As above. I've killed my i7-870 so I'm looking to replace it with something with little (or no) overclocking.

 

I want the best out-of-the-box performance as such.

 

Should I go IvyBridge or SandyBridge? And how do the SandyBridge-E processors fit into this? Would a SB i7-3820 3.6GHz be better than a SB i7-2700K 3.5GHz?

 

This is purely and FSX machine, I have no other games!

No opinions on this?

If you are really not going to overclock, I'd go for Ivy Bridge. I recommend the i7 3770K. Don't let people tell you that the i5 3570K is just as good because it isn't. The extra cache of the i7 will give you slightly better performance. Also Ivy Bridge is better compared to Sandy Bridge at the same clockspeed, but only a little bit.

I don't recommend going Sandy Bridge-E. They are extremely overpriced (IMO). Your FPS should be a little bit better but not much. And also, I've seen pretty much every Sandy Bridge-E user complaining about very bad microstutters in FSX compared to their Sandy Bridge systems.

 

There isn't really "the best" motherboard. It depends on how much you're willing to spend. But as far as I understand you are looking for a good and cheap motherboard. What about Asus P8Z77-V LE, Asrock Z77 Extreme4, should all be good.

You are very perceptive!

 

I'd ordered the bits before I read your reply, and guess what? i7 3770K and Asus P8Z77-V ordered, plus some new RAM.

You are very perceptive!

 

I'd ordered the bits before I read your reply, and guess what? i7 3770K and Asus P8Z77-V ordered, plus some new RAM.

 

Good choice. What memory do you have and what speed?

 

You need a cooler.

 

I know you don't want to oc. But there is a standand MB OC by turning on a small switch in that mb. After installing everything and after everythying is working. When the machine is completely off,. just turn on the switch and restart the machine..it would cycle throuh a couple time when starting and then you would get a standard 4.2 OC

 

Manny

Memory is Corsair Vengeance Arctic White 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz.

 

I'll not need a cooler until I think about OC, in which case I'd probably buy something water cooled. Until then it is staying at stock clock speeds.

Memory is Corsair Vengeance Arctic White 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz.

 

I'll not need a cooler until I think about OC, in which case I'd probably buy something water cooled. Until then it is staying at stock clock speeds.

 

You should be fine with the memory then.

 

Even with the stock cooler you maybe able to use the switch to go to 4.2Ghz. do it and watch the temp. As long as the temp stays below 75c when running FSX, you should be fine.