I've read a lot of posts in this forum but can't find many that deal with my lowly i3-2100-3.1GHz. Many non-FSX sites post benchmarks that I suspect reflect multi-core optimized apps which we know FSX is not. The FSMarks thread has so few i3 entries.

 

If this q has been answered already, I'd appreciate a link to the post. Thanks!

 

So... I don't have the skillz, time, money etc to take on the risks and equipment of OC'ing so I simply want to know if dropping in an i5 or i7 in place of my i3 will make much of a difference in framerate. By tweaking fsx.cfg, video settings, and game settings, it seems like I can work with my existing gfx card for now. It does seem like I am CPU bound for the most part. I'm at 15fps in busy airports and cloudy skies, Track IR, Active Sky 2012. I'd like 25.

 

Since the stock Hz isn't much different between all 3 chips, will moving up make much of a difference? Do the "Turbo" Hz make a practical difference as well or is that marketing fluff?

 

Track IR and AS2012 don't use much CPU but I suppose there will be a little gain if they get their own cores...

 

Thanks

Clark

 

PS I have a z68 chipset MB.

Clark, you want a framerate of around 25 ?

 

FSX NEEDS a overclocked CPU to achieve that !.

 

 

Very good:: i5 2500 K (or 2550 K)

A bit better: i7 2600 K or 2700 K (only because they overclock slightly better)

 

All those Sandy Bridge CPU's stay cooler and are cheaper than the new Ivy Bridge generation and their performance is comparable as you read in:

 

https://docs.google....=CMSSocoI#gid=0

 

Of course you can overclock the newer Ivy Bridge CPU's to, as long as you buy a K-version, but they run hotter and therefore overclock a bit less easy so it seems.

 

So if you are on a budget: buy a i5 2500 K

 

The stock Turbo Mode's help a bit, but only a few hundred Mhz. ( I5 2500k : 3.3 Ghz and 3.7 Ghz in Turbo Mode)

 

In FSX it's especially the GHZ's that count as you read in the

FSX Mark 11 Global Test : FSX comes to life at around 4.5 Ghz.

 

(Strange is that some stock i5 2500K (3.3 Ghz) seem to perform equally in this test, to a overclocked i7 2600K at 4.8 Ghz, maybe it's the better videocard then ?)

 

 

So, if you now have had a Sandy Bridge i3 - 2100 K (3.1 Ghz) or 2120 K, (3.3 Ghz) maybe you could have tried to overclock it also to to 4.1 - 4.3 Ghz ? But i am not sure about this and i don't know if they perform comparable to a i5 or i7 in FSX with those speeds. As you said there is only one in the FSX Mark 11 test and it's an older type.

 

 

About overclocking: I am not a technical wizzard or daredevil neither, and i don't take risks, my Asus motherboard automatically overclocked my i5 2500 K cpu in a safe way with just a few mouseclicks from stock 3.3 Ghz to overclocked 4.3 Ghz.

I just had to read a page in the motherboard manual, it's easy.

 

For tweaking the FSX.cfg and the NvidiaInspector FSX settings, use the Word Not Allowed Tuning Guide to the letter at: http://#####...hardware-guide/

 

 

- With my hardware (overclocked CPU) and the Word Not Allowed Tuning, i have mostly a smooth 28-30 framerate.

 

- In very bad weather/heavy (airport) scenery: 24-28.

 

- Sometimes: with the iFly B737 NGX in virtual cockpit mode in Major Thunderstorm or Stormy Weather like at Los Angeles KLAX runway 25R: a drop to 17 until airborne.

 

(See my specs on the left)

If you are really sure you don't want to OC, the i7 3770 will run all four cores at 3.7Ghz using stock turbo/c-states enabled in your z68 mobo (check this with your vendor). This will yield decent FSX performance, but obviously more (i.e. overclocking) is always better. Though considerably less expensive, the i5 3750 runs all four cores at 3.6Ghz using stock turbo/c-states enabled. BTW, enabling turbo/c-states should not considered overclocking since it's a built in Intel feature.

If you are considering a future overclock ignore this advice, or go with the K models or the prior post's advice.