I'm close to placing an order for my new PC with a i7-4770K processor. Last night I received an email from my supplier announcing three new processors - the i7-4820K, i7-4930K and the very expensive i7-4960X.

 

The 4960X is too expensive but comparing the 4820K and 4930K to the 4770K looks interesting. The clock speed on the 4820K is 3.7Ghz compared to 3.5 on the 4770K and it has an extra 2Mb of cache. The i7-4930K is clocked at only 3.4 but has more cores and threads. And the new processors support quad DDR3 up to 1866MHz compared to Dual 1600 with the 4770K.

 

The full comparison is here. http://ark.intel.com/compare/77780,77781,75123

 

Should I go for the 4820K or 4930K. Appreciate your views on this.

For FSX.

4820K - NO.

4930K - only if you are willing to sacrifice FPS for being able to fly faster over photoscenery before it gets blurry, otherwise NO.

The cheaper 4770K will give you the highest FPS as it provides the best IPC (read FPS in FSX) with the new Haswell architecture vs the old IvyBridge architecture in the newly released IvyBridge-E series.

Thanks Saab. FPS has top priority. I'm willing to take a hit on photoscenery load times.

 

Clearly some software will benefit from these new processors but sadly, not FSX. Just goes to show how ancient it now is. So I'll stick with the 4770K - thanks.

The 4820K, while having a higher model number than the 4770, is actually based on the older Ivy Bridge architecture rather than Haswell. It's more related to the 3770K than the 4770K. The IB-E motherboards and chipset are also getting old and lack features found in the Z87 chipset.

 

The true high-end version of Haswell is Haswell-E which is coming some time next year. It will come with a new chipset supporting DDR4, SATA-Express and many more USB 3.0 ports.

 

As you can see here:

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/412162-cpus-compared-clock-for-clock-fsxmarkcpu/

 

In FSX, there's a performance gap between Ivy Bridge and Haswell. Considering the small difference between SB and SB-E, I doubt Ivy Bridge-E will be able to close the gap.

Thanks Jimmy. It seems odd that Intel would bring out a range of processors less powerful than their predecessors. :wacko:

 

No doubt the price of Haswell-E will be very high as was the case with previous Extreme range. That puts it out of my pocket and in any case I want to make the move this year, not next.

 

It's strange that Haswell is more powerful than Ivy Bridge when the clock speed is lower. But I suppose there are other aspects of it that make FSX run quicker and after all, that's THE most important thing.

The reason for this strange lineup from Intel is that the "-E" (Socket 2011) CPUs are based on Intel's server CPUs, which have a longer life span than the mainstream desktop parts. Since Haswell requires a new socket, and Intel has promised its enterprise customers to keep the same socket for at least 2 years (LGA 2011 came out in late 2011), it was not possible for Intel to release a Haswell based "-E" processor at this time.

 

I'm pretty sure Haswell-E will come in a Quad core version like the 4820K, at a more reasonable price. However, DDR4 will surely drive up the cost of the platform for early adopters. I think the best move at this time is a 4670/4770K and a good mid-range motherboard, then upgrade to Haswell-E when it has been out for a 6 months or so (if you feel the need to upgrade).

Thanks Jimmy. The PC I'm ordering in a few weeks will, I hope, be able to run FSX at an acceptable level of performance for a long time. I usually keep a machine several years and don't tweak it in its lifetime except maybe for more memory and additional storage.

 

I'll keep an eye on the Haswell-E but as you say it will probably command a premium price. I'd rather spend money on airports etc. than another processor unless it's 1) amazingly faster than the 4770K and 2) dirt cheap! :biggrin:

I'm off to Scan tomorrow to order my new PC. :biggrin:  i7 4770K o/clocked to 4.4GHz with GX780 3Gb card, 16Gb PC2133 RAM and 2 256Gb Samsung 840 Pro SSDs.

 

I'll be investing in addons to make FSX look half decent which will probably eat up another load of dosh. :(

4770k go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And my quesiton is: Is there any other processors we should be looking-out for? Say from Intel or AMD ?

And my quesiton is: Is there any other processors we should be looking-out for? Say from Intel or AMD ?

 

SAAB340 gave the answer to my question regarding the latest Intel processors. AMD's are not considered fast enough for FSX.

That's crazy...How much is your budget if I may ask you !!?

 

Do not get A0C monitor, they are crap....

 

Thanks,

Regis

That's crazy...How much is your budget if I may ask you !!?

 

Do not get A0C monitor, they are crap....

 

Thanks,

Regis

 

You haven't addressed that comment to anyone and I can't find any reference to AOC. It would help if you quoted the message you are responding to. :rolleyes:

The money quote from the linked article: "Anything that doesn't make use of all six cores on a 4960X will likely be faster on a cheaper Haswell based 4770K."

 

Regards

I went with the 4820k. The x79 mobo's have 40 PCI-e lanes, can handle faster memory @ double the bandwidth. Overclocking is easier without delidding. If you plan to SLI, this is the way to go. I also gambled that P3D v2.0 would use the cores and multiple GPU's more efficiently, turns out I was right. Either way though, you're good to go.