PC Upgrade for FSX

[E6BAV8R 88]

Hello,

 

Quick Background:

I am currently an FS9 user but looking to upgrade to FSX.  I exclusively use complex aircraft add-ons, such as PMDG and Level-D, and with ActiveSky and varied scenery airports / landclass in FS9.  I'm not too worried about being able to run scenery enhancements from the get-go in FSX since I'm also going to have to spend a chunk of money on basic FSX add-ons (PMDG, ActiveSky, etc.).  I currently run FS9 on max settings and sit around 60-70FPS.  I don't really expect max settings in FSX but I want them to be high or have room to add scenery enhancements (such as GEX or UTX) when the time comes.

 

I don't really intend on OC'ing anything.  I'm not opposed to it but I wouldn't push it anywhere near its limits if I was going to.  Additionally, I'm not so sure my current motherboard would be able to handle much OCing.  Here are my current specs:

• Intel Pentium G850 Sandy Bridge 2.9GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
• G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model
• SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16
• Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
• COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus 500W v2.3 Power Supply
• BIOSTAR TH67B LGA 1155 Intel H67

Upgrades:

• Add another 4GB of DDR3 1333 RAM (for a total of 8GB).
  • My current motherboard can't handle larger than 1333.  Will I see substantial performance loss from not being able to go up to 1600?
• Upgrade the CPU to an i5 or i7.  I am currently trying to narrow down between these 3:
  • Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000
  • Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500
  • Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000

CPU:

I've been out of the PC building segment a while so I am not up to speed on the best hardware any longer.  After doing some quick research it appears that the i5 is still a great CPU in comparison to i7 benchmarks while being substantially cheaper; primarily since modern games still don't take advantage of HyperThreading.  While I don't really plan on overclocking, the 3570K version over the 3570 is only $5 more.  I don't know much of anything of the 4670 but it is the same price as the 3570K.

 

Budget:

I don't really play any other games, much less ones that push my PC like FS does, and I want to purchase parts that I can build from in the future.  I know the GPU is going to be the next bottleneck in my system and I plan on addressing that at some point down the road.  I currently am just looking to get FSX up and running with a few add-ons that I can enjoy for the time being.  However, any thoughts on a budget GPU for FSX would be welcome.

 

Any thoughts or opinions on components or how it will run FSX would be most welcome.  I've never tinkered with FSX before and I want to make sure I am purchasing components that will lead to a smooth running FSX with some add-ons.

 

Thanks

[E6BAV8R 88]

Since I can no longer edit the original post, I am looking at adding a GPU since I don't feel my current ATI one will cut it at all for what I am looking for.

 

Therefore, I am currently looking at purchasing either of these:

• EVGA 01G-P4-2650-KR GeForce GTX 650 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - $119
• EVGA 01G-P4-3650-KR GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - $145
• EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $225

While the GTX 660 is the best here, I question if it is really worth the substantial cost over the others for the sole purpose of FSX.  Do you feel it warrants the cost for exclusive use in FSX?  Are there any better options out there that are also affordable?

 

With all that said, here is the latest version of my system I am looking at for FSX:

• Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
• EVGA 01G-P4-3650-KR GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
• G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model - For a total of 8GB.
• Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
• COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS500-PCARD3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply
• BIOSTAR TH67B LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

After that the only problem I see will be my motherboard, as I won't be able to take full advantage of PCI-e 3.0 nor will I be able to overclock the CPU on this board.  I will upgrade the board in time but I want parts I know that I can plug a new motherboard into.

 

Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated.

 

Thanks

[VeryBumpy 272]

Prepare to be disappointed. Even with your upgrades, switching to FSX will be a huge frame rate drop from 60-70. Definitely plan on and buy for overclocking if you want any decent addons to not grind to a halt.

 

Depending on your graphic fidelity needs within FSX, your planned upgrade will be only so so.  I'd do it all, better off doing a MB upgrade with latest Hasswell, fastest memory and SSD too.

[E6BAV8R 88]

Prepare to be disappointed. Even with your upgrades, switching to FSX will be a huge frame rate drop from 60-70. Definitely plan on and buy for overclocking if you want any decent addons to not grind to a halt.

 

Depending on your graphic fidelity needs within FSX, your planned upgrade will be only so so. I'd do it all, better off doing a MB upgrade with latest Hasswell, fastest memory and SSD too.

I understand that I will not be getting anywhere near 60-70 - I was anticipating/hoping to sit around 30 with the NGX.

 

Why a Haswell? From what I have read the gaming performance is practically the same and the Haswell can't OC as high as the 3570K, but it does have higher clock speeds. The way I see it is you could buy a Haswell processor and stagnate at 4.3Ghz and then get a comparable Ivy Bridge and OC it to 4.6 - but is it better performance?

 

While the 1155 is essentially a dead-end socket, I only upgrade PCs about every 5 years (and that is being generous - that is how little I play games other than FS) the 1150 socket will be gone by that point too. Once I get my PC specs to where I am happy with the way it runs FS than I stop fiddling with hardware. I don't play any other games so performance beyond what it gives me in FS is useless to me.  That is why I wanted to get the minimum of what I need to get high settings in FSX.

