October 22, 201312 yr In planning an upcoming build, I've begun to wonder whether I can get away with an i5-4670k instead of the standard recommendation for an i7-4770k. Here are the basic differences between the two processors that may impact FSX performance: 1) i7 has hyperthreading available; but FSX doesn't make use of it and in fact many people prefer to turn it off in the BIOS. 2) i7 has 8MB of L3 cache vs. 6MB on the i5. This will have some impact. 3) i7 is rated at 3.5 GHz (3.9 in Turbo boost mode) vs. 3.4 for the i5 (3.8 in Turbo boost). 4) There is a hypothesis, and probably an unprovable one, that the i7 cores are selected from higher quality wafers. This explains why the stock clock speeds are rated 100 MHz higher, reflecting Intel's higher confidence in these chips. In addition, it has been suggested (I can't recall where I saw this), that Intel wants the i7 to have lower return rates to make their premium higher-paying customers happy, so again they choose better wafers when assembling the i7 whereas the i5 doesn't get this special treatment. #4 is difficult to quantify, but I think I can trust that the i5 is still a good proc. Do these differences justify the extra $100 price for the i7? Andrew Farmer My flight sim blog: Fly, Farmer, Fly!
October 23, 201312 yr It appears you have a pretty good handle on the differences between the i7 and i5. Whether they're worth $100 to you can only be decided by...you. Cheers Bob Scott | President and CEO, AVSIM Inc ATP Gulfstream II-III-IV-V Sys1 (MSFS20+24/XPlane12+11): AMD 9800X3D, water 2x240mm, MSI MPG X670E Carbon, 64GB GSkill 6000/30, nVidia RTX4090FE Alienware AW3821DW 38" 21:9 GSync, 2x4TB Crucial T705 PCIe5 + 2x2TB Samsung 990 SSD, EVGA 1000P2 PSU, 12.9" iPad Pro Thrustmaster TCA Boeing Yoke, TCA Airbus Sidestick, Twin TCA Airbus Throttle quads, PFC Cirrus Pedals, Coolermaster HAF932 case Sys2 (P3Dv5/v4): i9-13900KS, water 2x360mm, ASUS Z790 Hero, 32GB GSkill 7800MHz CAS36, ASUS RTX4090 Samsung 55" JS8500 4K TV@60Hz, 3x 2TB WD SN850X 1x 4TB Crucial P3 M.2 NVME SSD, EVGA 1600T2 PSU Fiber link to Yamaha RX-V467 Home Theater Receiver, Polk/Klipsch 6" bookshelf speakers, Polk 12" subwoofer, 12.9" iPad Pro PFC yoke/throttle quad/pedals with custom Hall sensor retrofit, Thermaltake View 71 case, Stream Deck XL button box Sys3 (DCS/P3Dv4/ATS/ETS): AMD 7800X3D, MSI MPG X870E Carbon, Noctua NH-D15S, 64GB GSkill 6000/30, EVGA RTX3090 Alienware AW3420DW 34" 21:9 GSync, Corsair HX1000i PSU, 4TB Crucial T705 PCIe5 + 2TB Samsung 970Evo Plus, TM TCA Officer Pack, Saitek combat pedals, TM Warthog, TM RS300 FF wheel/pedals, Coolermaster HAF XB case
October 23, 201312 yr You'll be the only one that can say if it's worth the extra money. You know the differences well. Your #1 should be updated to FSX can make use of Hyperthreading to load ground textures faster, but it won't give me higher FPS. Personally I'd never get an i5 for FSX for that reason alone, but my use case is high-res photo scenery at high LOD. Most people are perfectly happy with the textureloading an i5 provides.
October 25, 201312 yr The 4670K is an excellent CPU for the money, for current games and sims. Keep in mind that the next-gen consoles will have 8-core CPUs, which may result in PC games also taking advantage of more cores in the future. In that case, having HT and 8 virtual cores like the 4770K, may improve performance. -
February 20, 201412 yr The 4670K is an excellent CPU for the money, for current games and sims. Keep in mind that the next-gen consoles will have 8-core CPUs, which may result in PC games also taking advantage of more cores in the future. In that case, having HT and 8 virtual cores like the 4770K, may improve performance. Im undecided between the i5-4670k and the 3750k... They are the same price... Hernandez, J Raul KMCO - Orlando Intl Airport
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