Is it worth the extra money for the higher speed RAM? Thanks again,

 

Kev

 

I would go with 1600 MHz ram with the lowest timings possible. Of all the reputable review sites that have done large scale DDR3 reviews of all speeds found 1600mhz at CL8 to be the best all around on price/performance.

 

Bit-tech did a good review and found speeds over 1866 didn't show any benefit and 1600-1866 was small in games. 1333-1600 showed the biggest jump all around and 1333 can penalize some systems.

 

From personal expierence I have run ram at 1600 cl 8 and 1866 cl 9 on my SB and saw no visible improvement. I am only running 1866 because Newegg had a sale on it.

 

IMO go with 1600 or 1866 with lowest timings (nothing above cl 8 or cl9 respectively) that fits in your budget from a good manufacturer. Corsair, Mushkin, Gskill, etc.

 

Edit:

If you order from NewEgg try this coupon for 15% off your memory: APRMEM15 or EMCNFJG38

 

I don't know if either will still work but it is worth a shot.

 

Thanks again for more great advice. GTX 580 and 1600mhz RAM it is then. Will hopefully the new rig ordered by the end of the month.

Well.... At high aa settings, the GTX580 is about 20-30% faster.

 

33% to be exact. Test has been done and confirmed.

 

Thanks again for more great advice. GTX 580 and 1600mhz RAM it is then. Will hopefully the new rig ordered by the end of the month.

 

Are you fixated on the 580 or is it just something you can afford? Because if it's not only the money, then go 680... I did some tests with someone on the PM, and 680 did around 20% over 580 in the cloudtest.

33% to be exact

 

Very well worth the price. That is 30 FPS vs 20. I think that the FPS difference is well worth the money.

Definitely worth the money.

That is 30 FPS vs 20

 

huh? that would be a 50%

huh? that would be a 50%

 

No?

0.33 of 30 = 9.9

30-9.9 is approx 20.

No?

0.33 of 30 = 9.9

30-9.9 is approx 20.

 

Ben,

 

That would be "a 560Ti is a 33% slower than a 580"

or "a 580 is a 50% faster than a 560Ti"

 

For "a 580 is a 33% faster than a 560Ti" it would be for example 30 (with a 560Ti) to 40FPS (with a 580)