[VeryBumpy 272]

Well before spending a dime, I would install FSX on your current machine. Install a few demanding freeware planes, scenery and airports. Play with the settings and tweak FSX some. Then judge your upgrade path choice and satisfaction from there.

[E6BAV8R 88]

Well, I'm not worried about shelling out the money and I know I'll have to upgrade my PC for what I want FSX to do - it's just a matter of which system (1150 or 1155) would be better for FSX to fly on high settings in complex aircraft (PMDG).  It just seems that FSX likes higher CPU speeds (OC'd 3570K) than it would something that may have better architecture but run slightly slower (OC'd 4670K).  That is pretty much my decision at this point, as the price difference with the CPU + Motherboard is only about $40.  It is a small enough price difference that I don't mind paying if it will give me equal (or better, of course) performance and some comfort in future upgrade-ability.  Even though the 3570K may OC slightly better (which I'm not a hardcore OC'er that will push the limits, anyway) it kinda irks me to purchase a dead-end socket that may give me nothing in terms of performance.

 

Being that I don't push the limits of OC, and I won't bother to mess with voltage and such, perhaps I have answered my own question in which to go (the Haswell path)?

 

Thanks for your reply.

[E6BAV8R 88]

I believe I have decided to go ahead and go forward with the Haswell set-up.  This is the hardware I have come up with so I welcome comments on the specific hardware.  The hardware has already exceeded my budget so I can't go more expensive, but I can plug and play some items if there is better components for the equivalent price.  I'll be using the HDD, PSU and Case from my existing PC.  I'm hoping to hit in the low 4 GHz range after some slight overclocking.

• MSI N660 TF 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
• ASUS Z87-PLUS LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
• Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54670K
• G.SKILL Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-2400C10D-8GTX

[dazz 69]

Looks good to me. The GPU is fine for your current PSU.

Just make sure your case (which one is it?) will fit a full ATX board and add a CPU cooler if you plan to overclock

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

[E6BAV8R 88]

Looks good to me. The GPU is fine for your current PSU.

Just make sure your case (which one is it?) will fit a full ATX board and add a CPU cooler if you plan to overclock

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I was looking at either of those coolers but decided I'd hold off until I get to the overclocking point and see if it is needed.  NickN posted his OC'ing specs on his 4670K and said he was running 4.1 - 4.2 GHz with normal temps on the stock heatsink.  If I need it I'll pick one up but I don't intend on pushing any limits.

 

My PSU is an COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus 500W.  It is about 1-year old but I know it is Haswell certified.

 

My case is an older Antec PlusView 1000AMG Case.  It is a Server type case and is absolutely massive, so I'm not worried at all about it fitting

 

Thanks again.  I hope to order these very soon - just trying to make sure it is what I want!

[squerble 300]

I'm running the i5-3570K (OC'd @ 4.0GHz) on air cooling, with a nVidia GTX560Ti '448' and run the NGX locked at 28fps with absolutely no problem at all. I have scenery slider maxed out, auto-gen roughly in the middle, but have no scenery add-ons. I'm running on a standard 7200rpm HDD.

[E6BAV8R 88]

Good to hear.  Thanks Karl.

[E6BAV8R 88]

Quick question:

Do you think it'd be worth it to buy an SSD, to be used strictly for installing FSX on, or use that money and get a better video card?  At the moment I use the following:

• Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

The GPU I am looking to currently purchase is:

• MSI N660 TF 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

The SSD I am looking at is $140 (Samsung 120GB SSD), so an upgraded GPU would be around $340.00.

[jetsflier 87]

I do have to say, increasing RAM to 8GB from 4GB isn't going to do anything for you. FSX can only allocate approximately 3.5GB due to it's 32-bit nature. You will waste money [despite the small amount] by purchasing RAM that will be useless.

[E6BAV8R 88]

Thought I'd provide a quick update to this thread, or at least an archive for others.

 

Purchased my PC and have everything put together and running stock speeds at the moment.  I plan on doing some overclocking tomorrow and see what I can push this 4670K up to.  I planned on a budget of about $500 but quickly exceed that.  Here are the specs:

• Intel i5 4670K
• Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2GB
• Asus Z87-A
• G.Skill 8GB DDR3 2133 MHz
• Corsair TX650 PSU
• WD 500GB 7200RPM HDD (Primary HDD - Using for Windows, Media and Storage)
• Samsung 840 Series 128GB SSD (Dedicated for FSX)

All said and done it was a little over $900.

 

At stock speeds the CPU idles at 28C with the CPU fan at about 35% speed.  For baseline sake I ran the High Torture Test on Prime95 just to see the numbers.  CPU temps hovered between the 45-47C range with CPU fan going up to 55% speed.  I then manually moved the CPU fan to 100% and the temp went down to about 40C.  Next step is to see what I can push this Haswell to.

 

So much for a budget!

[ryanbatc 12,770]

Wow prices have really come down then.  I spent $2000 on the build in my profile back in Jan 2011.  Of course it was a from scratch build.

 

Curious to see how it overclocks.